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Let me hear from you repubs. What are your reasons for voting for McSame..
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Anonymous
If you have failed to notice, we are a country at war. Who better to deal with a war, and end a war, than someone who has seen, first hand, what war is really like. Also for the poster that keeps mentioning President Bush. Please keep in mind that not all Republicans voted for him. |
Anonymous
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"If you have failed to notice" is pretty condescending. I'd argue that all of us know full well that we are a country at war, which is why the overwhelming majority of people want the war to end. Senator McCain, of course, does not -- at least not in a short timeframe or as compared to Senator Obama. I also do not believe that military service is required for someone to be a good Commander-in-Chief -- though of course I certainly understand how it informs someone's perspective and thus could help. I think that -- especially given the fact that we ARE in the middle of a war, one that has proven largely unsuccessful so far and one that most people want to end sooner rather than later -- it would be more helpful to look for a president who wants the war over rather than someone who knows "what war is like" yet is fine with it continuing.
I think that the PP's mention of his son attending the Naval Academy as somehow indicative of McCain's "experience" is particularly foolish and unconvincing. |
Anonymous
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Why is it "foolish" to mention his son going to the USNA? Doesn't this give him a better understanding of what American families who have loved ones in the military are going through? Do you think that he does not worry about his own child while also thinking that this country is doing the right thing?
The surge that McCain supported and pushed for is working. And today...that terrorist Sadam Hussein is dead and Bin Ladin is not in power any more and on the run (if alive at all). So his miliatary experience both his own and families is very relevent to the world today. What does Senator Obama bring to the table in this arena besides a recent trip with bunch of tv cameras.? |
Anonymous
| Weak one-note argument + poor writing skills = not very convincing. Sorry. |
Anonymous
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To 14:13 poster....didn't know that you were grading my writing skills and that was a factor in why I was supporting McCain. And also...I probably would not change your mind any way. Enjoy your "hope" and your "change".
Plus there have been a lot of reasons that people have laid out to support McCain, you are just not interested in listening to them. |
Anonymous
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I've lived through the charisma of Jack Kennedy and the folksiness of Jimmy Carter, and I am rightfully suspicious of rookies. John McCain is older, true - but not as old as Warren Buffet and T Boone Pickens, and MANY people seem to value their insights and advice. The "too old" argument holds as little water as the "too young" argument.
I will vote for John McCain for positive reasons. I agree with his policies, I appreciate his achievements in the Senate, I like his writing style and his crankiness - he does not suffer fools gladly. I don't have any negative feelings about Barack Obama at all. He seems well-intentioned and in another 8 or ten years he might be someone I would seriously consider. |
Anonymous
I think everyone wants to war to end, including John McCain. Giving an exact time frame, especially a short one is not exactly realistic. The country is now in such a state that if we were to leave now, all the efforts put forth to restore order and to train police and military, will be for nothing. War is very ugly, I really can't think of anyone who is a big fan of war. This was a war that not everyone supported going into it, and those who did are against it now. John McCain did say something about keeping a military presence in the country. This is something we do in many other countries around the world, and he in no way meant that the war should last 100 years. For those who are not aware, we have military bases all over the world. This includes such countries as Japan, Korea, England, Germany, and Spain. As far as McCain having a son, Jack, at the Naval Academy shows that McCain passed on the love for his country and the desire to serve it. Oddly enough though, no one seemed to mention his son Jim, a marine who has served in Iraq. |
jsteele
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When McCain said that he was comfortable keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years, he did not specify the circumstances in which they would stay. His apologists have since argued, as you do, that he means that they would stay in a situation similar to South Korea. However, the situation in Iraq is not similar to the situation in South Korea. So, here is a question that I would like to see answered: how long would John McCain be willing to keep troops in Iraq in a situation like the present (i.e. with significant fighting and US troops being killed)? Obama has said that he will remove most troops within 16 months of taking office. The Iraqi Prime Minister agreed with that timetable. An Iraqi spokesperson said that the troops should be withdrawn by the end of 2010 which is seven months longer than Obama's timeline (but of course, mid-2010 is "by the end of" 2010). So, we know where Obama stands and we know where the Iraqi government stands. Where does McCain stand? If the fighting continues for five more years, will he keep troops in Iraq for five more years? If it lasts 10 or 20 years, will he keep them 10 or 20 years? If it lasts 100 years, will it be 100 years? Can anyone tell me? |
Anonymous
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John McCain announced that he knows how to win wars. Well, which war has he actually won?
