Well, hello gorgeous! McCain has been enjoying the fruits of the Andre the Giant-sized Democratic primary but suddenly today, he's all over the map. (Not to mention a stop in my home state!) Here's what's going on with the Republican Senator:
- A sneak-preview of the New York Times Sunday magazine section, the huge article called "The McCain Doctrines," includes this quote from Max Cleland, Georgia’s former Democratic senator: “McCain is my friend and brother, and I love him dearly. But I think you learn something fighting on the ground, like me and John Kerry and Chuck Hagel did in Vietnam. This objective of ‘hearts and minds’? Well, hello! You didn’t know which heart and mind was going to blow you up!"
- McCain spoke moments ago in Columbus, OH, jumping feet first into the general election and outlining plans for his presidency. He laid out a timetable of his own for Iraq — one of victory. Imagining the world at the end of his term he said, "By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension." He added by 2013, "there is no longer any place in the world al Qaeda can consider a safe haven," and that there still will not have been a "major terrorist attack in the United States since September 11, 2001."
- Cindy McCain has sold off $2 million she held in funds with investments in Sudan businesses. The mutual funds have investments in companies with business in Sudan according to an organization that has been working to persuade states, universities and other organizations to divest. A spokesman for the campaign says, "As soon as she was made aware, she sold it."
Do you believe McCain's vision for the end of his term in office? Will the US have won the Iraq war? Are you interested in Cindy McCain's financial situation — especially since she's demurred to release her tax returns?
Pinko
Calvin Klein
Barbour
hello gorgeous? citizen, you crack me up! (are you from columbus? we beat the buckeyes this year, ya know?
I love McCain's vision. And I sure to heck hope that it becomes a reality. Especially the al qaeda part and the not having a terrorist attack part.
Since Cindy has always filed separately, I think it's a non-issue.
1Oh nope. Oregon
I love the pic with the flag. I gave tours at the Oregon State
Capitol during college — ask me anything! I'm curious to see how the tax returns play out. I think a lot of people are going to push hard for their release...
2Ohhh I didn't even see that! We're you an OSU Beaver?
3Nope, but grew up right up the road. Oddly, I am wearing a Beavers shirt right now though... are you spying on me?
4I'd be okay with McCain in the Oval Office. I can't vote for him on principle, but I'd be okay with him as our leader.
5my bff was a beaver!
6Why can't you vote for him on principle, rac? Just curious...
7Why are people concerned with how much Cindy has, she has her own money and she files separately. Non issue. Again, where is the issue.
8Cindy McCain tax return is a non-issue like Sy said. It is so ridiculous.
9I find it hilarious that politicians talk about winning wars. Please. You can't win the war on terror any more than you can win the war on drugs. The easiest way to ensure failure, is to declare something abstract as the enemy. What is a won war on Iraq? Every last Iraqi dead or embittered? Until we start talking instead of bombing, there is no winning.
10I really think Roe v. Wade needs to stay put and abortion be kept legal. I also think his rhetoric of late is a little bellicose when what we need is a more diplomatic tone. I think he does have this country's best interests at heart and deeply cares about America. He's old school and I think he's also able to listen to people. Basically, I just think he's a really decent man.
11Since the McCains do not live in a community property State, what is Cindy's remains Cindy's. I do think I heard somewhere that there was a Pre-Nup. Since their money is not available to both, she should not be pressured to reveal her total worth. The CLINTONS on the otherhand have joint accounts, so their finances are important. The Obamas also my have a joint account and if so, must furnish financial reports.
McCain as President will allow the USofA to declare a win. He's tougher than steel because of his time in Viet Nam and he has the fortitude to face off with Iraq's leaders and not wuss out. He is a defender of freedom (not a complainer or a user) who will not sell out the USofA to foreign powers.
YES, McCain CAN keep the USofA safer than either Obama or Clinton.
12I don't see how Cindy's tax return is anyone's business any more than my tax return is anyone's business. Good for her for pulling money out of the mutual funds that included Sudan businesses. I read in Time that a lot of mutual fund companies are offering programs that don't invest in companies from countries that support terrorist groups.
13yeah, good for her. I have a mutual fund, but I don't know to save my life what companies i'm invested in. I will check that out!
14This is going to sound perverted but I don't care. I'm in love with Cindy McCain and I want to know everything about her. I want to go through her finances, her trash, her laundry. Yes, it's disgusting and maybe I'll even be put on some sort of government list, but she needs to know how I feel about her!
