News John McCain: The Real Story | YouTube Video

[NeoDevin]

Heh, ever since "My state is right next to Russia, therefore I have foreign experience", these sorts of claims don't even faze me anymore.

War on logic is well underway.

Don't forget `My state has oil, so I'm the nation's leading energy expert!'

 

[LowlyPion]

Don't forget `My state has oil, so I'm the nation's leading energy expert!'

Texas is an oil state too.

Look at the tar pit the last Governor from there that became President led the country into.

 

[LowlyPion]

Oct. 7, 2008 | "I've had my fill of partisan excesses, and I don't intend to disgrace myself by indulging in them." -- "Worth the Fighting For," by John McCain with Mark Salter (2002)

The driving narrative of John McCain's political career is not enduring five and a half years in a POW camp, but suffering through four years in the cross hairs of a late 1980s congressional scandal known as the Keating Five. As McCain tells it (and he has discussed it in almost every medium aside from Japanese manga comics), this was a classic tale of sin and salvation as an erring senator makes a grievous mistake in judgment, is hauled before the Senate Ethics Committee and, as a result, is forever changed by the public humiliation.

"I would very much like to think that I have never been a man whose favor could be bought. From my earliest youth, I would have considered such a reputation to be the most shameful ignominy imaginable," McCain writes in his 2002 memoir. "Yet that is exactly how millions of Americans viewed me for a time, a time that I will forever consider one of the worst experiences of my life." (For those who lack an encyclopedic memory of 1988 news headlines, McCain, along with four other Democratic senators, improperly intervened with federal regulators in an effort to save the crumbling savings-and-loan empire of Charles Keating, an Arizona friend and campaign contributor of McCain's.)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/07/low_road/

 

[karenlau]

anyone has read the RollingStone yet?
Wow.. this guy really one dumb brat..
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

Sorry if someone has posted it already..

 

[LowlyPion]

anyone has read the RollingStone yet?
Wow.. this guy really one dumb brat..
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

Sorry if someone has posted it already..

Thanks for the link.

It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather.

That pretty much summarizes the affinity that McCain has with Palin too I suppose. Looks like they just might be kindred spirits.

Ambition wolves in maverick's clothing.

 

[LowlyPion]

McCain was not only a lousy student, he had his father's taste for drink and a darkly misogynistic streak. The summer after his sophomore year, cruising with a friend near Arlington, McCain tried to pick up a pair of young women. When they laughed at him, he cursed them so vilely that he was hauled into court on a profanity charge.

My that should endear him to women voters.

 

[Gokul43201]

My that should endear him to women voters.

Please! After the gorilla rape joke, after the Janet Reno joke, after picking 3 ex-beauty queens (and dumping one), after all the history of his post Vietnam days ... you think this one thing is suddenly going to get the women voters upset?

 

[Amp1]

Not with Bubbly "Palin" at his side.

 

[LowlyPion]

Please! After the gorilla rape joke, after the Janet Reno joke, after picking 3 ex-beauty queens (and dumping one), after all the history of his post Vietnam days ... you think this one thing is suddenly going to get the women voters upset?

It would seem that those that would vote for him aren't listening. There was this other disturbing excerpt from the article that seems a little over the top as well:

During his 1992 campaign, at the end of a long day, McCain's wife, Cindy, mussed his receding hair and needled him playfully that he was "getting a little thin up there." McCain reportedly blew his top, cutting his wife down with the kind of language that had gotten him hauled into court as a high schooler: "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c***." Even though the incident was witnessed by three reporters, the McCain campaign denies it took place.

A rather revealing vignette showing the esteem with which he apparently holds his wife.

 

[WhoWee]

anyone has read the RollingStone yet?
Wow.. this guy really one dumb brat..
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

Sorry if someone has posted it already..

I guess we have to hold McCain to much higher standards than Obama...or it wouldn't be fair?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html

 

[WarPhalange]

I guess we have to hold McCain to much higher standards than Obama...or it wouldn't be fair?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html

So you're mad because he didn't do drugs?

