Vote: Was John McCain's speech effective?

Its ok Fly most democrats get tired of hearing the truth rest easy.

How would we know? We haven't heard it for 8 long years!!!!

Straight Talk is what this country needs not someone that stands up there and tells the American people what they want to hear, making promises they will not keep.
Talk about alzhiemer I think Obama has an advanced case, he hangs out with terrorist, and worships with American haters, then says that wasn't the person I knew or I never saw that....HELLO 20 years? give me a break.

my - my such vitriol- what a sad human being you are- and gullible too.

proud liberal, if you are a european like you claim what the heck do you care about our America's election? If your truly european then sit down and shut the heck up.

In God We Trust! God Bless America...NOT G-d America...Looks like people are overlooking the So called Good ole Boys of Chicago...I think they used to be called Mafia...friendships with terrorists...people who actually bombed this country, and aren't sorry for it! a man who stands and defends letting living, breathing babies die...cause an abortion was botched and the blessed child actually lived..defends a bill that would stop Dr's from standing there doing nothing till the baby dies? We can argue abortion rights, when life actually begins, BUT a living, breathing baby outside the womb, is a living soul, with the same right as any other human being! I will not vote for a man who thinks children are "Punishment" ..that he wouldn't want his daughters punished with a baby for making a mistake...children are not mistakes....parents might be ..but children are not..and they certainly are not punishment...if you tax business, and tax utilities and so o and so on....who do you think is going to pay those taxes? The American consumer! We will be taxed by higher prices on everything...and if you really believe 95% of Americans are going to be paying lower taxes....then where is the money for his BIG Brother Government going to come from? His pocket? Do You really want Government to give YOUR money to who they think it should go to? Like themselves maybe? People in this country are the MOST generous givers...when given freely...goverment needs to get out of the way and let us give where we will.I will vote for a man who has already fought for my freedom! Which gave me the freedom to write this and for you to read it and for you to sit here and slam him and call him names! Proud to be an American, and voting this time for a Republican! And my mother who has NOT voted anything but Democratic for over 30 yrs is voting Republican this time.

Beverly you shut up, speaking ones mind is completly american thing and having an opinon has never been the providence of anyone. The fact we have ignored what the world thinks and that you care nothing about what happnes off your front porch does not mean everyone shares your narrow vision. You and your kind are the reason the people of the world are comming to dislike america instead of holding it up to be the postive beacon is should be ... you shame us

Trinket, You are so right. This muslim anti-american puppet wants not for the country but for his own self-indulgent ego. He doesn't care about the country he has an alterior motive, he is working with terrorists and he's proud of it, and when he says "thats not the reverend I knew" or the Ayers I knew, they are blaten lies to get the liberaal to rally around him. he is unamerican and doesn't have lick of experience.

The word 'haters' has taken the place of the word 'evildoers.' Ever notice how simplistic a view these people have of the world? It's reflected in their child-like vocabulary. It reveals the limitations of their experience, the shortcomings of their education. Is this who we want in charge? Simpletons? And another thing: why are the Republicans so scared all the time? They're afraid of the terrorists (hiding around every corner) and their afraid of foreigners and they're afraid of sex and, mostly, they're afraid of their mean, angry, hateful god. They like to act tough - but they are cowards.

Go then, be on your way proud liberal and don't let anyone stand in your way. Yours is truly the iron will. For a moment, I wanted to belt out "Somewhere over the Rainbow". I've heard it said that in Europe there is no crime, free healthcare for all, they are all bloody geniuses or pretty damn close, vino pours from their fountains, rose petals sit atop the streets, and believe it or not, a gray sky would never dare hover over the paradise known as Europe. Those Europeans have got it all figured out. God, we Americans are such neanderthals! Why didn't we listen to proud liberal when we had a chance? Why didn't we care? My minds made up; We deserve to lose you. Let me deal with my grief in my own way, and don't rush my healing process. Losses like these demand a ceremonious mourning procedure. I feel compelled to run down mine and neighboring streets, pulling my hair out, ripping my clothes off, wailing loudly whilst pouring the dust of the earth over my head. Okay, enough sarcasm. Now get the heck outta here, and take another liberal with you PLEASE!!

Go back on your meds.

I am not on any meds other than ibuprofen for the headaches arguing with liberals has caused me. I appreciate your concern as to my mental health though. Well, I mean some liberals are saying that they're leaving the U.S. if Republicans win the election. I mean like, let's say for instance, for the sake of conjecture, ummmmm..... Alec Baldwin. You know, the doof who said if GW Bush was elected then he was going to move somewhere other than the US. Yet, here he still is in the good ol' U.S. of A. I'm still waiting on him to make good on that. Proud liberal and those like him aren't much different than a kid playing with a group of other kids, and things don't go their way; They pout and huff, and take their little toys and go home. I can't think of a single conservative that has made such a statement - to leave their country because they don't like a particular candidate. I hope Obama does not become our next president, I adamantly oppose almost his entire platform, but I'm not leaving this country! And you know what, I'll give him the respect the office deserves if he's elected. Unlike the other side of the aisle, you won't find republicans trying to name a sewage treatment plant after a president like they tried to do in San Francisco. Sickening, disrespectful, but just what you'd expect from such a large population of liberals.

You keep watching cable news and those original thoughts and unique labels will keep regurgitating from your mouth.

Oh Chandler, Chandler, Chandler. So you're disputing what I said? Alec Baldwin didn't say that? San Francisco didn't try to name the treatment plant after GWB? Did you look that up? Name a conservative that has said that they're moving if Obama is elected, or let's go even further.. if Clinton/Gore, Kerry/Edwards were elected. Name one! I'm waiting.............Still waiting..............OH, go google it or something!

All thoughts expressed are my own and are derived from a multitude of sources. My facts are gleaned from the internet, newspapers, Time, Newsweek, talk radio, and cable news programs. I trust no source completely and fact check on my own when I can.

I respect his service and sacrifice. But being a POW is not a platform.

You are sick and twisted. Nobody ever said he was running for President bc he was a POW, and it's not his platform. It just shows how much he loves his country. And you should have some respect for EVERY person who has EVER served this country. If you don't, move somewhere else! Maybe that will solve your problem. The only reason we still have this great country is bc of people like John McCain.

Agree with him or not, you should never EVER say something like that about someone who fought for YOU!

Get over yourself and you stupid little "all about me" mindset, and stop reading between the lines.

Oh I cannot wait to move somewhere else, somewhere, where there are no mass killing with guns, some where, where every one has 4 weeks paid vacations, some where, where every one has health coverage, some where, where the intellectuals are the majority!!

Oh by the way, our socialist country France is buying your banks!!

As is China and Saudi Arabia (buying our banks that is)

I do agree. I thank John Mcain for his service. I know he suffered as a POW. For that, I owe him my eternal gratitude.

I don't however owe him my vote.

How many times did we see POW trotted out? I mean please....

Does organizing a softball game make me eligible to run the country? How about it? Or how about giving a well written speech?

My Friends! (I was a POW) i am going to fix the (I was a POW), I will bring change to Wa..(I was a POW), I will keep us sa..(I was a POW),I will fight the special in..(I had two broken arms)........ Blah,Blah,Blah Blah Blah!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOO he's NOT using this POW thing at all!!!!

Oh Thank god you are leaving-this country will be a much better place. I'll make a donation and maybe there is a govt program from the DEMS that will help you move. Does UHAUL have a ship-I'll find out for you. France-Great Choice where they have 3 weeks of riots all over the country by MUSLIMS. PLEASE Big Brother HELP ME HELP ME Because I sure as s#!t can't help myself....good riddance! With all due respect :)

Silence DoGooder, I won't be moving anywhere, my family came here from Ireland and Sweden in the late 1700's.... My greartgrandmother scrubbed peoples steps in Philadelphia to feed her family and when we wanted to have the REVOLUTION in 1776, the founding father went to FRANCE for support and believe me we would not have an AMERICA without FRANCE,THEIR SOLDERS and THEIR EIGHTY MILLION DOLLARS (which would be how much in today's money?) I will be here to WORK HARD to make sure we do not continue down 4 more years of the same ruin we have for the last eight.

Being a POW doesn't give you any more right to be President than does sitting on the senate for less than 2-years or organizing a community fund raiser...but experience, and knowing how the government works, and having a heart and desire to see it change gets my vote..MCCain All the way baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah well, thank GOD he wants to change WASHINGTON and AMERICA,it only took him 27 years to decide to do it, I guess he was too busy house hunting.

Why don't you move to those other countries? They are liberal over there too. Anything goes.

I think if your an American hero and you spend your life serving America yes they would be eligable to run for president. Hey Liberal man have you ever done a thing for anyone but yourself?

Proud liberal whats stopping you from moving somewhere else? Could it be that maybe you live in the greatest country in the world and no country will ever satisfy you. Seems to me that none of you liberals think that as individuals we work for what we get in life and the government owes you nothing but a chance to speak freely, worship freely, and protect your homeland. Maybe you need to sign up for the military and put your anger where it can help.

I think you liberals are really scared now...I can tell by the anger.

He is a reflection of his upbringing and he had a good one. You had better care because those are the kind of people that keep you safe and able to spew your ignorance. To make that statement shows you have no respect for what has been sacraficed in the past and will be the future for you. It's time someone put a stop to unnessary spending and I don't hear Obama doing that. Someone needs to rock Washington and he and Sara can do it. Every now and then a leader needs to empty the bowl and pick out the sour grapes and they are the ones to do it.

You are an ungrateful SOB! You should at least be thankful for men like John McCain. Obvously you have never served you country in any way. All people like you do is BASH it! Get out of this country you anti-American ba?&%rd!!!

You neocons are baffoons. I served 10 yrs in the military and it disgusts me that you people sit here and talk about this hero like there have never been any before him. You don't have to help kill to be a hero ask Martin Luther King Jr.'s family and friends. Me and my brothers were thrust into war for bulls@#$ reasons and McCain was there to say "fight them there or fight them here" Iraq did not attack us and now a lot of young men and women are dead.

Robiscoole, If you fought in Iraq you enlisted, you volunteered to be a part of the militery, no one forced you.

