President

John McCain’s trip to South Portland Monday yielded a mention on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show as part of a spoof on the media’s obsession with Barack Obama.

In the segment, Host Jon Stewart introduced two correspondents, one to cover Obama overseas, the other to cover McCain, “and this is true, at a picnic at the military museum in South Portland, Maine,” Stewart said. The crowd laughed. Five correspondents showed up at Obama’s site, giddy about Obama.

Presidential nominee John McCain said Monday that he plans to be competitive in Maine.

McCain spent the day in the state. After attending three fundraisers in Kennebunkport, he made a public appearance at the Maine Military Museum.

During John McCain’s speech Monday, loud yells and boos could be heard from outside the gates. They came from small groups with representatives from Planned Parenthood, the AFL-CIO and the Maine Fair Trade Campaign. Check out the video below to see what members of these groups had to say.

After John McCain finished speaking Monday, PolitickerME asked U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, Congressional candidate Charlie Summers, and American Legion Post 66 Commander John Schlaack what they thought. See their responses on video below.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe introduced John McCain to a crowd of about 400 Friday afternoon, both speaking about their experiences with the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate.

Maine House Republican Leader Josh Tardy and Congressional Candidate Charlie Summers had been scheduled to speak, however McCain arrived early so they did not have the opportunity.

See below for video of Collins’ introduction.

After being introduced by U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, McCain spoke for about 15 minutes about national security and his time both in the military and in a Vietnam prison camp.

My video is shaky but I will have what I can salvage up soon.

While McCain was speaking, there were several small groups protesting outside, including members from the Maine Campaign for Free Trade, Planned Parenthood and labor groups.

As the program was getting ready to start, I caught up with Tyler Washburn of Bowdoin, a 15-year-old high school student who supports McCain, and hopes to vote for him in four years. A video interview is below.

The crowd is in place, people have been told to silence their cell phones. Looks like things will get going shortly.

PolitickerME will be taking videos of all the speakers, and will post as fast as YouTube can go.

Now here’s a rarity in the world of major political events (at least, the bulk of the ones this reporter has been to).

It was just announced that John McCain will be a half hour early, so likely the schedule will be bumped up.

Video: The scene outside the Maine Military Museum.

Video: Scott Kauffman, vice chairman of the Maine Republican Party, comments on John McCain’s visit.