Brilliant response by Sen. Obama to the GOP’s attempt to belittle his work as a community organizer.

Sen. McCain said last night that he too will bring change to Washington DC.  Yet the same McCain has voted with Bush 90 percent of the time AND laid out an economic plan last night that is almost exactly the same as the economic policy of George W. Bush.  Perhaps someone should define change to Sen. McCain.  Simply entering office with a female version of Dick Cheney does not mean that your ticket represents change.  It means that it’s Bush style politics dressed in heels and a military cloak.  Guess what….George W. Bush also was a governor of a state outside of Washington DC.  Sen. McCain has been in the senate for 26 years!  After election day, with the amount of Rove and Bush cronies that are running McCain’s campaign, the Arizona senator will owe a slew of favors to lobbyists, special interests (oil companies), etc..  McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, is already involved in her second “abuse of power” investigation in only a very short political career.  If this is not a red flag indicating a Bush-Cheney style of leadership, I don’t know what is. 

In addition, Palin was an unnecessary, reckless, and impulsive political risk by McCain in a blatant political  pander to his far right conservative base.  The choice of Palin was also an arrogant, dirisive, and gratuitous risk.  There are so many female GOP candidates that would have shook up the race in terms of making history, but McCain, without conducting a proper vet, chose someone that neither he nor his campaign knew much about.  By the way, for those who say that McCain is the safer choice, McCain’s history of taking many of these types of unnecessary risks speaks against that conclusion.  As a pilot, McCain was involved in at least three crashes that may have been avoided had he bothered to read his flight manuals.  This seems like a person that not only takes unnecessary risks with his own life but risks the lives of others in the process.  How does anyone get into an airplane and wing it knowing the devastation that crashing could bring to others on the ground and in the air?  Perhaps when I was a teenager such a candidate would  have been appealing….you know……..when most of us had no sense of our own mortality.  However, as an adult member of the electorate, I am not looking for a rebel rouser making decisions regarding peace and war in the White House.  Especially a rebel rouser who has a reputation for being a war monger.  We had that with the shadow presidency of Dick Cheney.  It really takes balls to go into the White House and take a country to war based on your own personal agenda.  After the last eight years, we need a safe and steady hand on the tiller.

So, regardless of how “maverick” McCain claims that he will shake up or bring change to Washington,  it may be more of a credible argument if his party were not the party currently in power and he had not voted with Bush 90% of the time during Bush’s tenure in office and 95% of the time in this last year.  It is McCain’s policies that will be implemented in his administration, and McCain’s policy proposals are very, very, similar to the policies of the Bush-Cheney administration, especially when it comes to the economy and foreign policy.  Unfortunately for McCain, CHANGE is much more than a banner.

The McCain campaign just released an ad comparing Sen. Barack Obama’s experience to Gov. Sarah Palin.  This is an irrelevant comparison. Palin is not at the top of the ticket, Sen. John McCain is.  It will not be Palin’s policies that will be implemented in a McCain administration, it will be John McCain’s policies.  And as we know, McCain has voted with Bush 90% of the time.  Sen. McCain’s economic policy is a carbon copy of the economic policy of George W. Bush.  The McCain campaign comparing their vice presidential candidate to the democratic presidential candidate is an attempt to lull Obama into engaging Palin when McCain is his opponent.  It is McCain that will shape the policies of a McCain administration.  My guess is that once Palin has out lived her usefulness, she will be sent to the corner and told to keep quiet.  McCain will insure that the Bush policies continue if this ticket is put in the White House.  With Palin’s extremist far right views, Gov. Palin is just a female version of Dick Cheney without the influence.  Therefore, the Obama campaign should not be suckered by the McCain campaign into comparing Sen. Obama’s accomplishments to Palin’s, Palin should only be compared to her counterpart Sen. Joe Biden.  This election is about competing visions for America and how each vision will be implemented by Obama or McCain.  Palin’s petty remarks should be sent directly to Biden, don’t stop, don’t pass go, don’t collect $100. 

The media keeps going on and on about if Palin turns out to be great, this will have been a brilliant decision by McCain.   Uhhhh….sorry, it doesn’t work that way.  The point is that Sen. McCain jeopardized the security of this country based on a whim.  For goodness sake…she is linked to a group that advocates Alaska seceding from the United States.  Isn’t that kind of a deal breaker if you plan to pledge to be the vice president of the UNITED states.  After misleading the public for the past five days claiming that Gov. Palin was properly vetted, the McCain campaign has finally admitted that they did not really vet this person before offering her the VP spot.  Reckless.  It is irrelevant how tonight turns out for Palin, if she does end up doing a bang up job, Sen. McCain had no idea about her abilities and therefore just got lucky with her ability to deliver a good speech.  That’s it….luck.   Not brilliant and informed decision making based on some profound wisdom……….just luck.   McCain nor his campaign has any idea of the type of leader Palin is or would be.  Thus far, all the information that McCain and his campaign are spouting about Palin being a “reformer” or a “maverick” has turned out to be false.  It is prima facia irresponsible to choose a person that will be a heart beat away from the presidency after a single 15-minute meeting.  The President will be responsible for staffing many critical and influential positions in his cabinet, it is very, very, scary to know that this is how such decisions will be made.  Gov. Palin will probably give a good speech this evening, after all she has been held up in her hotel room in Minnesota practicing for three days.  This says nothing about her character, judgment, or track record when it comes to the addressing the complicated issues facing our nation involving Al Queda, Russia, North Korea, etc..  Before you say that Obama gives a great speech, Obama has proven his character and judgment to the American people by actually WINNING the democratic nomination with over 20 million actual votes of confidence from citizens of the United States.  McCain himself didn’t win as many votes.  Obama has also shown the American people how he would deal with the national security and economic issues of this nation.  The point is that there is still disturbing information being discovered about the Alaskan governor and McCain, nor his campaign, has any idea what to expect.  A good performance tonight will not change that fact.  This is about the judgment and temperament of the top of the ticket.  In other words, this is all about John McCain. 

Candidate John McCain has expressed serious concern regarding the recovery efforts for the victims of Gustav, but is this another case of Candidate McCain versus Senator McCain.  This is what McCain said right after Katrina:  “American citizens have proven time and again how generous and selfless a people we are, and now we have an opportunity to come to the aid of those in need.” A week later he stridently said “Our work to help the victims of this national tragedy has just begun, and Congress must do all that is necessary to fund essential relief and recovery efforts and help those in need.”  However, this is Sen. McCain’s voting record in the months following Katrina: 

Sen. McCain spent months not only opposing but leading the Republican opposition against every senate bill proposed to help Katrina victims or that mandated investigations of what actually happened with respect to the governments response. 