 

[LowlyPion]

I guess we have to hold McCain to much higher standards than Obama...or it wouldn't be fair?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html

Looks like you didn't actually read the article in Rolling Stone.

John McCain is just clearly unsuited for any leadership position and the facts about his life outlined there and erratic temperament and his blossomed hypocrisy about not going negative only serve to confirm that.

 

[mheslep]

and the facts about his life outlined there

What makes you think there are any facts outlined there?

 

[Gokul43201]

Because many of them are simple historical facts, described not only by McCain in his own writings (which are quoted in the article), but also backed up by physical records.

Do you dispute McCain's class rank at the Academy? That is a "fact" outlined there.

 

[LowlyPion]

Because many of them are simple historical facts, described not only by McCain in his own writings (which are quoted in the article), but also backed up by physical records.

Do you dispute McCain's class rank at the Academy? That is a "fact" outlined there.

In court many of the negative statements from his book would be totally admissible and credible since they were statements against interest.

I thought the article was worth a thoughtful read, and is the first time that I have read anything that sought to explain McCain the inner man.

And yes the source of the article is certainly Left of Fox. But then you can bet Fox would never look to do anything but mythologize McCain.

 

[LowlyPion]

The one really revealing moment for me was when McCain referred to Obama as "that one". That slip in my mind laid bare what may be a really dark thought. I thought it was a cold and even menacing moment.

McCain's condescending comment shows that he isn't Obama's equal. John McCain diminished himself.

 

[mheslep]

Because many of them are simple historical facts, described not only by McCain in his own writings (which are quoted in the article), but also backed up by physical records.

Do you dispute McCain's class rank at the Academy? That is a "fact" outlined there.

No, I don't dispute that. I dispute that the author knows McCain was 'nervously' going through his preflight for the zillionth time by himself in his aircraft aboard the Forrestal before the explosion, and I dispute that the author knows this because "McCain was trying to live up to his father's expectations". I dispute many such passages, and I assert therefore that the author is in love with his own views, and that the facts are only cover for them. Good luck resolving which is which.

 

[LowlyPion]

No, I don't dispute that. I dispute that the author knows McCain was 'nervously' going through his preflight for the zillionth time by himself in his aircraft aboard the Forrestal before the explosion, and I dispute that the author knows this because "McCain was trying to live up to his father's expectations". I dispute many such passages, and I assert therefore that the author is in love with his own views, and that the facts are only cover for them. Good luck resolving which is which.

Good thing that's not a crime around here.

 

[LowlyPion]

McCain Addresses ‘My Fellow Prisoners’

Elizabeth Holmes reports from Strongsville, Ohio, on the presidential race.

In a campaign with plenty of gaffes to go around, John McCain added one to the mix Wednesday. The Republican vice-presidential candidate addressed a crowd in Pennsylvania as “my fellow prisoners.”

McCain made the slip while discussing his plans for the economy, including health care and energy policies. “Across this country, this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners,” he said. The prepared remarks, which the campaign distributed during the speech, showed he meant to say “citizens.” The Arizona senator was a prisoner of war, spending nearly six years in Vietnam. He often talks about his experiences on the campaign trail, albeit briefly.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/08/mccain-addresses-my-fellow-prisoners/

 

[edward]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/08/mccain-addresses-my-fellow-prisoners/

McCain's Pennsylvania appearance resembled a high school pep rally with Palin as the head cheer leader.

There were a number of times when some members of the audience started to chant McCain, McCain or Nobama, Nobama right on cue.

It was totally obvious that it was all staged.

 

[WhoWee]

So you're mad because he didn't do drugs?

Isn't it obvious? Obama is even being held to a lower standard than Clinton. Albeit he obviously learned not to do the "didn't inhale" nonsense.

