John McCain's Bizarre 'Conservative Problem'

Matt,

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. McCain is being pulled on multiple sides.

Hopefully, we are seeing his true self re-emerge as demonstrated by his recent defense of Barack Obama in the face of an attack by David Cunningham at a McCain rally.

McCain is a complex figure, with a tremendous challenge of having to unite an unruly party under him. To me, his positions are quite clear, though he has had to nuanced them slightly to build a broader coalition under him.

But ultimately I still think he is the best candidate of the three front runners for President.

Of the three, he alone has the experience to lead America on the international stage, and he alone has the proven legislative history of working with the other to come up with pragmatic, bipartisan solutions for this country's problems.


Thomas

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We invaded Iraq and toppled dictator and replaced it with the beginnings of a functional democracy.

American soldiers were celebrated in Iraq shortly after their arrival. But their goodwill quickly turned to disgust and resentment because of our poor planning and our failure to send in enough troops to maintain order.

The dissolution of the Iraqi Army was perhaps our single biggest mistake. It was the only truly national institution in Iraq capable of maintaining peace and order in a post-Saddam Iraq.

Had we planned properly, the outcome of the Iraq War could have ben much different. We have come to this realization only after many painful years of unnecessary sacrifce. And slowly but surely, the Surge in US ground forces is turning the tide around.

The Clinton/Obama plan for Iraq would result in sectarian genocide, the collapse of the current democratic system, and Iraq becoming a haven for international terrorist.

From what I have read, John McCain may not be the only presidential candidate smart enough to realize the dangers of America's withdrawal, but he is the only candidate with the courage to honestly talk to Americans about the ramifications of our failure to help Iraqis to stabilize their country.

And for this John McCain has my undying respect and admiration.


Sally

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Until I read the first two comments following this article (Thomas33333 and sallyleone), I thought that whoever won the Democratic primary, Obama or Hillary, would be a shoo-in for election as President of the U.S. Reading these two comments with their enthusiastic support of “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” McCain, I am dismayed and distressed. Heartsick.

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... is largely irrelevant to this comment, but it has charm worthy of repetition.

McCain, lauded for his personal success at tenaciously surviving what many other misguided and deceived soldiers and civilians did not, now embodies the deep sickness endemic in our culture.

If we get what we truly deserve, it will be John McCain leading the charge to apocalypse.

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They pointed the new Army microwave "non-lethal" weapon at his head, got their stroke (which was supposed to be fatal or debilitating and ended up being neither) and instead, got a surprising personality change, and McCain, the Bush hating independent maverick, suddenly became Bush's first lover (before Lieberman even).

That's the problem; they don't know IF his personality will ever revert back, or if he'll merely die in office to leave them stranded. It's uncharted waters here, folks, they haven't used this weapon much and strokes are still very tricky things no matter how carefully they target them. Harry Reid overcame his with little or no damage whatsoever; God protects His own, sometimes.

Not to mention that the stroke also unleashed all prior control on that famous temper of McCain's, and he goes ballistic at the drop of a hat. Many in Congress have seen this (on BOTH sides of the aisle) and are TERRIFIED of a McCain Presidency.

But not terrified enough that they won't do everything in their power to make it happen. A Clinton Presidency terrifies them more. After eight MORE years of doing things the right way and being beloved by the entire planet instead of reviled to the point of annihilation, the GOP would be no more, a footpage in one of the most ugliest periods in all of American history.

And they all damn well know it, too.

But that tells you why they really fear McCain, but will do everything in their power to make him Emperor Bush III, nonetheless.

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The United States is the most war-loving nation on earth, all the while proclaiming to be a proponent of peace. There is a rift in the country. Half of us have had enough of war and the spending that goes along with it. Not to mention the environmental destruction that follows us on our exploits. Bombing third world countries in order to steal their natural resources and sell them Coke is becoming less desirable to many of us. The craziness of our ways is becoming apparent to so many who have never before thought much about what the leaders of this country do in the name of democracy. This is our wake-up call and it will only get louder as time goes on. But the transformation will be bloody and the drums of war will beat louder before the nation makes the great transformation to another more peacefull way of life.

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So now we got a crazy war in a country called Iraq
And McCain he tells the people that this war is
right on track.
He can't even visit Baghdad without a damn platoon
He's a snake-oil seller, he's a clown, he's a buffoon.
He's loony ..............

Those are some of the words to one of my videos on YouTube
(search for "mccain music video eskit").

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Then we deserve all the boatloads of flag-draped caskets we get at Dover AFB. Because we will have asked for it.

Unfortunately, as evidenced by some of the earlier comments on this thread, there is no shortage of amoral, war-loving know-nothings in this country ready to vote for John McCain. Taibbi does a good job of revealing their utter stupidity. I meet people like that every day. It's like being trapped on the movie set of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" - what happened to all the intelligent people?

And by the way,every single non-US government run polls say unequivocally that the Iraqi people want us to LEAVE NOW.

Here's one such story from back in 2004:

http://tinyurl.com/2mxnm

So the argument about 'mass chaos' the know-nothings keep repeating is a lie on its face.

We're there to keep the guard on OUR OIL, which reminds me I saw another bumper sticker in our reactionary little town that read "What is our oil doing under their soil?"

But hey, Halliburton and the rest of the Complex will do just fine on Wall Street and that's all that matters.

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I don't think that McCain has a conservative problem. He has a problem with the TurdBlossom mentality that flourished during the George W. Bush presidency. I wouldn't call people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, or Ann Coulter conservatives by any stretch of the imagination. What makes the TurdBlossom mentality truly dangerous are Erik Prince with his Blackwater "security" contractors who will do anything to continue to control the White House.