Krysmck929, you say i should show respect......I've been in the military for the last 12 years, and will be in until i can retire. I respect McCain, I respect he is a retired officer, I respect he is a vetren, and I respect he was a POW. Look at all the speeches and see how often the POW issue is raised.

BTW how have you served your country?

ATTENTION BEVERLY H: Your statement "If you fought in Iraq you enlisted, you volunteered to be a part of the military, no one forced you."

Watch your MOUTH - either your age or your IQ is showing up badly here. I will have you know my two sons have served, one Air Force, one Army. YESSSSSS they volunteered Miss No-Nothing - but no one told them they would have to endure Afghanistan or Iraq either - neither of them have complained - NOTONE WORD I TELL YOU. You better pray to whatever God you serve that the draft IS NOT reinstated, because if it is, maybe split tails, like you will be drafted too. If not for our voluntary military personnel - your comfortable little world could be really disturbed and inconvenienced beyond description. How dare you make such a statement - disrespectful and totally without merit. YOU OWE AN APOLOGY to every person who has served to endeavor to protect your right to run your mouth. WHO have YOU ever fought for??????????

Tomcat, for the record I am a veteran, and yes if he served in Iraq he enlisted, and further more no one has said anything about bringing the draft back and if you haven't noticed the surge IS working and we are planning to start bringing our troops home in about 9 months...

tomcat, for the record I am a veteran ,I served in the USAF and it really ticks me off when people enlist to serve their country then when their country deploys them they all of a sudden don't want to serve their country. They knew when they enlisted the chances they were taking, its not as though they were forced to enlist. Enlistment is totally voluntary. so to answer your question, I served my country honorably. And I still serve in other ways, like in the public schools, fostering abused children and doing what ever I can to help someone in need. So don't sit and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about.

Evidently you can not read. My sons HAVE NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT ANYTHING. YES they enlisted - did you not read correctly. You are repeating yourself for some reason.
If this country continues to stick our long nose into every country on earth, the draft will have to be reinstated and YES females should be drafted right along with the males. The boys KNEW they could and probably would be sent almost any place - they are NOT ignorant. Your reply to the person's post was short and rude. Why, if you have served in the military, didn't you state that FACT in your post at the time????? You know as well as all of us that the war with Iraq was predicated mostly upon lies - that doesn't mean military personnel have to approve of where they are deployed, and they ARE allowed an opinion on the situation they find themselves thrust into. The "surge" is working???????
We will leave there and the different factions will be fighting as usual. We will NOT make their country "safe" nor will they have a "democratic government". The boots on the ground there NOW will testify to that fact. The fact we are "allegedly" going to begin removing troops is NOT an indication we have WON anything.

robiscoole stated an opinion and even though my sons DO NOT AGREE with this individual, any one who has served deserves more respect for their opinion than you allowed this person. Most "wars" are fought for reasons other than what the American public is told, and IF you served - you know that. The government picks fights and our military does the fighting. I dare say if every one in government had to go fight for a while - there would NOT be as many "wars". Every person that has served this country has gone in MY place, and for that I can never thank them enough. My husband tried very hard to volunteer - the military would not take him due to a heart defect. Other young men being drafted when he tried to volunteer, were there in tears - afraid to go. He was angry they would not take him. He felt he was as physically able as the next person to go fight - and the truth is his heart defect STILL has not deterred him in any thing he has done, before or since. He went to high school at Moye Military Academy which is no longer in existence and his hope was to serve this country - both of our sons have done our family honor by serving WITHOUT any complaint.

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THR CHAI

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THE CHAIRMAN of THE BANKING Committie! Man lets get elected give speeches and take money from all the little people and my friend to them we are the little people. Any way I wish another Raegan would come along now he had class and no criminals for friends. So if Mc Cain was a POW its only part of his bio look join up you can if your lucky? put this on yours : )

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THE CHAIRMAN of THE BANKING Committie! Man lets get elected give speeches and take money from all the little people and my friend to them we are the little people. Any way I wish another Raegan would come along now he had class and no criminals for friends. So if Mc Cain was a POW its only part of his bio look join up you can if your lucky? put this on yours : )

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THE CHAIRMAN of THE BANKING Committie! Man lets get elected give speeches and take money from all the little people and my friend to them we are the little people. Any way I wish another Raegan would come along now he had class and no criminals for friends. So if Mc Cain was a POW its only part of his bio look join up you can if your lucky? put this on yours : )

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THE CHAIRMAN of THE BANKING Committie! Man lets get elected give speeches and take money from all the little people and my friend to them we are the little people. Any way I wish another Raegan would come along now he had class and no criminals for friends. So if Mc Cain was a POW its only part of his bio look join up you can if your lucky? put this on yours : )

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THE CHAIRMAN of THE BANKING Committie! Man lets get elected give speeches and take money from all the little people and my friend to them we are the little people. Any way I wish another Raegan would come along now he had class and no criminals for friends. So if Mc Cain was a POW its only part of his bio look join up you can if your lucky? put this on yours : )

Wow you are really upset get a grip this is part of his Bio not everyone is ment to be a warrior or hero. I dont think I could have lasted in the hanoe hilton the first time they broke my legs never mind anyway right now we really are in trouble and both candidates need to be in Washington. I am interested in the debates too just had to blog you cause frankly you are so out of control here you make me look calm and thats saying something. I cant believe Obama is running for president I mean the guy can shmuze but look Bill Ayres murdered a quiet family man who was a cop directing traffic just because Ayres didnt have the same opinion and then Clinton pardoned him I guess that was after Thonging him for the blast! teehee any way Obamas part of this problem too he took money from freddie mac and fanny for his campaign not good no shouldnt have done that looks stupid especially because that was my money and now I am getting mad all over again I cant believe what jerks these guys are did you see C. Dodd this guy got a couple of million from Freddie and Fran and he acts like hey not my fault Im ONLY THE CHAIRMAN of THE BANKING Committie! Man lets get elected give speeches and take money from all the little people and my friend to them we are the little people. Any way I wish another Raegan would come along now he had class and no criminals for friends. So if Mc Cain was a POW its only part of his bio look join up you can if your lucky? put this on yours : )

I have truly taken baths in water deeper than your intellect has proven to be. Follow me on this one, I'm typing reeeeeaaaallllll sssssslllllooooowwwww. References to his service to our country are warranted and relevant. He has every right to be proud of his service and tout that as he darn well pleases. Relevant in so much that it shows his true character, something I don't expect most liberals to care in the least about. By the examples that he and others referred to, one can see that he is an honorable man, with conviction, and doesn't give a damn if you have an "R" or a "D" by your name!! Check out his record! There are ways to look these things up you know.

Second, Obama has not put forth any "policies". He has all of these brilliant change mantras, ideas of things to change, presidential seals to change, blah, blah, freaking BLAH!! Okay, policy includes ideas to implement the changes that you envision. I've not heard one word about how he plans to fund these changes other than to tax the richest among us; A very generic answer at best. This is quite simple. Say, for instance, Someone starts a business, it's a success, they hire employees, pays taxes, taxes go up- UH OH!! Solution: It's my business, I'll work a little more and cut out a couple of employees. I know this because this has been our personal experience and has been proven time and again in the business world. Also, shareholders who have stakes in the success of a particular business venture want to maximize their investment too. This is the American way to use your brain, make a good business decision, and reap a reward. Not difficult subject matter - for me (with my husband the owner of our own small business). Why in the world, would I want Obama coming in and telling me that I make too much, I have to pay more of my share to fund his goofy socialist "feel good" agenda. WAKE UP!!

To close, honestly, we all want the same things. To feel safe and protected, to have access to an excellent education, healthcare, etc. The list goes on and on. We only differ on ideas of how to achieve these objectives. I'll not go into political ideology at this time due to I'm tired since I've been up since 4:45 this AM, but I"ll not shy away from discussion at a later time.

You know, many people in socialist countries live happy and well!! Check Norway, the netherland, sweeden... no homeless in the street, the safety net of healthcare for all, good education, good infrastructures, long paid vacations for all and good social programs to make everybody's lives better!! Everything important your capitalistic system does not give you!!

helping others is a moral and ethical obligation that we europeans, but you americans do not understand!
Socialism, capitalism are just words.. they sometime work sometime do not, just depending how much you want the government to do good for the people.

tyroudlib
Socialism works there bc they dont defend themselves. they have small military and rely on the US to do their defending. go there, please. be happy, I know we will not miss your type.

darisbell

I W-i-l-l T-y-p-e R-e-a-l s-l-o-w f-o-r y-o-u t-o

How does it feel to have someone be condescending to YOU?

It may have been relevant the first 30 times or so, but that horse has been trotted around for so long now that it's back is bowed...

It really is interesting. You want to play nice when criticized, when the people behind this campaign are the very same people that made the Swift Boat ads...

How quickly they "try" to forget. At least we aren't doing disgusting stuff like that..

PS: NEWS FLASH: John Mcain was a POW!!

I HAVE checked out his record, He vote with President GOOBER over 90% of the time, and has missed more votes in the Senate as a no show more than anyone else. He has changed his position over and over again (which is one thing) but then had the Hypocrisy to criticise Obama for any changes he might make. He has said the worst thing possible about President Goober and then of course you find video of the them KISSING,YUCK! Then he picks this Whiner (Let me display and use my children for political gain but you're NOT allowed to mention it in any way) for VO. I think she should change the name of that poor baby from TRIG to PROP! I can go on but I may start banging on the monitor and in this economy who can afford a new one?

Earl

If you took a tally on condescending remarks DEMS VS Republicans-DEMS win hands down in every string I have viewed.

McCain was 894 of 899 at the Naval Academy, then got himself shot down over Hanoi and made an anti-American propaganda "confession" for the North Vietnamese. He never made it past the rank of captain even though he was in the Navy for 21 years. Yes, he was a POW, but that doesn't make him qualified to be President.
He also proposed to Cindy before he ever filed for divorce from Carol - his children were so offended they didn't even attend his wedding. So much for family values, too. Obama and Biden are infinitely more qualified than McCain and Pain.

