I'm surprised that so many seem to be taking the pick so well. If I were a conservative, I would be pissed (I guess I can't really say that, but you know what I mean...).
I would expect articles and critics like this and the one early to continue to come out more and more as time goes on. M McSHAME really blew it!
Why on earth didn't he pick Kay Bailey Hutchinson ? That would have been a pick I could respect, but picking a pretty face that has no experience, bizarre unfounded views, and someone he has never worked with/ doesn't even know is disrespectful to everyone involved in this process.
You can correct me if I am wrong, but it was largely speculated that the accident on the air craft carrier was at the very least partially McCain's fault. I also don't know how many people remember that he broke under torture and told them everything that they wanted to know. To me that cancels out saying that you wouldn't allow yourself to be freed before others. I wouldn't either due to the embarassment of breaking under the torture. Honestly, I probably would break under severe torture as well, but I sure wouldn't be using that as my qualifications to be President of the USA.
I think they are trying to put their best face forward to swerve the bad decision. There are surely some die-hards that would have loved any pick, just because it was his pick. But anyone that still has any objectivity left can't be comfortable immediately with someone that they didn't know yesterday being second in line to run our country.
This was a total PR move. It's disappointing pick from McCain really. After he has attacked Obama's experience, he selected someone with far less. How is that going to go over with the electorate? What does that say about McCain's judgement??? And Obama picked a statesman - someone who could lead in case it's necessary. McCain picked someone to help him get women voters and to steal the spotlight away from Obama....is that the right reason to pick a VP? And someone who is currently being investigated? What is going on here? McCain blew it. This is not going to help him, unless his only goal was to shore up his base and steal the spotlight from Obama for a few days.
The more I think about it, the move says this about his judgment: * outside the box * clever * very truly "maverick," as a adjective * impulsive * risk comfortable * not prone to homework That would all be cool for domestic affairs, but it scares the crap out of me for foreign affairs! It doesn't sit well with the little tidbits like not knowing Czechoslovakia doesn't exist, and not knowing the cultural details of the middle east, etc. Combine that with an impulsive, war-friendly stance... er, um, do not want.
Not really. Obama has promised to get us out of Iraq? Remember that. Obama has promised not to have illegal wiretaps. Obama has promised to raise the taxes on the wealthy which will help with a more balanced budget. Obama has promised to have a plan that will guarantee that everyone will be able to have health care-- (gasp!) even if it is not just provided by insurance companies and the magic of the market as the conservatives had promised for about 60 years.. One can understand that as a self identified conservative Republican you would like to pretend that after Bush's mess he is not a conservative and therefore not a demonstration of the failure of conservative theories in action. Moreover since McCain, who you are supporting, votes over 90% with Bush, you would also like to pretend that Obama is just like Bush-Cheney-McCain.
yeah, weslinder's statement about Obama bring the worst of Bush to the table makes zero sense to me, but we have to give wes a big slice of break; I mean he is right at the epicenter of the GOP pep rally, and just like being at the DNC, you can't really expect "fair and balanced" reporting.
The scarier part is that McCain basically doesn't care about domestic affairs and somehow considers foreign policy his specialty.
Seriously, how many countries has Obama alienated before a single vote for President has even been cast? How can you in good faith not be scared sheetless by Obama's lack of foreign policy credentials and his absolutely horrific instincts? Let's see... invade Pakistan unilaterally, shut down trade with China, cancel NAFTA... I could go on and on. Match that with his connections with Indonesia (which really aren't even known yet) and his inability to stand for his principles and you've got a candidate primed to just lay down in the face of danger. The man is on record for wanting to slash military spending AND he has cozied up to some very anti-Israel figures. THAT, my friend, is scary.
There's a lot of talk that KBH turned him down privately (or turned down vetting). Supposedly, there's some friction between the two and she also has her sights on Texas Governor in 2010.
Obama: Zero. Countries McCain has alienated and turned against him: Russia. So McCain has already started another cold war with Russia before the first vote has been cast. I mean, he is doing this before he's even elected president! Terrible judgement.
she turned him down 6 times. and the mccain camp seems to say that mccain only made this decision yesterday. he wanted joe lieberman (b/c he's very close and comfortable with him) but people in his camp convinced him it was a bad choice (even freakin' karl rove called lieberman personally to tell him to get out of the VP race). this dude is obviously out of touch with what is going on.
For fun, I will answer, even though this thread is about McCain, which automatically means you and the GOP playbook attack Obama, your object of deep obsession. Obama and foreign policy? Let's see, in good faith, I would be delighted to have him take on foreign policy. He: surrounds himself with whip-smart advisors; is as well-educated as we could want; has shown himself to be homework and data obsessed; and has shown, contrary to your statements, good judgment, instincts and intuition on a wide variety of issues. Correct on Iraq invasion. Correct on timetables to get us out of a mess we should not have been in. Correct on Georgia, and unlike McCain, not pot-committed via his closest advisors to the Georgian payroll. I'm sick of having impulsive poor students and anti-brain-power people at the helm. It has been EPIC FAIL for the country I love. I appreciate you asking for my view.
Is this not a tacit admission that Obama himself is weak on the issue? Why yes it is. The mere fact that instead of lauding his own judgment and credentials on foreign policy, you are forced to turn to those surrounding him. It's a skill to be able to cut through spin to get to the core of an answer. The core of your answer is that Obama is not qualified. We agree on that, friend.
