from the Drudge Report....
why am I not surprised in wake of the email I received earlier in a blog posted recently....
PURGE: SKEPTICAL REPORTERS TOSSED OFF OBAMA PLANE
Fri Oct 31 2008 08:39:55 ET
NY POST, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, WASHINGTON TIMES TOLD TO GET OUT... ALL 3 ENDORSED MCCAIN
**Exclusive**
The Obama campaign has decided to heave out three newspapers from its plane for the final days of its blitz across battleground states -- and all three endorsed Sen. John McCain for president!
The NY POST, WASHINGTON TIMES and DALLAS MORNING NEWS have all been told to move out by Sunday to make room for network bigwigs -- and possibly for the inclusion of reporters from two black magazines, ESSENCE and JET, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
Despite pleas from top editors of the three newspapers that have covered the campaign for months at extraordinary cost, the Obama campaign says their reporters -- and possibly others -- will have to vacate their coveted seats so more power players can document the final days of Sen. Barack Obama's historic campaign to become the first black American president.
MORE
Some told the DRUDGE REPORT that the reporters are being ousted to bring on documentary film-makers to record the final days; others expect to see on board more sympathetic members of the media, including the NY TIMES' Maureen Dowd, who once complained that she was barred from McCain's Straight Talk Express airplane.
After a week of quiet but desperate behind-the-scenes negotiations, the reporters of the three papers heard last night that they were definitely off for the final swing. They are already planning how to cover the final days by flying commercial or driving from event to event.
Developing...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday night fights.....
From my friend Chris....a true conservative...
This video is both awesome and infuriating! I love Megyn Kelly and want to beat the shit out of the snotty, snide runt of of a man called Bill Burton. He is typical of the elites that are about to take over our country. He never answers the question and just blames Fox News for bringing it up. How dare they question the Chosen One!!! We're pretty f(screwed)'d next year. Come April 15th, we'll all be screaming BOHICA! Bend Over Here It Comes Again! There's one simple question that the Obama-iites can't and will never answer truthfully. How do you give a tax cut to 95% of the people when more than a third of them pay no income taxes???? The answer - You Can't! Instead, it's called a transfer of wealth and it's right out of Marx's manifesto: "From each, according to his ability and to each, according to his need."
Please watch this video!
Monday Night Fights: FNC's Megyn Kelly vs. Obama's Bill Burton | NewsBusters.org
.
This video is both awesome and infuriating! I love Megyn Kelly and want to beat the shit out of the snotty, snide runt of of a man called Bill Burton. He is typical of the elites that are about to take over our country. He never answers the question and just blames Fox News for bringing it up. How dare they question the Chosen One!!! We're pretty f(screwed)'d next year. Come April 15th, we'll all be screaming BOHICA! Bend Over Here It Comes Again! There's one simple question that the Obama-iites can't and will never answer truthfully. How do you give a tax cut to 95% of the people when more than a third of them pay no income taxes???? The answer - You Can't! Instead, it's called a transfer of wealth and it's right out of Marx's manifesto: "From each, according to his ability and to each, according to his need."
Please watch this video!
Monday Night Fights: FNC's Megyn Kelly vs. Obama's Bill Burton | NewsBusters.org
.
from an Obama campaign worker?
very interesting email received earlier today from the "left" coast....
and a Hilliary blogger...??
Ok, I want to clear my conscious a little. Hopefully you could make a blog post to help some fellow Clinton supporters out.
I work for a campaign and can’t wait for this week to be over.
I was doing it for a job. I was not a fan of any candidate but over time grew to love HRC.
The internal campaign idea is to twist, distort, humiliate and finally dispirit you.
We pay people and organize people to go to all the online sites and “play the part of a clinton or mccain supporter who just switched our support for obama”
We do this to stifle your motivation and to destroy your confidence.
We did this the whole primary and it worked.
Sprinkle in mass vote confusion and it becomes bewildering. Most people lose patience and just give up on their support of a candidate and decide to just block out tv, news, websites, etc.
This surprisingly has had a huge suppressing movement and vote turnout issues.
