Does John McCain even know what he is talking about? no comments
John McCain opposed legislation expanding GI benefits to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, skipped the vote on it, then skipped voting on the supplemental budget paying for it.
He skipped the vote on the GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, lauded by Veterans groups for its overwhelming 75-22 vote and as “a historic victory for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.”
McCain skipped the vote on the spending bill, which passed by an even more overwhelming 92 to 6.
The supplemental, which passed by a 92-6 vote, authorized a new GI Bill, Gulf Coast and Midwest flood recovery funds and an extension of unemployment benefits. It will be added to $165 billion that the House and Senate have already approved for U.S. military needs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
McCain still untried, untested no comments
Clark Keeps Up Attack On McCain As “Untested”
June 26, 2008 10:32 AM
Last month, in an interview with the Huffington Post, Gen. Wesley Clark called John McCain “untested and untried” as a potential commander in chief. The charge raised a few eyebrows in several quarters, including the Morning Joe team over at MSNBC.
But Clark is not backing down from his analysis. In a Q&A session following his address to the Johns Hopkins School of Strategic and International Affairs on Thursday morning, he repeated the line and expanded on the difference between the value of military service — which he admits McCain can justly tout — and the substance of charting defense policy as president, which the retired four-star general claims is not reflected by McCain’s military record.
Wes Clark: “Bush’s Third Term” no comments
Bush’s Third Term
Barack Obama will bring the change our country so desperately needs — while John McCain is offering 4 more years of Bush. Join me in supporting Barack Obama for President. Click here to donate to his campaign today!
This year, we’re facing the most important election in a generation. As Americans, we must ask ourselves which candidate will bring about the change our country so desperately needs. In my opinion, Barack Obama is the only candidate with the judgment to move our country forward.
The disastrous consequences of George W. Bush’s poor judgment over these last 7½ years are all too apparent. Now, John McCain is offering 4 more years of Bush — while Barack Obama offers the change in direction our country so desperately needs.
Barack had the judgment to oppose the war in Iraq before it began, and he is ready to bring our troops home and end the occupation of Iraq in a responsible way. John McCain has said that American troops should be willing to stay in Iraq for 100 years.
Barack will engage in the diplomacy that is necessary to bring stability to the Middle East. Just like George Bush, John McCain repeatedly resorts to saber-rattling and threats about invading Iran while revealing a startling ignorance of the basic issues that define the politics of the region.
These people are just annoying no comments
Come on, O, give ‘em the old
Do they really think we on Obama’s side of this aren’t pissed off? That we have no grievances? Ha!
According to sources, the Hillary fundraisers’ criticism of Obama on these calls has focused partly — but not exclusively — on a demand that Obama do more to retire Hillary’s campaign debt. This perhaps explains why Obama went out of his way yesterday on a call with his own donors to ask them to help her out.
But these criticisms from the donors suggests that bitterness may remain until Obama’s efforts show actual results on her behalf.
-snip
But Hillary’s debt isn’t the only concern.
The senior Hillary source also said that in addition to the campaign’s debt, the Hillary donors wanted clear signs that they were being heard. “People want this to work,” this source said, “but they also want to have their say before they play nice.”
Source: TPM Election Central
A List Of John McCain’s Flip-Flops no comments
Carpetbagger Report is keeping a list:
It’s a delicate dance, and John McCain is ‘liable to break a hip’
-snip
The past couple of weeks have been especially difficult when it comes to McCain flip-flops.
* McCain supported the drilling moratorium; now he’s against it.
* McCain strongly opposes a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
* McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
* McCain defended “privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
Wait, I’m not done with the last two weeks yet….
Let’s talk about 9/11, yeah no comments
“The other side likes to use 9/11 as a political bludgeon,” Obama said. “Well, let’s talk about 9/11.”
Carpetbagger Report approves:
Quite right. The conventional wisdom in Democratic circles was that the party is better off shifting the national debate to issues where Dems enjoy an advantage (healthcare, education, the environment) and steering clear of Republican attacks on national security and foreign policy. This isn’t an especially bad strategy when national security and foreign policy are second-tier issues, but after 9/11 and in the midst of two wars, it’s hardly a recipe for success. In fact, we’ve already seen it fail.