Whoa... While I agree that an intentional effort to excessively focus on military experience to avoid having to provide specifics on new policy ideas is a total cop out (and is exactly what McCain has done), I don't think Sen. McCain should be trashed because he may have cracked under unimaginable torture and made some sort of propagana material to avoid further brutality. I think anyone would be hard pressed to find individuals who withstood such torture without similar results and I suspect a high percentage of those criticizing McCain for "cracking" are NOT among them.

Criticize McCain for avoiding the issues, but I don't think anyone is qualified to criticize him for surrendering to such torture -- with the exception of those who have themselves experienced similar treatment.

Infinitely more qualified!!!???!!!??? Boy, someone is a bit of a drama queen. Perhaps you don't realize that in American history, senators have only been elected twice to the office of president. In most recent history Bush, Clinton, Carter, and Reagan have all first been governors (i. e. executive experience). Oh, along with the very brief history lesson, sarcasm is another service I offer free of charge to liberals.

.....and how many soccer moms have been VP?

So your point was?

She is not a soccer mom. Soccer is not a sport. Hockey is.

Soccer is not a sport?? I guess you never heard of the World Cup. Get your facts right.

what? Soccer isn't a sport? Now anything Kurt says can't be taken seriously. Thank your republican leaders, cuz he's not smart enough to make a worthwhile comment

RealAmericansFirst (What exactly do you mean by that nick anyway?), go easy on the McCain and poor grades stuff. Great grades don't always correlate to great leadership. Consider Winston Churchill. He did so poorly in school, he was considered a dunce. That guy turned out all right in a crisis.

Mind you, I'm voting for Obama but I respect and honor his military service and can relate to his college academic experiences.

Soccer is more of a sport than hockey. Soccer is in the same class as football and baseball. Hockey is in the same class as professional wrestling.

I am going to write in Bill Cosby. Both parties make me ill. Lies and more lies - a continuation of Bush either way - they can all compete for "Liar of the Year".

That'll help.

Why would you want to retain "bad" Teachers?
Oh I forgot liberals do not believe in accountability.
Moron...You are just sheepeople....Librealisum is a mental disease

It's that very kind of broad brush and over simplification of differing views that is at the root of our broken politics. I'm a liberal and I applaud Obama's plan to make teachers accountable and agree that the bad ones should go. And, if you're a teacher, I'd suggest that you either get an attitude adjustment, or find a new line of work.

Obama's plan? Are you for real? John McCain is the one who said that the rotten teachers
need to find another line of work, not Obama. What in the world are all of you doing if you can't even get your facts correct about what was said and by whom? The reason no one saw any protesters when Obama was speaking was that all of you have gone from reality to the world of make believe. Oh how sorry everyone of you will be when the "OBAMA BALLON" bursts and reality sets in. Better hope he is not elected president.

Happy in sac
I'll bet Palin's ex brother in law is glad he isn't a teacher...

People that abuse power sometimes "bend" the rules to fire people by making them "bad". You will be reading about such a case in the morning paper.....

Are you kidding? The ex brother-in-law tazered his 11 year old son, has been married and divorced 4 times, been reprimanded several times as a police officer, and was accused of drinking in his patrol car. Sound like a guy to feel sorry for. What moron boss wouldn't fire someone like him?

Kathryn,

People still can't take matters into your own hand. There is protocol and procedures that must be followed. Rules are for everyone not just the ordinary American citizens who are not politicians.

IF she and her office used her position to try to get the guy fired, then there is definitely a conflict of interest there and an abuse of power.

"Bad" teachers can go back to school or get counseling on how to treat people if they want to keep their jobs.

What happened to working yourself through college, or scholarships or educational grants, since when did you become entitled to higher education. People need to wake up, our government owes us nothing. get off your kesters and work for what you want.

Firing people for not doing their job is not an abuse of power: it is a necessity. Here are the facts of the so-called trooper-gate:

Mike Wooten's marriage to Palin's sister Molly ended in 2006. Hi behavior leading up to the divorce led Palin's father (Chuck Heath) to file a formal complaint about him to the state police.

Wooten had threatened to kill Chuck telling Molly that her father "would eat a f***ing lead bullet" if he hired a lawyer for her. He also used a taser on his own 11-year-old stepson. Additionally, he had drunk beer in his patrol car and had shot a cow moose without a license.

The State Police investigate these charges and substantiated all of them. The head of the Alaska State Troopers suspended Wooten for 10 days and wrote: "The record clearly indicates a serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable and at times illegal activity occuring over a lengthy period, which establishes a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession." The trooper's union got his suspension cut to five days.

The public safety commissioner wouldn't get rid of Wooten. Clearly the abuse of power lay with the beaurocrats and union. Public safety commissioners serve at the pleasure of the govenor. Govenor Palin fired him for not doing his job which was to fire a rogue officer (in fact Wooten should have been put behind bars). It appears it was the union and Wooten's superiors who failed to follow protocol.

Which leads to the point: beaurocrats and unions have made it nearly impossible to get rid of teachers (and many other public servants) who have no business being near children nor teaching them.

Of course, this is all boring and not relevant to those who's hatred and bitterness blinds them to truth.

And for the record it is Obama/Biden that are reaching to Unionize the country. that my friends is another way they plan to turn our government into a socialist state. All businesses big and small we'll be forced to run under a Union standard. That will mean we will all be forced to pay union dues and we will not have any say in what happens to our employment. We will spend half the time fighting out on picketlines and recieve no or very little pay for it. Just ask some of the people that walked the lines your own personal finances will be hit and hit hard just to survive.

What would they protest exactly?

Community organizers? Black people? People with Muslim names?
Or perhaps you were hoping to see people saying "War is Awesome" or "Thanks for cutting Veterans Benefits!" or "Lower pay for teachers!"

Even if you happen to believe all those things, it's generally not something people put on signs and advertise. For apparent reasons.

Typical Conservative, crying "liberal" the moment someone questions the their narrow spectrum of thought. You didn't see protests at Obama's speech because his message is much closer to way most Americans feel. You probably should sell your GE stock now before we have to increase the capital gains tax to pay for republican budget mismanagement for 6 of the last 8 years.

I appreciate your perspective... I had just assumed that the RNC staged the protests so they could take advantage of the drama.

Because their weren't any...

It works that way when you want to stop wars instead of start them...

Actually Earl, there were protest at the DNC just like at the RNC.

Yes, but not real nut jobs that snuck inside like at the RNC

Thats because the nut jobs are liberals.

John McCain if nothing else is worthy of our respect! I happen to think he's worthy of our vote as well.

For those of us who have followed John McCain over the years, we can tell you that he always shy'd away from underscoring his POW experience. He truly does believe that he was just doing the right thing and that that shouldn't be considered to be extraordinary. But at 72, he's got one last chance to attain an office to which he has much to offer. So he's taken the advice of those who know how to win political campaign's and he's letting this story be told.

Like it or not, if you want to become President of the United States you damn well better tell your story whatever it is. If you've got one like John McCain has you ought find the highest mountain you can find and shout it out to the world. It matters. It tells us what he's made of. Actions speak volumnes more than words. Obama has words, John McCain has actions.

Yes, we can respect the experience of Mr. McCain. But honestly, do we need to have it repeated over and over and over and over and over. You get my point. Is he trying to beat it into the American public like he was beaten way back when. Now there's something to vote for. And speaking of be proud of your country, where was McCain's flag pin tonight? Obviously he isn't proud of his country because a part of it is willing to let him run for president.

LOL i'll have to review the RNC keynote speaker videos, to see if any of the others are unAmerican, non-flag wearing traitors........Becuase like i've said before, if your not wearing a flag, your a terrorist.

You better think twice before you vote.. depending if you want war or peace in the world.

Do you know how we call people like palin in my circle?? american talibans.

John Mcain has my gratitude, and "a little: respect (although I had more respect for the old Mcain).

Neither has my vote..

He is now beholding to the same bunch right wing nut cases that we have had for the last 8 years. I have seen how things have changed in the last 8 years and it's downright scary...

Limbaugh/Hannity 2012 !!!

Hey Chang, you may not want to bring up the copying shamelessly from others, since Biden has been known for pledgerism

perhaps those were the topics they chose because those happen to be some of the top rated concerns among Americans when polled....

You, and Mccain, might want to look into that and then revise your talking points accordingly.

I happen to think Obama addressed terrorism as well or better than McCain did. Obama actually had a plan for the economy, terrorism, taxes, college tuition, jobs, health care, women's rights (including equal pay!) etc.

Pork spending? Does he mean like the bridge to nowhere or all the pork she was lobbying for?

This was a joke and showed that he has no clue what is going on with the common man. You know...those of us that make less than $5mil per year!

We've got to get a grasp on the media? That is a very communist type statement, not exactly American now is it? Freedom of the press is one of the things we should be thankful for. So far the Bush administration has not managed to take that away from us, but god knows they've tried!

No it would not be, unless you want nuclear bombs falling on your soil!

Diplomacy is the key, not war

So now asking any tough questions is liberal media slant? I think you may just be used to Faux News.

Just so yahh know... Not all news agencies get the questions delivered to them from the people they are asking the questions of...

Michael - I think you made a good point. The question is really poorly-worded since it actually asks two things and makes, as you point out, several implicit assumptions. It's a variation on the "Do you still beat your wife?" question. Perhaps a more effective and neutral way of taking the poll would have been simply to ask: "Was McCain's speech effective and did it do a good job dealing with core issues?" and leave it at that. To make it better - the question could have provided a series of checkboxes that folks could have selected as 'core issues' (which could have listed such things such as "Health Care", "Economics", "War on Terrorism", "Education", "Taxes" and perhaps others) that we could use to indicate those things that we felt Mr. McCain's speech did (or didn't) address effectively. In that way - we would get a sense not only of how folks think Mr. McCain did - but also of what folks think are the core issues and their relative ranking. Better still - divide the question into two parts: 1) was the speech effective, and 2) what do you believe are core issues. On the other hand, I'm not sure that the poll takers are really looking for information as much as they're looking for controversial 'sound byte' ammunition to be used on TV segments. Finally - I didn't interpret your comment that we needed to get a grasp on the media as meaning we should somehow censor them - but rather that we should look for some sort of effective way of letting them know that we would like more neutral, un-biased questions and reporting. I'm not sure how we would do that - and I'm not sure it would work even if we could find a way - but that's how I interpret your remark. Again - I think you made some good points.