Next, we infiltrate all the blogs and all the youtube videos and overwhelm the voting, the comments, etc. All to continue this appearance of overwhelming world support.
People makes posts to the effect that the world has “gone mad”
Thats the intention. To make you feel stressed and crazy and feel like the world is ending.
We have also had quite a hand in skewing many many polls, some we couldn’t control as much as we would have liked. But many we have spoiled over. Just enough to make real clear politics look scarey to a mccain supporter. Its worked, alough the goal was to appear 13-15 points ahead.
See, the results have been working. People tend to support a winner, go with the flow, become “sheeple”
The polls are roughly 3-5 points in favor of Barack. Thats due to our inflation of the polls and pulling in the sheeple.
Our donors, are the same people who finance the MSM. Their interests are tied, Barack then tends to come across as teflon. Nothing sticks. And trust, there were meetings with Fox news. The goal was to blunt them as much as possible. Watch Bill Oreilly he has become much more diplomatic and “fair and balanced” and soft. Its because he wants to retain the #1 spot on cable news and to do that he has to have access to the Obama campaign and we worked hard at stringing him a long and keeping him soft for an interview swap. It worked and now he is anticipating more access. So he is playing it still soft.
This is why nothing sticks.
The operation is massive, the goal is to paint a picture that is that of a winner, regardless of the results.
There is no true inauguration draft or true grant park construction going on. There will be a party, but we are boasting beyond the truth to make it seem like the election is wrapped up.
Our goal is to continue to make you lose your moral. We worked hard at persuasion and paying off and timing and playing the right political numbers to get key republican endorsements to make it seem even more like it was over and the world was coming to an end for you all.
There is a huge staff of people working around the clock, watching every site, blogs, etc. We flood these sites. We have had a goal to overwhelm.
The truth is here. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
I am saying this because I know HRC was better for the country, and now realize this. I was too late by the time I connected to her. To me Barack was just a cool young dude that seemed like a star. I didn’t know him or his policies, but now I understand more than I care to and I realize his interests are more for him, and the DNC and all working like puppets with dean. I always thought a president wanted the better good for the country. The end result I see is everyone dependent on the government, this means more and more people voting for the DNC. This means the future is forever altered. I don’t see this as america, so I am now supporting John Mccain.
Sarah Palin is a huge threat, and our campaign has feared her like you can’t imagine. If it seems unfair how she has been treated, well its because she has had a team working round the clock to make her look like a fool.
This is a big conspiracy and I am so shocked that its not realized.
We released a little blurb the other day that the Obama campaign was already working on reelection and now putting our efforts towards 2012. This was to make it seem like it was above us to continue caring about 2008. Trust me, its a lie. David is very smart, but its a sticky ugly not very truthful kind of intelligence.
Its not over yet, but I think the machine is working. And its a hill to climb.
I will be quitting my post on nov 5th and my vote will be for John Mccain. Fortunately, my position has been a marketing position and I don’t feel I had any part of anything I would feel guilty for. But I look forward to getting out of this as the negativity and environment upsets me.
I wish you all well, and goodluck.
PS my name is not really sarah. but I am a female and I understand your plight.
and a Hilliary blogger...??
Ok, I want to clear my conscious a little. Hopefully you could make a blog post to help some fellow Clinton supporters out.
I work for a campaign and can’t wait for this week to be over.
I was doing it for a job. I was not a fan of any candidate but over time grew to love HRC.
The internal campaign idea is to twist, distort, humiliate and finally dispirit you.
We pay people and organize people to go to all the online sites and “play the part of a clinton or mccain supporter who just switched our support for obama”
We do this to stifle your motivation and to destroy your confidence.
We did this the whole primary and it worked.
Sprinkle in mass vote confusion and it becomes bewildering. Most people lose patience and just give up on their support of a candidate and decide to just block out tv, news, websites, etc.
This surprisingly has had a huge suppressing movement and vote turnout issues.
Next, we infiltrate all the blogs and all the youtube videos and overwhelm the voting, the comments, etc. All to continue this appearance of overwhelming world support.
