Will the Real John McCain Please Stand Up?

Chef Jeff  says:
15 months ago

Actually I am still on the fence as to whether I will vote for Obama or not. I probably won't make that decision until election day.

However, I am finding out and remembering things about McCain that pretty much rule him out in my book. Obama is, to put this in cliche form, the devil I understand, but McCain is the devil of whom I know better. And knowing of McCain's past, I find it difficult to match the John McCain of 2008 with the image he is trying to fabricate for himself.

Unfortunately, I have found, in politics, we often have to chose the person who represents the lesser of two evils. I had briefly supported McCain early in 1999-2000, especially when Bush and his attack squads ambushed McCain in South Carolina.

But McCain was a different candidate back then, in my opinion, than he is now. I find that he is getting much too cozy with people I simply do not trust, many of them being far-Right wing religious zealots.

I would like to see a more or less fiscally conservative but a more or less socailly liberal candidate. Libertarians come pretty close to what I see as a viable alternative, being more or less hands-off on the social issues while presenting what I believe to be some sound ideas fiscally.

But historically Libertarians do not do well at all in elections and are forever seeking the top offices at the expense of building up a base of their own.

Chef Jeff  says:
15 months ago

Thanks, William and Fishskinfreak2008.  I think we are at a pivotal point in the history of our nation and the decisions we make this fall have the potential to either make or break us as a country.

We often forget that no nation lasts forever.  Only the nations which embrace freedom and positive change deserve to live, because those that chose to try to be the most powerful at any cost lose to others who come to hate them and seek to destroy them.

I fear that what Bush and his crowd have done can't be undone, and if that is true, then we may well be at the zenith of our existence as a nation.  We have set out on a path to be the most feared nation on Earth, and we have come to think that we are perfect. Thus the chest thumping and "God Bless America" and other things we continually shout out loud to make us believe it is true simply because we say it is.

But for all our shouting and self-delusion, we are doomed if we do not honestly face our mistakes and learn from them.  Only a fool believes he or she is beyond the need for self-reflection and humility. 

We are not the people we think we are, and nobody ever has lived up to their own inflated ego and self-image. That said, we can love our country, as I do, but we need to realize as a nation that healthy self-criticism is a good thing, not the act of traitors and "un-American" Liberals.

Unfortunately there are those out there who decry that anyone who says America could be better is somehow a fool, a Liberal and a traitor.

Chef Jeff  says:
15 months ago

I have been reading Scott McClellan's book "What Happened" and in it he points out that the Bush administration has gone into full continuous campaign mode, which means they will reach out and slap someone whenever that someone says anything critical of them

I fear that McCain has latched on to some of the same operatives who propelled Bush's campaign past the truth with such impunity.

This is not to say the Democrats haven't used the same tactics.  It has, indeed, and sadly, become a part of the Washington culture of politics.  Yet men like Rove have created a feeding frenzy atmosphere in which you and I and all Americans are being fooled into believing lies and all sorts of things that are patently false about the people we are going to have to chose for our leaders.

The worst thing is that we just keep on falling for the same old trick. There is a bit of common wisdom that claims that only the insane will constantly do the same thing over and over and expect a different result.

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, I must be a voter.

bill yon  says:
15 months ago

hi there chef jeff you like doing research?then research senator PHIL GRAHAM.MCCAIN's advisor and the next treasurer of the usa if mccain wins.i pretty much promise what you find will piss you off.

bill yon  says:
15 months ago

ain't that the truth.i'm wondering how in the world did phil graham keep a low profile?why come the media is not breathing down his neck?like they do everyone else.graham made some real big screw ups.but it seems like no one cares.

ColdWarBaby  says:
15 months ago

Who's "we" bill?