Letters to the Editor
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This One-Time Maverick's Been Roped And Branded
And now bears a bit "W" on his forehead. You can expect to get about the same amount of "straight talk" from Senator McCain as you can out of Bush or Cheney. He's totally in their thrall and could not even break free enough to oppose Bush's disastrously flawed immigration bill, but became its sponsor instead. His campaign is a total waste of time, money, and energy. The only supporters he might draw are the 20% or so of voters who still think Bush is doing a good job.
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why...
...is anyone even discussing John McCain? He's in the final moments of his career, he will never be (and never should be) President. Why is a certain cross-dressing ex-mayor with absolutely no qualifications to be President suddenly a front-runner? How did Barak Obama become a national sensation and viable candidate for President by virtue of one high profile, vapid, self indulgant speech?
They're all media monsters. Out of all the people running for President in 08 (on both sides) I have heard NOTHING of substance. I have detected no inspired leadership qualities, no original concepts or solutions for the multitude of problems facing the nation. These clowns and characters are the ones we will HAVE to choose from to lead the country for one reason: they're colorful stories in one way or another. If there is anyone out there truly qualified to be President it would be imposible for them to to even reach the public. Its all showbuisness.
So here is yet another piece following the every move a half-senile old hasbeen who shouldn't even be running. And we wonder why the future looks as bleak as the present.
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McCain's fall
Many people I talk to think McCain sold out a long time ago. He has been kissing up to Bush since he lost in 2000 even though he knows Bush was behind all of the accusations against him. And they were horrible accusations that hurt his entire family. It seems like McCain, in order to win an election, has lost all of his integrity and core beliefs. I don't think McCain is a bad guy and he would probably be a good president. But he has made too many monumental mistakes and shown himself to be power hungry just like the rest of them. In the end, this is what he will be remembered for.
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One flew out of the Hanoi Hilton
The Department of Veterans Affairs health care system has a list of certain illnesses they call "presumptive" illnesses. In other words, if you served in Gulf War I and you come down with unexplained symptoms of chemical poisoning, it is "presumptive" that you got it from exposure to substances in the air during the Gulf War. If you were in certain parts of Vietnam and you come down with certain cancers, it is "presumed" that you got them from exposure to Agent Orange.
In McCain's case, odd as it may seem, the VA "presumes" that if you were a prisoner of war and you develop symptoms of pyschosis, you got from being a POW.
McCain is presumed to be a psycho by the VA. Who are we to argue with that?
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The 2 things that sunk the McCain bid for Prez.
The 2 things that sunk the McCain bid for Prez.
1) Kissing on Monkeyboy on stage that time. When was that? Maybe two years ago. Had he forgotten all the horrible things that the Bush Cabal had just nailed him with? The lies, etc.
2) Not remembering that the Iraq War--far from a "worth winning" enterprise--was started with the lies of Cheney. Started with lies! Everyone should remember that, as well as understand, as McCain has apparently failed to do, that nothing begun with such lethal mendacity could ever have a positive conclusion.
--Rowland
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He's too genuine when Republicans always want a phony
Not that I agree in any way with most of the man's core beliefs, but the one thing I thought was respectable about his 2000 campaign was that he at least pointed out the two biggest threats to his party's integrity, those being the Religious Right and corrupt lobbyists, to Republican voters. Unfortunately, McCain was about 6 years ahead of his time, because speaking the truth to Republican voters proved to be a big mistake, as the truth hurt so much that they of course gave the nomination to the biggest proven liar in modern times. A GOP candidate can't win if he isn't constantly placating the base with the idea that there are no elements or ideologies in the make-up of thier party that might lead them to a dead end if not scrutinized. A pro-lifer like McCain who had the guts to take on Falwell and Pat Robertson might have swayed some Independent voters after a nomination was secure, but to a typical Bible Belt Republican primary voter McCain's calling out was construed as a lack of "purity".
I think his biggest problem now compared to 2000 is that he has sold out so often to Bush the past 3 years that it's become a sort of guilt by association. The one thing in common between Romney, Guliani and Thompson is that none of them were really in Congress with a record of rubber-stamping Bush's disastrous agenda (even though they probably suported it from a distance regardless). It's gotta be tough for McCain to have put in so much time only to be trailing the likes of Moe, Larry & Curly in the polls, but they are relatively fresh faces in a party where voters want nothing more than to forget past mistakes rather than ask what they could have done to prevent them. Seeing McCain's face only serves as a reminder to GOP faithful that thier party had all 3 branches of government and then promptly screwed up big-time. McCain should know by now that Republicans will do anything to run from any reminder of that.
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McCain sucked up to the media
Part of McCain's problem is that he sucked up to the media. The media fell for him in 2000 because he was standing up to people that the media didn't like (e.g. the religious right, right wing donors because of his desire for campaign fiance reform). They forgave him comments about "gooks" and his anti-abortion stand (they probably assumed he didn't mean it) that otherwise would have been used to destroy a politican.
Flash forward:
McCain is pro-Iraq War, certainly a courageous maverick position right now. But, the media hates the war so McCain loses all of their sympatheric coverage.
Next, McCain pulls one of his "stand up to the base" stunts and sides with Kennedy on immigration. Remember, it not just the Republican base that didn't like the bill but a healthy percentage of Perot-type independents and pro-union liberals.
End Result: He has no base anymore.
Now, the good news is that right now is not an election year and most voters do not care a whit what the "candidates" are saying. He's got built-in name recognition so can be a player in any primary if he can find something that resonates.
The bad news is that the media will not forgive him for his Iraq position so even if he finds something that resonates, his ability to get a message out is severely diminshed.
The other bad news is that he looks old.