I don't think ANYONE can withstand the "youthful indiscretion" test...unless they sat at home with their mothers and weren't allowed out of the house...it's ALL nonsense and irrelevant.

 

[LowlyPion]

McCain's Pennsylvania appearance resembled a high school pep rally with Palin as the head cheer leader.

There were a number of times when some members of the audience started to chant McCain, McCain or Nobama, Nobama right on cue.

It was totally obvious that it was all staged.

And they rolled out Cindy McCain to juice them up too.

But apparently the real problem is that McCain is so impotent at this point with the crowds that he needs these women - Cindy, Mean Sarah, and pregnant Bristol to be his Cheer Squad to develop enthusiasm.

He's short, balding and needs stronger women to front for him. Not exactly Big Chief material.

 

[WarPhalange]

Big pimpin', yo.

 

[Amp1]

That wasn't right WarPhalange.

 

[LowlyPion]

Today's rally in Wisconsin for McCain was a repeat of yesterday in Pennsylvania, only meaner. This town hall venue oddly had Palin and McCain working the crowd together like a married couple.

Today's focus from the McCain campaign is Acorn. Fox is really revved up on voter fraud, like Obama has anything at all to do with it.

Apparently because he once worked as a lawyer for Acorn, these recent voter frauds are connected to him?

 

[turbo]

Acorn is registering new voters in record numbers, and there are moves all over the country to try to get those registrations challenged, presumably because all those new voters are more likely to vote for Obama. Acorn actually sorts out registration forms and submits those that might have errors separately. They are not committing voter fraud - they are trying to prevent voter fraud while registering as many new voters as possible.

 

[GCT]

Today's rally in Wisconsin for McCain was a repeat of yesterday in Pennsylvania, only meaner. This town hall venue oddly had Palin and McCain working the crowd together like a married couple.

Today's focus from the McCain campaign is Acorn. Fox is really revved up on voter fraud, like Obama has anything at all to do with it.

Apparently because he once worked as a lawyer for Acorn, these recent voter frauds are connected to him?

The McCain camp has grotesquely turned into something else ... they are all playing classless filthy politics , his rallies are filled with moronic country folk - is he even aware of his current public image? " Off with his head "? How is McCain going to even hope to get elected this way? Before you know it they are going to be chugging beer at these rallies and shooting at a pictures of Obama.

 

[LowlyPion]

Acorn is registering new voters in record numbers, and there are moves all over the country to try to get those registrations challenged, presumably because all those new voters are more likely to vote for Obama. Acorn actually sorts out registration forms and submits those that might have errors separately. They are not committing voter fraud - they are trying to prevent voter fraud while registering as many new voters as possible.

What's not being played up on Fox at all is the idea that Acorn is separating dubious or incomplete applications or making any effort to cooperate. They have focused on Nevada where they say there was an FBI raid on their offices investigating the fraud.

 

[LowlyPion]

The McCain camp has grotesquely turned into something else ...

The appeal to divisiveness is apparently all they got.

McCain has become a total hypocrite. Sadly the RollingStone analysis looks highly descriptive of his character flaws.

 

[LowlyPion]

George Will rips "McCain and his female Sancho Panza" a new one.

In the closing days of his 10-year quest for the presidency, McCain finds it galling that Barack Obama is winning the first serious campaign he has ever run against a Republican. Before Tuesday night's uneventful event, gall was fueling what might be the McCain-Palin campaign's closing argument. It is less that Obama has bad ideas than that Obama is a bad person.

