Who is John McCain Now?
I’ve always respected John McCain. Although I understand that campaigning candidates tend to adapt their talking points to please their base of support, my respect for McCain wavered as he flip flopped on issues during the presidential nomination campaign.
I don’t agree with McCain on many issues, but I was pleased to see at the RNC that more of the pre-campaign John McCain emerged. I appreciated that both he and Obama spoke respectfully of each other as opponents during their convention speeches, and that McCain was able to admit the grave setbacks our country has suffered under an eight year Republican administration led by Bush.
Although the media set the bar low for McCain’s oratory ability, I thought both his and Obama’s convention speeches were compelling. But here’s the catch and what concerns about McCain. While his fervent love of country is on the one hand admirable, it also comes across to me as almost religious, and so prone to the same pitfalls that zealous religiosity can produce.
As one who doesn’t buy into the old adage “my country right or wrong,” preferring that my country be big enough to right its wrongs, I worry that McCain’s warrior’s need for a victorious U.S.A. will manifest as stubborn unyieldingness. His outdated worldview seems to revolve around losing Vietnam, like Bush’s worldview compelled him to pick up where the first Gulf War left off, at the expense of more pressing present day concerns.
McCain has a reputation for being hot-headed and for making decisions based on gut instincts over facts. His mission to get the bad guys, with constant references to himself as a “maverick,” here to save us from the Washington establishment (of which he’s been a part for a couple of decades), is beginning to sound like “gun slinging.”
I think we’ve had enough of those qualities under President Bush.
When I combine my concerns about McCain with those I have about Governor Palin and her far right Christian conservative ideology, it adds up to an equation that looks too much like George Bush. Palin, a first time Republican female candidate for vice president, doesn’t support women’s rights. She would deny women the right to have an abortion even in the case of rape or incest. She has inquired about banning library books, would support creationism taught in schools, has called the conflict in Iraq “A task from God,” and has refuted the science on climate change.
Sound familiar?
With McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin for his running mate, the respect I once had for him has dissolved. I consider his choice to be a sell-out departure from the moderate independent McCain of the past. I find myself asking, if McCain loves his country as much as he professes and wants only the best for it, why would he risk letting someone with such radical views and limited world experience so close to the presidency?
Ultimately, I see the McCain/Palin ticket as a vote against progressive politics, and I fear that if they prevail in November we’ll be headed for the Bush administration all over again. Or maybe something worse.
Post notes: Charlie Gibson’s interview with Palin is HERE . HERE is a video clip on Palin’s church that makes Jeremiah Wright look like a choirboy. Towards the end of the clip Plain makes the “task from God” comment. My recent post on Palin is HERE.
September 12th, 2008 9:43 am
and, this is how i see it. if mccain really loved this country, if country really does come first, then why did he choose someone who has no experience in national politics and has such limited experience in the world? governing the entire population of alaska is like managing memphis, tennessee. if he really cared about the country being united, if he really wanted women to feel represented why would he choose someone who wants to manage my uterus as well as her own, who doesn’t care about how a rape or incest might affect my life, who wants to kill animals from the air because it is easier to spot them, who doesn’t give a damn about the polar bears or the environment even though she lives in a state where the wilderness and nature are significant resources? if he really cared about this country he would have made a different choice. he would have made sure if anything happened to him we would all be in good hands. he chose someone whom he thought would help him win and the country be damned. that is not a man i want governing my country. his ego and his need for power seem more important than his country, in my opinion. i am sick of the term maverick and wonder how this word connects to his testosterone! i have lost respect for him entirely and am tired of his manipulations and misrepresentations (about himself and about obama). in fact, he and his running mate and his campaign staff can all kiss my grits!
September 12th, 2008 10:05 am
This was my reaction to his RNC speech and since then my respect has gone out the window. His choice of Palin for VP shows he lost himself and would do almost anything to get elected.