People makes posts to the effect that the world has “gone mad”
Thats the intention. To make you feel stressed and crazy and feel like the world is ending.
We have also had quite a hand in skewing many many polls, some we couldn’t control as much as we would have liked. But many we have spoiled over. Just enough to make real clear politics look scarey to a mccain supporter. Its worked, alough the goal was to appear 13-15 points ahead.
See, the results have been working. People tend to support a winner, go with the flow, become “sheeple”
The polls are roughly 3-5 points in favor of Barack. Thats due to our inflation of the polls and pulling in the sheeple.
Our donors, are the same people who finance the MSM. Their interests are tied, Barack then tends to come across as teflon. Nothing sticks. And trust, there were meetings with Fox news. The goal was to blunt them as much as possible. Watch Bill Oreilly he has become much more diplomatic and “fair and balanced” and soft. Its because he wants to retain the #1 spot on cable news and to do that he has to have access to the Obama campaign and we worked hard at stringing him a long and keeping him soft for an interview swap. It worked and now he is anticipating more access. So he is playing it still soft.
This is why nothing sticks.
The operation is massive, the goal is to paint a picture that is that of a winner, regardless of the results.
There is no true inauguration draft or true grant park construction going on. There will be a party, but we are boasting beyond the truth to make it seem like the election is wrapped up.
Our goal is to continue to make you lose your moral. We worked hard at persuasion and paying off and timing and playing the right political numbers to get key republican endorsements to make it seem even more like it was over and the world was coming to an end for you all.
There is a huge staff of people working around the clock, watching every site, blogs, etc. We flood these sites. We have had a goal to overwhelm.
The truth is here. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
I am saying this because I know HRC was better for the country, and now realize this. I was too late by the time I connected to her. To me Barack was just a cool young dude that seemed like a star. I didn’t know him or his policies, but now I understand more than I care to and I realize his interests are more for him, and the DNC and all working like puppets with dean. I always thought a president wanted the better good for the country. The end result I see is everyone dependent on the government, this means more and more people voting for the DNC. This means the future is forever altered. I don’t see this as america, so I am now supporting John Mccain.
Sarah Palin is a huge threat, and our campaign has feared her like you can’t imagine. If it seems unfair how she has been treated, well its because she has had a team working round the clock to make her look like a fool.
This is a big conspiracy and I am so shocked that its not realized.
We released a little blurb the other day that the Obama campaign was already working on reelection and now putting our efforts towards 2012. This was to make it seem like it was above us to continue caring about 2008. Trust me, its a lie. David is very smart, but its a sticky ugly not very truthful kind of intelligence.
Its not over yet, but I think the machine is working. And its a hill to climb.
I will be quitting my post on nov 5th and my vote will be for John Mccain. Fortunately, my position has been a marketing position and I don’t feel I had any part of anything I would feel guilty for. But I look forward to getting out of this as the negativity and environment upsets me.
I wish you all well, and goodluck.
PS my name is not really sarah. but I am a female and I understand your plight.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
a question any Obama support can't answer
from Michael Graham's blog..
How can you vote for a man who chose, every Sunday for 20 years, to attend a racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American church run by a lunatic? Sunday a, even the Sundays after 9/11, this man--this free moral agent--made the decision "You know where I belong today? Listening to the racist rantings of Rev. Wright. Honey, grab the kids and let's bring them, too."
How can you vote for a man who chose, every Sunday for 20 years, to attend a racist, anti-Semitic, anti-American church run by a lunatic? Sunday a, even the Sundays after 9/11, this man--this free moral agent--made the decision "You know where I belong today? Listening to the racist rantings of Rev. Wright. Honey, grab the kids and let's bring them, too."
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Let me introduce you........
to the next President of the United States...soon to be called the United States of USSR....
Unless something spectacular happens in the next few weeks...
McCain had to break ribs. He had a few good shots but like Rocky found out in Rocky 1, unless you break the ribs, it don't mean shite.
