Obama, McCain hitting road together?

The great McCain/Obama debates.

LETS GET IT ON

McCain trying to link Senator Obama to Hamas is a sign of desperation. Senator McCain has lost his ethical bearings. Senator McCain said he was going to run a clean campaign but It is the same old tired politics. Apparently he did not watch what happened to Clinton when she tried to pull this garbage. The newest thing is for some supporters of McCain to suggest that a middle eastern policy adviser to Senator Obama is a Hamas agent. This is utterly ridiculous. By that logic Bush is guilty of the same thing since Senator Obama's adviser reports to our government as part of his job.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05 /09/obama_adviser_tied_to_hamas_me.html

If you bet against the intelligence of the American people this time you are going to lose. The problem with the McCain argument about various people saying they like Senator Obama is the fact that most of people in the world would rather have Senator Obama as president than Senator McCain, including the majority of the American people when ask.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/p olitics/election_20082/2008_presidential_electio n/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

The Wright thing is a dead issue for McCain unless he wants to bring his own paster problems into the fray (Hagee, Parsley, Falwell).

I am unsure of how the McCain idea is going to play with the economy issue. The gas tax holiday pander is going to be a problem for him. When it fails to materialize by the end of the summer his goose is going to be cooked on that front.

http://www.artba.org/economics_research/current_ issues/indiana-illinois_gas_tax_2001_.pdf

The health care issue for McCain is dead in the water since it basically does nothing for anyone. This becomes evident if you examine his refusal to back the GI bill put forth by Webb. Instead he has rolled out a political cover piece he calls his "GI bill" which does very very little for the Vets beyond what is already policy.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/webb-urges-m ccain-to-sign-onto-gi-bill-2008-03-19.html

Suggesting he will make CEOs accountable is equally a non starter since his campaign is essentially being run and substantially funded by lobbyist.

http://mediamattersaction.org/freeride/lobbyists /

The suggestion by McCain that the Supreme Court should continue to be packed with judges who would overturn R v W, put American citizens rights back 50 years and continue to allow politicians to use the Constitution as toilet paper is not politically popular right now. The American people view the legal system as broken so this does not play very well with them.

To be honest I don't know what platform McCain is running on other than to keep the war in Iraq going indefinitely.

The experience issue is a bad argument to the American people. McCain has had experience all right, experience driving this country into a ditch. From the Keating five scandal to now his policies have ruined this country. The American people do not want more of the same.

A vote for Bush in 2000 is a minus not a plus in the mind of most voters in my estimation.

If you would like to know about Senator Obama's plans you can visit his web site under issues.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

My vote is for Senator Obama.

Unlike the Wingnuts, the Dems won't have to lie about McCain to prove that he's an incompetent idiot, McCain already does that himself.

WASHINGTON � Senator John McCain likes to present himself as the candidate of the "Straight Talk Express" who does not pander to voters or change his positions with the political breeze. But the fine print of his record in the Senate indicates that he has been a lot less consistent on some of his signature issues than he has presented himself to be so far in his presidential campaign.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/us/politics/03mccain.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=politics&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1210450594-15j26/YSOkNs+XUwW1TacQ

Mr. McCain, who derided his onetime Republican competitor Mitt Romney for his political mutability, has himself meandered over the years from position to position on some topics, particularly as he has tried to court the conservatives who have long distrusted him. His most striking turnaround has been on the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against twice but now wants to make permanent. Mr. McCain has also expressed varying positions on immigration, torture, abortion and Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary.

The article points out that McCain has reversed course on several key issues as he has tried to gain the support of the Republican base. To summarize the article:

On tax cuts...

In 2001, McCain voted against Bush's tax cuts, saying "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief." He also voted against additional tax cuts in 2003, later saying that "I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy, and I still do."
Today, McCain wants to make those tax cuts permanent.

On immigration...

In 2005, McCain supported comprehensive immigration reform, which included a pathway to citizenship.
Now, he claims that "if his original proposal came to a vote on the Senate floor, he would not vote for it."

On abortion and Roe v. Wade...

In 1999, McCain said that he would not support overturning Roe v. Wafe "int he sort term, or even the long term," because that would "force X number of women in America" to undergo "illegal and dangerous operations."
Today, McCain has campaigned on overturning Roe v. Wade.

On his revisionist history regarding Donald Rumsfeld...

In 2004, McCain refused to call for Rumsfeld's resignation, saying that Bush "can have the team around him that he wants around him." In 2006, retired generals called for Rumseld's resignation, but McCain did not.
Now, while running for president, McCain has claimed that "I�m the only one that said that Rumsfeld had to go." The article notes that "[t]he campaign has since acknowledged that Mr. McCain was incorrect, and more recently the senator has stopped short of claiming he called for the defense secretary�s ouster."

On torture...

McCain has traditionally been against torture, citing his experience as a POW for his decision.
Now, McCain voted last month "against a bill that would require the Central Intelligence Agency to abide by the restrictions on interrogating prisoners outlined in the Army Field Manual."