I think he Mccain has so much left over baggage from Vietnam that he sees the world through that outdated view. He seems hung-up on losing Vietnam like Bush was hung-up on not getting rid of Saddam in the first Iraq war. Obama doesn’t have that kind of baggage. I think he would prove to be a thoughtful, tough yet flexible and smart leader.
September 12th, 2008 10:42 am
With a candidate like McCain & Co I can only say “God safe America” !!
September 12th, 2008 10:46 am
I agree. Come over to my blog and click the link to the letter from Eve Ensler about Palin.
September 12th, 2008 12:33 pm
Hi Colleen,
I wanted to let you know I’ve been following your blog for a couple of months now and really enjoy stopping by. I just moved to Floyd about three weeks ago and so far it lives up to all of your descriptions.
Take care,
Lorrie
September 12th, 2008 12:54 pm
I look forward to meeting you Lorrie!
September 12th, 2008 1:08 pm
Great post…the only problem is we’re all preaching to the choir (no pun intended). I’ve got all my fingers and toes crossed until November!
September 12th, 2008 1:10 pm
Excellent insight again and excellent response from SKY.
xo
September 12th, 2008 1:28 pm
Yes, I appreciated Sky’s comments too. They were so right on they inspired me to update the post.
September 12th, 2008 4:18 pm
Hello Colleen, I being in the Independent class of voting, am not happy with either choice of candidates who will run our nation…but I do believe in the facts ( the Truth) of the matter.
You & others have mentioned the books that were supposedly banned by Palin…is it fact or fiction…do we jump at the first words written in ink to make an opinion or is it an educated guess or hypothesis. Check out more of the facts @:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/palin/bannedbooks.asp
September 12th, 2008 4:24 pm
I don’t believe there is any list of books Palin wanted banned. It never got that far. She called the librarian to inquire about books being banned. When the librarian balked she tried to have her fired but withdrew her steps at that when she discovered it would be very unpopular. I’ll dig up some sources of that story. It’s all over the internet and I saw it reported this way on TV as well.
UPDATE: Okay here’s a Time/CNN story that reports it: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837918,00.html (towards the end).
Also a reprint from the Chicago Tribune of an Anchorage newspaper. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-palin-book_bdsep07,0,3537053.story
September 12th, 2008 4:35 pm
Very Good…and I will do the same!
September 12th, 2008 4:56 pm
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_palin.html
September 12th, 2008 5:27 pm
I think that fact check list is dealing with semantics. You know like “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” There is no banned book list but she did inquire about banning books and put pressure on the librarian who balked. See the Time story above.
September 12th, 2008 6:07 pm
Thank you, Colleen – I totally agree with you! Just got to work on getting the “right” person elected…
September 12th, 2008 6:22 pm
Perfectly stated Colleen. I feel the same.
As for the banned books…true, Palin inquired. The worst of it though is that when the city librarian, Dorothy Emmons, refused to remove “objectionable books” (much to her credit) Emmons got a letter from Palin telling her she was going to be fired. After public support for this woman who had been a well liked librarian, Palin relented.
Read about it at the Anchorage Daily News.
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515512.html
September 12th, 2008 7:52 pm
Amen, sister! Although I never really liked him, and now I just like him LESS.
Is anyone concerned about him having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
The Palin interviews have been great. She’s like a moose-in-the-headlights.
Here via michele today!
September 12th, 2008 11:18 pm
McCain picked someone who he thinks can help him win the election, not the best person for the job. That just tells me what kind of person he is. But let me tell you guys, they might win. I belong to a lot of horse boards and all those people from all across the country are infatuated with McCain and Palin and I am in the minority. They are passing around pictures of Palin bending over bloody animals and one of her in a red, white and blue bikini holding an assault rifle. They think it’s great. I’m scared.
