Sen. John McCain addressed a crowd of roughly 2,000 in Cedar Falls on Sunday afternoon.

Sen. John McCain addressed a crowd of roughly 2,000 in Cedar Falls on Sunday afternoon.

CEDAR FALLS — Red meat was on the menu when the McCain campaign visited the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls Sunday afternoon, but Sen. Chuck Grassley wasn’t serving much of it.

Grassley, who was given the honor of introducing Sen. John McCain after South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham revved up the crowd, focused his speech on McCain’s record of service.

“John McCain doesn’t just say ‘Country First,’ John McCain has lived country first,” Grassley said as the crowd of 2,000 in the University of Northern Iowa’s West Gym began a “John McCain” chant. “He hasn’t lost faith in America. He instills faith in America.”

Grassley left the harshest of the campaign rhetoric to the candidate and Graham, but he did give the rally participants at least one opportunity to cheer.

“When John McCain is elected as President of the United States,” Grassley said, “America won’t have to cross its fingers and hope.”

If Grassley’s performance left the audience desiring more direct criticism of Obama than he delivered, Graham and McCain more than compensated for it. Graham, in particular, took Sen. Barack Obama to task in terms of the economy, service to country and readiness for office.

“You may have read Obama’s book ‘Audicity of Hope’ but you may not have known he’s written a sequel,” Graham said. “It’s called ‘The Times I Stood Up To the Left.’ Yeah. It’s a short read. The truth is that Obama has never told the left things they didn’t want to hear.”

Such actions or inactions, according to Graham, have shown “insight in Obama’s political soul.”

While “Joe the Plumber” made more than once appearance in the speeches, there was another Joe who seemed to draw more applause: “Joe the Biden.”

“Mark my words, Iowa, John McCain has already been tested,” Graham said. “And, to our enemies who are watching what’s happening here, you need to know that John McCain is watching you.”

It was a theme that McCain carried over into his own speech, indicating that he would strengthen the nation’s defense while lowering taxes.

“Our next president won’t have time to get use to the office,” McCain said. “We can’t wait as we have for the past 8 years.”