Senator and Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden authored a bill S.Amdt. 1661 ”….to provide emergency funding for victims of Hurricane Katrina.”  Among other things, the legislation would have provided interoperable communications equipment to enable first-responders “to find, unite, and transport children impacted by Hurrican Katrina to their parents, legal guardians, or next of kin.”  The legislation would also have provided funding for victims of domestic violence in affected areas.  Biden argued ”[t]he National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has reported that over 1,000 children have been displaced by this storm — that means they are not with their parents or guardians — and in this amendment we provide $10 million for that effort,” Biden continued. “We also provide $9 million to support domestic violence victims impacted by the storms. We all heard of the reports of sexual assaults in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and we will support those victims who have not been moved to new shelters.”  However, with John McCain’s help, the Republican-led Senate shot down the funding  41-56 , while Biden and Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama voted for the funding. 

Further“[w]hen Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) proposed the creation of a Congressional Commission to “examine the Federal, State, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.. and make immediate corrective measures to improve such responses in the future,” John McCain was once again exactly where George W. Bush wanted him to be: On the “nay” side of a straight party-line vote  (44-54) that killed that legislation.”  And don’t think that this was a solely partisan effort by the democrats, the bill called for a wholly bipartisan panel made up of a 10-member group and stating specifically that “not more than 5 members of the Commission shall be from the same political party.”   McCain voted for Bush and against the victims of Katrina.  Barack Obama was one of the co-sponsors of that bill and both he and Biden voted for immediate oversight on the bungled Katrina response.”

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So when Candidate John McCain made his grand exploitation trip to Louisiana later this week and if he decides to complete the exploitation by giving a speech from one of the hurricane ridden states, keep in mind, not his words of sympathy or resolve that it will never happen again.  Instead keep in mind Senator McCain’s deeds and actions following Katrina the last time.  Keep in mind that Senator McCain voted against Katrina victims at every opportunity following the disaster.  

To be clear, this is less about Sarah Palin and all about the judgment of Sen. John McCain.  If McCain had exercised the kind of judgment and conducted the type of thorough investigation befitting a choice of individual for the second most powerful position in the free world, perhaps we would not be having this discussion.   The media has uncovered quite a bit of troubling information about Gov. Palin in the last couple of days simply by conducting a google search.  Judging from the McCain campaign responses, they did not bother to conduct such a search.  When requesting a response from the McCain campaign about the various facts below, McCain surrogates appear befuddled and confused.   As a matter of fact, the McCain campaign is currently engaged in a post-selection vetting process.  Though we are sure that Gov. Palin is a good person, Sen. McCain has demonstrated the kind of rash, reckless, shoot first ask questions last, shoot…ready…aim, invade Iraq then find non-existent WMAs, rush to judgment that is the hallmark of the current Bush administration.  This is the first and most important presidential decision that McCain will make as a candidate for the top spot.  The decision of who will serve in the second most powerful position in the world. How such a decision is made is indicative of a candidate’s style of governing.  After the revelation of the following facts, McCain may have failed his first presidential task.  It appears as if gambler McCain picked up the dice, blew on them, and rolled.  Unfortunately for him, it appears that he may have rolled craps.  The following is information McCain could have easily learned had he bothered to properly vet Gov. Palin.

1. Palin is linked to the Alaskan Secessionist party.   Sarah Palin is linked to and her husband was a member of the Alaska Independence Party.  Palin reportedly attended the AIP convention in 1994.  AIP’s motto is “Alaska First.”  Also, Gov. Palin sent a video message to the 2008 AIP convention telling the group “to keep up the good work.”  The group’s goal is to have a vote on Alaska’s state status on the question of whether the state should secede from the United States.
2. Palin was mayor of the town of Wasilla, population at the time, around 5000, less than the population of most high schools in the U.S.
3. Palin was almost recalled as mayor because of an alleged abuse of power scandal
4. Palin reportedly, as mayor, left the small town of Wasilla $22 million dollars in debt
5. Palin directed fundraising for indicted Ted Stevens 527 group (”bridge to nowhere” Senator)
6. Palin was for the “bridge to nowhere” before she was against it
7. Palin currently being investigated in another abuse of power scandal involving a state trooper
8. Palin called Iraq a war for oil (opposite of McCain’s position)
9. Palin admits that she has “not really focused on Iraq”…huh?
10. Palin admits on Larry King that she is not sure what a Vice President does
11. According to Alaskan National Guard General:  Palin played no role in national defense….as governor of Alaska, she is not even consulted.
12. McCain only recently  sent a dozen communications operatives and lawyers to Alaska to further investigate Palin
13. Even though the McCain campaign is attempting to position Palin as anti-earmark, Palin has lobied for and received millions in earmarks as governor and mayor.
14. The state of Alaska has requested 31 earmarks totaling 197.8 million from next year’s federal budget….this is pivotal considering McCain’s promise to make all politicians who request earmarks famous by vetoing all earmarks that cross his desk if he were to become president.  The reformer label the McCain campaign is pushing Palin as doesn’t fit.
15. Palin’s mother-in-law may vote for Sen. Barack Obama and is not sure what Palin brings to the ticket other than she is a woman and a conservative.
16. That Palins approval rating is not the touted 80% but 67% and sinking.
17. “[A] number of leading [Alaskan] Republican officeholders in the state who mocked Palin’s qualifications. “She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?” said Lyda Green, the president of the State Senate, a Republican from Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. “Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?”
18. Alaska top Republican, John Harris, the speaker of the House, when asked about her qualifications for Veep, replied with this: “She’s old enough. She’s a U.S. citizen.”
19. Daily News-Minerin Fairbanks Alaska:   Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it.
20. Editorial in the Anchorage Daily News:  Palin joins the ticket with one huge weakness: She’s a total beginner on national and international issues.
21. Palin only obtained a passport one year ago.
22. Palin has never traveled to Russia despite its proximity to Alaska
23. Regarding the “bridge to nowhere” and earmarks, in June Palin gave a speech to the Wasilla Assembly of God, Ms. Palin proclaimed that it is ”God’s will” that the federal government contribute to a $30 billion gas pipeline she wants built in Alaska.

