Politics: A plea for moderation and bipartisanship
Merle Widmer writes:
Even though I disagree with a number of McCain and Palin’s beliefs and actions, this Republican combination, once elected and with our help, can slow down this countries slide into populism and socialism. The Republicans, independents and many border line Democrats must be convinced to lay aside their own personal slights, jealousies, disappointments and “large” egos, tone down the “Faustian bargain made with Dobson and his ilk (See Dobson’s choice, 2/9/08) embracing most of the fundamentals on which this great country was founded and elect McCain/Palin to office.
And I have to agree. McCain spent the primary (at least the early part) telling voters that he was a different sort of candidate. he wasn’t going to trash anyone. He quickly learned how to play the game. As soon as his campaign figured out that McCain’s choice of Palin changed the game from a likely Obama win to a dead heat in the polls, the knives came out: Palin is a secessionist. Palin faked her pregnancy. Palin is a bad mother for not stayi9ng home with her kids. Palin is a gun-toting lunatic. Palin hunts endangered species. Palin had an affair. Palin. All denied and either proven untrue or died on the vine for lack of evidence.
The only reason I was considering voting for Obama is because I thought he might be the game changer we need to move us away from the hateful partisanship we’ve been experiencing from the left and right. McCain — who is NOT a Bush-style Republican no matter how much they try to make him out to be — is probably the change agent Obama tells people he is.
I can’t think of one single accomplishment of Obama OTHER than to win elections he was originally predicted to lose. Although I do believe the nation does owe him an eternal debt of gratitude for knocking Hillary Clinton out of the race.
Obama wrote two autobiographies, and not one significant piece of legislation. McCain has his name on significant pieces of legislation, whether or not you like that legislation. And McCain has a record of reaching across the aisle, not just talking about it.
McCain’s politics regarding the economy, energy, national defense and foreign relations are far closer to my own that Obama. I think McCain is honorable. He certainly would not have managed the Iraq and Afghanistan in the same way as Bush.
I don’t see McCain putting right-wing zealots with little legal brilliance on the Supreme Court. He couldn’t do it with a Democratic controlled Congress, and I don’t see him wanting to do so. I shudder for the future of gun rights and property rights with Congress giving a rubber stamp to Obama’s picks.
And McCain is on the right side when it comes to limiting the powers of the Presidency that were allowed to expand under Bush.
Again, both Obama and McCain have their pluses and minuses. Obama simply had more minuses than pluses.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Guess things aren’t bad enough yet; the GOP needs to screw things up even more before folks like you will turn them out. Several trillion spent on a war built on lies and thousands of dead soldiers (for what?); oil companies raking in billions while consumers get screwed with $4 gas (and just wait till this winter’s heating bills!); more billions spent to fix the mortgage mess that transpired under GOP watch; etc., etc. And you want to keep these people in power? Unbelievable.
Notice how McCain-Palin are campaigning on personality, not issues. They have nothing good to cite for the last many years of Republican rule; just disaster after disaster. I watched an ABC News report tonight interviewing women, even some Democrats, who say they like Palin and might vote McCain because of her — and they confirmed they didn’t really know what issue stances they had, they just liked the candidates’ personalities.
Geez, are Americans really that stupid? Apparently.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Complaining that McCain/Palin are running on personalities in an election that includes Barack Obama? Yeah. OK.
Here are the issues:
The war: Obama wants to declare victor and quit, with honor, giving no thought to leaving an unstable government. The wisdom of invading can be debated. Obviously, we either had the intelligence wrong or we were lied to. But TODAY, it’s bad policy for America and Iraq to quit and run.
Energy: Obama opposes nuclear energy expansion, which is only the clean and reliable source of alternative energy.
Foreign policy: All we get from Obama is a declaration that other nations will like us once Obama is in office. Also, he will talk to anybody to avoid a war. If history has taught us nothing, it is that talking with some people accomplishes nothing. McCain hates way as only someone who has fought in one can. Believe me, he will use diplomacy. But he won’t be going in naive. Trust me on this, some people will hate us and wish us ill even after Obama lays on the charm.
The economy: McCain understands the debilitating effect taxes have on the economy. Obama thinks punishing the “rich” will help pay for social programs. In reality “the rich” set the prices we normal mortals pay. In other words, a tax in rich people is paid by the prices poor people pay or goods and services.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Steve, while I don’t believe this war was the best managed, it obviously wasn’t fought for oil. Let’s be realistic, American companies aren’t getting the oil coming out of Iraq and as you pointed out it isn’t boosting the supply which is why prices are still high.
Its ironic that the people who argued the war was for oil are also the ones pissed that we liberated Iraq and are still paying $4 oil. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
If you want someone to use the military powers of the US wisely over the next 4-8 years McCain is the only reasonable choice. Not only does he have the command experience, but he better than anyone understands the price of going to war not solely because of his own experience but also for the fact that he has 2 sons currently in military service, one who was recently in Iraq.
