Obama for being a "redistributionist" and adopting symbols such as Joe the Plumber. On November 4, 2008, McCain lost to Barack Obama in the general election, receiving 173 votes of the electoral college to Obama's 365 and gaining 46 percent of the popular vote to Obama's 53 percent. Had McCain been elected, he would have been the first president not born in a U.S. state, as he was born in the Panama Canal Zone (a U.S. territory at the time of McCain's birth). McCain would have also been the first president from the state of Arizona, and he would have become the oldest elected president. This would have surpassed Ronald Reagan's age of 69, whereas Palin would have been the first female vice president, as well as the first vice president from Alaska and outside the mainland United States, and Todd Palin would have also became the first second gentleman of the United States. Leading up to the announcement McCain's oft-cited strengths as a potential presidential candidate in 2008 included national name recognition, sponsorship of major lobbying and campaign finance reform initiatives and leadership in exposing the Abramoff scandal. He was well known for his military service (including years as a tortured POW) and competing in the 2000 presidential campaign, in which he won the New Hampshire primary before eventually losing the nomination to George W. Bush. McCain also impressed many Republicans with his strong support for President Bush's re-election campaign in 2004, and his role in the confirmation of many of Bush's judicial nominees. Since 1993, he also has served as chairman of the International Republican Institute, a U.S. government-funded organization involved in supporting political democracy around the world. A Time magazine poll dated January 2007 showed McCain deadlocked with possible Democratic opponent Senator Hillary Clinton at 46%; in the same poll McCain trailed Democratic Senator Barack Obama 41% to 48%. An earlier Time poll indicated that more Americans were familiar with McCain than any of the other frontrunners, including Obama and Republican candidate and former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani. During the 2006 election cycle, McCain attended 346 events and raised more than $10.5 million on behalf of Republican candidates. He also donated nearly $1.5 million to federal, state and county parties. In May 2006, McCain gave the commencement address at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. During his 2000 presidential bid, McCain had called Falwell an "agent of