Why does color mater to you?...
You are a racist...Who made you the color police?
Why do you think of people as colors?
Then you make a joke about aisian people?
You are a racist...Librealisum is a mental dosorder.
MSNBC....ALL OBAMA ALL THE TIME....
Another round of koolaid for all...Hail to the new god!!
Fools...

there was some black people. There was 36 black delegates ..... oh and 2 black people commentating for CNN.

this country is becoming increasingly diverse, they will soon have to evolve or the party will totally obsolete

U r right. thats a lot of white people. Oh, wait. the country is mostly white.

the DNC had 24% black delegates, 2 times the amount in the population. What wrong here?

If only you could be color blind like me. I say it all the time. Its not about color. But some people just dont get it. I wonder what color they are. I dont know cause I dont see color. I see character or lack there of.

And talk about attacks. DNC attacked 4 times more. DNC scared. DNC need help. Send more money. Then after DNC elected, send more money. DNC need money to win fight against left wing. Left win bad. DNC need money. You better pay now.

Thats what the Wright wing say. You know, Rev Wright wing. White people bad. Try to poison poor people.

Get real!

Funny! Scary... but funny!

PS: I'm white to

it's pretty bad, when there is so few minorities in the crowd you have to count them. At least the dems had rich, poor, black, white, asian, hispanic, and native american, gay straight they really had a more accurate representation of America.

I almost sensed a militant air about most of the speeches given at the RNC. Maybe because there was so much emphasis on military and so many military people the cameras focused on. And I never heard anything of substance. Nothing concrete on what he was going to do on any issue except maybe war issues. Same with Palin last night. She said those parents with special children will have a friend in the white house. That's nice. But is that friend going to help in any way? How? Most of the speakers had the same message: told me what [they think] I need and then how the opposition was going to not give it to me. And McCain may have been a hero 30-40 years ago but I'm about fed up with the POW thing and I'm really trying to give him the courtesy of listening to what he says, but it's getting repetitious.

It looks like the people who are on the side of Obama have a fear of the truth. It also seems that there is a problem with dealing with reality. McCain wants to give the American people their country, and the right to have to know where our tax dollars go, and to have the right to make decisions in what we willl do with the money we earn, and to have the right to say NO to those who want to spend our hard earned dollars on things like the $200.00 hammer. McCain wants to give us back the right to have a say in the education of our children, and to hold our city goverments responsible for seeing our children have decent teachers. McCain wants to correct the wrongs imposed by the present goverment on the American people, and show that from now on, make it known that they answer to us, not us to them. Obama doen't care about how hard you work to make ends meet, all he is out for is himself. Obama has no idea how to run a country, and he has no idea as to the importance of our military and it's vital functons to keep our country safe. No, he just wants to make sure that those who are prisoners and terrorists get treated with respect and fairness. YEAH RIGHT!! I don't treat anyone who has cost the lives of others to be lost because they don't have the same belief system as our own. But hey, why don't you Obama lovers go live in his native country and you can all be so much happier. That's exactly what you are going to get if he is elected president.

Yes Cindy was "dimplomatic" (with dimples)

Just kidding... I actually agree with everything you said :)

"It looks like the people who are on the side of Obama have a fear of the truth."
"Obama doen't care about how hard you work to make ends meet, all he is out for is himself."

Just two sentences out of a whole page of drivel... Not one word as to WHY you make all the accusations, just a bunch of flinging mud. And you wasted my time to get through all that? I would tell you that he is likely to lower your taxes... but looking up at your post, I can see it's a waste of time.. Way to much koolaide..

You could have saved a bunch of words though if you would have just said: My guy is great and your guy sucks. Would have been about as effective..

Re: Ramona's comment on "native country": Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii. That makes the US his native country. Hawaii went from a US territory to a state in 1959. His father's native country was Kenya. His mother came from Kansas, again part of the US. Geneologists have also linked commonality of heritage to Bush and to Cheney. Since my heritage 4-5 generations back is northern European, does that mean the US isn't my native land?

Great post!

soon there will be 250 000 of them.... what a shame and you still want to vote for this trash??

And Obama`s plan for these homeless vet living under bridges is what?...I will save time and pontificate he {we} will buy them all houses and the rainbow will appear in the sky and we will all sing comb by ya and all will be grand and peaceful in the land of the new god Obama....250k of them is not a real stat....They are dieing faster than growing you moron..
More kool aid for my liberal friends...

He didn't talk about all those who live under bridges because most of them are there because they brought it on themselves. 89% of homeless people are on the streets because of how they lived. Because of drugs, alcohol, gambiling, and other addictions for which they felt were more important to them than anything else. So don't blame McCain for not giving a shout out to those people who are where they wanted to be.

Ramona, I been patiently reading your ignorant comments. Now, it's time that I comment.
People are not homeless because they choose to be. Many of them are War Veterans and this government have not afforded them with medical care especially mental health care. Where would you suggest they live when they are not mentally capable of sustaining employment to pay for housing or anything else. Just like a conservative, you sit in your glass house and throw stones, and believe that everyone should be like you. Believe it or not, there are people less fortunate than you. But you wouldn't know about that though because you can't see past the Republican Party which means you Don't have the brainpower to think or reason for yourself.

This is a real issue: I know this one Obama has voted FOR veterans benefits every time they came up while in the US senate (4 years, 2 votes) He aslo worked on the bill that got rid of the red tape to get benefits quicker.

Mcain has consistently voted AGAINST veterans benefits while in the Congress and US senate (26 years 19 votes)

I know, I know... many people don't believe me when I tell them that, but it is true You can see it for yourself on the factcheck web site (this site won't let me paste the link)

Wow. I guess all those Americans whose jobs were shipped out of our country are homeless because they want to be or are drug addicts too. You know, the auto workers, small business owners, teachers, people like that?

and Oops, there is more of them this morning. Unemployment is now the highest it's been in 5 years.

Buncha whiners!! If the republicans were running things this wouldn't be happening!!! Ohhh.... The republicans are running things.. Crap.. WAR, we need a good war!! Ohhh already in one? Damn, somebody give me a Flag! Maestro strike up the stra spangled banner! Where is a terrorist when you need one?

We have Dem congress, thats why things are going south. check it out unemployment was totally down before the dems got to congress.

lol, the dem's just got into power in 2006. And they only hold a small majoritry. What is it 51%?. Face it rep have been the power in congress for around 20 years so if you are blaming congress for the problems you are blaming the republicans. I love how people like you seem to forget the facts.

The last two years have been in the charge of Nancy Pelosi's do nothing NOW campaign.

You wanna know why those jobs shipped out of this country? 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the WORLD. Why would any international company want to do business here? And who for the most part owns those PUBLIC companies? TAXPAYERS. And guess who wants to raise corporate taxes? I'm sure that will do wonders for the economy. Time and time again it has been shown the way to improve the economy is to make sure the people have more money to spend, meaning less taxes. Those who refuse to learn the lessons of our past will be doomed to the same mistakes in the future.

They are leaving because of the money first, people last concept supported by the repugs. These businesses make huge sums of money directly off our people in our market but continue to send the service jobs out of the country to cut costs build up the bottom line at the expense of their marketplace. At some point we have to stop rewarding these companies that enjoy the benefits of being American but do not want the responsibility that goes along with that. Before the corp tax cut was made we enjoyed 8 years of unprecedented growth under a democrat leadership, that has changed drastically.

I have a hard time seeing the amazing things your tax cut has done for the 95% that did not get one because it has done nothing but make the very rich richer.
Someone is going to pay more and your argument seems to be it should be everyone without huge profits (perhaps because you think they can't leave like the corps might). I have no idea how giving the richest a tax break helps most people, but then the trickledown theory has always struck me as bunk. Perhaps that is because I do have major interest in a fortune 500 company like the strongest supporters of this tax cut must.

The tax cut proposed by the dems put money in the hands of 95% of the country, that strikes me as doing exactly what you said would help. But again according to repug doctrine if it is not going to the ultra rich so it will be of little benefit

SELECTIVE HEARING, that's what they call it when people hear what they want to hear, usually only the negitive. I guess you didn't hear McCain tell us that he is going to give the right to have a say in our children's education back to the parents? Or maybe you didn't hear him tell us that our schools are going to be held accountable for giving our children the education they deserve? I bet you didn't even hear that he wants to put the power back in the hands of the American people, instead of the ruthless, money hungry, lying, no count dirty ol egg suckin dogs that our present administration has. And for the record, McCain did not talk about his years spent as a POW the entire night, he devoted most of the time to assuring the American people that he will not bring our troops home until we have finished the task at hand. Oh I guess you don't remember VIETNAM? I do, I am a Vietnam veteran, my father was a Pearl Harbor Survivor, I have 3 brothers, and a sister who also served in the military, and numerous other reletives who served our country. I have spent the past 26 years as a longshoreperson, and a union member of the ILWU, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for my brothers and sisters, except for one, and that is I WOULD PUT A GUN TO MY HEAD BEFORE I WOULD VOTE FOR OBAMA. My freedoms and rights are more important than that. NUFF SAID

"I bet you didn't even hear that he wants to put the power back in the hands of the American people, instead of the ruthless, money hungry, lying, no count dirty ol egg suckin dogs that our present administration has."

Isn't that the same administration that was there all week cheering him on and giving him the nomination?" I was SURE I saw the "head egg sucker" on a video screen endorsing him...

And you don't find that just a little bit strange.......

PS: Not all military families feel as you do. Per the Polls, a majority are actually voting for Obama. Wonder why that is?

Voting MCCAIN/PALIN

No idiot...that's the Demoncrat Congress we have now...

You're kinda stupid, aren't you.

Listen....Repub USA... You go and put your teeth in the glass honey,it's time for your nappy poo!