As to the last 8 years, it would be ridiculous for McCain to run on the last 8 years of the Bush presidency because, well, it was THE BUSH PRESIDENCY. Pigeon holding McCain’s record to Bush’s would be like tying Obama’s record to Emil Jones and Blagojevich. Its completely ridiculous.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:57 am
“The economy: McCain understands the debilitating effect taxes have on the economy.”
Would you like to get rid of taxes entirely, Billy, since you seem to think they’re so “debilitating”?
I’m not a fan of high taxes, but taxes are a necessary evil. The Republican tax cuts of this century were sold as economic stimulus. That was a lie. If Bush had wanted to stimulate the economy, he would have given most of the cuts to people with a 100 percent propensity to consume. Instead they went mostly to people with high incomes.
Those cuts really worked, though, huh? The economy is flat on its back.
Republicans abandon their avowed interest in fiscal conservatism when it’s convenient. Likewise their “small government” plank, pro-life plank and foreign non-intervention plank.
The one thing the GOP never abandons is its affection for, and enrichment of, rich people. I find it maddening when people like you, Billy, who can’t come up with enough money to pay your cable bill, give these guys a pass as more and more wealth is concentrated at the top of the economy.
Obama is far from perfect. I prefer McCain’s energy stance. But, faced with yet another “lesser of evils” choice, I am unwilling to see the rich get richer while the middle class disappears.
September 10th, 2008 at 4:40 am
One thing: here is my analysis one one of Obama’s US Senate bills that was “his baby” from start to finish that got signed into law.
If you don’t consider this significant, fine.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Moving toward the center in the general election isn’t a new concept. If you want to use that as a metric, one could argue that Obama is moving further and faster. McCain is realatively unique in that he did very little pandering to the base in the primary.
As to tax cuts, they have been extremely effective, as appropriately gauged by the dramatic increase in revenue. Unfortunately, the spending side of the equation has been an abysmal embarrasment to any true conservative. It really pisses me off that what could have been a case study demonstrating the efficacy of tax cuts was so tragically squandered.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:06 am
I think 2 things:
a) Foreign Policy – Our stance of ‘We’ll bomb your ass back to a third world country if you don’t do what we want’ is tired and doesn’t work anymore. Nobody is afraid of the US anymore. Obama’s idea, ‘hey, let’s actually talk to these people. no we’re not going to roll over and let them do whatever they want, but let’s open some lines of communication’ is a good one. Bush has managed to make an entire planet hate us. Every country hates us and that’s very dangerous. The only people left in our corner are the Brits and they probably secretly hate us as well.
b) Obama has a certain charismatic charm that McCain does not. You all saw that whirlwind overseas tour he took a few months back. World leaders were meeting him and listening to him, as if he was already the man in charge. He opened lines of communication that have been stressed under the George W administration. He negotiated a troop withdrawal plan with Iraq before W did. This guy has a charm the few have….Kennedy….Reagan…..Bill Clinton. McCain has no charm.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:13 am
[...] http://pundit.blogpeoria.com/…; [...]
September 10th, 2008 at 9:42 am
“…McCain is realatively unique in that he did very little pandering to the base in the primary…”
I’ll agree when it comes to his stance, for instance, on ANWR. But he DID pander to the base and has continued to do so in certain areas: he was against overturning Roe v. Wade in 2000, he’s for it now, for example.
But the biggest “pander” of all happened when he named Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Up until that point, I was leaning only slightly towards Obama, because I’d always liked McCain and because I thought his pro-Bush rhetoric the last couple of years was just his way to get the nomination, and then he’d go back to Maverick John when he got the nod, and he’d be the Prez in the middle that we haven’t had for the last eight years, and that we sorely need. I still believe that is/was McCain’s strategy, and it appears correct the way he’s sprinting back to the middle since the convention.
Not that Obama wouldn’t govern from the center, I think he will, despite what the wingnuts will try to make you believe. Hell, if Nixon was running today they’d call him a liberal. But I’ve liked McCain enough in the past that I was still pretty much undecided, and could have still been swayed to back McCain. Then…along came Palin. Like I said, I was one of those “undecided voters” until then. No longer.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I’ve been for Obama, but I’ve always been a bit concerned about his lack of experience. My problem with Palin is that her lack of experience just reminds me of Obama’s lack of experience. When you look at each of them neither really has the proven experience to be President. I guess the nod goes to Palin on this since, if she is VP she will get some on-the-job training that Obama would not get. I’ve also thought that if we have to have a Republican again, then McCain is the best of that lot. I don’t see him as Bush’s third term. I agee with Bill that he won’t appoint right wing zealots to the Supreme Court. Last point: Bush is not entirely to blame for the mess this country is in today; much of the havoc he and Cheney were able to wreck on this country was allowed by a Congress willing to go along with him. I am beginning to think that the best thing for this country would be a McCain presidency with a strong Democrat Congress, and by “strong” I mean getting rid of Pelosi and Reid and getting new leadership.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Isn’t it funny how that GOP-led congress, senate and Supreme Court went along with everything the Bushies wanted from 2001-2006…except drilling for oil when they had the chance?