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What do the American people want in the next president? I know that what America needs is rebuilding the international image of this country- and the Pres is the only one in the position to do so since that is his main job. Remember your civics- the pres 's job is foreign affairs, not domestic, that is for Congress. A president creates an atmosphere, of trust, or distrust, of peace or of war, of interest in other humans on this planet, or not. If we choose a president solely based on whether he was a soldier, POW, business leader, wealthy, and such- that is all we will get.
MC CAin was known for his true economic conservatism- not a bad principle. If we elect him that will be his strength, if he sticks to it; however that is not his primary job description. It is Congress that holds the Purse. If we choose Obama or Clinton for their more peaceful and interested attitudes in the rest of the world, that is what we will get, if they stick to their principles. They may or may not be good economic conservatists.
So it is important to know what we choose our candidate for, and which tasks the president should excel at. ( remember civics lessons for their job descriptions).

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Thomas and Sallybone are Republican campaign volunteers assigned to this site.

Remember when there used to be lots of trolls? And then as the Bush/Cheney team began to fall apart two or three years ago they almost all disappeared.

Now in an election year they suddenly return, not agressive and trying to disrupt as before, but pretending to be the voice of reason and moderation.

Ignore them. There will be lots more of them showing up as McCain becomes more desperate.

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John McCain won the endorsement of pro-Israel evangelical leader John Hagee on Wednesday, which could boost his standing among religious conservatives who have been reluctant to embrace the likely nominee.

Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio, Texas, is best known for his outspoken support of Israel and writings on the Middle East, where he envisions a blood-soaked clash between East and West leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

"I'm very honored by Pastor John Hagee's endorsement today," McCain said at a news conference. "He has been the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement in many areas, but especially, most especially, his close ties and advocacy for the freedom and independence of the state of Israel."



Hagee has written that events in the Middle East point to an imminent apocalypse Christians should welcome.


But many evangelicals continue to support rival Mike Huckabee, who is ANOTHER CHRISTIAN ZIONIST!


The fastest growing cult in the USA is the heretical theology of Christian Zionism and is a match made in hell with the neo-con ideology.

Public service message from WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

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McCain became the nominee because the other Republican nominees self destructed. You don’t need to be a genius to see that Mr 911’s cross dressing, and shady personal life would kill him if he ever became the nominee. Romney had a good chance. But he sold himself wrong. There is a part of the Republican party that is the “business of America is business”, and Romney as a successful businessman could have sold very well to this crowd. But he never tried. Instead he went after the war vote- with quotes like “I will double the size of Gatanamo”, and he went after the religious vote. He didn’t win either of those arguments. Huckabee is too religious to sell to the majority of the rank and file.

So McCain became the nominee because the others self destructed, or were fatally flawed from the beginning.

As for McCain’s 100 year war- I am old enough to remember Richard Nixon campaigning on whooping the Vietnamese. History recorded what came of that. Nixon tried to win, and wound up as the biggest looser. We cannot win this war- and the sooner political reality arrives, the better it is for the country

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I dislike Ann Coulter ,her crazy opinions and meanspirited language, but Tabbibi should not use the B word for her --let alone alone skank and whore because it is sexist. I have two companion dogs that are technically bitches so i didn't quite understand the 'flee like bitches' reference.

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McCain's deeply ingrained militarism and we need to win this time should worry any American about Mccain. No End in Sight to the Iraq Occupation if Mccain is elected so polls that show Mccain winning are very troubling. The Dems need to unite around the issue of an end to the Occupation.

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Matt, as usual, is spot-on. The fact that McCain is a snake is beyond dispute; the only question being," Where does he slink to shed his melanomically challenged skin? ".
To help one wrap ones mind around the utter depravity of John McCain, lets use the numeral FIVE and its derivations, shall we ?
Unlike the FIVE foot, seven inch Dennis Kucinich; the FIVE foot, seven inch John McCain is not only elevation challenged, he is also mentally challenged.
Despite being passed along at Annapolis with a ranking of FIFTH from the bottom in his graduating class, his four-star admiral father and four-star admiral grandfather enabled him to leap-frog over hundreds of truly " qualified " naval aviator candidates which allowed him to eventually become a spectacularly incompetent pilot. Again, family connections kept him in the air despite the fact he " lost " FIVE military airplanes during his pathetic naval piloting career! He ended his navy career as.....I'm not making this up...a Flight Instructor!!
His FIVE years in supposed captivity has never been fully vetted as McCain and his grotesquely influential family have devoted decades to sealing records related to POWs of the Viet Nam era.
His marriage to trophy wife,wealthy Budweiser Beer heiress, Cindy Lou Hensley, occured FIVE weeks after he divorced physically- challenged-as-a-result-of-injuries sustained-in-an-auto-accident first wife, Carol. He was also the point guard,presumably, on the starting FIVE of the Keating Five.
His cozy relationships with the K street crowd is fully exemplified by the fact FIVE of his top six current campaign advisors are lobbyists !
I'm predicting that even though Barack Obama will suffer markedly from racist voting, especially here in Arkansas and the rest of the red state south; he will nevertheless destroy George W. to the second power, a.k.a. John McCain come November.

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What strikes me as interesting is how much stronger it makes Mcain to be known as maverick when the Republicans know how much they have fallen into disfavor nationally.

The un-cola candidate is the only candidate the repubs can run who stands any chance at all.

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I am no fan of Hannity, Limbaugh, or Coulter but when have they advocated or participated in a book burning? How does this obvious canard advance an argument?

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