Judgment

Senator John McCain has chosen and unknown, untested, trophy candidate as his vice presidential nominee.  Does anyone really think that Gov. Sarah Palin really is prepared to lead this county in the event of of a national security emergency.  One out of three vice presidents has had to act as president during their tenure.  For those who think that this will not happen in light of McCain’s status as a 72 year-old, four-time cancer survivor, they are deluding themselves. 

For those of you who are comparing Obama to Palin, Sen. Obama has a track record of being right on several of the most important foreign policy decision of this decade.  The Illinois senator has proven that he has the judgment and temperament to be president.  First, Sen. Obama spoke out against the Iraq War, Sen. Obama pushed for a timetable for Iraq (we now have a timetable), Sen. Obama pushed to keep Pakistan in the dark as to our strategy for taking out key members of Al Queda on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border (after doing which we took out a key member of Al Qaeda), Sen. Obama said we should talk to our enemies.  President Bush spoke with North Korea, after Obama had been saying to do so for a year, afterwards North Korea agrees to begin dismanteling its nukes. The Bush administration is now talking to Iran. Not to mention that Sen. Obama has run a 50-state campaign against a formidable candidate and won.  Lastly, Sen. Obama proved himself to the American people, and as a result, the AMERICAN people in their vote of confidence, voted him into his current position as the democratic nominee.  Sen. McCain  put Palin in her position and he hasn’t proven to the American people that we can trust his judgment on anything, let alone choosing a neophyte to become a heartbeat away from the presidency.  This is a irrational and desperate decision that was made by McCain after meeting with the Alaskan governor once….ONCE, before making her the offer to become his running mate.  

Scary Fact: Governor Palin was asked the following question in 2006 about the Pledge of Allegiance:

Q: Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

PALIN: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance

Slight problem, the Pledge of Allegience was not written until 1892, 56 years after the death of the last founding father.  Thus the founding fathers never knew of or said the Pledge of Allegiance.  The Pledge of Allegiance was not made the official Pledge until 1942, six years after Sen. John McCain was born.  Further, Palin was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party.  The AIP has since the 1970s been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can SECEDE from the United States.  Are you kidding me?  The motto of AIP is instead of “Country First,” is “Alaskans First, Alaskans Always.”  So she does not know the history of the U.S. and was a member of a group that does not want Alaska to be part of the United States.  Do you think that the McCain campaign could have found out this information if they had bothered to properly vet Palin before choosing her as the VP candidate?  Judgment.  This is the person to whom Sen. McCain would like to entrust the safety and security of the American people. 

Apparently, McCain also does not have confidence in the abilities of his running mate because the campaign has relegated her to fund raising for down ticket candidates.  The McCain campaign said that 80% of Palin’s time will be spent fundraising for donations that the McCain campaign cannot spend after today because the Arizona senator opted for $87 million in public financing.  If Palin is such a great choice and has energized the republican base, why not put her out on the trail as much as possible in order to secure votes?  Why…because Palin is a trophy candidate.

The McCain campaign sites as Palin’s foreign policy experience, the fact that she has a son going to Iraq and the fact that Alaska is close to Russia!  Are you kidding me!!!  McCain’s veep choice decision comes off as rash and erratic.  How else do you explain risking the security of the country in the hands of a governor of a state that boast a population of 685,000?  San Jose, California has a larger population than the whole state of Alaska.  Does that mean that the mayor of San Jose is ready to be president?  Just the city of Chicago is four times the size of the state of Alaska. As for her mayoral experience of presiding over Wasilla, population at the time, about 5000, there are high schools that have more students than Wasilla has residents.  There are a significant number of republican female governors and senators who are at least qualified and many significantly more qualified than Palin.  There are republican female political figures who would have been much more sensible and practical choices for McCain if the Arizona senator had put country first as he claims he will always do.  This is not a “maverick” decision, it is an arbitrary and erratic one, made for obvious political reasons. 

Choosing their running mate is the first presidential decision that each of these candidates had to make. We the voters were able to witness the decision making process of the candidates.  Do they take the time to think through the implications of the decision to the country?  Do they think that if something happens to me, I trust this person to lead the country? Or, do they think, I want to win regardless?  Or, I choose this person because she looks good on the ticket (shock value), regardless of whether she is capable of leading the country?  Is the vice president decision a reasoned decision or a reckless and impulsive one solely for political gains?  You decide.  Another interesting tidbit,  the McCain campain has only as recent as this week sent attorneys to Alaska to more deeply vet Governor Palin.  Shouldn’t this have been done before choosing Gov. Palin for the second most powerful job in the free world.  Judgment.   Sen. Obama took the time and effort to put all of the potential veeps through a vigorous vetting process.  Sen. McCain met with Palin once…..once for 15 minutes, and is only now, after announcing his choice, is deeply vetting the Alaskan governor.  There is a difference between maverick and reckless.  Choosing a neophyte running mate based on one 15 minute meeting leans more towards reckless than maverick. 

This is characteristic of McCain’s methodology when it comes to making decisions. In the Naval Academy, McCain has said that he came very close to flunking out and ended up barely graduating fifth from the bottom of his class, 894 out of 899.   Many of McCain’s long time friends have said of the Arizona senator “if you didn’t want to live on the edge, then don’t hang around with John McCain.”  Living on the edge is one of McCain’s trademarks, boasting actors such as Marlon Brando and James Dean as his heroes.  It’s very interesting how reminiscent his current attitude is in comparison to his attitude as a young adult.  Sen. McCain has himself revealed that during his aviator training that he chose recreational reading “at the expense of learning my flight procedures which I probably should have given a higher priority to” and could not remember how to eject after his plane crashed.  Such antics resulted in a couple of near death experiences for McCain.  Okay, so instead of learning the rules and mechanics of flying a plane in flight school he decided to get in the plane and wing it?   Is this really the safe choice for America in terms of its Commander-in-Chief?  Are Americans actually comfortable with someone who is so easily willing to play chicken when it comes to life and death.  Some may define this as a maverick quality…..this writer defines it as unnecessary risk taking and reckless behavior.  So for those of you who are conned into buying the maverick meme being pandered by the McCain campaign and the main stream media,  I say that this is an erratic, impulsive, and irresponsible decision by someone who proclaims to put country first.

Whose judgment do you trust? 