Oh, wait, maybe, just maybe, they don’t really WANT to drill for oil because it might hurt their profit margin, and they’re only saying it now for political gain. Nah, the Neo-cons wouldn’t do that…would they? Um. Yeah. Sure.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
People people people, especially my liberal ppl, chill. Bill lives in Illinois. It doesn’t who anyone downstate votes for, Obama will take Illinois. Now if this were blogdavenport.com I’d be a little peeved;)
September 10th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Good points, B.J.
Unfortunately, this post is about who is a better choice for president in 2008.
If you want to make McCain the embodiment of all that is wrong with the GOP during the past decade, the same can be done with Obama and the Democratic Party.
It boils down, in my mind, who has the skills to lead the nation and who wants to move in the direction that’s best. In my opinion, it’s McCain/Palin on balance. None of the so-called 3rd Party candidates really impress me at all.
It’s not that I believe Obama is evil and that McCain is all sunshine and light.
Christ. All this “My guy is perfect, your guy is the Son of Satan” stuff is getting on my nerves. Grow the Hell up, people. The world isn’;t all black and white.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
mcsey: Thpt!
September 10th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Palin is to moderation as gasoline is to fire suppression…
I can see this is pretty much going to go against the conservative choir here, but what really needs to be addressed is not a McCain presidency, but the odds of Palin actually becoming president and her subsequent replacement for the V.P. slot. McCain’s pro & cons aside, historically, he has at minimum a 30% chance of not completing a 4 year term. Given that former POWs due to the physical and mental hardships of their experience have a greater chance of both physical and mental impairments later in life (though little evidence suggest a shortened life expectancy), multiple bouts with cancer and his age of 72 (CDC places white, male mortality average in 2006 at 76 years of age), I would guess the odds are significant higher. The stress of the office of U.S. President alone has helped several presidents into heart attacks. It’s not a scientifically obtained figure (more like a George W. “gut feel’n “) but I would guess Palin has a 40%–50% chance of sitting in the Oval Office should McCain win in November. McCain I don’t like or trust, but I can live with that. He can run the country without blowing the world up. Palin’s behavior in office, the 2008 campaigning, private life and the religious stage gives me an ulcer in the waiting. A sickening Dr. Strangelove/Spanish Inquisition sense of Deja Vu. If the far religious right has her as a sitting president, where do you think the V.P. choices are going to come from; and if Palin’s experience is sufficient for the most powerful and potentially most damaging office on the planet, what kind of faithful, loyal evangelically vetted wonder will come out of that? Do some research beyond conservative sources; this is a lefty Alaskan blog, but he avoids the unsubstantiated rumor crap: http://mudflats.wordpress.com. Even if I liked McCain (which I did in 2000), Palin is too great a risk to have in reach of the button at 3 AM in the morning…
September 10th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Billy, apparently you missed my post just prior to that oil rant, in which I discuss who’s a better candidate for president of the United States. My congress/oil post was simply a response to dd, and I’m still searching to find where I said McCain was to blame for anything (other than naming a Neo-con as his running mate). So I think you need to say, “sorry, B.J.”.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I morn for the heroic man that John McCain was, because that man is obviously long dead.
McCain lost his honor in 2006, when he, Lieberman and some other “moderates” negotiated the passage of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, letting the torture-loving Bush administration interpret the Geneva conventions and giving them retroactive immunity from prosecution. He essentially rubber-stamped the use of many of the same tortures inflicted on him in Vietnam. Appalling.
His pick of Palin as VP shows he is reckless, impulsive and cares most about winning the election, not who is best fit to govern in the event of his not-unlikely demise in office. He leaps before he looks, and you want to put his finger on the nuclear button???
Lobbyists run the campaign of the so-called maverick pork-buster. McCain silently endorses Rovian smears against his political opponent … an entire campaign based on side-shows and distractions, completely without substance. Rick Davis summed up the McCain campaign philosophy nicely … it’s not about the issues.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:03 am
11Bravo …
McCain has command experience? Well, yeah … he commanded an A7 Corsair flight training squadron from 1976-1977.
I find this whole argument that naturally John McCain is the better candidate regarding issues of national defense to be utterly ridiculous. He’s reckless, impulsive, short-tempered and vindictive. That makes him an incredibly poor choice for commander-in-chief.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Billy, look here!
September 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
And just where did I insult or otherwise harm you B.J. My comments about growing the Hell up were directed at many people.
‘-)
September 11th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I wasn’t insulted. No harm done, either. But you said “this post is who is a better choice for prez”, and that’s exactly what I was talking about two posts prior. No harm, no foul, just pointed out I WAS on topic, while your post after mine made it seem I wasn’t. In the words of Stephen Colbert, I accept your apology.