Why does color mater?....You are a racist!...Librealisim is a mental disorder...

and

Right Wing = Retarded

LOL!!!

and Rigidity! The 3 R's.

the current US armed forces Code of Conduct while you are required to resist with all of your ability. It also has previsions for torture. Given enough torture any one will confess (or do what ever to what ever they have to) to make the physical/mental pain to stop. I respect that he was a POW, veteran, and is retired officer. However, I do not agree with his politics. Speaking of torture what has he said lately? Wasn't he and Biden (?) originally against torture in Gitmo?

Here, is your answer!!

Posted By: Alvy @ 09/04/2008 11:33:21 PM
Comment: Posted By: Alvy @ 09/04/2008 11:24:51 PM
Comment: John, John! Good speech!
Loved how you talked about being a hero, a traitor, then a hero again. To bad the people who died because you sold them out could not witness your moment of glory. What did your CO say about that by the way? Oh. By the way Johnny, what about the economy?

You sure can pick on everyone else not having substance, where was yours? Good luck with your VP - I'm sure she agrees with the education dream you have for America, considering her kids are dumb.

Amen. Beware of the military-industrial complex a truly great Republican warned.

Every campaign is the campaign of change. So its not the Messiah's NEW message.

Well stated. I can't help but notice an almost desperation about his candidacy and last evenings speech. Seeing himself drowning in the polls he decided to listen to his Rovian strategymeisters and choose a woman conservative to lock in those Hillary democrats who felt so disinfranchised after her loss to Obama. The sadder story is that Palin doesn't see herself being used. She brings to the ticket this image of fighting other Republicans. McCain needed to distance himself from Bush and she was the right tool. I can't understand how you can go to your own party and trash the folks paying for the big screen and the balloons.

Evidently the 'socialism' of giving government handouts to financial institutions with poor lending habits and banks whose officers have gotten their money out before the banks failed is okay with you? Talk about entitlement programs!

capitalK, you might consider that it was a Democratic controlled congress with a 9% approval rating that did that.

I see things a tad different. If you had actually listened to what McCain was saying, I think you would have learned that his whole life he has SERVED his country. And will serve again. Obama has done nothing of the sort. Can anyone tell me one thing that Obama has accomplished? What has he done? Why can't the democrats put out a candidate that isn't on the extreme left? That party has been hijacked by the radicals and it is truly a shame.

This isn't a popularity contest or picking the cool kid. There is too much at stake. Go google Biden's quote saying just a few months ago that Obama is not ready to lead this country. But I guess you'll say after the last few months of campaigning that he's ready now. Right.

I didn't think I'd see one person who felt the same way I do. But I did. At least there is some out there who have a little more common sense and see Obama for what he is.

What bothers me more is that John McCain seems to throw his service around as a reason for everything.

My father served in WWII and Korea in active combat units. He never talked about war except when I asked questions. He was proud of his service and of this country but he was also scared by it and realized war was an ugly thing.

During this convention I heard the "John McCain" story at least a dozen times in various forms and yes he is a true hero.

We get it! But its not a reason for everything John and its not a sole reason you should be elected president. Every time you retell your story it looses something...it looses it integrity and its worth.

Most heros are appreciative of recognition, while seeing themselves as just ordinary people, John seems to revel in his. He cheapens its purity by turning it into a campaign slogan and a right of passage to the presidency.

Posted By: Alvy @ 09/04/2008 11:33:21 PM
Comment: Posted By: Alvy @ 09/04/2008 11:24:51 PM
Comment: John, John! Good speech!
Loved how you talked about being a hero, a traitor, then a hero again. To bad the people who died because you sold them out could not witness your moment of glory. What did your CO say about that by the way? Oh. By the way Johnny, what about the economy?

You sure can pick on everyone else not having substance, where was yours? Good luck with your VP - I'm sure she agrees with the education dream you have for America, considering her kids are dumb.

Phil AZ, I too want to know exacly how McCain broke under pressure...what is it we DON'T know? I believe he is a coward, for if he wasn't, he wouldn't try so hard to convince us otherwise. I'm also curious as to why the FACT that he left his first wife upon returning from Vietnam is so covered up. The truth is that while overseas, he missed his then beautiful (first) wife and children. When he returned, however, to find her disfigured and disabled from a terrible car accident (something she unselfishly kept from him to keep him from worrying), he left her and moved quickly to beauty-queen-heiress Cindy. He married her before his divorce was even final, right? And didn't that in itself cause quite a stir with their first 2 children? In my opinion, it is his first wife who is the real hero...she is the one who has truly and QUIETLY suffered.

I would like to see military records of McCain declassified or atleast reviewed by a bipartisan committee to make sure that he is really what he claims to be. I am not saying here that it may not turn out that he was actually tortured and did not give any info out inspite of that. However, will it harm to have this confirmed? Is electing the future President not important enough to make certain that the bio he is presenting is really accurate? After all, he was one of the major persons responsible for classifying this information, should we not know that there was no ulterior motive? Utube has enough American citizens on there who have a totally different version than McCain of his time in VietNam. "Vietnam Vets against McCain" is what you need to check out if you do not know what I am talking about.

Why is everyone so focused on Mc Cains military service and whether he did or didn't cave in under torture?
Who among us would do better.?
Having said that, all of this military stuff, doesn't cut it with me. He has a "military" mind set and tends to see the world through those glasses. That does not make him qualified to me.
I wonder how he can, with a straight face, talk about change. He is part of the problem not the solution. I am sure he is an honorable man but unfortunately he works for the Republican Party and their top down mentality on the economy, the war, the abortion issue, divide and conquer, etc. I am not a rich man (in money that is) so the Republicans have little to offer me in that area and nothing to offer me in most other areas that matter to the average American.
His pick of Palin was proof of what he cares about most.....getting elected

Snooze.

Uh...not to squabble, but you must have been actually watching a rebroadcast of JFK's call to reach the moon, because the McCain speech that was on tonight was a far cry...

I think you are already on the moon... Were we watching different speeches?

Even John's staunch supporters admit speaking isn't his strong point.. come on... it was "pretty good" for him, and "OK" as speeches go, but I think you have had one to many glasses of the Mcain-aide

I liked McCain after the faith forum, but not after the RNC. He constantly gives misinformation. FOR EVERYBODY WHO DOESN"T GET IT - OBAMA IS GOING TO LOWER TAXES - MCCAIN WILL NOT LOWER TAXES !!! AND DRILLING, BY THE WAY, WILL NOT LOWER GAS PRICES

I find some of these comments absolutely beyond LUDICRIOUS! Seriously PEOPLE!!!! Why would you want to elect a man that is a "SOCIALIST?" Have ANY OF YOU OBAMA SUPPORTERS EVER looked past his pretty speeches, his flamboyent stages, his platitudes and LOOKED at HOW HE VOTED AS A SENATOR? If you have - then why not look up the definition of A SOCIALISTIC GOVERNMENT. Why would you CHOOSE to have the government be a bigger part of your life? WHY would you purposely put your life and your children's lives in the hands of a government that wants to control you and your $$$? Why would you vote for man that, when was nominated, was celebrated by the TERRORISTS? That alone should tell you something. Why do you want a man whose wife makes over $237,000 a year herself, but gave back to charities LESS than 9%..BUT wants to take billions from the American hard working families and give it to government run programs that haven't worked in the past and still don't work today? I work with Government Agencies and I see how the whole "welfare" system doesn't work. Do you know that you already pay for people that have NEVER WORKED in their lives because they DON"T WANT TO work. You already pay for their housing, their food, their children's education, their medical treatment. Do you know that YOU are paying for these people that don't want to work because then they loose all their funding???? I see it EVERYDAY and I know that Obama wants to increase all that you already are taxed for. Its INSANE!!! Do you own a small business? My husband does..if Obama's plans are adopted - you can kiss small businesses' across America goodbye because his tax hikes will KILL OFF small businesses. How can you put your trust in a man who wants to please Europe and other countries..particularly some of our advesaries rather than stand up for our country? If you want to live in a Socialist Country - MOVE TO ONE. They have NEVER worked and still continue to fail, but yet, Americans who have never lived outside of this country have NO CLUE of the realities of what a country run by Socialists is like. PLEASE - WAKE UP..KNOW WHO YOU ARE VOTING FOR. LOOK AT THEIR RECORDS.. I EMPLORE YOU!

For those of you who feel that McCain's POW record is old - and Yesterday's news..what have YOU EVER DONE that you have sacrficed for? What pain and suffering have YOU EVER endured ..and I mean something more than not being able to use your cell phone in a dead zone...or your hard drive on your computer going out? What have you EVER done for someone other than yourself that actually cost you something more than a latte or a beer? You have no idea what courage is, what sacrifice is. You probably still use your mommy and daddy's credit card to pay for all your "stuff" you need.

Ahh the fear card....

well played...

That didnt take long...

Is that all you have?

I thought so...

Next you'll be telling us Obama is a covert Muslim.

Oh and yes you mentioned john McCain was a POW.......again...

I find your fear of an Obama presidency utterly revealing...when the current president (see also republican house and senate) has run this country into the ground and THAT doesn't scare you in the least.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

I sure would like to get some specifics on how you think Bush has run this country into the group. First, let me present YOU with some facts:

1) No terrorist attacks on US soil since 9/11
2) Sustained tax cuts over the Bush presidency
3) As another poster above said...we are NOT in a recession. Yes, things are in a slump but you can thank our greedy bankers, unquenchable lust for possessions and credit, and an over building in the housing industry in this country for our failing economy.

You know, many people in socialist countries live happy and well!! Check Norway, the netherland, sweeden... no homeless in the street, the safety net of healthcare for all, good education, good infrastructures, long paid vacations for all and good social programs to make everybody's lives better!! Everything important your capitalistic system does not give you!!

helping others is a moral and ethical obligation that we europeans, but you americans do not understand!
Socialism, capitalism are just words.. they sometime work sometime do not, just depending how much you want the government to do good for the people.

