Category — John McCain

Bottom line: I was always voting for McCain because Obama is far too left-wing.  Did the speech swing anyone?  We’ll see. 

11:04 PM Country song not doing a lot for me.  :) 

11:04 PM Interesting end to the speech.  Very strident…very strong call to public service. 

11:02 PM Call to public service. 

11:01 PM Real shot at Obama and the his Messianic complex. 

10:59 PM Addressing a very interesting part of his POW status…being broken and how the men told him to fight again. 

10:55 PM Can liberals forgive him for the bombing? 

10:54 PM “the scars to prove it”…Reminds me too much of John Kerry. 

10:52 PM “Get this country moving again”…Is the country really that broken?  Not sure I see it. 

10:50 PM Makes an important point about war, and it’s cost…Something he’s not unfamiliar with. 

10:48 PM Iran is a huge problem.  Do you really want Obama dealing with it? 

10:46 PM Proposing energy independence with the usual suspects…but draws important distinction between he and Obama that we can’t abandon drilling. 

10:44 PM Grabbing some of the money from foreign aid to countries that “don’t like us much”.  Good idea. 

10:43 PM Wish he’d say go after colleges that are raising tuition at twice the rate of inflation.  Wish he’d go after colleges with large endowments that won’t spend them.  

10:42 PM Use community colleges to train people for new jobs…Make up the difference in wages for those going to new careers…   

10:40 PM Finally getting some meat…doubling child tax credits, lowering business tax rates, lowering personal rates… 

10:39 PM Booing?  Doesn’t seem that mature. 

10:38 PM Why am I thinking that McCain won’t appoint strong conservative judges?  It just doesn’t seem like him. 

10:37 PM ”Letting people keep the fruits of the their labors”…A critical component of the American dream. 

10:35 PM Challenging the Republican Party now…No doubt the Republican “revolution” got caught up in the Beltway culture of corruption. 

10:33 PM Don’t like the specific references toward hardship cases.  Seems like liberal pandering to me. 

10:32 PM Have to give him credit for risking everything on the surge.  Campaign was dead at that point. 

10:31 PM Remove money from politics?  Others, myself included, see that as limiting free speech. 

10:30 PM Kill pork spending…good start. 

10:29 PM If you work for the American people, why are you so stridently pro illegal immigration? 

10:26 PM Does anyone over the age of 30 buy the idea that a bipartisan spirit will take hold of Washington politics?   

10:25 PM Good speech so far, but we need some details. 

10:23 PM What was that disturbance?  McCain handled it well though.

10:21 PM Clearly Palin was the attack dog while McCain takes the high road. 

10:19 PM McCain is a lot less strident than Obama so far. 

10:16 PM I certainly thought we’d get more attacks after 9/11.  Say what you want about W, but he has defended the country. 

10:15 PM Interesting: McCain comes off as fatherly. 

10:13 PM How many people are watching the NFL right now?  Bad planning by the RNC. 

10:11 PM Will “renew” America; hope he gets specific. 

10:10 PM Ding! Ding!  McCain right about the surge that even Obama now admits succeeded beyond our wildest expectations. 

10:09 PM McCain wants to keep “our money, in our pocket”, but didn’t initially support the Bush tax cuts. 

10:08 PM McCain’s resume blows Obama’s away. 

10:03 PM Let’s hope McCain really lays down what he plans to do with the country. 

10:02 PM Will McCain touch illegal immigration tonight? 

10:01 PM Did CNN offer counter commentary from Republicans during Obama’s speech?

9:58 PM Listening to the enemy tonight–CNN. 

9:56 PM Being former military, I am biased toward military families.  Have to give the McCain’s credit for a long history of military service. 

9:55 PM Why is Cindy’s hair frizzy?  :) 

9:54 PM McCain never a Washington insider?  Not sure I buy that story, Cindy. 

9:51 PM Understand why Cindy discusses their charity work, but somewhat uncomfortable.  Is it old school to believe charity stays close to the vest?   

9:49 PM Cindy McCain, Sarah Palin…McCain has good taste in women.

The Palin pick is interesting on a number of levels.  Tactically, it was a brilliant stroke.  McCain undercut any Obama bounce from the DNC quite nicely.  He took advantage of the media’s natural love of “buzz” and gave them a fresh target to work on for a couple of news cycles.

Strategically, although it blunts arguments about Obama’s lack of experience, it was absolutely necessary.  Don’t get me wrong, Palin has more executive experience than Obama and Biden put together, but my guess is the general public won’t view it that way.

But how much does experience matter in this election?  The inexperience charge has been floating around Obama since he first started running.  Hillary Clinton couldn’t make it stick.  And McCain wasn’t making much headway either considering that Obama leads most polls and is competitive in some unusual states.  So, why can’t anyone make this point stick?

In Clinton’s case, I don’t think anyone really gave her presidential credit for Bill’s Oval Office tenure.  That left only 2 Senate years difference between the two and a much weaker argument for her. 

Personal experience isn’t the problem for McCain.  The American people’s experience with the compassionate conservative, AKA George Bush, and a badly damaged GOP brand is.  If your perception is that the GOP experience hasn’t been good, you’re much more likely to give a fresh, inexperienced guy a shot.

