Sen. McCain campaigns in hometown of Truman

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- More than 25 years after his death, presidential aspirants continue to call on Harry Truman's hometown, where his popularity and no-nonsense politics still resonate.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday became the latest to pay tribute, using a morning speech at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum to focus on the nation's economic crisis hours before he was to head back to Washington for a vote on a revamped bailout package.

McCain said the former Democratic president wouldn't be surprised by the financial meltdown.

"The costs of unbridled greed on Wall Street, the foolishness of politicians who fed the problem, and the recklessness of politicians who failed to meet the crisis -- all of these would have a familiar feel to the man from Independence," the Arizona senator told a small crowd at the library.

Independence, a suburb of about 110,000 people east of Kansas City, has proven to be a nearly irresistible dateline for politicians from both parties hoping to connect with voters by channeling Truman's plainspeak.

Barack Obama, John Kerry, Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy are among some of the figures who've stopped here while running for president. President Bush spoke at Truman High School during his first year in office.

Democrats are fond of recalling Truman's leadership qualities while Republicans share stories of his history of bipartisanship. Both parties praise his honesty and integrity, said Randy Sowell, an archivist at the library.

"He's become kind of a folk hero in some respects," Sowell said.

Truman, who died in 1972, is widely viewed as one of the nation's best presidents, and many Republicans firmly believe his outlook and political approach are more GOP than Democrat.

McCain called Truman a "man of principle, of wisdom and a deep and abiding love for our country."

McCain later walked alone in the library's courtyard where Truman and his wife, Bess, are buried. He paid tribute during a moment of silence.

Over the summer, Obama came to Independence for a rally at the Truman Memorial Building and a speech defending his patriotism before the Fourth of July weekend. His wife, Michelle, was scheduled to hold an event later Wednesday at Kansas City's historic jazz district.

When Bush visited Truman High School in August 2001, he called Truman "pretty wise" and "a plain spoken fellow."

"Nothing wrong with telling people exactly what you believe," Bush said. "Washington can use a lot of that."

Former President Bill Clinton gave a keynote address to mark the library's 50th anniversary last year. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave his final speech as Secretary-General at the library and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spoke here in 2006, saying impatience and political division over the war on terror mirrored Cold War sentiments.

Kennedy stopped in Independence during his 1960 campaign to gain Truman's endorsement after the Democratic National Convention. Nine years later, President Richard Nixon visited to give Truman a Steinway piano from the White House.