Quote:
Originally Posted by ottopilot
Laughing is a great coping mechanism.
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otto.....I did get a good laugh out of your list....
• McCain fought for campaign finance reform — McCain-Feingold — that Bush fought and ultimately signed because he had no choice.
• McCain led the battle to restrict interrogation techniques of terror suspects and to ban torture.
• McCain went with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on a tough measure to curb climate change, something Bush denies is going on.
• McCain opposed the Bush tax cuts when they passed.
• McCain urged the Iraq surge, a posture Bush rejected for years before conceding its wisdom.
• McCain favors FDA regulation of tobacco and sponsored legislation to that effect, a position all but a handful of Republican Senators oppose.
• McCain's energy bill, also with Lieberman, is a virtual blueprint for energy independence and development of alternate sources.
• After the Enron scandal, McCain introduced sweeping reforms in corporate governance and legislation to guarantee pensions and prohibit golden parachutes for executives. Bush opposed McCain's changes and the watered-down Sarbanes-Oxley bill eventuated.
• McCain has been harshly critical of congressional overspending, particularly of budgetary earmarks, a position Bush only lately adopted (after the Democrats took over Congress).
....McCain now has taken diametrically opposed positions on many of those "accomplishments" including his own campaign finance bill...his unwillingness to vote against restrictive interogation techniques (includling waterboarding)... his support now for extending the BUsh tax cuts that he called "fiscally irresponsible when he spoke out agains them in 2001....his hedging now on FDA regulation of tobacco and his own climate change bill.
I dont recall his so called energy bill for energy independence w/Lieberman (
you or Morris will have to enlighten me on this one) but I would agree on his support (not sponsorship), along with many Republicans, of post-Enron corporate reform and SOX. This one is easy to understand - Enron was a political nightmare for Republicans.
The fact is he also voted the position requested by Bush 95% of time in the 2005-2006 session of Congress and skipped more votes than any other Senator in the 2007-2008 session, including Obama who was still in a tough primary campaign for months while McCain had already secured his nomination.
I also think experience is overrated. IMO Obama is far more intelligent and I consider that an equalizer to some degree.
The two most recent presidents with impressive Congressional/Executive branch resumes were LBJ (20+ years in the Senate and 3 years as VP) and GHW Bush (several terms in the House, UN ambassador, CIA director, 8 years as VP). And I dont consider either one as anything but mediocre presidents....LBJ marginally better with his "Great Society" programs that he personally strong-armed through Congress, but offset by lies to the American people and failed policy, re: Vietnam.
I am not suggesting that Obama is more qualified. I am suggesting they bring a different set of strengths to the table.
I think Obama is more deliberative, more open to understanding opposing points of view (you dont want to get into a discussion about
McCain's temper when colleagues spoke out against his policy positions - see below) and more likely to "change the direction" of both domestic and foreign policies in a way the country desperately needs right now.
I believe he has the potential to be more of a "uniter, not a divider" with the understanding that probably 15% at both extremes have no interest in uniting.
He may fail, but if he does, he will fail at taking the country on a different course rather than continuing the failed economic and foreign policy course of the last 8 years.
-----Added 28/8/2008 at 05 : 43 : 16-----
added:
I thought you might like more on McCain's temper tantrums in the Senate for a laugh
Senator Pete Domenici - Newsweek's February 21, 2000 edition highlighted an exchange between McCain and Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Chairman of the Budget Committee. In staunch disagreement with a particular portion of a budget amendment, McCain exploded. "Only an asshole would put together a budget like that." Domenici, who'd been in the Senate nearly 30 years by that point, gave a restrained reply, noting that even in the most heated debated throughout his entire career, no one had ever used that kind of language toward him. McCain didn't back down. "I wouldn't call you an asshole unless you really were an asshole."
Senator Chuck Grassley - The same Newsweek article that outlined McCain's confrontation with Domenici pointed to a similar incident with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. The two were debating issues related to soldiers who had been reported Missing In Action in Vietnam. After a blistering commentary by McCain, Grassley took offense. "Are you calling me stupid?" he asked. McCain didn't miss a beat. "No, I'm calling you a fucking jerk."
Senator John Cornyn - On May 18, 2007, The Washington Post reported that McCain had locked horns with another one of his GOP colleagues, this time Senator John Cornyn of Texas. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill of 2007 had caused an enormous rift among Republicans, and the two Senators found themselves on opposite sides. Cornyn objected to a provision of the bill that allowed for what he perceived as too many judicial appeals for illegal immigrants. McCain called his objections "chicken shit" and accused Cornyn of making petty tactics to sabotage the whole bill. Cornyn took immediate offense. ....Then McCain, who'd been spending a lot of time away from Washington on his presidential campaign, got a little more out of line. "Fuck you!" he shouted. "I know more about this than anyone in this room!" McCain apologized shortly afterword.
During a vitriolic exchange between McCain and another unnamed Senator who took a position contrary to that of his colleague from Arizona. McCain became infuriated, jumping from his chair and calling his fellow Republican a "shithead," prompting an immediate demand for an apology. McCain stood up again and issued it...sort of. "Okay, I apologize," he said. "But you're still a shithead."
(I didnt include the quote where he called his wife a "cunt" because that falls under personal conduct rather than professional conduct.)
I consider the above outbursts to be petulant and childish and certainly not a demonstration of strength of character or an openness to listening to a diversity of views on an issue.