And the crazy things Palin believes! I heard she believes in gay conversions. And she’s against sex education. Yeah, that worked for her family. Maybe the daughter didn’t know if the boyfriend put his thing inside her wee-wee the stork would come.
http://www.GreenerPastures–ACityGirlGoesCountry.blogspot.com
September 12th, 2008 11:36 pm
I find it interesting that now that Gov. Palin is back in Alaska, to adoring crowds, that McCain is drifting aimlessly. The fact that he needs Palin to energize his campaign speaks volumes about both him and America. While Obama and Biden go their separate ways, McCain gets no respect without having the adulatory Palin followers cheering her on. It really is about the social conservatives. Scary …. waaaaay scary!
September 12th, 2008 11:39 pm
The picture of Palin in the bikini is a fake.
September 13th, 2008 4:29 am
All one has to do is listen to the things McCain says and the things Palin says. It is so very scary—Both of them!
McCain said today he is against Roe V. Wade and always has been and if elected he would appoint–THEN Correc ted himself…Recommend Judges for the Supreme Court that agree with him. I heard him say this. This is NOT Hearsay, or a fake statement.
We neec to cncentrate on gettin g the main message out about the next four years being the same, if not worse, than the last eight years. Our country is on the brink of disaster on every level….We do not need more Conservitive War Mongering people in office. OY!
September 13th, 2008 1:39 pm
I agree with everything you said.
Another thing that I think is important to think about (besides the fact that McCain/Palin have the EXACT same stance on all of the issues as Bush/Cheney) is that McCain (& Palin) can literally not go through one speech, interview, or advertisement without telling a lie. This is something that should bug all Americans whether they are liberals, conservatives, or independents. We’ve been lied to enough over the last 8 years. We don’t need 4 more years of lies.
September 13th, 2008 6:34 pm
Regarding the attempt to fire the librarian: I can really see it. I’ve many like her. Pitt bulls indeed.
September 13th, 2008 10:29 pm
Once again, way to get to the heart of the matter. Your logic is like a woodsman carefully tracking a dangerous animal. And, I particularly like the point that McCain’s choice of Palin shows little regard for America. However, in that choice he galvanized his base, and pulled in socially conservative Democrats and Independents.
I only wish Obama had similarly continued with the strengths that won him such a passionate following in the primaries. Instead, he and his advisers decided to go with the tired old playbook- “in the general election run to the middle.”
With his position on FISA, his efforts to appeal to the conservative religious right, his reversal on oil drilling and his now stating he may continue the tax cuts for the rich, he kinda lost me. Ultimately,the most important “change” needed in America is to restore the Constitution, otherwise all other changes are pointless. Obama has not shown a willingness to do so. Now I’m down to voting for him because, as you pointed out, McCain and Palin will likely continue and worsen current repressive policies and take a “gun-slinging”, dangerous approach to world politics.
September 14th, 2008 12:00 pm
“my respect for McCain wavered as he flip flopped on issues”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/24/AR2008022402094.html?sid=ST2008022402134
In addition, Obama has also flipped on both wire tapping, oil drilling, and our success in Iraq since the surge.
“I worry that McCain’s warrior’s need for a victorious U.S.A. will manifest as stubborn unyieldingness.”
This character is needed as an example that America will not yield to the injustices of terrorism nor will it be untrue to itself in securing the American people’s interests. This is the biggest draw McCain has for me, and it is the single-most important factor that led Bush to victory in 2004 and to our success in fighting our enemies and keeping America attack-free since 9/11.
Regarding McCain’s “religiosity” and Palin’s church, the secular angry liberal left has always been un-nerved and hostile toward religious freedom and expression. If anything, religion in a candidate expresses to me that this person is grounded in a belief that our actions have consequences and that we all have value in a spiritual sense. I’m quite certain Palin and company have never God-damned America, nor have their religious leaders had affairs with the patients of whom they were providing marriage counseling as Wright has done.
Progressive politics must be about change simply for the sake of change even for successful policies. McCain has both wisdom and experience as he was elected to office in 1982. Compare that with Obama, a senator only since 2004, who took his campaign to Europe where noone will vote this November and noone pays our taxes. The credibility gap is enormous in this context, and it would be dangerous to put such a junior statesman into the White House.