15rac if i catch you with cindy mccain's underwear on your face, we are so never talking again!
i agree that her taxes are a non issue because all of her money and her assets are in her name alone (via their prenup) and they've always filed seperately. i'd feel differently if they had always filed jointly and this is a new thing, then that would be shady!
his vision sounds great, but i'd have to read more in depth with how he wants to accomplish them...
16oooh he mentions the flat tax, i like that!
and this part is refreshing: McCain also made a veiled criticism of President Bush when he said "I will exercise my veto if I believe legislation passed by Congress is not in the nation's best interests, but I will not subvert the purpose of legislation I have signed by making statements that indicate I will enforce only the parts of it I like."
Bush has made a practice of issuing signing statements that outline portions of legislation he will not enforce or abide by because he felt they infringe on his executive powers.
McCain pledged to work with members of either party to make the country safer and more prosperous.
"And I won't care who gets the credit," he said
17I saw McCain in an interview yesterday and I really liked that he kept mentioning how he would work across party lines for the betterment of the country. That's the kind of thing I want to hear.
18You know, if everyone just paid 20% of their income (no loopholes, everyone pays) we would have no deficit and we'd all pay less than what we pay now. If any candidate could do that, I would vote for them even if they also mandated that we had to watch Bill O'Reilly every day.
19Kim I agree, he was on Regis and Kelly yesterday and even there he mentioned that a few times!
What I like about McCain is that when he says something like that, you can go back in his record and see the times he's actually DONE it.
Gotta love that follow through!
20Rac I read somewhere once, can't remember now, that every country that has instituted a flat tax has seen increase in gov't revenues and its almost always worked out very well for everyone...
And hey, anything that gets me out of doing taxes makes me pretty happy!
21Cab that's the interview I saw, I was at the gym and was reading the closed captioning lol
22He is going to be very tough to beat unless he picks a controversial Veep. Like Putin. The democrats are definitely going to have their work cut out for them.
23hahah Kim! I like seeing him in the softer venues every once in a while just to see him be relaxed!
24Racc you should have voted for Fred Thompson! He was a big supporter of the flat tax, as am I. But before that is implemented we have to amend the constitution so that they can't add extra taxes on later on in life>
25I have mutual funds, and I'll be honest, I have NO idea where my money is. I mean, I know generally what categories of funds they're in, but that's it.
So I completely believe that the average mutual fund investor isn't aware of where there money is. I also heard that Hillary and Obama had to sell funds for similar reasons, but they did it last year.
I think it's an interesting issue. I am planning on looking into more responsible investing if I find out my funds are supporting companies whose business practices and investments I disagree with on moral grounds.
kimpossible, I agree that working across party lines is ideal. But, who isn't saying that right now? I guess we'll see if any of them can actually carry it out.
I hear things about how each party will block "good" legislation that the opposing party has created in order to make the other party, in general, look bad. They don't want the opposition to succeed because then they lose voters.
I feel like with attitudes like that in place, it will take a powerful change to get more cooperation.
And finally, I think McCain is smart to put out a new date on the "end game" for the war since his "100 years" is erroneously used against him so often.
However, I also agree that a fight against something abstract is bound to be tough to "win". I do dispute that drugs are abstract though.
26me too cab!
27I did like Thompson. Ultimately though I knew once things started to get tough, he was getting out. Some people said it was the laziness thing, but I just thought he was too bored by all the campaign BS.
28"And finally, I think McCain is smart to put out a new date on the "end game" for the war since his "100 years" is erroneously used against him so often."
That didn't occur to me until you brought that up Pop, good point!
29Fred does not like the media, so that worked against him as well. I love me some Fred.
30I think that the Cindy McCain investments are a non-issue...those are pretty big funds that many 401k plans contribute to.
I think his plans for his presidency are pretty far fetched, and I am so curious as to how he expects to pull that stuff off. What exactly does this mean:
"Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension."
He chided Obama for his goals for Iraq, which to me, where much more realistic.
31I have to say..
FINALLY a McCain thread!!!
32I think rac is thinking about joining team red.
On a more serious note, I am glad McCain is really getting himself out there. And while everyone is going to say they want to work with the other party now, I think McCain's history shows that he is actually willing to work with the other party and it's not just rhetoric on his part. He is obviously Republican, but he has consistently been one of the least partisan politicians in Washington.
Also, I think he realizes that the war in Iraq is abstract and it will be difficult to achieve "victory," but if you read the entire quote, he defines what he means be victory. (a stable democracy, etc.)
Anyway, I wish the Dems would just be done so the general election can start!
