McCain has edge in Little Saigon

Nhon Ky Phan sees John McCain as a brother, a man who -- much like him -- suffered through harrowing days as a prisoner during the Vietnam War.

"What happened to me was what happened to him," he said in Vietnamese. "John McCain is my comrade."

In the waning days of the presidential campaign, a team of McCain boosters -- made up largely of former Vietnamese war veterans who are less concerned with Joe the Plumber than with the bonds forged in wartime -- is trying to rally the vote in Orange County's Little Saigon, the largest Vietnamese American community in the country.

The politics in the Westminster enclave lean to the right and Vietnamese Americans have proved to be faithful voters, so it's not altogether odd that the McCain campaign has set up shop in a Bolsa Avenue strip mall across the street from the Asian Garden Mall, a popular gathering spot.

Many Vietnamese Americans are drawn to McCain's support of Vietnamese refugees. As a senator, McCain led efforts to pass legislation in 1996 that would allow the children of Vietnamese political prisoners to reunite with parents who'd already been allowed to immigrate to the U.S. "The Vietnamese cannot forget what McCain has done for our people," Phan said.

McCain came to Little Saigon during the Republican presidential primary for a fundraiser held by Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove), whom some consider to be the dean of Vietnamese American politicians. The candidate has not returned, but in August, the campaign opened a satellite office in the Little Saigon Outreach Center -- the first presidential campaign office located in Little Saigon. There, an intern makes calls, hands out yard signs and answers questions from the visitors, most of them Vietnamese, who trickle in.

The area still echoes with memories of the war. In Westminster, there's a statue honoring American and South Vietnamese soldiers. The flag of the fallen country of South Vietnam is on display in shops. And there are regular street protests condemning people or businesses perceived to be communist sympathizers.

Phan, 73, is a former major in the South Vietnamese military who spent eight years in prison after being captured by the North Vietnamese. He's a part-time host on a Vietnamese talk radio show and devotes a big chunk of his air time to preaching the gospel of John McCain. "He is a hero," Phan said.