With much disappointment, we saw a McCain we should of seen months ago. He seemed so uncomfortable, at times, almost like he said what he was told to say.
He needed to smack around. He shadow boxed and bitch slapped Obama but Obama just shook off the slaps. A tie ain't good enough. A tie was a loss, and, as much as I would of preferred another candidate instead of Juan "Amnesty" McCain...a RINO (Republican In Name Only), it is better than the socialistic communist style of Obama.
So with much continued disappointment, I close this post.....
Unless something spectacular happens in the next few weeks...
McCain had to break ribs. He had a few good shots but like Rocky found out in Rocky 1, unless you break the ribs, it don't mean shite.
With much disappointment, we saw a McCain we should of seen months ago. He seemed so uncomfortable, at times, almost like he said what he was told to say.
He needed to smack around. He shadow boxed and bitch slapped Obama but Obama just shook off the slaps. A tie ain't good enough. A tie was a loss, and, as much as I would of preferred another candidate instead of Juan "Amnesty" McCain...a RINO (Republican In Name Only), it is better than the socialistic communist style of Obama.
So with much continued disappointment, I close this post.....
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
not a surprise at all..........
In a piece from the Boston Herald...(and not a surprise at all)
When it comes to the race for positive press, Barack Obama is the winner.
The Center for Media and Public Affairs just released these findings:
* Comments about Obama on the three network evening newscasts have been 65% positive since the party conventions.
* Comments about John McCain have been 36% positive.
* Comments about Sarah Palin have been 42% positive.
* There have been too few evaluations of Joe Biden for “meaningful analysis.”
* The study found that Obama’s press on the FOX network has been 28% positive while McCain’s has been 38% and Palin’s 49% positive.
The final debate is Wednesday night. Unless McCain comes out with boxing gloves and verbally punches Obama in the nose and gives a head butt or two.....it is a done deal. Can it be done?
Thursday, October 09, 2008
it's about time....
It's about time John. These issues, according to Mr. Hussein-Obama are "cheap political points.." Well even though the Keating five stuff is deserved to be brought up...can this Ayers/Wright stuff be left alone? Which is worse?
Hussein-Obama is the worst candidate to come along in memory. (though I do have some Jimmy Carter flashbacks every so often..)
McCain is not the best the Repubs could of come up with. But he was chosen despite his RINO colors.
A short time to go for McCain to stop being Mr. Nice guy. This ain't a tennis match. It is rock-em sock-em time.
Hussein-Obama is the worst candidate to come along in memory. (though I do have some Jimmy Carter flashbacks every so often..)
McCain is not the best the Repubs could of come up with. But he was chosen despite his RINO colors.
A short time to go for McCain to stop being Mr. Nice guy. This ain't a tennis match. It is rock-em sock-em time.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
"that one" won the second debate
AOL POLL Who won the debate?
Barack Obama
52% 150,821
John McCain
40% 116,396
It was a draw
8% 21,615
Released: October 08, 2008
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll:
Obama 47%, McCain 45%
from Michael Graham of 96.9 FM Talk...
If You Missed Tuesday Night's "Town Hall" Debate...
by Michael Graham October 7, 2008 @ 22:47
...congratulations!
It was a WOT: Waste of time.
It wasn't a debate, because actual debating was prohibited by the rules. It wasn't a town hall--normal people didn't get to speak. The questions were straight off of Meet The Press. And it wasn't an ideological battle, because Obama and McCain share so much of the same big-government ideology. And it wasn't even good television.
Be glad you missed it, because you didn't miss a thing.
My take: McCain had to change the pace and blast away at the Obama armor. He made some dings but the armor still shines. The ship is sinking fast in the McCain's Navy. The government issues buckets to bail out the navy have holes and are continuing to take on water.
Barack Obama
52% 150,821
John McCain
40% 116,396
It was a draw
8% 21,615
Released: October 08, 2008
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll:
Obama 47%, McCain 45%
from Michael Graham of 96.9 FM Talk...
If You Missed Tuesday Night's "Town Hall" Debate...
by Michael Graham October 7, 2008 @ 22:47
...congratulations!