Obama and his campaign seem well aware of the futility of this strategy — especially given the inconvenient reality that Republicans happen to be truly awful on national security and foreign policy. Obama seems to think there’s some value in letting people know this.
Senator Obama spoke to reporters following the meeting of his Senior Working Group on National Security yesterday.
Read the rest of this entry »
Al Gore endorsing Obama tonight no comments
It’s kind of great it’s happening in Michigan. That poor state deserves a big show. (Not its Democratic leaders, the plain old folks.)
FLINT, Mich. – Former Vice President Al Gore will appear in Detroit tonight for his debut campaign appearance with Senator Barack Obama, extending an endorsement and urging all Democrats to rally behind the party’s fall ticket.
“A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama,” Mr. Gore said in an e-mail sent to his supporters. “From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States.”
Throughout the long Democratic primary, Mr. Gore talked frequently to Mr. Obama. But tonight’s rally at the Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit marks the first time they will appear together on the same stage. The endorsement was announced – on Mr. Gore’s terms – to supporters on his vast e-mail list.
“I’ve never asked members of AlGore.com to contribute to a political campaign before, but this moment and this election are too important to let pass without taking action,” Mr. Gore said. He added, “Over the past 18 months, Barack Obama has united a movement. He knows change does not come from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or Capitol Hill. It begins when people stand up and take action.”
Source: Politico
Speaking of Michigan and its leaders, here is Sen. Carl Levin with Obama in Flint today.
There are women who will vote McCain? Yikes. no comments
For Independent and Democratic Voters McCain offers A Third Bush Term
“On the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.” – John McCain, Meet the Press, June 19, 2005
During a 2005 appearance on Meet the Press, John McCain said that on “the most important issues of our day, I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.”
And by voting with George Bush 95% of the time last year, he proved it. When Independent, Democratic, and even Republican voters see John McCain’s record they’ll see that he promises another four years of George Bush’s failed policies that have produced an economy that doesn’t work for all of us, a health care system that is unaffordable for too many of us, and a country made less secure and more isolated by a war that should have never been authorized and never been waged. They’ll also see that McCain promises to continue George Bush’s approach to appointing Supreme Court justices.
Like Bush, McCain holds staunch anti-choice views, and during the Republican primary campaign he even bragged about his long record of opposing reproductive rights in Congress. Behind closed doors McCain told Gary Bauer that he would impose a “pro-life” litmus test on his appointments. But far too many voters don’t know about this record. In fact, a recent poll found that nearly a quarter of McCain’s female, pro-choice supporters in battleground states mistakenly believe he is pro-choice. The fact is, on reproductive rights, John McCain represents a third Bush term.
Some McCain Supporters Mistakenly Think He is Pro-Choice
Youth has gone Democratic no comments
Ezra Klein pulled these charts out of the recent Pew Poll.
Contrast to 1992.
Back then, the young were a contested, and closely split, bloc. Now they’re overwhelmingly Democratic. Dems had their biggest advantage among folks around age 60, and did worst with voters in their 30s. Now, the Democratic advantage runs straight through the electorate and is most sharply pronounced among young voters. On a substantive level, this’ll have some impact on the party’s rhetoric, which you can expect to be less about the preservation and expansion of programs like Social Security and Medicare, which is a message that appels to folks in the 50s and 60s, and more focused on new programs that’ll be of enduring relevance to young voters.
Obama co-sponsors bill to close foreign lobbyist loophole no comments
On a conference call with reporters, Chuck Schumer says his bill to force Americans to register for lobbying American officials abroad on behalf of foreign governments wasn’t inspired by reporting on McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.He also says Obama will co-sponsor the bill, a fact of which he’s “proud.”
“It is unacceptable that lobbyists can exploit a loophole to hide their lobbying contacts on behalf of foreign businesses and governments,” Obama says in a statement.
“I’d welcome John McCain to co-sponsor this legislation,” Schumer said.
McCain’s aides declined to comment on the Times story.
Source: Politico
