Sen. John McCain of Arizona, winner of last Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, drew cheers and jeers from an audience of over 500 conservative activists in Michigan over the weekend.

Just days ahead of the Michigan primary, McCain was one of three Republican presidential hopefuls, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, to visit the Americans for Prosperity Summit held Saturday in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.

McCain was alternately cheered and jeered by the vocal, pro-growth, "limit-the-government" activist crowd. He was cheered for his military service and for his pledges to maintain a strong defense, to cut taxes and to veto earmarks, but he was booed for his stances on immigration and the environment.

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McCain's signature lines such as, "We need to send Washington a message: 'No earmarks -- not 10,000, not one. Zero!" drew thunderous applause, McCain's attempt to bring "a little straight talk" about Michigan's flagging economy seemed to fall flat.

Globalism, he told the audience, is not going away. "Some jobs that have left Michigan aren't coming back, and the answer is not to create false hopes that we can bring back lost jobs -- but to create new ones," McCain said, to a stony silence.

McCain, who engaged the audience in a lengthy Q&A period, drew howls of protest and boos when he expressed support for allowing most illegal aliens to stay in the United States and when he opposed against any form of protectionism.

The Arizona Republican even promised one vocal detractor in the audience, John A. Hillman of Livonia, Mich., he would personally phone him and answer his questions as soon as he got back on his campaign bus.

Hillman, a car salesman, told Cybercast News Service he hopes McCain does call.

"Look we don't necessarily need protectionism for the American automobile industry, but it would be nice if we were on a level playing field, which we've never been on," Hillman said after the speech.