UM, YEAH I DO FEAR OBAMA'S SOCIALIST AGENDA. THERE I SAID IT. IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE? VAGUE LITTLE ONE LINERS, AND A FAMOUS GENERIC "BLAHDY-BLAH" QUOTE? I AGREE WITH BLING BLING. I THINK PEOPLE KNOW FULL WELL THAT HE IS NOT A MUSLIM AFTER HIS 20 YEAR HISTORY IN JEREMIAH'S CONGREGATION. WHAT DOES THIS REVEAL ABOUT ME, NOSTRA"DUMBASS"? I SUPPOSE THAT NEXT YOU'LL CALL ME RACIST BECAUSE I DON'T SUPPORT THIS PARTICULAR CANDIDATE. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE IMPLYING WHEN YOU SAY "UTTERLY REVEALING"? RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE THAT PHRASE COULD IMPLY. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT SOCIALISM IS, WHAT IT MEANS, WHAT CAPITALISM AND DEMOCRACY ARE? AGAIN I ASK, IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT? GO DO SOME READING, EDUCATE YOURSELF, THEN COME BACK AND HAVE AN INTELLIGENT DISCUSSION. DOUBT I'LL HEAR BACK FROM YOU.

Now I will tell you something: the vast majority of homelesses in this country are veterans and people suffering from mental diseases! These people cannot hold a job... maybe if you had universal health care those people would not be on the street and working!!

10 million poor americans suffer from parasitic disease which make them way too weak to work! again, if you had UHC, those people could have been taking cared of.

There are not lazy people only people suffering from mental diseases and that can be depression as well. You are a selfish and uncompassionate society. You dump your most fragile people on the streets. You do not know what moral and ethical obligation means because for yous your dollars, are more important than life

I have a sister who is bipolar and thanks god she is not in this country. She is in France and get the best care so she can fonction in society. My relative who does clearence work at the white house and the pentagon as a psychiatrist woudl tell you the same thing.

STOP BLAMING THE POOR... THE RICH ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE MISERY in the world, NOT THE POOR!! YOU SELFISH, UNEDUCATED IDIOT! And I bet you are one of those religious nut case!! HYPOCRIT!!

Well, obviously, your capitalist system is not taking you anywhere!!

33 million americans living under the poverty level

50 million without health insurance...

millions loosing their homes...

Your health care system collapsing!

And what ever else... obviously your system is broken!!

What a great country!! believe me, i no longer want to live in your "great" country. You can keep it but don't come crying on our doors when you can't get an abortion!!

blingbling - I do not want my hard earned money to continue going toward food, insurance, prescriptions and high priced gas. I do not want my social security to be privatized; I'm not the only one who has paid into social security for years just to see it given away. I do not want to give up what medical insurance I have in return for a $5,000 tax credit that won't even match what I now pay in medical insurance. I do not want to see another bridge or tunnel collapse because my tax money is being put toward fighting a war. I do not want to be a part of killing our young people in another war. I do not want to spend 10-15 years drilling for gas/oil on our soil while the price continues to go up until we can get the 45 refineries built to process what we get out of drilling. I do not want the big oil companies to continue making record profits with the help of their large tax credits they now enjoy. And more than anything, I do not want my 9 grandchildren to suffer because I did not do anything to make life better for them when I had the chance. I do not want to continue hearing out right lies from a party that expects me to believe the lies and vote for them. Those are issues that are important to me and my family. They may/may not be important issues to you and your family. But I can promise you that I have read what both democrats and republicans are saying and I have carefully considered both platforms. Forums such as this one are great for discussion and debate but, if you are really wanting to be honest with yourself and do what is best for your family, read both candidates issues. Carefully. You can find them on their web sites. It is your obligation to yourself, your family, your children, your parents. America is a nation of choice and it is both a privilege and right to be able to vote for our country's leader. It would be great if we could have a 'cafeteria' platform where we could take something from this party and something from that but, unfortunately, we are having to choose and each of us has to make that personal choice ourselves because what may be important to my family may not be important for yours. People forget that it's not about party, it's about our futures. And I cannot make that choice for you and I have no right to condemn you for your choice anymore than you do for me.

What a great country!! full of crime, poverty, misery... how nice!! Do you eve look at yourselves in the mirror??

Thank you Brett for your intelligent and insightful statement of the facts! Bravo, it's about time that someone with a comment made it based on research and fact rather than rhetoric and assumption!

If this campaign is actually to be decided based on personalities (God forbid that the American people would actually settle on that issue when there are so many others looming), then I stand firm with my support of Barack, Michelle, and Joe. They began and branded their campaign based on a sincere, new idea of Change only to have John McCaine try to capitalize on it for his own political gain.

I am just now recovering from the diabetic coma that Cindy McCaine's syrupy sweet attempt at proving herself to be a sincere, down home mom, bred from humble beginnings and identifier with the "common folk" launched me into. In my opinion, another page right out of the Obama campaign book. One that poor Cindy obviously had trouble reading from the teleprompter this evening. And if I hear the POW story one more time I'm going to have to grab that cute little bag in the seat pocket on the airplane and use it! ENOUGH! Please excuse what might misguidedly seem to be a lack of respect. Not the case, and yet I would like my sense of comprehension to be respected as well. After all, anyone who has read a newspaper, surfed the net, or watched a cable news show for 15 minutes in the last how many years has no doubt heard the story and by now can recite it in our sleep.

As so many women have stated before, I initially was offended and insulted to think that once again John McCaine made his decision on asking Sarah Palin to join the ticket as another ploy to rip out yet another page out of the Democratic play book with the thoughtless audacity to think that she would be a replacement in women's eyes for Hillary. Thankfully most intelligent, politically informed women see right through that ploy and yet her rising stardom and intense popularity keeps me asking...why has the comparison now come down between she and Barack? Now let me get this straight, as we vote for Commander In Chief, Leader of the Free World, the master mind of future growth and prosperity, are we voting for Obama vs McCaine or are we putting our hopes and dreams in Ms Sarah (last time I checked-#2 on the ticket)? Let's at least compare apples to apples.

Thank you. and God bless America!

And may the American political animals stop scavenging for the divisive "red meat" and start truly supporting the now supposed common platforms of "Change". After all isn't the end of division and the Kumbaya spirit what we're supposedly seeking amidst all of this change? "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me"

Nicely Done!!

WOW, this paricular thread has a bunch of very thoughtful posts!!!

They make me proud and happy that there are actaully thinking people out there!!!!!

Thank You All

Chad-406782I

1) No terrorist attacks on US soil since 9/11

We were asleep at the wheel. That is why that happened. Sad, but true. We did get the intelligence (see 9/11 commission) and the current administration tossed it. They were told several times, and they just didn't do anything

2) Sustained tax cuts over the Bush presidency

And 3 TRILLION Dollars of national debt! Debt that takes 1/2 of the GNP to pay the bill each year. The reality is you are saddling your kids with Poverty! It is like a high interest credit card the has been maxed out and we HAVEN"T even begun to pay it off. You just can't lower taxes, raise spending, and have a war, without going into seriopus debt. In fact, it had never been done before! Now we owe more than ever (that means you and me)

3) As another poster above said...we are NOT in a recession. Yes, things are in a slump but you can thank our greedy bankers, unquenchable lust for possessions and credit, and an over building in the housing industry in this country for our failing economy.

We aren't "technically" in a recession (three quarters of negative job growth) but we are hovering really close to it. YES, Yes you can blame the bankers (actually its hedge funds, but I'll give it to you)... but not really. They are like alcaholics except with money. It is very predictable that they will grab anything they can get their hands on, and have zero remorse. The CURRENT administration however RELAXED the laws and stopped ENFORCING many others. Those laws are exactly what kept this from happening in the past (naked shorting, loan standards, subprimes bundled and sold). Those rules are what was keeping them honest. Unless the rules are enforced, the "thugs" will continue to move from market to market (Commodities, Stocks, Housing, Banks, etc) and drain your money and then move on to the next one. If you are familiar with the stock market, this is common knowledge and discussed daily... Unfortunately the current administration believes in the "free market" and doesn't like regulations (of almost any kind). Without the regulations though, all of these things (including oil and your house) are like the "Wild West" except we have pea shooters and the Hedge Funds have machine guns. It's rigged, but we have no choice but to play.

Sorry for the long post, but this goes right over most peoples heads, yet it is one of the most important issues....

Ok Chad, here are your specifics:

Tax cuts for the richest 5% of the country.
Lost jobs
Industries moving to china
More dependence on foreign oil than ever
800 Billion dollars a year going to countries that dont like us and support radical muslims
Gas that has tripled in price since Bush became president
An energy policy written by the oil companies in Cheneys office
A president who vacations in Texas while New Orleans floods
A president willing to sacrific the very fundamentals of our personal freedoms in the name of keeping us safe
Lied about WMD.
Unilaterally invaded a sovereign nation without provocation and justification.
Lied during State of the Union speech re: Niger Uranium.
Responsible for pre-9/11 intelligence failures in White House, CIA, FBI. Allowed 9-11 murderers to remain free while diverting precious military and financial resources to his vanity war in Iraq.
Lied about Saddam/bin Laden connection.
Turned Iraq into a terrorist breeding ground.
Opposed creation of 9-11 Commission and Homeland Security Department.
Disrespected and alienated the U.S. from French, German and other key allies. Lied to Americans about the real cost of war.
Fostered an environment of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
Lined Halliburton's pockets in Afghanistan and Iraq with fat no-bid contracts.
Under-manned and under-equipped our armed forces in Iraq, resulting in unnecessary death and injuries.
Ignored the nuclear build-up in both Iran and N.Korea; marginalized Kim Jong Il.
Shunned Kyoto Treaty.
Lied about effects of man-made pollutants on the environment to support corporate pals.
Lied about the insolvency of Social Security.
Lied about true cost of health care bill.
Lied about Free Trade stand.
Bitterly divided the nation along religious, party and sexual preference lines.
Guilty of numerous cronyism appointments (Homeland Security, Supreme Court, etc)
Rewarded failures of Condi Rice and other cronies with key promotions.
Dreadful energy policies lead to record gas and oil prices.
Responsible for the largest debt in U.S. history.
Colossal failure of preparedness, rescue and relief during Hurricane Katrina.
Fostered a culture of corruption among GOP and top leadership (Tom Delay, etc).
Allowed Donald Rumsfeld to keep job despite utter failure in Iraq.
Presided over the U.S.'s lowest popularity throughout the world. Saw No Child Left Behind fail. Didnt fund the mandate.

