The Case Against John McCain

In response to Barack Obama successful campaign to get supporters to sign up for breaking news via their cell phones, Arizona Senator John McCain has countered with his own hot-n-sexy, all-the-kids-are-doing-it, is-this-like-on-the-internets? text message initiative.

Text POW to 622246 in order to be reminded that Republican Presumptive nominee John McCain was once A PRISONER OF WAR FOR FIVE YEARS.

Text STOP in order to not have this message sent to you every six minutes, but this will not take effect until at least nine weeks AFTER election day.


Text STAFF to 62246 in order to be the first to help Senator McCain answer simple questions like, "Is your shirt green?", "What's your middle name?", and "Who just farted?"


Text MITTENS to 62242 in order to be the first to see Mit Romney walking Senator McCain's dog, shampooing Senator McCain's carpet, and listening to Cindy McCain complain about poor people in the hopes of becoming Senator McCain's Vice Presidential Nominee.


Text PIMP MI HOWZ! to 622246 in order to find out in which of John McCain's four... er six... um seven... well, eight houses the Senator will be sleeping in this evening.

Text GET OFF ONE OF MY MANY LAWNZ to 62246 in order to be the first to know when the Republican nominee has sold one of those houses in order to try and get within three... er four... um, six... well, seven houses of the rest of America.


Text FREE MEDIA PLEASE to 62242 in order to be the millionth to know that John McCain has released a web-based hit-piece on Senator Obama that they have no intention of actually running in any market more expensive than Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.


Text MY FRIENDS MY FRIENDS MY FRIENDS when your enthusiasm for Senator McCain, my friends, reaches "Kissing Your Sister" levels to be reminded, my friends, of the other terrible choices Republicans could have nominated this year, my friends.


Text WHOLESOME BRAN MUFFIN to 62246 in order to be the first to know if the Senile Senator from the Senior State of Arizona has pooped this week.

Biden is a dimwit - proof: to this day he advocates US military intervention in Darfur, Congo, Rwanda, Abkhazia etc and defends interventions in assorted Eurasiatic hellholes like Kosovo.

For years, John McCain's marathon bull sessions with reporters were more than a means of delivering a message; they were the message. McCain proudly, flagrantly refused direction from handlers, rarely dodged tough questions and considered those who did wimps and frauds. The style told voters that he was unafraid, that he had nothing to hide and that what you see is what you get. "Anything you want to talk about," he promised reporters aboard the Straight Talk Express in Iowa back in March 2007.

[...]

Sticking to the old formula seemed like a good idea. But with the press focused on Obama, McCain got attention only when he slipped up during one of his patented freewheeling encounters with reporters. And so in July, the campaign decided to clamp down on the candidate.

[...]

And so when TIME's James Carney and Michael Scherer were invited to the front of McCain's plane recently for an interview, they were ushered forward, past the curtain that now separates reporters from the candidate, past the sofa that was designed for his gabfests with the press and taken straight to the candidate's seat. McCain at first seemed happy enough to do the interview. But his mood quickly soured. The McCain on display in the 24-minute interview was prickly, at times abrasive, and determined not to stray off message.

In 2000, after the primaries, you went back to South Carolina to talk about what you felt was a mistake you had made on the Confederate flag. Is there anything so far about this campaign that you wish you could take back or you might revisit when it's over?
[Does not answer.]

Do I know you? [Says with a laugh.]

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American - even illegal aliens - as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

According to Mr. Goodman, only people who are denied care are truly uninsured " everyone who gets care is effectively insured by some mechanism. "So instead of producing worthless statistics that people fling around in vacuous editorials and pointless debates, the Census Bureau should produce meaningful numbers, identifying all of the sources of funds people will draw on if they need medical care," he said.

That's the Dems fault for putting up a greenhorn.

Bill Richardson's speech

Fellow citizens-I am not known as a quiet man. But I hope you will allow me, for a moment, to bring quiet to this great hall.

Because at a time when young men and women are dying for our country overseas, America faces a question worthy of silent reflection. And the American people are watching to see how we answer it. What is the best measure of a person's capacity to protect this country? There are often moments of great importance that go unnoticed in the unruly course of history.

And six years ago, there was a moment of great clarity and foresight. And if the world had known to listen, perhaps today there would be less heartache and sorrow. In October 2002, on a small stage before a small crowd, Barack Obama gave a speech that was barely noticed at the time.

In the midst of great fervor-brought about by an administration that questioned the patriotism of anyone who disagreed with it-Barack Obama called the coming war what it was: "a war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics." He was right!

Barack's words were prescient and brave. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East-and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al-Qaida." He was right!

He said: "a successful war against Iraq would require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences." He was right!

Instead, Barack Obama urged President Bush-who's never in the mood to be urged in a direction other than his own folly-to finish the fight with bin Laden and Al-Qaida. He was right!

Six years ago, in this simple but forceful speech, Barack Obama did more than just challenge President Bush. He offered a detailed vision for foreign policy-including the vigorous enforcement of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty-condemnation of human rights abuses even among our allies-and a commitment to reconciliation between Pakistan and India. He was right!

At the same time, there was another voice. After 9/11, John McCain turned his sights toward Iraq-a country that had nothing to do with 9/11-and called for a full-scale invasion. Barack Obama foresaw chaos. John McCain said we'd be welcomed as liberators, and that Iraq would pay for its own rebuilding. John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right!

Barack Obama was among the first to call for a timetable for responsible withdrawal. But John McCain, to this day, condemns the idea. The Iraqis are calling for a withdrawal timetable, but John McCain would keep us in Iraq for 100 years. John McCain is wrong. Barack Obama is right.

And Barack Obama saw the foolishness of embracing Pakistan's Musharraf. John McCain thought we should support the dictator and let him take care of the Pakistani terrorists. Musharaff is now gone, and the terrorists are stronger than ever. John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.

With America fighting two wars, the 9/11 terrorists still at large, Iran pursuing nuclear weapons

and Russia in Georgia, America needs a president who gets it right the first time. That president will be Barack Obama. With a vision of foreign policy that has ranged far beyond Iraq, Barack Obama has found a kindred spirit in another leader of great strength and wisdom-Joe Biden.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must fight the terrorists-not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be-like Afghanistan and Pakistan. We must lead a global effort to secure loose nuclear materials, not where we imagine them to be, but where we know them to be, in Russia, and the countries of the former Soviet Union.

It's time we had a president committed to fighting poverty in the Third World and ending the genocide in Darfur; who leads international efforts to stop global warming, strengthens our friendship with Mexico and Latin America, and stands behind Israel with full-time diplomacy to achieve peace in the Middle East; a president who ends the global scourge of AIDS in our time and sets an example of moral leadership by following our constitution, shutting down Guantanamo, and ending torture.

We must do all of this, not because we imagine these are American ideals, but because we know they are.

And ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe it's time to finish the job and get bin Laden. We don't need another four years of more of the same. It's time for the change America needs. This is the judgment and vision of Barack Obama. This is the preparation he has to be President of the United States. And this is the man we need to return our country into the goodwill of other nations and the grace of history.