McCain vows to catch Bin Laden

Republican front-runner John McCain said he would follow Osama bin Laden “to the gates of hell” to stop the al-Qaida leader, as he rallied voters in the key state of New York today.

More than 100 Republican delegates are at stake in the state’s winner-takes-all primary election.

The former Vietnam prisoner of war stressed his national security credentials in the heart of Manhattan with the city’s former mayor, Rudy Giuliani – who won praise for his efforts leading America and the world after the September 11 terror attacks – at his side.

The 71-year-old, who would be America’s oldest first-term president if elected, said he would never surrender in the war in Iraq.

Speaking at an early morning rally outside New York’s Rockefeller Centre, Mr McCain told supporters he was the man to keep America safe and added he would find bin Laden.

“I’ll look you in the eye and I will tell you, if I have to follow him to the gates of hell, I will get Osama bin Laden and I will bring him to justice,” he said.

“I know how to do it, and I’ll keep America safe.”

Mr Giuliani’s decision to quit the race and endorse Mr McCain after Florida’s primary has given the Arizona senator a boost in Northeastern states where there are many moderate Republicans.

Today, Mr McCain criticised Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as he told around 200 supporters that any timetable for withdrawal was a “surrender”.

“I can tell you now that the two leading Democrats want to wave the white flag,” he said.

“I will never surrender. We will come home, but we will come home with honour so they can’t follow us home.”

With his campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express, and a 20ft American flag in the background, Mr McCain also addressed the troubled American economy, a key issue in the election so far.

He promised tax cuts and a specific plan to create “better lives, better jobs, a better future for all Americans”.

He went on: “I will win the presidency of the United States because I have the judgment, the experience and the knowledge to lead this nation in the transcendent challenge of the 21st century my friends, and that’s the struggle against Islamic extremism.

“Have no doubt of the evil and the implacable dedication of this enemy, my friends.”

Later today, Mr McCain will travel to California as he crosses the entire nation to appeal to as many voters as possible as they go to the polls.

Mr McCain said it was well-known that he was superstitious and added that he was “the most optimistic guy in the world about this nation”.

“The reason why I’m superstitious is because I’m the luckiest guy you’ll ever know,” he said.

“I’ve survived so many things that I know this is my chance and my opportunity to serve this country a little while longer.

“We are the greatest nation on Earth. We will continue to lead and we will be, as Ronald Reagan said, ’a shining city on a hill’.

“We’re going to win the nomination and we’re going to win the presidency.”