It was a WOT: Waste of time.
It wasn't a debate, because actual debating was prohibited by the rules. It wasn't a town hall--normal people didn't get to speak. The questions were straight off of Meet The Press. And it wasn't an ideological battle, because Obama and McCain share so much of the same big-government ideology. And it wasn't even good television.
Be glad you missed it, because you didn't miss a thing.
My take: McCain had to change the pace and blast away at the Obama armor. He made some dings but the armor still shines. The ship is sinking fast in the McCain's Navy. The government issues buckets to bail out the navy have holes and are continuing to take on water.
I want to work for AIG....
WASHINGTON (AP) - Less than a week after the federal government had to bail out American International Group Inc. (AIG), the company sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort, lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown said Tuesday.
Here is the bill:
Here is the bill:
Sunday, October 05, 2008
it does not look good for McCain in the polls
Election 2008 National Head-to-Head Polls as of Sunday, October 05, 2008
General Election: McCain vs. Obama
Poll Date Sample Obama (D) McCain (R) Spread
RCP Average 09/26 - 10/03 49.3 43.4 Obama +5.9
Gallup Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 2703 RV 50 42 Obama +8
Rasmussen Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 3000 LV 51 45 Obama +6
Hotline/FD Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 915 LV 48 41 Obama +7
GW/Battleground Tracking 09/29 - 10/02 800 LV 49 46 Obama +3
Marist 09/28 - 09/30 943 LV 49 44 Obama +5
CBS News 09/27 - 09/30 769 LV 50 41 Obama +9
Associated Press/GfK 09/27 - 09/30 808 LV 48 41 Obama +7
ABC News/Wash Post 09/27 - 09/29 916 LV 50 46 Obama +4
Pew Research 09/27 - 09/29 1181 LV 49 43 Obama +6
Ipsos/McClatchy 09/26 - 09/29 1007 RV 48 45 Obama +3
Time 09/26 - 09/29 1133 LV 50 43 Obama +7
General Election: McCain vs. Obama
Poll Date Sample Obama (D) McCain (R) Spread
RCP Average 09/26 - 10/03 49.3 43.4 Obama +5.9
Gallup Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 2703 RV 50 42 Obama +8
Rasmussen Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 3000 LV 51 45 Obama +6
Hotline/FD Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 915 LV 48 41 Obama +7
GW/Battleground Tracking 09/29 - 10/02 800 LV 49 46 Obama +3
Marist 09/28 - 09/30 943 LV 49 44 Obama +5
CBS News 09/27 - 09/30 769 LV 50 41 Obama +9
Associated Press/GfK 09/27 - 09/30 808 LV 48 41 Obama +7
ABC News/Wash Post 09/27 - 09/29 916 LV 50 46 Obama +4
Pew Research 09/27 - 09/29 1181 LV 49 43 Obama +6
Ipsos/McClatchy 09/26 - 09/29 1007 RV 48 45 Obama +3
Time 09/26 - 09/29 1133 LV 50 43 Obama +7
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
the VP debate
Ok...I give her alot of credit. She has been in this "game" for, what, 12 weeks?
I think Sarah gave it as good as she got. And she got good. While her expectations were low, she hit a homerun. She may of been weak on some (ok alot) of substance, she kept her wits about her, used her lines (she reminds me of the sheriff in the movie "Fargo" sometimes) and brushed off Big Bad Joe Biden. (who, by the way, kept it together, except when going "Hollywood" in reminiceing about his tragic loss many years ago..)
Now it is up to McCain to come out swinging and hard in the next debate. He is beginning to start to look like Bob Dole. DULL! When I read that his campaign was giving up on Michigan and conceding the critical state to Hussein-Obama, I felt a bit defeated (already). Polls remain negative against McCain as of this writing.
If he can't turn it around, name names, take issues, mention some problem solving ideas instead of the usual..."My friends..." he is done. It will be a landslide.
There is still plenty of time to "get 'er done."
Maybe.