The McCain campaign excluded several names this morning sending the pundits speculative minds in a tizzy.  Alaskan governor Sarah Palin is a staunch conservative.  It appears as if the McCain decided to roll the dice on this pick. Sarah Palin is a 44 year old first term governor from Alaska and a rookie on the national stage.   She is pro-life and catholic.  The question is can this woman be president of the United States.   Sen. McCain is 72 years old today. 

A couple of unnamed sources close to Sen. John McCain say that he has settled for Mitt Romney as his VP according to Mark Halperin at Time.  

My guess is that the McCain campaign is releasing this information now because it is trying to change the subject from the fact that the Arizona senator is out of touch.   So out of touch that he can’t keep track of the number of houses that he owns and so out of touch that a $3 million dollar income equals middle class. McCains world…party time…Excellent!

Sen. John McCain is living in a dream world where the the rest of us live in the real one.  McCain lives in the world of eight million dollar homes, $125 million fortune, $580 Ferragamo shoes, a $3 million dollar income equals middle class, the “fundamentals of our economy are strong”, America is filled with a “nation of whiners”, there is no Abramoff scandle, he was not having cake with Bush on an Arizona tarmac when Katrina hit, there was no McCain pro-Iraq war vote/support before the Surge, every response to conflict is a military one……….Party On!  This is the person who purports to feel the pain of the average American yet he cannot be bothered to keep up with the number of homes that he owns.  How can the Arizona senator identify with the struggles of the average person?  From all the comments that McCain and his surrogates have given with respect to the economy, veterans, etc., McCain appears to be a person who could not be less in touch with the challenges of Joe and Sue Public.  If you can’t identify with the average person how do you shape policy affecting him or her.  We have had eight years of Bush policies favoring his and McCain’s peers, the 100 million dollar men, its time to draft and implement policies that benefit the majority of the American people.  McCain has been deemed a “maverick” by the media because he has bucked his party on a few occasions in the past.  But the issues McCain purportedly bucked his party on have little to do with the fact that we have a record deficit resulting from the spending policies, agreed to by Sen. McCain, and implemented by a republican controlled Congress and White House.  Bush and McCain are one and the same when it comes to fiscal and foreign policy.  Though Bush-McCain project a facade of being the guy you can have a beer with and the guy who will fight for the average American, nothing can be further from the truth.  Both are out of touch with most Americans and are missing the empathy gene when it comes to the pain of the typical American during this economic downturn. 

After eight years of Bush, we are not deserving………we’re not deserving!…….we’re not deserving………of Sen. John McCain.  It’s time for the Bush policies that are being  lovingly embraced by Sen. McCain to fade-out (insert arms waving in front of face).

Former National Security Council counter-terrorism adviser and Obama supporter, Richard Clarke, spoke yesterday about the judgment of John McCain.  Clark monikers the Arizona senator “quick draw McCain” due to his eagerness to go to war with Iraq after 9/11.  Apparently, McCain was pushing for war with Iraq while the Bush administration was merely thinking about the possibility.  Clarke went on to say that McCain and other neocons are one of the reasons that Bush went to war with Iraq in the first place.  This is why McCain has the reputation as a war monger.  And there is a strong possibility that McCain plans to staff these wars of his……….by reinstating the draft.  When asked about the draft yesterday, McCain indicated that he would be open to the idea.  Last September when asked about the draft, McCain said “I might consider it, I don’t think it’s necessary, but I might consider it if you could design a draft where everybody equally could serve.”  I guess you would have to consider it if war is your first line of defense in dealing with conflict.  One wonders how many wars American can be involved in at one time.  Lets see, we’re in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia may be possibilities (depending on who wins the White House)……..after all when McCain looks in Putin’s eyes he “sees a K…a G..and a B,” nice way to approach the negotiation table.  It is statements like the former that are telling when it comes to the judgement McCain would provide in the White House.  It appears that if McCain had his way he would take us back to the Cold War.  The Arizona senator has also promised that “there will be more wars.”  Personally the idea of another President who uses military might as a first line of defense is very scary given our current national security situation and the state of our economy.  The military does not like wars and there is a reason why the majority of such military support Sen. Obama for president.  We already have China paying for the wars that we are currently fighting.  Our military is already overstretched.  This is a new global environment that is constantly changing, we need a leader who is capable of adapting.  Does anyone see McCain as an adaptable kind of guy?  I didn’t think so.  We also must use other ways to get along with the world community.  We are all for a strong defense but our defense and our nation is weakened if we continue to engage in useless wars.  We found out with the Bush administration that a President can enter us into a war under false pretences, so we must make sure that we have a person with a global perspective holding that position.  Sen. McCain has demonstrated that he has a penchant for war.  We have just had seven and a half years of cowboy diplomacy………and………….this past year, Sen. John McCain has voted with Pres. Bush 100% of the time……..100%!  By McCain’s own admission, he has voted with Bush 95% of the time throughout Bush’s tenure in office. Do we really want someone in the White House that voted with George Bush 95% of the time?  How is that not a continuation of the policies of the Bush administration?  In what universe does that represent change?  We have to ask if the person has the intellectual capacity and temperament to be the leader of the free world?  We need to rebuild our moral standing through our willingness to engage and work with leaders, adversaries and friends, of other nations.  We cannot do that with a hair-trigger finger on the war gun.

Most of us have heard the the rampant speculation about the possibility of John McCain picking a pro-life vice presidential candidate.  The two most popular names being put out there by the McCain campaign are Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge.  However, McCain believes that such a choice would be a suicide move for his candidacy and has no intention if picking Lieberman or Ridge.  Not to mention the fact that the Republican convention would be a disaster with conservatives picketing or not showing up at all.  The McCain campaign knows this.  This is a complete fake-out, bait and switch operation by the McCain campaign.  The murmur within the republican party is that McCain is simply floating Lieberman and Ridge out there so that conservatives will not give him grief for picking Mitt Romney.  The McCain campaign, with the help of some very loud conservative talk radio host, has decided to get conservatives in a feverish tizzy over the possibility of him picking a pro-choice running mate so that Romney as the veep choice will be a huge relief.  Conservatives have issues with Romney because of his flip flop on the abortion issue.  The former governor ran for Massachussetts governor on a pro-choice platform but then changed his mind and became pro-life once he decided to run for President.  So at this point who knows what he believes.  This way McCain has the best of both worlds, a candidate who takes both sides of the abortion issue as well as most other issues. 