This, McCain and his female Sancho Panza say, is demonstrated by bad associations Obama had in Chicago, such as with William Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist. But the McCain-Palin charges have come just as the Obama campaign is benefiting from a mass mailing it is not paying for. Many millions of American households are gingerly opening envelopes containing reports of the third-quarter losses in their 401(k) and other retirement accounts -- telling each household its portion of the nearly $2 trillion that Americans' accounts have recently shed. In this context, the McCain-Palin campaign's attempt to get Americans to focus on Obama's Chicago associations seems surreal -- or, as a British politician once said about criticism he was receiving, "like being savaged by a dead sheep."

http://blog.indecision2008.com/2008/10/09/george-will-rips-into-mccain-baltimore-orioles-dead-sheep/

 

[Astronuc]

For George Will's column (Washington Post):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100802926.html

If that seems startling, that is only because the 2000 and 2004 elections were won with 271 and 286, respectively. In the 25 elections from 1900 to 1996, the winners averaged 402.6.

So Gore could have won it if nor Florida, he should have won his home state, Tennessee, which he didn't, or any other states. Similarly with Kerry who needed Ohio, or New Mexico and another state. Gore and Kerry lost the election, more than Bush won it, because they didn't inspire the uncommitted voters. In some cases, Gore and Kerry, in particular, wrote off the 'red states'.

McCain is pulling a Kerry this time.

 

[LowlyPion]

Rachel Maddow is saying that Reverend Wright will apparently become the new smear. He agreed today to the crowd in the Town Hall that he would raise the issue of Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers at the next debate.

It looks to me like he is determined to crater.

 

[WhoWee]

Whatever the Nation's ills they are not likely due to Pelosi. I haven't seen her do anything but be the target of the right wing attacks.

If the current trends continue, I'm expecting that there will be a Democratic tsunami that will sweep the halls of congress clean of these pork-barrel, rebate and spend Republicans.

Has your opinion changed after her announcement this week? She said Bush's $600 economic stimulus (didn't work) wasn't enough (actually, it barely covered MY gas)...she's going to bump it to $1,200 per person...a mere $150,000,000,000...IF Obama is elected?

That's 21% of the "bailout" total...enough to fund 15 months of the war in Iraq...that's {CRAZY}. If this is what you meant by a "Democratic Tsunami"...I live in fear of ruin.

 

[WhoWee]

Do you really need me to explain this to you? It's more relevant to *your* claim that his military experience makes him better suited as president to deal with terrorism.



No, it's not.



................. (that's the response I'm going to give to stuff that's just utter and complete nonsense. It's not even worth a reply).



.....................



.........zzzZzzzz............



................




Clearly, I just did. And I explained *exactly* why it was. So, he attended the war college for exactly one year 35 years ago and he implemented this knowledge and has a real world working experience of it how?



You're grasping real hard for things that are not there.



Uh...who do you think they fight when they jump out of those aircraft and land on the ground? Other ground troops, maybe?



Man, get to a point already. All this wrambling really goes nowhere fast. Ok, and the tanks go vroommmmmmm, and the guns go popopopopo, and the helicopters fly around. What's the point of all this.



Yeah, uhuh......



Jeezus. What a long post about nothing.

I applaud your long post on explaining how the joint services work together. I fail to see how any of your post deals with steming the problem of terroism.

Since you did not get the point, I'll just make it explicitly clear for you. A battle field commander in Iraq commands men on the ground. He or she is responsible for making sure that his/her troops are aware that they should treat the locals with respect, and when they don't the turn the locals against them and are aiding the terrorists. They also know who the terrorists are in the various communities, who are the local religious/political leaders that are for/against the efforts of the americans and iraqi government. All these are the *relevant things you can only learn while being on the ground and talking to the people there.

Please stop with all these false premises about how airplanes were used in 9-11, and so airplanes are an important part of the strategy. Reading such replies is a continued waste of my time. You have presented me with zero, none, zip, zlich, nada, 0, facts so far about anything. Please post once you have some, and try to be more concise and to the point.

You are correct...I should say exactly what I mean more often...this is my point.

The Navy has been, is and will continue to be highly engaged in the global war on terrorism. The 22 year Naval career of John McCain is relevant. The ZERO (0), None, Nada years, months or even days of experience of Obama are also relevant. McCain has relevant military experience...Obama does not. This is a fact.