McCain for President (Boston Herald and my endorsement)
McCain for president: A certain leader for uncertain times
(I, too, endorse him for President. This country is in need of a capitalist agenda..not to be turned into socialist, quasi-Communist states.. Despite my grand appeal of McCain, he is the most conservative, as compared to Obama. The Republican party has been energized by the addition of Sarah Palin, a new kind of future conservative/Republican. Keep an eye on this one. No matter what happens in November, this won't be the last you heard of her "fur sure.."
By Boston Herald editorial staff | Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Editorials
Another sobering start to an exceedingly sobering week - but one which points to the need for a political leader who is steady in the face of crisis, mature in judgment and able to reach across the aisle to break the gridlock that has for too long gripped Washington.
That man is Sen. John McCain and at this critical moment in history, this paper is pleased to endorse his candidacy for president of the United States.
McCain won a lot of hearts and minds around here in 2000, and we can’t help but wonder how history might have been different had he won his party’s nomination and the White House back then.
But there is no going back. There is only the future and it is impossible to envision the future of this great nation being put in the hands of an articulate but inexperienced first-term senator from Illinois.
Being commander in chief isn’t the place for on-the-job training; it’s a job for someone who has already proven his leadership skills - in battle, as a prisoner of war and during more than two decades on the floor of the Senate.
John McCain’s heroic resume isn’t just about his sacrifice and his experience; it’s about what he learned from those experiences. And on that issue his own words from “Faith of My Fathers” are telling:
“In Vietnam I had come to understand how brief a moment a life is. That discovery did not, however, make me overly fearful of time’s brisk passing. For I had also learned that you can fill the moment with purpose and experiences that will make your life greater than the sum of its days. I have learned to acknowledge my failings and to recognize opportunities for redemption.”
John McCain sought that purpose - and, yes, at times redemption - in public life and in public service. And that helps account for that independent streak that has often driven members of his own party slightly wild, but has endeared him to millions of American voters who, truth be told, usually put doing the right thing ahead of party too.
•This Senate maverick has spent years forging coalitions - on campaign finance reform, immigration reform, on judicial nominations - all with the intent of getting things done in the toxically partisan world of Washington.
His efforts at budget reform, at controlling congressional earmarks - not just because taxpayers can no longer afford them, but because of the corrupting effect they have on the political process - have surely not endeared him to fellow Republicans. But McCain has never shied away from a good fight - on issues worth fighting for.
•The economic future of this nation surely has to top the list of those issues right now.
Whatever becomes of the latest version of a bailout proposal, it is clear that this nation is in for years of economic uncertainty.
So who do we want to help guide us through that uncertainty?
McCain insisted during his Friday night debate with Barack Obama that “the first thing we need to do [post-bailout] is get spending under control in Washington.
“We’ve let government get completely out of control. . . the point is we need to examine every agency of government,” he said, adding that cutting ethanol subsidies and doing away with Defense Department cost-plus contracts would top his list. And he’d support a spending freeze on everything but entitlement programs, defense and veterans benefits.
The most that Obama will concede is that some of the $800 billion in new spending programs he’s proposing “are probably going to have to be delayed.”
Then, of course, he reiterated all the things on his agenda that simply “have to” be done.
One thing is clear: John McCain has the courage to make those cuts; Barack Obama has no interest in doing so.
•These are also times that demand experienced leadership in foreign affairs. When Russian troops invaded the sovereign democratic nation of Georgia, it took Obama three full days to figure it all out. Not so McCain, who immediately pinned the aggressor label on Russia.
And during Friday’s debate McCain spoofed Obama’s plan to have face to face talks with some of the world’s tyrants, including Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, forcing us all to imagine the scenario:
“So let me get this right,” McCain said. “We sit down with Ahmadinejad and he says, ‘We’re going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,’ and we say, ‘No, you’re not?’ Oh, please!”
There is no room for a naif in the Oval Office.
Being president is about policy and about getting that policy right.
But being president is also about character. During his decades of service to his country John McCain has given us all ample evidence of his courage, his character and his leadership. And never more has this nation needed a president with all that John McCain has to offer.