If anyone watched the two candidates, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, on Saturday with Pastor Rick Warren the average listener came away with some definite impressions.  Just as bit of background on Pastor Warren and his audience.  Pastor Warren is a conservative, pro-life, republican.  Thus, the questions were framed with a conservative bent. The audience consisted of all evangelicals and tailor made for McCain or any GOP candidate for that matter.  Also, 75% of of his audience voted for Pres. Bush in 2004.  It was actually a brave move for Sen. Obama to participate.  One other quick point:  Only McCain, a man worth $125 million would define rich as someone making $5 million a year.  It’s all relatively elitist I guess.  There are many folks out there who are making $500,000 a year who consider themselves rich.  Okay back to the point of this post.  Having viewed the interviews on CSPAN and listened to the reaction from listeners before I heard any pundit analysis.  My overall impression differs significantly from that of the pundit class.  Many of the listeners who called in said that Sen. McCain’s answers seemed rehearsed and canned and Sen. Obama was more engaged in a thoughtful conversation.   I also noticed several times that Sen. McCain seemed to answer the questions before Pastor Warren could actually get out the question.  This indicates to me that McCain heard the questions beforehand and was not in a “cone of silence.” Come to find out that Sen. McCain was not in the building when Pastor Warren said that he was in the “cone of silence” but had just left his hotel at the time that the statement was made.  Pastor Warren did say that he gave each of the candidates, one question, that is one question, not two questions (as reported by National Review Online)but one question beforehand.  Warren also said that he did give Sen. Obama a second question that he did not get to Sen. McCain, because McCain showed up late, regarding giving the pastor a commitment to an “emergency plan for orphans” similar to the one that Bush initiated for AIDS.  Giving Sen. Obama a single extra question is a different story then receiving a complete preview of the questions and the opposing candidates answers beforehand.  Does anyone believe, with the stakes at risk in this campaign, that the McCain campaign did not at least listen to CSPAN radio on the way to the event and therefore had a heads up with respect to the questions and Obama’s answers before he arrived.  Yea…I didn’t think so.  McCain’s interview also now makes much more sense. The Arizona senator had a ready anecdote for almost every single answer.  I might also mention that those anecdotes are ones that even for the average person who have been only slightly paying attention to this race thus far have heard at least twice.  As someone who has paid a great deal of attention to this race, I have heard each of his stories and McCainisms ad nauseum, including the “cross in the sand” story.  What I have not heard is a real explanation about his moral failing. McCain skipped over this question by saying that his “failure of [his] first marriage” was his greatest moral failure and quickly moved on without giving an explanation as to why.  Sen. Obama answered the question thoughtfully and provided detail.  McCain did however manage to insert “Americans failed to serve a purpose greater than there own self interest” and ”following Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell” when needed.  We have heard McCain say these and other McCainisms sprinkled throughout his interview at town hall meetings, in speeches, in interviews, etc……the exact same phrases.  While I agree with the sentiment, he needs some new material.  We need a president who has the ability to think through the difficult problems and grasp the intricacies of what the repercussions of a bad decision will mean, not someone who constantly repeats the talking points that he has been using since 2000 and has a well documented volatile and hair-trigger history of speaking without thought.  We have had eight years of cowboy diplomacy.

Here’s is a camparison of answers given by Obama and McCain respectively that proves my point that McCain had a heads-up.

Warren and Obama:

Q. OKAY LET’S GO TO EDUCATION. AMERICA RIGHT NOW 23 RANKS 19TH IN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION. WE’RE FIRST IN INCARCERATIONS.

A. NOT GOOD.

Q. NOT GOOD. 80 PERCENT OF AMERICANS RECENT POLE SAID THEY BELIEVE IN MERIT PAY FOR TEACHERS.

1. I’M NOT ASKING DO YOU THINK ALL TEACHERS SHOULD GET A RAISE.

2. DO YOU THINK BETTER TEACHERS SHOULD BE PAID BETTER?

3. THEY SHOULD BE MAKING MORE THAN POOR TEACHERS?

Now Warren and McCain:

Q ALL RIGHT. LET’S TALK ABOUT EDUCATION. AMERICA 18 RANKS 19TH IN HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS, BUT WE’RE FIRST IN 19 INCARCERATION. EVERYBODY SAYS THEY WANT MORE ACCOUNTABILITY IN SCHOOLS?

A  UH-HUH.

Q  ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF AMERICA SAYS THEY SUPPORT MERIT PAY FOR THE BEST TEACHERS. NOW, I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR STUMP SPEECH ON EDUCATION?

A  YES. YES. AND FIND BAD TEACHERS ANOTHER LINE OF WORK.

Q  YOU KNOW –

A  CAN I –

Q  YOU ARE ANSWERING SO QUICKLY.

A  CAN I –

Q YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME OF POKER?

As for the pundits, so I hear the listeners reactions on CSPAN and I have the same reaction as the CSPAN listeners, but I then turn to MSNBC to hear the pundit analysis thinking that they would be echoing what seemed to be obvious with respect to the rehearsed or canned nature of McCain’s answers…and what do I hear?  The pundit class going on and on about how great McCain was tonight.  How McCain was at the top of his game and gave great, quick, and decisive answers (that happens when you know the questions in advance and have answered such questions the same exact way in various other forums).   The same thing was being said on CNN.  Give me a break.  McCain was not being interviewed, he was acting out a play where he received the the script and rehearsal time prior to the performance.  The listeners of CSPAN saw and heard it……why would the pundit class miss such an obvious fake out.  Why…to create more of a horse race people.  Trust your own instincts.

Is Sen. John McCain a warmonger?…..his Republican colleagues seem to think so. View the video below.

Pat Buchanan Says McCain “Will Make Cheney Look Like GhandiExec Fired for Not Donating to Mitt Romney

John McCain says he needs more sleep

McCain Blogger Lies, Says Obama Received More Big Oil Money

Who’d give more to the middle class? Obama . . . Not McCain

McCain’s Newest “Celebrity” Attack Ad Proven False . . . AGAIN

Blogola: John McCain Bribing People to Comment on Blogs

McCain, Campaign Mgr Involved in Deal Costing 8000 Ohio Jobs

CIA Forged Iraq Intelligence

Do you know who you’re voting for?