In his decades in office, McCain has an average party unity score in the low 80s. Since he has campaigned for president, his party unity score has skyrocketed (link, link).

2005: 81%
2006: 76%
2007: 90%

Welcome to Bush and McCain's vision for America, people:
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http://www.bushflash.com/14.html

I love the idea. I was just playing around with the idea of having both the Democrats have a chance to debate McCain one on one before a Democrat would be chosen. Kinda like a road test before you buy. Anyone confident in the qualifications vision and policy stance of one or the other candidate , that includes the candidate of the Republican party, can't really think it would be a bad thing. Yet, we know that it might cost one or the other in the Democrat party the nomination, or prove costly for the chosen Republican candidate who's party was not offered such a chance before picking their candidate, so undoubtedly they wouldn't like the idea, nor their supporters. However, looking at it from a perspective irrelevant to party members or party members in a party and their chances on wining in 08 which always takes precedent when these decisions are decided-- so a perspective more focused on letting the people gain more unprecedented measure of a candidate-- it would be neat to see which Obama/Hillary and McCain show up given the chance to debate someone different.

Oh, and I noticed the reference to Oregon. The same Oregon I offered in another thread -and it was denied- when someone asked to name a place in this United States that's clean and shinny when it comes to politics. Well it was the DOJ, I think, that released a list in 2007 that ranked political corruption, state wise, across the United States. Only the one's considered populous and only measuring federal prosecution (80% of political corruption faces federal charges anyway apparently), Oregon scored the least in respect to political corruption. Or as I understood it, anyway.

Not before he negotiates with Hillary--and when will that occur?
Sometime after Obama political career and mansion fairy Rezko gets sentence.
Or acquitted.
If he IS to be the top of the ticket--He'll need Hillary.
And Bill.
And some whipped cream for that crow pie.

http://groups.msn.com/IsUSSupportOfSaudiArabiaTreason/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=3394

After Rezko flips, Obama game over!! Hillary put up your dukes.

I support Barack Obama. But it does not matter if you like Bill or Hillary. It does not matter if you like Barack or Michelle. What matters is that you keep this election in perspective.
John McCain recently said: "I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint…" Does anyone know what ‘judicial restraint’ is code for? Conservative Judges.
The next president will most likely be allowed to appoint judges to the Supreme Court. He wants judges who look down on rights of women, the right to choice which is something no man and I mean NO MAN has a right to dispute with women. We can never, ever know the situation and must work together to make sure that the right to choice is protected, safe, and used as infrequently as possible.
Recently John McCain’s own pastor problems have been touched on by the media. John Hagee recently apologized for his remarks about Katrina being caused by a homosexual pride parade. When pressed about why he changed his mind, he said that he hadn’t changed it and that God wiped out New Orleans to stop the parade.
Do we want a President who stands firmly beside a man who refuses to acknowledge that what he has said is despicable? Do we want a President who will overturn the right of women to choose? Do we want a President who has said that he will continue the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans? Do we want a President who admits he doesn’t know much about the economy in tough economic times like these? A President who wants to back-track our failing healthcare system?
I hope not. I hope that we can realize that either of these two democrats would be far superior to anything McCain has to offer. So let’s end the fighting amongst ourselves and not choose the nominee based on who is better than McCain, in that fight they both win. Instead let’s hear them out on the issues. Let’s compromise and use a little bit of the respect we all so desperately want to receive. Let this race play out, cleanly, and I bet we will find we are the stronger party for it.
I hope this helps someone out there.

All of you dreamers and nay-sayers, shame on you!! Wishing bad on anyone, so your candidate can win. Wow, that's the great democratic process we are trying to shove down the Iraqi's throats!! You posters with these wonderful wishes for your opponents, you make me proud to be someone who doesn't wish bad on people I disagree with, politically!! Maybe you'll grow up someday and realize to disagree with someone, isn't an excuse to despise someone. Good luck to all of your candidates and may the best person win!!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.

If he IS to be the top of the ticket--He'll need Hillary.
And Bill.
And some whipped cream for that crow pie.

Posted by: Get Off It | May 10, 2008 4:30 PM

Why don't you quit kneecapping Obama and go after McCain?

If you really are a Dem then it shouldn't be very hard because McCain is a trainwreck.

This is why I hate the Billary shills (see above), they've made this race all about them and Billary and everyone else can go pound sand. Unfortunately for them we've already had 7 long years of "you're with us or you're against us" crap from Bush and that's exactly why Billary is already finished. Billary and her supporters were offering the very same thing and not surprisingly it has been soundly rejected.

Posted by: Sam Adams | May 10, 2008 4:20 PM
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Posted by: Get Off It | May 10, 2008 4:30 PM
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Posted by: Bessie | May 10, 2008 4:46 PM

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The only thing worse than fear (Bush/McCain) is desperation (Clinton).

Are you you about finished kneecapping Obama or are you going to continue crying about Hillary losing all summer and fall?

Judicial restraint is another way of saying "justices in the mode of Scalia and Thomas." That is the Republican mantra that Don Giuliani used to recite religiously before he got bounced out of the race. Obama should recite the same mantra, but then when he is elected chose justices with some sense.