33On the "Iraq as a functioning democracy" here are some snippits from his website:
- Four out of the six laws cited as benchmarks by the U.S. have been passed by the Iraqi legislature. A law on amnesty and a law rolling back some of the harsher restrictions against former employees of the Iraqi government have made it possible for Iraqis to move toward genuine reconciliation. The legislature has devolved greater power to local and provincial authorities, where much of the real work of rebuilding Iraq is taking place.
- Iraq will conduct two landmark elections in the near future – one for provincial governments in late 2008 and the other for the national government in 2009.
-John McCain believes we should welcome a larger United Nations role in supporting the elections.
And it looks like he is saying that we need to help them through the elections militarily.
34I think we're getting a lot of broad ideas now because we're really not in the full swing of an election until the Dems get sorted out.
Once that is sorted and we start getting into debate season, we'll hear many more specific ideas.
35I think Cindy McCain's tax record matter because the NYTimes reported that after McCain's campaign had money troubles last summer, his campaign used her company's private jet at below market rates and has continued to use the private jet. In effect, she's subsidizing his campaign. The rest of us are limited to $2,300 in contributions to each candidate, so why can she authorize hundreds of thousands of dollars in subsidies from her family's company to the McCain campaign?
36I do think that McCain abusing his own legislation is an important issue worth examining.
You aren't allowed to use planes that are owned by family members or get free flights from companies, but he was "charged" to use Cindy's company's plane at only 30% of it's value. Seems a little sketchy to me.
37The law explicitly states that the way in which McCain used the plane is legal.
38"John McCain believes we should welcome a larger United Nations role in supporting the elections."
I thought he thought that the United Nations was a failure, and instead proposed a "League of Democracies" that would exclude Russia, China, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, and Singapore.
39You don't think a 70% discount is questionable, considering his wife owns the company? If this was Obama, I think it would get a different reaction.
40McCain paid the first class rate, which is specifically what the law stipulates. I personally think I'd be getting a different reaction from you if this was Obama.
41And I can't speak for others, but you definitely wouldn't be getting a different reaction from me if this was Obama, considering that I have focused on issues through the entire election. The only time I've discussed non-issues is in defense of candidates, including Obama.
42"This is going to sound perverted but I don't care. I'm in love with Cindy McCain and I want to know everything about her. I want to go through her finances, her trash, her laundry. Yes, it's disgusting and maybe I'll even be put on some sort of government list, but she needs to know how I feel about her!"
Haha you are funny!!
Hey I love any woman who can pull off a hott pink suit!
43I don't think abusing money is something to worry about with Mccain, considering it was him along with Goldberg (I believe) who put a cap on how much money could be donated to a campaign. Prior unlimited money could be donated, but politicians would be swayed to do what the individual or company wanted in favor of mulah.
44I think he has Americas best interest at heart.
This will all be so much more exciting when the general starts to heat up!
On a side note, boo Beavers! Go Ducks!!
(Is it wrong that I used to get a kick out of
wearing my Ducks stuff around the land of orange and black in high school? 
Actually, don't
answer that. I *still* get a kick out of it everytime I visit Pops.)
45After reading his speech, I am confused. How can he say this:
"A substantial increase in veterans educational benefits and improvements in their health care has aided recruitment and retention."
...And be against the GI Bill??????
And this is not true!!!
"Reforms of the insurance market; putting the choice of health care into the hands of American families rather than exclusively with the government or employers"
His use of the words "rather" and "exclusively" imply that the democratic plans would only allow you to get insurance through the government or your employer. This is NOT TRUE!!! My respect for John McCain drops another notch. Americans don't need politicians misrepresenting the other side. If his plan was better, he wouldn't need to.
46Jill, I believe just a few days ago you were arguing that legislation is extremely nuanced and a simple yes or no vote can't completely demonstrate how someone feels about an issue. Maybe McCain doesn't believe the GI Bill is the best way to help veterans.
As for the insurance comment, no where does he state that either of the other candidates support putting choices into the hands of employers or the government. However, for some people, even currently, health care choices are "exclusively" in the hands of the government or their employers. So, his plan could be the "rather" to the present situation for some Americans.
47And you're right, Americans don't need politicians misrepresenting the other side. Kind of like the "100 years" comment.
48lilkimbo, I agree it's more nuanced. I was listening to some of the argumentation against the bill, and the people who were opposing it did so on the grounds that the money to pay for it was largely being generated from taxing small businesses.
I think that some of these bills are set up so that if you veto them you look like a monster.
49I agree, pop! And I definitely think it's that way on both sides.
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