We implore voters to quiet all the distracting noise and start listening to what the candidate will do to improve your life.  You have a candidate paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to put out ads for his self-described own “amusement.”  Meanwhile, the American people are hurting.  We have soaring gas prices, a sinking economy, Americans losing jobs and being foreclosed on in their homes, yet one $110 million dollar candidate decides that the best way to deal with these issues is to put out ads featuring Britney Spears and Paris Hilton for his own amusement.   Way to empathize with the plight of struggling American families.   Rather than stand in the shoes of the average working man, McCain prefers to stand in his $600 a pair Ferragamo loafers thank you very much! 

In one of McCain’s latest ads where he features Charlton Heston playing Moses. many interpret the ad as trivializing a prominent biblical figure.  Many of us consider Moses a sacrosanct figure not to be used in vain.  One wonders what hard-working Catholic and Jewish Americans think of this latest ad featuring the biblical figure.  It is a blasphemous demonstration that many find offensive. 

We are very happy that the McCain campaign is getting their jollies at the expense of struggling families in Ohio, Georgia, Mississippi, Arizona, Colorado, and the list goes on.  I guess that it what is to be expected of a candidate whose wife professes that the only way to get around Arizona is by small private plane.  Anybody who would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a giggle does not strike this writer as having the judgment to be the lead us out of a flailing economy.  Such giggle extravagances are reserved as luxuries for the mega rich. To be this frivolous with money donated to a campaign by hard-working citizens, who in many cases can only donate a couple of dollars, is beyond reproach.  Is this the type of fiscal responsibility that Americans can expect from a McCain administration?  Is this how a McCain administration will get us out of our three trillion dollar debt? In this writer’s opinion, this demonstrates how the $110 million dollar candidate is completely out of touch with the day-to-day struggles of the average American.  It also demonstrates the culture of the McCain campaign advisers.  Remember when McCain’s former Senior advisor referred to Americans as “whiners” because we acknowledge that we are struggling harder than ever before and we may be in a recession. 

The campaigns released the presidential and vice presidential debates schedule today and guess which network was noticeably absent….sucks for you ABC.  PBS will host the vice presidential and a single presidential debate.  NBC and CBS will moderate the last two presidential debates.

ABC’s absence may be a result of its democratic primary debate hosting gig that many perceived as a “gotcha” style debate  sans substantive issues.  That ABC primary debate was hosted by Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

Schedule:

Presidential Debates

Jim Lehrer, Sept. 26, at the University of Mississippi @9pm EST  (foreign policy debate)
Tom Brokaw, Oct. 7, in Nashville at Belmont University @9pm EST   (townhall meeting, questions from the audience)
Bob Schieffer, Oct. 15, at Hofstra University @9pm EST  (domestic policy debate)

Vice Presidential Debate
Gwen Ifill, Oct. 2, at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri @9pm  (domestic and foreign policy)

It looks as if the respectability and credibility of the Associated Press may be lost under its new leadership.  An example of its new bias is its headline last weekend announcing the newly scheduled presidential debates. This weekend the Obama campaign agreed to three debates and one vice presidential debate.  However, according to the Associated Press, Sen. Obama backed down from Sen. McCain’s debate challenge.  This is the exact AP headline:

“Obama Backs Away from McCain Debate Challenge”

The spin regarding the Obama-McCain debates is an egregious example of what we can now expect from the AP.  As a bit of background, in 2007, the Associated Press’ new Washington Bureau Chief, Ron Fournier, was asked by the McCain campaign to sign on as a senior campaign advisor. Yes folks, he was offered a job in the McCain campaign.  Many have noted that the the new Chief is in the tank for McCain.  If there was any doubt before, the above headline removes it.  Fournier has also been in communication with McCain unofficial advisor Karl Rove.  As a matter of fact, during the Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch expose, Fournier sent an email correspondence to Karl Rove telling him to “keep up the fight.”

This information is provided in an effort to disclose to voters that everyone has their own agenda even if they have previously appeared to balanced.  Because many people go to the Associated Press expecting unfiltered news,  it is important to know that it has changed and there is a new Chief in town.  Further, in the interest of full disclosure, Rupert Murdoch, owner of “fair and balanced” Fox News, is on the board of the Associated Press.

It is unfortunate that such a respectable institution has slid to the right, but also more of a reason to always consider the source whenever you read or hear anything from any source. 

Sen.  John McCain sent a message to Sen. Barack Obama to call Congress back to work to vote on a GOP energy proposal.  McCain:  “Congress get back to work.”  This is bloody rich coming from McCain given that he himself has not been to work  since April 2008.  So before McCain starts chastising Congress, perhaps he should take his own advice. 

Sen. John McCain accused the Obama campaign of playing the race card.  McCain alleged shock last week at the Obama campaign for accusing him of using nefarious tactics in its effort to portray Obama as a “risky” candidate.  The Arizona senator went so far as to say that he” has fought for equal rights his entire life.”  Well, a reporter called him on his claim by asking him to elaborate on what specifically he has done that focused on the improvement of the lives of African-Americans?  Deer in headlights folks.  See below

DISTRACTION ALERT:  The McCain campaign is up in arms about a comment made by Sen. Barack Obama yesterday regarding the “scare” campaign tactics of the other side. The exact quote from Sen. Obama: 

Nobody thinks that Bush and McCain have a real answer to the challenges we face. So what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me,” Obama said. “You know, ‘he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name,’ you know, ‘he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.” 

This is completely ridiculous! Obama was preempting what is to come. Something McCain is very aware of since he has done the same thing many times over with respect to his age.  How many times have John McCain referred to the fact that he is “old” in an attempt to take it off the table.  The gander certainly cannot accuse the goose for something that it has been doing in the hen house for months prior.  How many times has John McCain alluded to Obama’s alleged “inexperience” or “arrogance” for doing things that he himself has done except that Obama is perceived as having done them better.  The trip to the Middle East for example.  McCain made the exact same trip but perceived not to have been as successful.  What Obama completed brilliantly yesterday was a preemptive strike against the “race card.”  No one can deny, not even the main stream pundits, that there has been several right-wing pundits, whisper campaigns, talk radio shock jocks, right-wing bloggers,  527 groups etc., who have used race left, right, sideways, and center in ”their” attempt to punt the Illinois senator.  So with this knowledge, why is the McCain campaign so up in arms about Obama comment?  With all the right-wing lunatic fringe groups focusing at every opportunity on the fact that Obama is different because he is black, how else do you combat such distracting noise but mention the fact that you have been very upfront about the fact that Obama is different because he is black. So it’s dumbfounding how the campaign can conclude that Obama is playing the race card.  It seems that the double standard in the McCain campaign is in full force. This is a stretch beyond elasticity and the main stream media is jumping all over it.  Remember folks, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, all have a very big horse in this race….RATINGS.  The greater the perception of a horse race, the more advertising dollars.  And by the way, Obama has made the same comment many times prior to yesterday. This is an extreme and disproportionate reaction from the McCain campaign.  It’s called the politics of destraction and deflection….deflect from the positive press from Obama’s overseas trip and distract from the weaknesses of McCain, economy, gas prices, EXXON Mobil record profits (11.68 billion), mortgage crisis, etc.  Karl Rove tactics on full blast. 

