Comments on: McCain’s Actions Speak Louder than Obama’s Words

By Andy on 07-11-08

A few interesting items are left out of Bob Brown’s bio at the bottom of his “guest commentary.“ He’s a former lobbyist for the telecoms industry and a life-long Republican. That helps explain why:

1. Bob Brown calls a 46-year-old Senator a “young man.“
2. Bob Brown misrepresents Obama’s present votes in the Illinois State Senate (which by the way also conflicts with Bob’s resume argument). In his eight years in the Illinois State Senate, Obama made over 4,000 votes. He voted present 129 times, which is a common practice signaling a legislator’s interest in altering a bill.
3. Bob Brown seems to think the criteria for presidential leadership is trials in courage, rather than an ability to communicate. No mention of McCain’s “courageous” voting record of supporting Bush 95% of the time last year.
4. Bob Brown considers Obama’s support to be primarily among young Montanans. Compared to Bob Brown and John McCain, most Montanans are young.

By Brittanicus on 07-11-08

McCain cannot play both sides of the illegal immigration broiling issue and hope for a resounding success.
It’s a sad situation when neither Presidential Candidates can be trusted, to do the right thing for the American people. For three decades our political opportunists have been puppets to the highest bidder and a whole conglomerations of special interest groups. McCain stating that he would propose no path to citizenship, until the border was fully enforced? However how can this be when potentate Democrats are straining to gut border funding now? Then the path to citizenship is too easy, when hundreds of thousands have waited in line forever to get an entry visa?

Every lawbreaker who entered through the back door, jumped ship or overstayed their visa, should be required to go home and apply. I personally and 80 percent of the American people, think a small pittance fine, criminal record investigation is far to easy. 
We should endorse the federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) that would add real, razor sharp teeth to state immigration laws.

We need more enforcement to stop the interdiction of trucks bringing in drugs and illegal immigrants into America. Funding is being cut by the Democrats, so they can gut the border fence and stop the enactment of the Federal SAVE ACT. An army of ICE agents, twenty thousand more border patrol along with massive funding, to supply helicopters, spy probes and other equipment for internal enforcement. This will include extra funding for police departments around the country, to train more officers in Immigration enforcement.  The e-verify data base the Fed’s are using has a 90.5 success rate. It would be a major deterrent against pariah employers, who hire illegal workers. Its pennies of what taxpayers are unknowingly spending now. We need ‘zero tolerance’ enforcement, that will give maximum arrest and detainment of predator employers of illegal immigrants. Join NUMBERSUSA for free and assist in stopping illegal immigration.

By Allan on 07-11-08

McCain’s actions do indeed speak volumes about his lack of character. Instead of lauding McCain’s supposed campaign financing reform accomplishments, perhaps the next time this columnist starts whining about Senator Obama we can hope that some brave reporter will ask John McCain the $1,300 question: “When, Senator, will you stop breaking the law?“ http://tinyurl.com/5avh5u

By wouldb1 on 07-12-08

McCain wants to give us a Gas-Tax Vacation, while Obama sees this sham for what it is. Gas taxes pay for infrastructure (highway) improvements and maintenance. Not only will our infrastructure continue to deteriorate (ask folks in Mpls if they want more bridges to collapse), but thousands of construction jobs, and jobs generated thereby, will be lost. Great plan, McCain.

By mat on 07-12-08

Your screwed no matter what.  Its puppet one or puppet two.  All they do is see who can lie the best to get the most votes, then when they get elected, they do what they wanna do anyways.  What everyone should do is just not vote.  They make it sound like we have a choice in the matter, that your vote counts.  But in reality it really doesnt.  No matter what you do or who you vote for, things will never change.  Its sad, but true.  Try and pick the lesser of two evils… or do what we do and just stop voting.