And that’s why McCain had to shake up the race.  Status quo picks like Romney or Pawlenty weren’t going move the needle.  When you’re ahead, you have the luxury of picking a Biden to run out the clock.  Picking Palin (or something similar) and seizing a reform agenda was smart and necessary when you’re playing catch-up.

Democrats are worried.  Not panicked just yet, but I suspect they have some Obama buyers’ remorse.  McCain is saddled with an unpopular incumbent, a damaged party brand, a slow economy, and support for an unpopular war.  With those headwinds, Barack Obama should be up by 10 points.

But not to worry says Nancy Pelosi.  A new wave of voters not reached by traditional polling will carry the day.  I think we’ve all heard that one before.

Paul Begala says that Democrats are just too darn nice.  They need to attack more.  He even claims to have written it on his Obama contribution check.  This argument seems strangely familiar from the last campaign—something about swift boats if I recall.

Begala does prove one thing–you can always count on a Democrat to be wholly convinced of his own virtue and goodness.  Obama could claim that McCain was the spawn of Satan himself and people like Begala would still claim Democrats need to get tougher.

And speaking of swift boats, I attribute Obama’s problems to being a John Kerry clone with less experience.  Only liberals put effete liberal after effete liberal on the presidential ticket while expecting different results.

You have to wonder why he started this whole mess?

Well, let him live with it! 

The media says Obama brought Biden into the campaign to hit John McCain between the eyeballs with a pair of brass knuckles.  Yet this “potent” political operative can’t even dodge vice presidential speculation prior to the announcement without lying about it.

So did Barack Obama buy a pit bull or a gaffe machine?  I’m voting for the later.

Pain at the pump might pay dividends for the GOP.  With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, obstructing offshore drilling is downright suicidal.  But Democrats would rather side with the Sierra Club than do anything constructive for US consumers.

And judging by Rasmussen’s latest poll, the public is not amused.  McCain took his first lead over Obama with more people trusting McCain on energy policy.  It seems visions of Nancy Pelosi as our planetary savior aren’t so comforting after a fill up empties your wallet.

But don’t shed tears for Nancy.  She’s got a personal energy plan.  While Republicans continue calls for Democratic action, she’s hawking books at the JFK Library.  You have to hand it to Nancy.  She’s always doing the people’s business.

John McCain spent most of his career bashing conservatives, cultivating media “friendships”, and celebrating his maverick image.  Therefore, the NY Times rejection of his Op Ed because it’s not “Obamaish” is just laced with bitter irony.  However, I’d be curious to know how many rewrites Obama did on his piece before it was accepted.  Truth be told, and as clearly implied by the Times response that Obama’s piece just “worked” for them, they treat every utterance by Obama like he’s giving the Sermon on the Mount.

When it’s all said and done, I wonder if the wedge McCain drove between himself and the base for media approbation will pay off?  I’m skeptical that he’ll get more independents and liberals than the conservatives he turned off with his “maverick” ways.

Let me see if I have all of this straight.  Barack Obama, who didn’t support the surge in Iraq and won’t recognize the positive results, supports a surge for Afghanistan.  Pray tell, Messiah, what makes the Afghan surge more likely to yield results than the Iraq one you never supported?

And if that didn’t make your head hurt, Obama promises to end the war in Iraq and will celebrate by starting one in Pakistan:

“Al-Qaida has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia.

“We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won’t,” he said.

“We must make it clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-level terrorist targets like (Osama) bin Laden if we have them in our sights.”

So Barrack Obama is going to “restore” our standing in the international community by violating the sovereignty of a nuclear armed Pakistan.  I guess you have to believe in his messianic powers to make sense of these plans.

If this is the best he can do with a prepared speech and teleprompter, no wonder he won’t face McCain in town hall meetings.  The debates should be very entertaining when this empty suit won’t have his campaign staffers whispering in his ear.

It’s also interesting to note all these policies were developed prior to his trip overseas where he was suppose to gain some gravitas on international issues.  Of course that dog and pony show is akin to visiting Niagara Falls and claiming you’re now qualified to be ambassador to Canada.

The US is in Iraq for the long haul.  Both major presidential candidates know it, but only McCain is honest enough to admit it.  Barack dropped a trial balloon on Thursday hinting at what his advisers have been saying all along—his Iraq policy would be tempered by the situation on the ground in January.  This rare bit of honesty from Obama on Iraq sent the moonbats into orbit, and “Captain Courageous” immediately backed down.  It seems massive tax increases are the only thing Barack discusses honestly.

Barack Obama can deny it all he wants, but my money says his campaign is complicit in Wesley Clark’s drive-by on McCain’s military service:

“For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country — no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary,” Obama said. “And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides.”

Talk about fortuitous timing.  Clark, an Obama advisor, just happens to pick the weekend before Obama’s patriotism speech to get diarrhea of the mouth on McCain’s patriotism and military service.  Thus, Obama gets a golden opportunity to inoculate himself as he points out that others (mostly his Democratic Primary opponents) questioned his patriotism, and the campaign can remind/familiarize the electorate with the fact the McCain cooperated with the North Koreans while a POW.  It’s also kind of interesting that Obama doesn’t mention Clark or directly repudiate his comments.

Sorry, but I don’t believe in coincidences that large.  This, along with his broken campaign financing pledge, proves that Obama is playing hardball.  The McCain camp better start bringing its A game soon.  If they persist in the romantic notion that politics isn’t a full contact sport, this election might be over before it began.