 

[turbo]

The Navy has been, is and will continue to be highly engaged in the global war on terrorism. The 22 year Naval career of John McCain is relevant. The ZERO (0), None, Nada years, months or even days of experience of Obama are also relevant. McCain has relevant military experience...Obama does not. This is a fact.

John McCain is sadly out-of-touch with the politics and religious affiliations of the various groups in the Middle East. He has repeatedly confused Sunni and Shiia factions and wrongly claimed that al Qaeda in Iraq were being trained and armed by Iran. (Shiites training their Sunni enemies?) People like Joe Lieberman have had to step in and correct him on these points. We need a president that has taken the time to try to understand the socio-political dynamics in a country that we control under military occupation - McCain has not made the effort to understand any of these critical details, and he should not get a free pass simply because he was in the military. Lots of people have been in the military - I think we need to demand intelligence, diligence and competence first, and when a candidate has satisfied those standards, we can weigh what kind(s) of service they have rendered to their country or communities.

 

[Gokul43201]

The Navy has been, is and will continue to be highly engaged in the global war on terrorism. The 22 year Naval career of John McCain is relevant. The ZERO (0), None, Nada years, months or even days of experience of Obama are also relevant. McCain has relevant military experience...Obama does not. This is a fact.

Virtually every aspect of the human experience, from the alarm clock that wakes you up in the morning to terrorism and counter-terrorism activities do, and will continue to be highly dependent on computers. Obama's many years of experience using computers is relevant. McCain's zero (0) years of computer literacy is also relevant. Obama has the relevant experience to deal with human beings in the 21st century...McCain does not. This is a fact.

 

[mathwonk]

john lewis has apparently roughly said what i said about mc cain's campaign strategy.
http://www.newser.com/article/d93oj...-sowing-the-seeds-of-hatred-and-division.html

 

[Cyrus]

You are correct...I should say exactly what I mean more often...this is my point.

The Navy has been, is and will continue to be highly engaged in the global war on terrorism. The 22 year Naval career of John McCain is relevant. The ZERO (0), None, Nada years, months or even days of experience of Obama are also relevant. McCain has relevant military experience...Obama does not. This is a fact.

Seriously now, you just pulled a Palin. You dodged my question, YET AGAIN.

You provided me with no reason as to WHY his 22 years flying airplanes is relevant other than you *stated* it is so. That's not a reason.

You specifically said he is more qualified becasue of his military experience, and I want to know what about his military experience is relevant to his duties as president in fighting terror.

You still have not answered the question.

 

[WhoWee]

Seriously now, you just pulled a Palin. You dodged my question, YET AGAIN.

You provided me with no reason as to WHY his 22 years flying airplanes is relevant other than you *stated* it is so. That's not a reason.

You specifically said he is more qualified becasue of his military experience, and I want to know what about his military experience is relevant to his duties as president in fighting terror.

You still have not answered the question.

Fair enough.

Specifically, I wanted to compare 22 years of Navy experience to none. McCain has a clear advantage in that respect. McCain certainly is more familiar with the capabilities, limitations and (remember past problems with communication in the field) coordination of logistics. The Navy (due partly to it's global presence) is the communications center of the combined forces.

You're right, McCain doesn't need personal battlefield commander experience any more than Obama does...BUT, the President can't be easily influenced (B.S.'d) by the Pentagon either. The more experience/knowledge the President has, the better. Even if McCain nearly failed classes at the Naval Academy...at least he was exposed to the training, history and tradition.

When I look back to the Cuban missile crisis...(yes Kennedy supposedly showed weakness due to back pain in his personal meeting with Kruschev...could have been misinterpreted (who really knows?))...but I have to believe it was Kennedy's military experience (of Naval procedures) that gave him an added advantage during the blockade. If he wasn't able to say NO to the Joint Chiefs...translation - remain in control - who knows what might have happened?

If you want to expand the comparisons...look at Bush...(can we agree) he's never had a clue...he either (doesn't listen to his father much or) always does what he's told or what he thinks his friends want...regardless, it's all bad.

