By Paul Gully

Special Projects Editor

“Great” was the word Oakland University political science professor David Dulio used and repeated when asked about presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s town hall meeting held on the university’s campus.

“It was great for OU,” said Dulio, who invited his class to the event. “It’s great to have a presidential candidate come here.

McCain’s May 7 visit, to what he called a “wonderful institution,” marked the first time since 2002, when President George W. Bush spoke at an event on the campus of OU, that the university has played host to a politician of such stature.

“It was a great opportunity for [my students], and for those who disagree with Sen. McCain, to come out and hear what he had to say. It was great he took so many questions from those who challenged his viewpoints,” added Dulio, who has been featured as a correspondent on Fox News.

The standing ovation McCain received as a welcome from the several hundred in attendance was tinged with only a smattering of boos.

The Arizona Senator focused on what he called “serious issues and challenges that face this nation” — human trafficking, religious freedom and Internet-related child sex crimes.

“Accepting the degradation of values we believe are universal is to relinquish some of our own humanity. America was founded on the belief in the inherent dignity of all human life, that this dignity can only be preserved through shared respect and shared responsibility,” McCain said.

For approximately the an hour, McCain fielded questions from those in attendance during the town-hall-meeting portion of the event.

The Q&A began with a question posed by a 14-year-old female, sporting an anti-McCain T-shirt, who had interrupted him during his opening speech.

In all, McCain took 15 questions ranging in topics from the local auto industry, to the war in Iraq and even his alleged temper.

Regarding what he considers the “great debate” of the upcoming election — the war — McCain said that it has “been badly mishandled for nearly four years.”

“But we are succeeding. … As the Iraqi military takes over more responsibility and Americans begin to withdraw, I’ll bring [our troops] home — I’ll bring them home with honor,” he added.

McCain made it clear, several times throughout the event, that eliminating U.S. dependency on foreign oil is vital not only to stabilize the economy, but also to improving the environment. McCain favors nuclear power development.

When questioned about his alleged temper, McCain jokingly responded by saying, “How dare you ask that question?” a response that garnered laughter from those in attendance.

McCain went on to cite the many Democratic senators he had worked with throughout his tenure in the office as evidence that his temper is not an issue.

“I have worked across the aisle more than any other senator that I know of, recently,” he said. “If the problem is such as been described, I wouldn’t have been able to work with Joe Lieberman and Russ Feingold and Ted Kennedy, and all the many other senators on the other side of the aisle.”

McCain also answered questions pertaining to issues specific to Michigan, including several questions posed about the auto industry. McCain held strong to his advocacy of improved fuel economy standards for automobiles, which opponents claim has hampered the U.S. auto industry.

However, McCain did say that the “automotive industry in this state is not finished” and said he believed it could be revitalized by focusing on new innovation and technology.

“The technology is here … in the great state of Michigan, the birthplace of the automotive industry,” he said. “But, we’ve got to retrain and reeducate workers to take advantage of the opportunities.”

When focus shifted to the topic of the Great Lakes’ water, McCain said that he would “never agree to any proposal” to divert water from the Great Lakes to dry states, which received a favorable response.

Following the event, McCain shook hands and met with audience members.

“I didn’t used to be an avid supporter of McCain before today, but I am one now,” said Karen Bush, of Rochester. “I agree with his viewpoints on states’ rights and this is something that hasn’t been talked about much before.”

John Fich, the father of an OU student, is a Barack Obama supporter but took time off work to see McCain speak.

“I wanted to come see what he said in person rather than in the media,” Fich said. “I wanted to get his opinion on the war and economy and the energy crisis.”

Prior to the event, a group of approximately 30 sign-waving protesters demonstrated in front of the venue’s main parking entrance.

“I love the idea of the town hall meeting, but we wanted to show that McCain is not welcomed by everyone here. There’s a significant portion of the student body who doesn’t support him,” said Michael Westphal, an OU student and head of the school’s chapter of Students for a democratic Society (SdS).

This was McCain’s first trip to Michigan since the Jan. 15 primary, which he lost to Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

McCain, 71, has had the GOP nomination wrapped up since March 4 after opponents Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney dropped out of the race.