Attention: John McCain is doing meet the press right now!

A Right Wing Lacky
How Many Must Die to Achieve an Exit with Honor?
The Real Lessons of Vietnam
By DAVE LINDORFF

Didn't he issue a statement to the press today:
"No No NO, I am not going to leave the Republican party."

Well, he just said it again and made it very clear to everyone that he would never vote for, let alone run with Kerry. I think I just watched the next president of the United States (2008).

Ps Too lazy to start a thread Pist?

Surely, you don't seriously believe that McCain would be supported by the present RNC?

Yep. If he's the guy most likely to win... I think he'll get the backing. Who said "politics make strange bedfellows"?

Well how about that. I just posted to another thread that McCain is a man of conviction but is far too liberal to gain much traction with the mainstream GOP. Maybe he is coming around. I hope he is.

McCain is liberal?

He has been pro taxes, anti-tax cuts, pro base closures though overall strong on defense, pro choice, pro affirmative action, and preferred the Democrats versions of campaign finance reform to that proposed by the GOP.

Yes, McCain is no liberal democrat. He's a good liberal Republican.

occam

I doubt that you have this right, though you may. But I suspect that his ideas on campaign finance and on right to choose, and his general independence and integrity, will make him exactly the sort of candidate that two powerful factions within the party would make McCain EXACTLY the sort of candidate they least want.

I'll note that, as you know, I consider the present president to be the least qualified and least capable person to hold that office that I've seen in my lifetime, and perhaps ever. But it is his relationship to these two groups above which made him a candidate to forward.

I hear you Blatham and you may well be right. I dissent because McCain seems so credible compared to the incumbent, Kerry and frankly every other candidate who threw their hat in the race this year. I expect the democrats to put up a better fight in 08. (Kerry, IMHO, won the right to be the guy who loses to Bush.) Also, during the Rupert interview, McCain was clearly kissing extra Republican ass, including Bush's, which seemed a bit strategic.

Two interesting points were made...

McCain let Russert list and dwell a moment on all those points where he's clearly opposed to the president's conservative stance (enviro., abortion, etc.), and McCain said that he disliked the pork added to those spending bills. <Did he really say 3,000 additions to the last defense spending bill?>

I would probably have missed this show if I hadn't seen this post, so thanks very much, OBill, for posting. I like John McCain. I don't know if I would vote for him, but he has always seemed to be a more "real" person than most other candidates. Too bad about those chipmunk cheeks.

occom

I truly don't believe that McCain's 'credibility' (and I too think that word is an accurate descriptor of the man) will serve him well in the Republican party as it is presently constituted, though I dearly wish that were the important factor.

I didn't hear the interview, but I too have been querulous regarding a certain degree of ass kissing. I would guess it might be party loyalty (which I think his weakest characteristic, if it is a shallow loyalty) or it might be a deeper loyalty to the values and principles that his party used to stand for, and which he seeks to safeguard against those present forces I've alluded to above.

Yep, Blatham, conservative Republicans strive to be incredible.

And success is within their grasp

Nope, he was talking about the highway bill and used bridges to nowhere in Alaska as an example.

Before McCain, Rupert interviewed the ambassador in Iraq who describes the opposition to democracy as being numbered in the thousands. He stated poll after poll shows 90% of Iraqi's are behind the effort to bring democracy... But some are still afraid we won't finish the job, so are reluctant openly admit it for fear of revenge if we don't.

I agree with him that we must convince the Iraqi people that we will not abandon them. I think we should be going after Al-Sadr with all the mercy of a wounded bear. I think he'll be less dangerous as a martyr than he is as a speaker. They must be shown the futility of the fight. These riots are just like the LA riots in that: What looks like a whole population gone mad is really a small fraction of the population, with the balance to scared to act against it. Once order is restored and the criminals arrested the majority will become more and more comfortable supporting the efforts openly, as time goes on. (IMO)

Regardless of our motivation the result is that these people will have a say in their own futures for the first time in their lives. Don't you see the Irony; that each Iraqi interviewed who speaks out against us, is speaking out against authority for the first time in his life without fear of death or worse as punishment? What nobler cause is there than fighting for the rights of a stranger? And don't give me the oil nonsense (have you been to the pumps lately?) Hate Bush's motivation all you want, but our soldiers have every reason to proud of what they are doing for the Iraqi people.

That's way overstated ...

That is what the man said.

The rest of the transcript if anyone's interested is here.

At this point, I would trust the daily newspaper horoscope over anything Bremer has to say.

Yes, well, Bremer might be buffing