By Allan on 07-12-08

Sad but true. Yep. In this election, I’ll take the Democratic puppets. Can’t possibly be worse than the worst in history we’ve had ever since the GOPhers took over the Senate and House and Executive and Judiciary. The lame bare majority Democrat Congress has only had one cycle and have been blocked all the way by the proven lying, cheating, stealing GOPhers. After Nov, we’ll have a majority Democratic Senate, House and Democrat in the White House. Gotta be a bit better, I think. At least they are not AS craven as the GOPhers have proven to be in every single way, every single day. The GOPher puppets have taken things far beyond the usual petty corruption and made an art of death as a money-laundering operation. They own the corporate media, they own privatized everything, they’ve bankrupted the nation and they’ve stolen every single penny from the national treasury. Their borrow and steal philosophy (as opposed to the so-called Democratic tax and spend philosophy) has proven to be more vile than anything we’ve ever seen in the U.S.A. So, this time, gimme the Democratic puppets top to bottom, and I’ll be happy if they win. I’m glad there are a lot of younger people getting involved though, because at 53 I’m finally about finished with politics for good. Please vote.

By mat on 07-12-08

Yea, you’ve got a point there.  The whole problem is, is that everyone is stuck in a competition with everyone else for money and power.  What everyone should be doing is working together to improve everything for the greater good, instead of fighting with each other to get as much as they can for themselves before they die.  The sad thing is, honestly dont ever see that happening, we’ve been programmed and manipulated past the point of no return.

By Wildbill on 07-14-08

If McCain is such a strong man why does he pander so much?  Flip-flop on the Bush Tax Cuts.

By Carol on 07-15-08

I appreciate Bob’s comments very much.  McCain’s leadership is a fact that cannot be disputed.  I can’t comment on Obama’s leadership because it remains to be either seen or proven—Charisma, yes; substance, I don’t know.

By Allan on 07-15-08

I sure can dispute McCain’s so-called “leadership.“ Over 60 different switches in his positions is not leadership, it’s pandering for votes. As has been shown in the past few weeks, he doesn’t remember how he voted on several key issues. He has stated unequivocally that he does not know much about economic issues. He is breaking a law he helped to pass concerning campaign financing. He is illegally collecting money which he said he would not, from people he said he should not. He is using his wife’s plane illegally for campaigning. Today he referred twice to what is going on in Czechoslovakia, a nation which hasn’t existed for years! Any trace of leadership he might have is straight out of the cold war era, and that time has gone. He is a good follower and order obeyer, but not a leader. Anyone who thinks McCain could lead this nation from 2009-2012 is fooling themselves because they’re among the 7% who are happy with the way Bush has destroyed this nation, apparently. But they cannot fool the rest of us, because we’re not insane.

By carol on 07-18-08

To me, a leader is someone who takes his responsibilities—whatever they are—seriously and puts his sense of what’s right before his desire for personal gain, tribute or popularity.  To my mind, both George Bush and John McCain are leaders.

I don’t know about Obama.  He remains untried and untested.  And I’d just as soon he not be tested first as President of the United States.

I think Allan is a little mean-spirited to criticize McCain for speaking of Czechoslovakia—as if most of the world doesn’t still use that word to describe that country!  It’s so much more fun to say “Czechoslovakia” than the “Czech Republic,“ don’t you think?

By JB on 07-19-08

Neither Bush or McCain are leaders - they are politicians.  Bush, in one month, ran the national debt up over $60 billion dollars - is that the mark of a leader?  Our national debt is over $8 trillion dollars, thanks to Bush.  McCain will be no better.

By carol on 07-20-08

Actually, John McCain has spoken out for years against congressional earmarks.  To me that’s the sign of a leader, not a politician.

By Allan on 07-20-08

“I think Allan is a little mean-spirited to criticize McCain for speaking of Czechoslovakia—as if most of the world doesn’t still use that word to describe that country!  It’s so much more fun to say “Czechoslovakia” than the “Czech Republic,” don’t you think?“

There is no more “that country” because there are now TWO COUNTRIES! You are leaving out an entire nation when you do that. There is the Czech Republic and there is Slovakia. Both were once Czechoslovakia. Which one would qualify today to be referred to as Czechoslovakia and which one qualifies to be ignored completely? Shall we ask GWB (see below)?

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
http://flipfloptracker.blogspot.com/2008/07/old-man-mccain-czechoslovakia.html

Old Man McCain: Czechoslovakia
Every once and a while, Flip-Flop Express will do a post on what we are calling “Old Man McCain”. This segment will illustrate John McCain’s complete disconnect with the common man and today’s political and cultural climate.