I think McCain CAN say NO...I don't know if Obama WILL stand up to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. This week's announcement that ...if Obama is elected...Pelosi will outdo the Bush economic stimulus package...increase it to $1,200 per person - $150,000,000,000 more. If $600 was a bad idea...why is $1,200 a good idea?

I haven't heard Obama say NO to that...not even a "we'll see"?

I realize Obama could counter the imbalance with strong cabinet picks. A Colin Powell comeback as Sec of Defense would be comforting.

Regardless, can we agree that politicians in general are not very good at managing WAR? If the President isn't experienced...his cabinet choices become more important.

This election has become too emotional...on both sides. I've stepped back and analyzed my own concerns...it's fear of an unchecked "Democratic Tsunami" (as one of our associates phrased it). SOMEONE needs to say NO to bad military choices, out of control spending and the printing of money. I think McCain is our best shot.

 

[Evo]

You're right, McCain doesn't need personal battlefield commander experience any more than Obama does...BUT, the President can't be easily influenced (B.S.'d) by the Pentagon either.

Which would make Obama the only common sense choice. He is less likely to go along with BS out of the Pentagon than a career military person that has lived to take orders, without question, from the Pentagon for 22 years.

 

[Gokul43201]

Obama is an expert on government (supposedly) because of his background and training (law school?) and on the mortgage crisis because of affiliations with Acorn?

This whole acorn nonsense is such a bunch of hooey!

Incidentally, you haven't watched the keynote speech McCain gave a couple years ago at an Acorn event, have you?

 

[WhoWee]

Which would make Obama the only common sense choice. He is less likely to go along with BS out of the Pentagon than a career military person that has lived to take orders, without question, from the Pentagon for 22 years.

Didn't McCain re-negotiate a few military contracts?

 

[turbo]

Didn't McCain re-negotiate a few military contracts?

He tried to scuttle a military contract that was awarded to Airbus to build a new fleet of refueling tankers for the air force, and get it awarded to Boeing instead. Is that re-negotiation?

 

[Amp1]

No, that's cronism or if you consider what he was supposed to get in return - bribbery.

 

[WhoWee]

He tried to scuttle a military contract that was awarded to Airbus to build a new fleet of refueling tankers for the air force, and get it awarded to Boeing instead. Is that re-negotiation?

Scuttle? Well I guess a well trained Naval Officer would scuttle the boat that don't float. Obviously Senator McCain acted in the best interests of the tax payers...and YES, investigating a bad contract and re-bidding a new one would be a re-negotiation.

 

[WhoWee]

No, that's cronism or if you consider what he was supposed to get in return - bribbery.

That's a very serious charge to make against a public official...I think you should forward your proof to the Attorney General's office as soon as possible.

 

[mheslep]

Which would make Obama the only common sense choice. He is less likely to go along with BS out of the Pentagon ...

The trick is wading through it - knowing what is BS and what's not. Like when when the Army Chief of Staff said pre-war that Iraq would require many more troops to do the job - some Pentagon 'BS' that Bush/Rumsfeld should have gone along on.

On the other hand, much of Pentagon leadership basically are in love with having a large, bright and shiny military that only that is only used to run large and slow to execute plays that show off that military and defend it's large budgets, even to the detriment of more important US security issues. Bob Woodward's last book demonstrated how this issue surfaced recently in Iraq, where pre-surge the Pentagon favoured just hunkering down inside the colossal US bases in Iraq indefinitely, accepting the horrendous status quo. The point here: experience helps in wading through the BS.

A similar example that will immediately concern an Obama Admin: he's repeatedly said he would make greater use of US Special Forces in places like Iraq during a draw down, an policy certainly with advantages, but one that is very complicated and tricky, as SF does not have the staying power to be dropped off and left alone - Somalia and the Black Hawk down episode are an infamous example of getting that wrong.