(I, too, endorse him for President. This country is in need of a capitalist agenda..not to be turned into socialist, quasi-Communist states.. Despite my grand appeal of McCain, he is the most conservative, as compared to Obama. The Republican party has been energized by the addition of Sarah Palin, a new kind of future conservative/Republican. Keep an eye on this one. No matter what happens in November, this won't be the last you heard of her "fur sure.."
By Boston Herald editorial staff | Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Editorials
Another sobering start to an exceedingly sobering week - but one which points to the need for a political leader who is steady in the face of crisis, mature in judgment and able to reach across the aisle to break the gridlock that has for too long gripped Washington.
That man is Sen. John McCain and at this critical moment in history, this paper is pleased to endorse his candidacy for president of the United States.
McCain won a lot of hearts and minds around here in 2000, and we can’t help but wonder how history might have been different had he won his party’s nomination and the White House back then.
But there is no going back. There is only the future and it is impossible to envision the future of this great nation being put in the hands of an articulate but inexperienced first-term senator from Illinois.
Being commander in chief isn’t the place for on-the-job training; it’s a job for someone who has already proven his leadership skills - in battle, as a prisoner of war and during more than two decades on the floor of the Senate.
John McCain’s heroic resume isn’t just about his sacrifice and his experience; it’s about what he learned from those experiences. And on that issue his own words from “Faith of My Fathers” are telling:
“In Vietnam I had come to understand how brief a moment a life is. That discovery did not, however, make me overly fearful of time’s brisk passing. For I had also learned that you can fill the moment with purpose and experiences that will make your life greater than the sum of its days. I have learned to acknowledge my failings and to recognize opportunities for redemption.”
John McCain sought that purpose - and, yes, at times redemption - in public life and in public service. And that helps account for that independent streak that has often driven members of his own party slightly wild, but has endeared him to millions of American voters who, truth be told, usually put doing the right thing ahead of party too.
•This Senate maverick has spent years forging coalitions - on campaign finance reform, immigration reform, on judicial nominations - all with the intent of getting things done in the toxically partisan world of Washington.
His efforts at budget reform, at controlling congressional earmarks - not just because taxpayers can no longer afford them, but because of the corrupting effect they have on the political process - have surely not endeared him to fellow Republicans. But McCain has never shied away from a good fight - on issues worth fighting for.
•The economic future of this nation surely has to top the list of those issues right now.
Whatever becomes of the latest version of a bailout proposal, it is clear that this nation is in for years of economic uncertainty.
So who do we want to help guide us through that uncertainty?
McCain insisted during his Friday night debate with Barack Obama that “the first thing we need to do [post-bailout] is get spending under control in Washington.
“We’ve let government get completely out of control. . . the point is we need to examine every agency of government,” he said, adding that cutting ethanol subsidies and doing away with Defense Department cost-plus contracts would top his list. And he’d support a spending freeze on everything but entitlement programs, defense and veterans benefits.
The most that Obama will concede is that some of the $800 billion in new spending programs he’s proposing “are probably going to have to be delayed.”
Then, of course, he reiterated all the things on his agenda that simply “have to” be done.
One thing is clear: John McCain has the courage to make those cuts; Barack Obama has no interest in doing so.
•These are also times that demand experienced leadership in foreign affairs. When Russian troops invaded the sovereign democratic nation of Georgia, it took Obama three full days to figure it all out. Not so McCain, who immediately pinned the aggressor label on Russia.
And during Friday’s debate McCain spoofed Obama’s plan to have face to face talks with some of the world’s tyrants, including Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, forcing us all to imagine the scenario:
“So let me get this right,” McCain said. “We sit down with Ahmadinejad and he says, ‘We’re going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,’ and we say, ‘No, you’re not?’ Oh, please!”
There is no room for a naif in the Oval Office.
Being president is about policy and about getting that policy right.
But being president is also about character. During his decades of service to his country John McCain has given us all ample evidence of his courage, his character and his leadership. And never more has this nation needed a president with all that John McCain has to offer.
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