Via the HuffingtonPost, Time, and TalkingPointsMemo:

Today, we look at Czechoslovakia.

At a press availability on July 14th, John McCain expressed concern about relations between Russia and a country that hasn’t existed for quite some time. According to a rough pool report transcript, he said:

“I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech’s agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern.“

And then again on July 15:

Czechoslovakia, of course, split into two separate countries in 1993.

It isn’t the first time McCain has made this mistake:
Around three months ago, McCain told Don Imus that he would “work closely with Czechoslovakia and Poland and other countries” to install the European Missile Defense System in Poland, according to the Democratic National Committee. (The slip-up was referenced elsewhere, too.)

And during a GOP debate in October 2007, McCain said: “The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don’t care what his objections are to it.“

There are more: in 1994, McCain suggested NATO be expanded to include Czechoslovakia. At a dinner in 1999, he “twice thanked the ambassador from ‘Czechoslovakia’ for his efforts,“ according to the Washington Post.

UPDATE: He did it again! The THIRD time in 2 days.
This from the Politico:

Yesterday, McCain’s campaign sent out a statement pointedly referring to the “Czech Republic,“ cleaning up his latest reference to the defunct state of Czechoslovakia.

So there must have been some palms hitting foreheads in Arlington when, just now in New Mexico, he said it again.

From: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/14/note-to-mccain-czechoslovakia-doesnt-exist-anymore/

On first blush, [McCain’s comments] sound like more antagonistic rhetoric towards Russia — which McCain wants to kick out of the G8 — which isn’t especially helpful.

But more importantly, Russia can’t “reduce energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.” Czechoslovakia, of course, doesn’t exist. It split into two countries more than 15 years ago. McCain has actually been to the Czech Republic and Slovakia since they became independent countries, and he’s met with their leaders.

So, McCain slipped up. He’s 71 and this is going to happen from time to time, right? Well, there’s a little more to it than that.

First, as Greg Sargent noted, McCain has made this same mistake more than once during the campaign. About three months ago, McCain vowed to “work closely with Czechoslovakia” on missile defense. Last fall, during a Republican debate, McCain said: “The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don’t care what his [Putin’s] objections are to it.”

Second, before Republicans condemn Dems for being picky on this, let’s not forget that in the 2000 campaign, when McCain also screwed up Czechoslovakia, it was none other than George W. Bush who said it deserved to be a campaign issue: “A guy gets up and quizzes me [on world leaders] … but John McCain says something about the ‘ambassador to Czechoslovakia.’ Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia [there’s a Czech Republic and a Slovakia], but yet it didn’t make the nightly national news.”

Look, I know this was just another verbal slip. McCain has been incompetent about foreign affairs for quite a while, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s relatively inconsequential that he keeps referencing a country that ceased to be in 1993. He’s said far worse.

But the raison d’etre of John McCain’s entire presidential campaign is the notion that he’s an expert on foreign policy, thanks to his decades of experience as a Washington insider. When the foreign policy expert keeps referencing a non-existent country, it’s not unreasonable to mention that maybe his expertise isn’t quite as impressive as his campaign and the political media establishment would like us to believe.

By Frank on 07-30-08

One of McCain’s favorite tirades is against the proposed Alaskan “Bridge to Nowhere,“ calling it “a bridge in Alaska to an island with 50 people on it.“

Yeah, right, except McCain forgets that besides the 50 residents, the island contains Ketchikan’s airport, which is now served by a ferry.  In the last 12 months, 425,548 passengers took the ferry serving that airport.  In that period, the airport served 219,433 passengers.  Figures are for May 2007 through April 2008.  There are only two cities in McCain’s Arizona with an airport that busy.

McCain is simply being dishonest about the purpose of the bridge.

By skrumland on 08-05-08

If I recall Pres. Reagan was an “old man” . I think he was one of the greatest presidents. I would rather have an “old” experienced president than a “young"inexperienced one. I listened and learned alot from my “elders”.I’m a senior citizen now and proud of it! (What’s age got to do with it anyway?} It seems to be a big issue with some people. Let the better man win not by age but by their knowledge on how to get things done!

By Carol on 08-07-08

Amen to skrumland!

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