Could not have said it better myself. mmmmmm
I don't here anyone reply from Earl now. LOL! ROTFLOL!

Earl-RE: Post 27.12 -I agree-still voting McCain/Palin but I agree...

The majority of these posts on the left and right are filled with nothing more than what the pundits on the 6 O'Clock news said the night before.

McCain did not give as strong a speech as I had hoped last night-but that isn't what I base my vote on. It was easy too see based on the adversarial relationship he has had with the GOP over his years in politics that he will continue to challenge the status quo in Washington and as President will finally be in a better position to bring about the change that has been very much needed in the last 8 years and in some instances prior to that. I am sick and tired of all the "my party is better than your party" garbage and a large number of these posts here are indicative of exactly that and is what has been wrong in government and this country for far too long.

Instead of long-winded, boring diatribe, saying "My dad can beat up your dad" works just as well.

Daris

I have no problem supporting my "little one liners".

Try making your arguments with facts and not your Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaught, Bill Oreilly, Glen Beck talking points.

It wouldnt be hard for me to say I'm afraid of Mccain. He will lead us into more wars. Pay lip service to getting us off our oil dependency, cut taxes only for those who are rich, fill his cabinet and offices with the same lobbiests that Bush had, sacrifice personal freedoms in the name of national security, load the supreme court with far right conservative judges...etc.

The fact is this country wont go into the toilet with John mcCain as president. We all discount the role of the house and senate, state and local governments, the supreme court etc. However I think we can do better than McCain. A lot better and I'm not afraid that Obama will destroy Democracy or Open Markets. The president isnt a King. He sets a vision and works to enact those things with the support of others.

We obviously have a difference of opinion and values. I didnt call you a racist but i did say your statements were revealing... you brought race into it. I'm not voting for Obama because he's black or MCcain because he is a POW or Palin because she is a woman or Biden because he is white.

I'm voting for someone because he, in my opinion is the best candidate. He reflects the direction I think we need to go and I believe he his best suited to take us there.
Is there risk. You bet. He could fail miserably. So could John Mccain. Personally I dont want more ofthe same thing we have had for the last 8 years and I'm not willing to give McCain the chance.

My point...which was obviously lost on you, was that Fear is not a reason to vote for someone. I choose not to motivated by fear and those who promote that position usually cant make a better argument. IE Rush, hannity, Beck and Orielly. This country was not founded or defended by "fearful " people.

Fear is the single playbook in the Right Wing playbook. All you have to do is ask yourself what are they trying to make me afraid of.

As for the "vague quote" and "Blahdy-blah" one liners You might want to do some reading yourself.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945)
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

His inauguration on March 4, 1933 occurred in the middle of a bank panic, hence the backdrop for his famous words: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."[38] The very next day he declared a "bank holiday" and announced a plan to allow banks to reopen. However, the number of banks that opened their doors after the "holiday" was less than the number that had been open before.[39] This was his first proposed step to recovery.

Good luck....

Excellent overview of the facts!-- We really should stick to the facts-- no matter where it leads us -- but, it appears that the "party faithful' do not want that. In short, John McCain is a decent man-- and was a POW and is an American hero -- and really should have been his party's canidate 2000 -- Maybe if he was and had won - we would not have the problems we have today -- -- Thank you GW Bush! (By the way -- isn't it kind of funny how the GOP leaders who now praise him -- were the very same who opposed him before?!) and why are the GOP running (or running away) fromtheir own government? They have been in charge for the last 7 plus year - have they not? -- To be serious here for a moment -- I am quite concerned that Sen. McCain is too old now -- and maybe a bit too out of touch with true needs of the the middle class of this country -- and had to 'give in" too much to the "right wing" to finally get the nod of his party. With that said, and being that the job of President of the United States can be a hard job and can "age" any person very quickly-- and since he is not in the best of health anymore -- his VP choice is even more important -- and his choice scares me too much. I say this not because she is a woman -- but because she is not really up to this task. (and to say that she will "appease" unhappy Hillary supports is an insult to those voters!)

Please understand -- I am not in love with Obama either - but I think he is more in touch with the concerns of the majority of people of this nation today -- and while he might be less experienced that McCain (in deed, he was nbot alive for half od McCain's) -- he is more up to the job -- and with the help of Joe Biden he can get done what must be done herew and abroad-- even if some see them as "liberal" Doing good for the most people is not a bad thing. Thank you John McCain for your service -- (you have done your duty) Good bless America --let's do the right thing -- NOT the RIGHT thing!

Liberal, the nations you mentioned as proud socialistic examples are completely irrelevant on the world stage and are completely dependent on Russian oil. They are happy go lucky now, but I don't recall them having such a great time of it about 60 years ago. Russia sneezes, they put their hands over their mouths.
If a socialist nirvana is your dream, go there. Wait, you can't as they don't accept foreign nationals as citizens. They actually control their borders thereby controlling the amount of income via taxation and outflow via "social programs". Said system will not work here as we have no idea how many new mouths we'll be feeding next month, how many hospital beds will be required, how many desks in our schools. Herein is another paradox with the socialist platform- if you allow "open borders" you will never be able to adequately balance the cash flow to fund the social programs. So, which plank in the platform do the Dems remove? Amnesty and Open borders or all of the pipe-dream social programs?

Your response is not factual Brett, you were served talking points. And believe it or not, I'm not a right-winger- I just have a better than passing interest in economics and google.

Tax cuts for the richest 5% of the country.
**Tax cuts for everyone who actually paid taxes actually, so yes- the top 5% too. However I made $50k at the time and I got a cut.

Lost jobs
**This is a lie, plain and simple, The average unemployment for the 2000-2008 period has been historically lower than the period from 1990-1999. This is despite having a larger US workforce determined by taxpayer rolls. This is just another form of fear mongering.

Industries moving to china
**This is partially true, it's actually more correct to say to 3rd world countries though. The move to China has drastically slowed in the last 5 years. Ironically, this slowing of the move to China is because China's economy is improving. All countries in the G7 have had a serious shift of manufacturing power to 3rd world countries. This started long before Bush and Clinton. It is a fact of life when our standard of living is so high, others are willing to do production line labor cheaper. As the quality of those goods improved, they are more attractive to buy. China is starting to lose Chinese jobs now for the same reason.

More dependence on foreign oil than ever
**This is only somewhat true. This is more a matter that you can blame on the American people and our wants. As soon as the prices spiked the American people significantly slowed the usage of oil. The lockdown on all new sources of energy for the last 15 years is more at fault here. I blame this on the radical side of the green movement (no new oil, no new nuclear, no new hydro- the 3 most efficient energy sources we currently have available for 15 years).

800 Billion dollars a year going to countries that dont like us and support radical muslims
**This is true, however it's not administration specific and is a by-product of the above.

Gas that has tripled in price since Bush became president
**Nancy Pelosi ran specifically on a platform of reducing oil prices during the democrat congress take-over, promising to cut them by half. This platform was quietly dropped (look it up-she's on video). It's accurate that gas peaked at slightly less than 3x the year 2000 prices. This is again a byproduct of the prior statement. It's not party specific.

An energy policy written by the oil companies in Cheneys office
**This is wrong for a more insidious reason than the implied reason here. There HAS NOT BEEN a comprehensive energy policy coming out of either the executive or legislative branch. There have been state specific attempts at legislation to build new power sources here and there that have often been dubbed pork-barrel and failed. Almost every single individual power supply initiative has been opposed by radical greens too.

A president who vacations in Texas while New Orleans floods.
**This is true. This was fumbled at all levels of government. I can't believe Ray Nagin is still Mayor.

A president willing to sacrific the very fundamentals of our personal freedoms in the name of keeping us safe.
**I assume you are referring to evesdropping legislation. This is accurate, however-it begs the question-did it work?

Lied about WMD.
**The evidence on this one is that there were WMDs. It's clear there were WMD's. We found and destroyed thousands of lbs of WMD's in 1994. The Iraqi's said they had WMD's. The UN believed Iraq had WMD's prewar. The Iraqi population believed they had WMD's. I'd say it's more accurate to say that the intelligence community was wrong.

Unilaterally invaded a sovereign nation without provocation and justification.
**It's true their was no provocation. The justification was provided for by UN Resolution 1441 which made certain demands on Iraq.

Lied during State of the Union speech re: Niger Uranium.
**This is true, the Niger Uranium document was determined to be a forgery.

Responsible for pre-9/11 intelligence failures in White House, CIA, FBI. Allowed 9-11 murderers to remain free while diverting precious military and financial resources to his vanity war in Iraq.
**9/11 made it clear that the entire intelligence community was tooled toward Soviet era conflicts. Keep in mind, the prior administration believed there was sufficient evidence to drop bombs and launch missiles against Iraq. This didn't just start one day.

Lied about Saddam/bin Laden connection.
**This is kind of true. There was Al-Qaeda in Iraq. There is Al-Qaeda in every muslim country. The Al-Qaeda elements in Iraq (and other countries) cheered when 9/11 occured. I believe it's more accurate to say the US didn't understand Al-Qaeda at this time. It's also true to say that other countries should have qualified for anti-terrorist attacks above Iraq (Saudi Arabia for instance- if we were going to attack a country for harboring terrorists- Saudi Arabia is the place. Saudi Arabia saw that writing on the wall and showed up with gift-baskets).

Turned Iraq into a terrorist breeding ground.
**This is propaganda. There is no evidence that any terrorist movements are spreading beyond the Iraqi borders. If anything, there is evidence that Iraq is a drain that sucks in the elements of Al-Qaeda with poor funding and leadership.

Opposed creation of 9-11 Commission and Homeland Security Department.
**This is somewhat true. He did oppose 9/11 commission on security grounds. He initially argued that another department would make intelligence top heavy and argued for retooling of the CIA and FBI.

Disrespected and alienated the U.S. from French, German and other key allies. Lied to Americans about the real cost of war.
**This is true on alienation. It appears he was more wrong than lying about the cost if you look at the historical record. Iraqi's were telling the administration that they were ready willing and able to stand up if we helped them. This turned out to be not true and we did not get the support in-country that was expected. US troops did meet cheering crowds at first, however those crowds didn't want to do anything to assist.