I have a great deal more respect for him than W. I'm sure that there are people who will vote for him because he seems to have integrity. But frankly he has given no evidence of knowing how to *win* a war. He knows how to get shot down over Viet Nam and he knows how to withstand torture. More power to him. That's not the same as knowing how to promote the interests of the United States abroad and keep us from spending billions of dollars on a stupid war that was started in error! |
Anonymous
Giving an exact time table may not be the wisest move, even for Obama. If it takes longer than sixteen months, or if the new Iraqi system completely collapses, then what? With my husband leaving for Iraq on Monday, and my sister already out there, I am certainly one of those who feel the war should end, but know that it may be easier said than done. |
Anonymous
True that. I'm voting for Obama but I remember Johnson's intentions to not get further entangled in Viet Nam. I remember Nixon running for office against Humphrey saying that he (Nixon) would end the war. It was probably more complicated than that but I was quite young at the time so my memory is not the best. At any rate, the war went on a *lot* longer than our leaders said it would. To be honest, I don't have a clue whether McCain or Obama will be more effective in ending the war but I'm going with the guy who I think is going to be more motivated to bring our troops home. But am I confident about the future? No. Good luck, pp. I hope your husband and your sister come home safely one day. And I hope something good will eventually come out of all their hard work. |
jsteele
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I don't understand this at all. Why would you believe that someone who has no plan to withdraw the troops is actually the more motivated to bring our troops home? If Obama is elected on a promise to withdraw troops within 16 months, he will be motivated to fulfill his promise. If McCain is elected on a promise to stay "as long as it takes", he will not have a similar motivation. Rather, as long as the situation is unstable, McCain will face pressure to keep troops there. Think about Vietnam. Would it have been better to have had a planned withdraw in 1968 or 1969 rather than the total collapse that occurred in 1975? How many Americans died while Nixon attempted to win a war that couldn't be won? It may be the case that announcing a timetable is wrong (I don't believe that it is, however). Nevertheless, its important to announce that the plan is now to withdraw and start taking steps to implement that plan. If it turns out that implementation takes 18 or 20 months rather than 16, then change the timeframe. But, the plan stays the same, only implementation changes. For five years we have been dealing with the war in 6 month increments. "In another six months things will be better." "The next six months will be crucial", and so on. This prevents planning for a pullout as any planning is delayed for six months and then delayed for another six months. McCain wanted to publish an Op-Ed article in the New York Times and submitted an article that was 12 paragraphs long. In 11 of the paragraphs, he attacked Obama. He was asked to revise the article and include a explanation for what he meant by "victory". He refused. This is the crux of the problem. McCain does not know how to define "victory". You cannot plan for something that you can not explain, so he has no plan for victory. He has no plan for withdrawal. His only plan is to continue the Bush policy. So, how can you believe that he is motivated to withdraw the troops? Again, since I don't want my earlier question to get lost, can anyone tell me how long McCain is willing to keep troops in Iraq while fighting continues? If the situation in Iraq has not improved in five years, will he be willing to call it quits? |
Rich
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I think there is a tendency to get tied up in details, trying to counter this or that specific argument. I hope I won't sound preachy, but I'd like to give my general view of things.
By way of disclosure, as I have said in some earlier postings, I'm definitely on the liberal side, although I try not to be doctrinaire or knee-jerk (maybe just a plain old jerk now and then). I plan to vote for Obama because I agree with his general political philosophy, am impressed by his intelligence and communication skills, and, perhaps most important, do not want to see another Supreme Court Justice with the Scalia/Thomas/Roberts/Alito slant. However, I have no difficulty seeing why someone would support McCain. His wartime experience and the fact that he did not get his son out of Iraq service impress me, as does his long-time willingness to ignore the Republican party line and to work with Democrats like Feingold and Kennedy. His pro-life record is strong and would certainly be a plus if I happened to be on that side of the issue. I'm not that much younger than him, so I appreciate his years of experience, although I think he's nuts to want the job at this time in his life (but I think one has to be nuts to want it at any time). So what it comes down to is that it's a crapshoot in any case (who'd have thought a successful governor of Texas could be such a disaster as president?), but these are two guys who look to me as though they might actually be successful, and are almost sure to be an improvement over the present occupant. I'll go with Obama because of where I stand on the issues he may have to deal with, but I'm glad that, if we end up with a Republican, it will be McCain. Rich |
Anonymous
| I think we can consider Jeff a community organizer. A cyber-community organizer. |
Anonymous
| I didn't mean to discount his other son serving in Iraq, the McCain's are a family of service to this country. Thank you for reminding me about the other son. I am always so focused on his son at the USNA because our son's have the same name...but that is not why I am voting for McCain. |