I like the Idea of a McCain/Obama Roadshow. The press would love it because it would sell viewership/readership, and the dialog would hopefully stay closer to what the voters really want to know about (town hall?). Less opportunity for it to become a circus, as it gets when each picks away at the other from afar.
Each would have an obligatory blunder, and give the other a chance to shed light his character. I have to admit, before he flipped on the Bush tax cuts, and went running back to the righty-tighty wing of the party, McCain was a Republican that I had some admiration for. Then he says Hamas wants Obama, and that went out the window.

DUMB OLD MAN!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ANtTZpCmE

Posted by: John E | May 10, 2008 5:53 PM
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The only thing worse than fear (Jerry White, Springfield Illinois ) is desperation (John E).
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Are you about finished kneecapping yourself or are you going to continue crying about nothing in particular, as usual, all summer and fall?
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"Maybe you'll grow up someday and realize to disagree with someone, isn't an excuse to despise someone."
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Never agreed much with Don, but I think he's right here and he's talking to you.
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Relax.

McCain is a fraud.

Navy pilot John Sidney McCain III should have never been allowed to graduate from the U.S. Navy flight school. He was a below average student and a lousy pilot. Had his father and grandfather not been famous four star U.S. Navy admirals, McCain III would have never been allowed in the cockpit of a military aircraft. During his relative short stint on flight status, McCain III lost five U.S. Navy aircraft, four in accidents and one in combat.

For 23 combat missions (an estimated 20 hours over enemy territory), the U.S. Navy awarded McCain a Silver Star, a Legion of Merit for Valor, a Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars, two Commendation medals plus two Purple Hearts and a dozen service medals.

"McCain had roughly 20 hours in combat," explains Bill Bell, a veteran of Vietnam and former chief of the U.S. Office for POW/MIA Affairs -- the first official U.S. representative in Vietnam since the 1973 fall of Saigon. "Since McCain got 28 medals," Bell continues, "that equals out to about a medal-and-a-half for each hour he spent in combat. There were infantry guys -- grunts on the ground -- who had more than 7,000 hours in combat and I can tell you that there were times and situations where I'm sure a prison cell would have looked pretty good to them by comparison. The question really is how many guys got that number of medals for not being shot down."

For years, McCain has been an unchecked master at manipulating an overly friendly and biased news media. The former POW turned Congressman, turned U.S. Senator, has managed to gloss over his failures as a pilot and collaborations with the enemy by exaggerating his military service and lying about his feats of heroism.

Charles Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities; for example, the federal conviction was overturned because jurors had heard about his state conviction, and his state charges because Judge Lance Ito (yes, that judge) screwed up jury instructions. Neither court cleared him, and he faces new trials in both courts.)

Though he was not convicted of anything, McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least 9 trips on Keating's airplanes, and 3 of those were to Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."

McCain has a reputation as a politician who has difficulty keeping his pants zipped, according to Republican sources. He acknowledges that his adultery broke up his first marriage. His second wife Cindy, the daughter of a wealthy Budweiser beer distributor, was addicted to prescription narcotics and even stole hard drugs from a medical charity that she ran. McCain acknowledges that she didn't want him to run, and only agreed once he promised that she doesn't have to go to New Hampshire or Iowa.

He's quite a guy!

Posted by: John E | May 10, 2008 5:28 PM

John that was not my comment you are responding to but---

"Unfortunately for them we've already had 7 long years of "you're with us or you're against us" crap from Bush"

is EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS---

"Why don't you quit kneecapping Obama and go after McCain?If you really are a Dem then it shouldn't be very hard because McCain is a trainwreck."

Thanks, for the information, " Bill H. ", on Senator John " questionable conduct " McCain, of the Keating Five!! I hope everyone who is an independent voter, or a fair-minded voter, reads this posting. It is the same type of candidacy that President Bush gave us in 2000 and, again, in 2004. A Republican candidacy based on misleading information about their candidate and his opponent, Senator Obama, is the best that the Rabid Right has to offer!! If we want an America that has subjected its citizens to violations of their constitutional rights, the gouging of the nation by the Big Corporations and the total disrespect the Rabid Right has shown towards our troops and our veterans, then vote for the Republican candidate, Senator John " questionable conduct " McCain!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE. NOW.

I have a debate proposal for the first public McCain and Obama "debate". A board of three neurologists conducts a public test of their respective short term memory capacity and whether either candidate has signs indicating incipient Alzheimer's.

former prisoner approves waterboarding prisoners, although it is against the Geneva convention.

McCain has gone over the dark side

How would McCain feels if the Obama chooses to politicize the military issue for his gain as well? He could actually use the military picture to raise fund as well. For instance, he could show to the American people that McCain and some of the republican do not support veteran with deed. McCain refused to support the bill to increase and guarantee college funding for our veteran coming from Iraq. This bill was introduced by Senator Webb, from Virginia to help our veterans, but not only McCain opposed it but also did not show up to vote for it. However, the Obama campaign took the high ground here.