Fostered an environment of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
**This I don't buy. The 'torture' performed here was NOTHING compared to what the Al-Qaeda considers torture.

Lined Halliburton's pockets in Afghanistan and Iraq with fat no-bid contracts.
This is true, many contractors made a lot of money here. It's interesting that Halliburton has since given up on the US and moved to Dubai. (They make more money off middle eastern interests then they do off the US).

Under-manned and under-equipped our armed forces in Iraq, resulting in unnecessary death and injuries.
**This is true. McCain actually comes off very well in this regard.

Ignored the nuclear build-up in both Iran and N.Korea; marginalized Kim Jong Il.
**He didn't ignore the nuclear build-up. This is patently untrue. Kim Jong Il marginalized himself. Bush said no bilateral talks because he said without China it was unlikely to be fruitful. As soon as China agreed to participate, the talks began. I believe he was right. China has far more influence over NK than we ever will without actually attacking. China sees NK as a protectorate in their sphere of influence too.

Shunned Kyoto Treaty.
**This is true. However it's mischaracterized. Bush said not unless all nations were held to the same standards. It was a massively unfair advantage for China who did not have to comply (and if you saw the Olympics, you saw their smog issues). China could continue to produce goods for much cheaper without complying. So- you either have to retract your concerns about competition from China, or you have to withdraw your concerns here. It was a bad treaty that basically would have taxed America to pay for other countries green movements.

Lied about effects of man-made pollutants on the environment to support corporate pals.
**He disagreed. The Bush administration changed their position after the official UN report and now acknowledges man made global warming exists as of the 2007 State of the Union. The administration started supporting efforts to reward greenhouse gas curbing initiatives in 2006.

Lied about the insolvency of Social Security.
**Support this statement.

Lied about true cost of health care bill.
**This is true, he severely underestimated this and was the beginning of his downfall with his own party's base.

Lied about Free Trade stand.
**You're getting lazy here, support this statement.

Bitterly divided the nation along religious, party and sexual preference lines.
**No, the 2000 election set walls around the hard core left and right. At this time, the roughly 40% hardcore democrats and 40% hardcore republicans bunkered up and lobbed grenades. People like Al Gore stating Bush preyed on your fears while Al Gore himself was preying on your fears in the same speech made these walls 20 feet high.

Guilty of numerous cronyism appointments (Homeland Security, Supreme Court, etc).
**This is a stupid complaint. Every President tries to appoint people they know and trust. They are supposed to do this.

Rewarded failures of Condi Rice and other cronies with key promotions.
**I'm not informed enough on Condi's promotion history.

Dreadful energy policies lead to record gas and oil prices.
**NO energy policy, repeat of above.

Responsible for the largest debt in U.S. history.
**True, and that's why I don't like Bush

Colossal failure of preparedness, rescue and relief during Hurricane Katrina.
**This is far more a failure of the state of LA then the US Gov't. The Federal job on this is to assist the state. The state had no plan and they should have. They ignored several opportunities to assist residents of their state. Kathleen Blanco (d) and Nagin (d) get 85% of the blame here.

Fostered a culture of corruption among GOP and top leadership (Tom Delay, etc).
**This isn't Bush's issue. Bush has no authority over Senators. They are elected. he could not fire them if he wanted to. Talk to their voters. Don't forget, there have been Democratic scandals as well (freezer full of money? hello William Jefferson-from the State of Louisiana- hmmm).

Allowed Donald Rumsfeld to keep job despite utter failure in Iraq.
**Rumsfeld was allowed to keep his job too long here. Again, a good point for McCain.

Presided over the U.S.'s lowest popularity throughout the world.
**True through the traditional Western European powers. This coincided with European resurgence. However the US has enjoyed soaring popularity in parts of the world such as the old Soviet Block countries minus Russia itself. Also popularity is on the rise with the new-powers of the East such as Malaysia. Our relationship with China is improving as well.

Saw No Child Left Behind fail. Didnt fund the mandate. **This is true. However the NEA is a colossal unionized failure. It's nearly impossible to fire a bad teacher (it takes more than a year), and the NEA dragged their feet at every step. I have children and I hate what the education system has become. Throwing more money at the NEA is NOT a solution to this issue. They are the problem.

GO SCOTT!! Objective in your analysis, factual, I am impressed!

Now as for Brett T

I know full well who quoted "The only the thing we have to fear is fear itself", but thanks anyway. I didn't mean fearful like I'm covered under my blanky, shaking and in the fetal position. Our founding fathers wanted limited government, and freedom, and this system has proven successful longer than any other in history. Obama wants to change everything up to what sure sounds to me like a socialist society-completely opposite from what was originally intended and you know it. If you want the government all up in your business, then Obama is the man with the plan! I don't want to be taxed to death to pay for social programs that in my opinion create a dependant class of people. I want to help the underpriveleged, poor and oppressed, I just don't think that the federal government doling out my tax dollars is the most efficient or effective way to get them the help they need.

You still haven't addressed what you meant by "revealing". I suppose as a conservative I may have automatically assumed that's what you meant, but you still haven't elaborated on this statement.

That simple ....and yes I did.

But I'll try again.

Its revealing not because your a racist or muslim but because you started your statements with a declaration of fear. You said you were afraid..and the previous posted ranted that Obama was a Socialist.

How easy would it be to say Obamas a Socialist like McCain ina Fascist? They arent. Any more than Obama is a Muslim and McCain is Druid.

Its revealing that for all of the things that the Bush administration has lied about , messed up, destroyed, covered up etc your not afraid of that. That reveal a lot about where a person is coming from.

You say your afraid of Obama...your for small government, lower taxes, personal freedoms..but you dont care if the man with an (R) behind his name violates most of those things.

You dont care that he promoted and lied to get us into a war. (Scott just substantiated some of that)

You dont care that he grew the size of government and increased descretionary spending more than any democrat.

You dont care that we had a surplus and now record deficits.

You dont care his administration has no transparency and thus no accountability.

You dont care that he covers up lies and mistakes and manipulates the system under a blanket of declaired "execuctive priveledge"

You dont care that he is willing to sacrifices constitional and personal freedoms in the name of keeping this country safe.

You dont care that he has done nothing to get us off foriegn oil (except give a a line in the state of the union speach) while at the same time writing our energy plan with the oil companies.

You dont care that Dick Cheney thinks he is a separate branch of government accountable to no one.

I could go on and on here but I think you get the the point...

These are a brief list of what I find objectionable about the Bush administration and I'll be just as critical of anyone with an (R) a (D) a (I), a African American, a Woman, a POW or a White guy because thats our job as citizens. These people are politicians and they work for us. They should be honest brokers of their public service but they arent and its time for a change.

A change to what..to who? That up to all the voters.

This is what I find revealing. And then you jumped in with the race card.

Scott I'm sure we could parse a lot of those issues and I'm glad you added clarity to them. Personally I dont have the time to sit and add support to all of these...find the documentation on line . Lifes to busy and I have bills to pay. Certainly all of them arent Bushes fault but at the same time they want 0% responsibility for any of them. The GOP convention was an attempt to run away from and bury the Bush record. He didnt even attend the convention and they didnt want him there because they can't run on his record.

Here are a couple I will contest though..

Guilty of numerous cronyism appointments (Homeland Security, Supreme Court, etc).
**This is a stupid complaint. Every President tries to appoint people they know and trust. They are supposed to do this.

Yes but he is responsible to appoint people that are qualified. Micheal Brown was not qualified to run FEMA. Alberto Gonzales was miserable failure as Attorney general.

Every president does it but they are also responsible for it.

Lied about effects of man-made pollutants on the environment to support corporate pals.
**He disagreed. The Bush administration changed their position after the official UN report and now acknowledges man made global warming exists as of the 2007 State of the Union. The administration started supporting efforts to reward greenhouse gas curbing initiatives in 2006.

The White House buried a report prepared by US government scientists which detailed a rising death toll from heat waves, fires, disease and smog they predicted would be caused by global warming.

Environmental advocates accused President George W Bush's administration of delaying the release of the 149-page report so that it could avoid regulating greenhouse gases.

The Bush administration has worked to discourage a link between public health and climate change, fearing this would compel the government to regulate greenhouse gases

It was prepared as part of a response to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling under the Clean Air Act, which found the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate greenhouse gases unless there was a scientific reason not to, but was not made public until Monday.

Basically Bush didnt have any $$ to spend on the environment with 2 wars to fight and the price of oil so high. Besides his oil buddies were getting rich right? Thankfully some of that money is in people pension plans but at what cost?

_________

Environment
Climate change
Nasa climate reports 'swayed by politics'

Political appointees placed by the Bush administration into senior positions within Nasa's media headquarters acted to play down and distort accounts given to the public of the research findings of its scientists on global warming, an official investigation has concluded.

The space agency's internal watchdog, the inspector general, reports that from autumn 2004 until early 2006 Nasa's central public affairs office handled global warming in a way that "reduced, marginalised, or mischaracterised climate change science made available to the general public".

Lied about Saddam/bin Laden connection.
**This is kind of true. There was Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Then why did the Bush administration run around touting that point? Cheney was still repeating it as late as early 2006. How did such a high percentage of American believe it in the month afrter 911? Becasue thats what they were being told by our government.

Gas that has tripled in price since Bush became president
**Nancy Pelosi ran specifically on a platform of reducing oil prices during the democrat congress take-over, promising to cut them by half.

Nanci is a dork plain and simple in many ways on many fronts. But Bush did nothing to lower the price of oil and gas before there was a problem. Isnt this what government is supposed to do? Anticipate problems and work keep markets stable? He doesnt care because the oil companies wrote the energy plan in Dicks Office. The wars in the middle east certainly have contributed to higher oil prices due to increased tensions. Bush fought higher gas mileage standards. Paid lip service to alternatives. He didnt even know they were predicting $4 gas over the summer. How out of touch is that?

Good for a laugh...we all need one:

And yes I'm glad Sadam is gone .

Welp..gotta run..good talking to ya..