Rupert Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger evaluates John McCain’s tax policy and responds, “This isn’t a flip-flop. It’s a sex-change operation.” The columnist goes on to ask the question of whether McCain is losing his way. Henninger writes :

What I’m asking is, does John McCain have the mental focus, the intellectual discipline, to avoid being out-slicked by Barack Obama, if he isn’t abandoned by his own voters?
 

It’s not just taxes. Recently the subject came up of Al Gore’s assertion that the U.S. could get its energy solely from renewables in 10 years. Sen. McCain said: “If the vice president says it’s doable, I believe it’s doable.” What!!?? In a later interview, Mr. McCain said he hadn’t read “all the specifics” of the Gore plan and now, “I don’t think it’s doable without nuclear power.” It just sounds loopy.

Why as well shouldn’t the Obama camp exploit all of this? If Sen. Obama’s “inexperience” is Mr. McCain’s ace in the hole, why not trump that by asking, “Does Sen. McCain know his own mind?”

…

Yes, Sen. McCain has honor and country. Another month of illogical, impolitic remarks and Sen. McCain will erase even that. Absent a coherent message for voters, he will be one-on-one with Barack Obama in the fall. He will lose.

Looks like the McCain campaign has received its wish for more media attention and being given the scrutiny that the Obama campaign has received throughout this election process.  Like we said last week, be carefule what you wish for.

Yesterday, George W Bush held a press conference urging Congress to take up a vote on off-shore exploration thereby lifting its ban on off-shore oil drilling.  Even though his administration has done absolutely nothing, for seven years, toward energy independence.  But when it comes to drilling for more oil, this administration and McCain has concluded that it is the only way we can become more energy independent.  McCain voted against a bill that would have increased fuel economy standards in 2006 while Obama voted for the bill.  An increase in fuel economy standards would require that automobile manufacturers increase the number of miles per gallon of gas on all newly manufactured cars.  In China, because of a mandate by the Chinese government, cars get 43 miles per gallon.  Such a bill would have made a significant difference in today’s gas prices had it been adopted in 2006 when it was proposed.

Something else that this writer finds a little disturbing is a Washington Post report that campaign contributions from oil industry executives to Sen. John McCain increased dramatically at the end of June, right after McCain made a high-profile split with environmentalists and flipped from his orginal position against off-shore drilling.  As for the Bush administration’s hand in the oil well, the Wall Street Journal reported that influential former Pentagon official Richard Perle is going into the oil business in Iraq and Kazakhstan according to sources close to the deals.  Perle was one of the security experts helping to make the case to the Bush Administration for taking down Saddam Hussein. 

Therefore, when the current President and John McCain continually push the idea that off-shore drilling is the best solution for the American people, I tend to suspect their motives.  I would trust their motives more if they at least had a past record of working toward energy independence and were not so inextricably linked to the oil industry.

Alluding to his temper when things don’t go his way, Sen. John McCain told George Stephanopoulos on This Week  that with respect to the Pentagon policy preventing Obama from visiting the military hospital in Germany as part of a campaign trip, ”if I was there and wanted to be there there would have been a seismic event” had they prevented him from seeing the troops.  However, McCain’s track record with respect to our wounded warriors and their healthcare very much suggest otherwise.  McCain has repeatedly either voted against pro-veteran legislation, or not bothered to even show up to vote at all for such legislation.  So my question to John McCain is….where was the “seismic event” when key pieces of legislation that provided our “gravely wounded” veterans with healthcare, and other services, came up for a vote in the Senate and in many cases you opposed the legislation or didn’t even bother to show up to vote?  One could only conclude, given your statement on This Week, that you really didn’t “want to be there.”  Perhaps you can provide an explanation for your vote or lack thereof on the following pro-veteran legislation.  The following list is courtesy of the AFL-CIO.

McCain did not support the Medicare Bill that prevented a decrease in medical services for Military Families.  Cuts in physicians Medicare payments would have resulted in an inability of physicians to continue to treat Medicare patients. This bill is important to veterans because of Tricare.  Tricare payouts are indexed to Medicare, therefore, if Medicare payments are cut so are Tricare payments.  If the bill had not passed, it would be much more difficult for military families to find doctors willing to treat them. Apparently, the insurance companies were against this bill also.

McCain Opposes the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Is Too Generous.McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that will provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08)

McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care.Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care.McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care.McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities.McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)

McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders.McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)

McCain Voted in Support of Disabled Veterans Only 25 Percent of the Time from 2004-2005. While McCain claims he “has been a leading advocate” for veterans with disabilities, statistics show he supported the Disabled American Veterans’ interests only 25 percent of the time in 2004-2005. In 2006, that figure slipped to 20 percent of the time. (Project Vote Smart)

McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans.McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)

INCLUDING BETTER ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR GUARD AND RESERVISTS

McCain Opposed Increasing Spending on TRICARE and Giving Greater Access to National Guard and Reservists.Although his campaign website devotes a large section to veterans issues, including expanding benefits for reservists and members of the National Guard, McCain voted against increasing spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. (www.johnmccain.com/Informing/ Issues/9cb5d2aa-f237-464e-9cdf-a5ad32771b9f.htm; S.Amdt. 324 to S.C.R. 23, Vote 81, 3/25/03)

McCAIN ALSO VOTED TO OUTSOURCE JOBS AT MILITARY FACILITIES

McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs.McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, many held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a chance to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07)

He Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed.McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee jobs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center—outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain called a “disgrace.” (S.Amdt. 4895 to H.R. 5631, Vote 234, 9/6/06; Speech to VFW in Kansas City, Mo., 4/4/08)

AND HE REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST FUNDING FOR THE VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

2003: McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion for Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03)

2001: McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding. McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill and seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding for the federal housing, environmental and emergency management agencies and NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01)

2000: McCain Voted Against $47 Billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00)

1999: McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)

1996: McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding for Veterans Programs. McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96)

1995: McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)

1995: McCain Voted Against Closing Tax Loopholes to Increase Veterans Funding by $74 Million. McCain voted against eliminating tax breaks and closing tax loopholes to provide revenue to restore some of the proposed cuts in Veterans Affairs spending. (S.C.R. 13, Vote 226, 5/25/95)

1994: McCain Voted Against Funding the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of nine senators to vote against appropriating $90 billion in budget authority for the Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development departments. (H.R. 4624, Vote 306, 9/27/94)

So Sen. McCain though you say that you visited the troops abroad, you do not seem to support their interest back at home.  Why is that?  Though you said that you would never use the troops as a political issue, in your latest television ad you do just that.  You star the troops front, line, and center in an attack aimed at Sen. Obama.  Never mind that in your allegation that Obama does not visit the troops, you use footage of him shooting hoops….WITH THE TROOPS in the Middle East.  You also use the troops in your false allegation that Obama did not visit the troops because there could be no television cameras.  The allegation is disproved by the many visits that Sen. Obama has made to Walter Reed as well as several visits with the troops sans television cameras during his Middle East trip.

And by the way, McCain’s Republican colleague, Chuck Hagel, said the following about Obama’s decision regarding the German military hospital visit on Face the Nation on Sunday:

BOB SCHIEFFER: Senator Reed, now you’ve done a lot of these trips. They call them “codels,” “congressional delegations,” go. Are you ever allowed to take cameras when you go in to visit wounded troops? I thought that was sort of the general rule that everybody knew about.

JACK REED: I don’t think Senator Obama would have done that. Senator Hagel, Senator Obama and I visited the combat support hospital at Baghdad to thank those nurses, those doctors, to see patients that were there, to bring a bit of greetings from home and profound thanks. That should be in the ad that Senator McCain is running. I think Senator Obama made a very wise choice. Any suggestion that a visit to a military hospital would be political, he made the wise choice not to go. But when you were in Baghdad we made a point at the end of a very exhausting day to go in and see these magnificent young Americans and those doctors and nurses that give such tremendous care without a lot of fanfare, just to say thanks. He did it-the same thing. We went-we didn’t stay in Kabul. We went to Jalalabad to see the soldiers of the 173rd. We stopped in Basra to see our soldiers down there. We went into Anbar province to see soldiers there. That is a completely distorted, and, I think, inappropriate advertisement.

CHUCK HAGEL: Let me add to that. As you know, Bob, the congressional delegation that you referred to ended when we parted in Jordan. At that point, it was a political trip for Senator Obama. I think it would have been inappropriate for him and certainly he would have been criticized by the McCain people and the press and probably should have been if on a political trip in Europe paid for by political funds-not the taxpayers-to go, essentially, then and be accused of using our wounded men and women as props for his campaign. I think the judgment there-and I don’t know the facts by the way. I know what you’ve just read. No one has asked me about it other than what you’ve just asked about. But I think it would be totally inappropriate for him on a campaign trip to go to a military hospital and use those soldiers as props. So I think he probably, based on what I know, he did the right thing. We saw troops everywhere we went on the congressional delegation. We went out of our way to see those troops. We wanted to see those troops. And that’s part of our job to see those troops, by the way, and listen to those troops, Bob. And we did.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Do you think that ad was appropriate?

CHUCK HAGEL: I do not think it was appropriate.

BOB SCHIEFFER: You do not.

CHUCK HAGEL: I do not.

First Condoleeza Rice issues a memo to Foreign Service workers and diplomats abroad stating that they are banned from attending Obama’s speech given in Berlin yesterday because they are not allowed to show favoritism for a specific candidate.  Rice issued the memo, all of a sudden, just before Sen. Obama’s arrival in Berlin. 

Now the Pentagon tells Obama that he is not allowed to visit the military hospital as part of a political trip (Pentagon policy) and the McCain campaign (with full knowledge of the Pentagon policy) criticizes Sen. Obama for not visiting the hospital.  Unbelievable!!  Andrea Mitchell from MSNBC explained the situation this morning.

Mitchell:The background on the military flap is that they [Obama campaign] had clearly planned a trip to Ramstein [AFB].  They were planning to visit the injured troops. And then the Pentagon explained that they couldn’t go as part of a political trip.  The Obama campaign thought that they could go, leave the press corps on the tarmac, and then take off with military escort and make this one last visit.  As he did in Iraq, by the way.  He visited a casualty unit in the Green Zone, without photographers, as part of the congressional delegation. But the military said that the rules are that he could only go as part of a previously-arranged congressional delegation, to Ramstein

Clearly, people in the campaign are really angry. They had wanted this to be the final stop on the trip here in Germany, and to do it without the press corps, just to do it on his own.  But the objections of the military are that he is now being staffed by campaign aides, not by his Senate staff, who are the people of course with him when he went with Hagel and Jack Reed in Iraq. So, you know, the anger here in the campaign is pretty intense at the Pentagon. They feel that the military are drawing some lines–they’re not saying this publicly of course–but drawing lines that they might have drawn for other people.  He was planning to just go by himself, not with cameras, not with any entourage, as he had done in Walter Reed in the past in Washington, as he did in Iraq. Joe

JOE SCARBOROUGH: It’s curious, if that’s the case, why the campaign didn’t make that announcement yesterday, and allowed stories to go like this.  I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of he said/she said in the days to come about this.

MITCHELL: But they thought that they couldn’t win. Yeah. They thought that they were, you know, you know, no-win situation, that the Pentagon, perhaps the military with cooperation from some Republican operatives and, that’s the sort of scuttlebutt, that there have been some foreign policy advisers of John McCain with connections in the Pentagon who had something to do with this. But that is, perhaps, just the normal political paranoia of the season

It appears that the McCain campaign may have played a part in this sabotage as well. It is also apparent that the White House has become an inside McCain campaign operative….with our tax dollars by the way.