Conservatively speaking, it was a lukewarm group

John McCain came face to face Tuesday with the enthusiasm gap. It came in the form of Doug Englekirk, a wiry 46-year-old contractor from the Lake Tahoe area.

Polls have shown great gusto among Democrats excited about November’s election and the prospect of voting for the party’s presumptive nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. For many Republicans who are pondering their choice -- well, not so much.

Or, as Englekirk told McCain at a town hall session in Sparks, a northern Nevada suburb: “I speak for a lot of conservatives. I’m not very excited about this election.”

To a smattering of applause, Englekirk asked McCain what he might do or say to kindle a bit more enthusiasm from the right.

The Arizona senator responded with a question of his own: What (in so many words) was Englekirk’s beef?

He responded with a litany: McCain’s stance on illegal immigration -- which Englekirk dubbed “amnesty” -- his support for campaign finance reform, his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, his running with “the global warming crowd” and his membership in the Senate’s so-called Gang of 14.

McCain addressed two of those complaints, starting with the “gang,” a bipartisan group of senators who worked in 2006 to avoid a legislative meltdown over the appointment of federal judges. McCain said he had voted for plenty of conservative judges, including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., and would appoint to the bench only judges “who will strictly interpret the Constitution.”

McCain said “global warming is real” and needed to be addressed and, in a detour, complained that federal spending in Washington had gotten so out of hand that some former members of Congress have gone to jail for abuses. “I’m a conservative. Unabashed conservative,” McCain said. “But I also believe I am in keeping with the vision of one Ronald Reagan. It’s healthy to have disagreements.”

Afterward, Englekirk said McCain had sold him -- up to a point. He appreciated his answer about the Gang of 14 but worried the federal government would just use the global warming issue as an excuse to pick taxpayer pockets.

“I can’t vote for Obama,” Englekirk said, a baseball cap pulled low on his brow. “I’m going to vote for McCain. I’d just like to be excited about it.”

-- Mark Z. Barabak