Tonight John McCain wrapped up a full day of campaigning with a big rally aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown in Charleston, S.C. He was joined, as he was throughout the day, by Senator Lindsey Graham of S.C. and former Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, as well as Pete Hegseth, executive director for Vets for Freedom and NRO contributor:

The decommissioned WWII-era aircraft carrier served as a reminder of McCain’s own military background, and McCain invoked the ship’s past to compare Islamic suicide terrorists to kamikaze pilots:

McCain won Charleston in 2000, and he is expected to do well here this year. Charleston County GOP chairman Lin Bennett told NRO that coastal South Carolina’s military population is expected to support McCain, just as evangelical Christians in the northern part of the state are expected to support Mike Huckabee. Bennett, who supports Fred Thompson, said that most of the state’s conservative activists were backing either Fred or Mitt Romney, and that Huckabee and McCain are doing well despite lacking conservative credentials because each has attracted one of the state’s key constituencies. (Kathryn quoted Kathleen Parker on this phenomenon earlier today). More coverage of S.C.:

McCain in Myrtle Beach

McCain in S.C.