Regarding Palin’s “God’s task” comment, if you have ever been religious rather than simply taken a course on religion, then you should know that it is important to incorporate religion into your personal life in the hopes that you successfully use your God-given intelligence to see a clear picture of your choices and which ones are best for your country. It really is that simple.
September 14th, 2008 1:49 pm
I think it’s fine for leaders to incorporate religion into their personal lives, but I don’t like it when they impose their religion on others as leaders. I got a comment recently from a blogger from Belgium who said people there don’t even no what religion (or not) their leaders are. I think religion is personal and should not to be used the way it is in this country, like a calling card. I believe in the separation of church and state, as our founding fathers did, because that is what allows and protects religious freedoms, as well as the freedom not to participate in religion.
You’re entitled to your opinion. I don’t agree with it. I think electing McCain/Palin is like getting Bush plus, and in my mind that is what is dangerous. I don’t agree that Bush has kept us safe and that McCain will do likewise. I think we are more unsafe because of Bush’s actions. I want someone to restore our credibility in the world. I think Obama will be more thoughtful, flexible, and smart as a leader.
You neglected to mention Obama’s experience before his two years in the Senate:
Obama is a graduate of Columbia University, where he studied international relations, and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate in January 2003. After a primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.
As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.
The above was taken from Wikipedia.
September 15th, 2008 12:47 pm
With AIG and Merrill Lynch going under this country is in for some serious times and I want someone smart. McCain relies on people who have been very very bad for the economy these past few years as his advisors. It is really getting scary and I can’t believe more people can’t see that he will be another 4 years of the same. I laugh when he talks about big government when he is big corrupt government. McCain has been caught several times in very compromising positions. He’s sold out more than once for money and has been investigated. People somehow forget all that. But I have just decided people are stupid and don’t want to know about what really goes on. They aren’t optimistic so they vote the same old way regardless. And that is a shame.
Jim is wrong. Too many of them are wrong. They whine about higher taxes but even if their taxes stay the same they’ll be paying $15 for a loaf of bread. His remarks for Palin using her faith is okay shows he is either a huge evangelical himself or sees nothing wrong with letting religion make your decisions. There is a big difference in using your faith to make you stronger than thinking you are actually playing a role in Revelations and the end of time. How come it is always Amercian small churches that can predict the rapture? Yet somehow years of big historians in Catholic churches with the actually documents never could? Also funny how so many in those churches can speak in tounges….like all the tounge speakers end up in one spot on the map when a real one even in the Bible was very rare.
Ah, don’t get me started. Have a good one Colleen!
September 15th, 2008 11:33 pm
It appears that there is little comparison when it comes to Obama’s experience and McCain’s. It’s a function of age, living through interesting times, and heroic service in both military and civilian environments compared to community organizing and college.
I am quite shocked at Deana’s aggression toward religion as well as her comfortableness in calling people stupid and wrong because they disagree with her politics. I’m not a religious fanatic, but I would in no way be apologetic nor would I ashamed of being religious. As the Doobie Brothers would say, “Jesus is just alright with me”. I’m not the kind that would be offended to see the ten commandments in the courthouse, nor would I ever object to “God” being recited in the pledge of allegience. I also am comforted when our leaders say, “God bless America”. Call me an evangelical nut…
Regarding $15 bread, I think the price of food is in part due to the left wing’s obsession with alternative energy without intelligently thinking the problem through. We make fuel out of food, not knowing if that process is even net postive in fuel consumed to make it, and then we complain about food prices.
The banking crisis has resulted from excess in both the Wall St. (where I toil) and main st. areas. I could argue that left wing initiatives to provide housing to those unqualified to afford it influenced banks to underwrite more risky loans, and the problem became exacerbated and cloaked with low interest rates and rising housing prices. Combine this with bank’s greed for higher profits at any price and you have poorly capitalized banks and speculative or unqualified home buyers biting the dust. We’ll make it through, but the divisiveness reflected in this election is the most severe I have ever witnessed.