John McCain . . .

[Kurth]

defends Huma Abedin against Michele Bachman's latest witch hunt. As reported by Yahoo:

John McCain took to the Senate floor today to discuss Huma Abedin—known variously for her work at the State Department under Hillary Clinton and for her marriage to sexting ex-congressman Anthony Weiner . . .

McCain was defending Abedin against recent accusations made by Rep. Michele Bachmann that Abedin's security clearance should be questioned due to alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood . . . Bachmann recently started an inquiry as to whether Congress has been infiltrated by members of the Muslim group. After fellow Rep. Keith Ellison raised questions about her sourcing, Bachmann replied with 16 pages of evidence, leading with accusations about Abedin's family ties.

Back to McCain:

Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we still aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.

I'm going to go watch Game Change again and cry.

[Chrisoc13]

defends Huma Abedin against Michele Bachman's latest witch hunt. As reported by Yahoo:

John McCain took to the Senate floor today to discuss Huma Abedin—known variously for her work at the State Department under Hillary Clinton and for her marriage to sexting ex-congressman Anthony Weiner . . .

McCain was defending Abedin against recent accusations made by Rep. Michele Bachmann that Abedin's security clearance should be questioned due to alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood . . . Bachmann recently started an inquiry as to whether Congress has been infiltrated by members of the Muslim group. After fellow Rep. Keith Ellison raised questions about her sourcing, Bachmann replied with 16 pages of evidence, leading with accusations about Abedin's family ties.

Back to McCain:

Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we still aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.

I'm going to go watch Game Change again and cry.

Cry for what reason? Pinning McCain's loss on Palin is absurd. I think Palin was a poor choice but it is highly unlikely Palin lost McCain the election. It would be perhaps the first time ever the vice presidential candidate had that sort of an effect on an election. People now acting like they wish he was the president are simply revising history.

[ydejin]

defends Huma Abedin against Michele Bachman's latest witch hunt. As reported by Yahoo:

That's good to see. I used to really admire McCain, although I felt that he'd sold out in order to try to win the Presidency. And it seems like he's spent the last four years basically having an extended snit over losing to Obama.

Maybe the old McCain is coming back.

[Kurth]

This:

defends Huma Abedin against Michele Bachman's latest witch hunt. As reported by Yahoo:

That's good to see. I used to really admire McCain, although I felt that he'd sold out in order to try to win the Presidency. And it seems like he's spent the last four years basically having an extended snit over losing to Obama.

Maybe the old McCain is coming back.

Not this:

defends Huma Abedin against Michele Bachman's latest witch hunt. As reported by Yahoo:

John McCain took to the Senate floor today to discuss Huma Abedin—known variously for her work at the State Department under Hillary Clinton and for her marriage to sexting ex-congressman Anthony Weiner . . .

McCain was defending Abedin against recent accusations made by Rep. Michele Bachmann that Abedin's security clearance should be questioned due to alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood . . . Bachmann recently started an inquiry as to whether Congress has been infiltrated by members of the Muslim group. After fellow Rep. Keith Ellison raised questions about her sourcing, Bachmann replied with 16 pages of evidence, leading with accusations about Abedin's family ties.

Back to McCain:

Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we still aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.

I'm going to go watch Game Change again and cry.

Cry for what reason? Pinning McCain's loss on Palin is absurd. I think Palin was a poor choice but it is highly unlikely Palin lost McCain the election. It would be perhaps the first time ever the vice presidential candidate had that sort of an effect on an election. People now acting like they wish he was the president are simply revising history.

[Holman]

It's like McCain is the only one who thinks Bachmann is nuts. It's just that anyone on the right standing up against that kind of Tea Party craziness looks uncommonly principled.

[Chrisoc13]

Look Kurth, people want to act like they love McCain and Palin ruined it, but fact is when people had the chance to vote for him they didn't. The VP does just about nothing. Palin would have shown up at special events. Truth is when the election came around suddenly people decided he was extreme when he had spent his entire career being seen as a moderate conservative. Now after the fact I hear many people act like they would have voted for McCain had it not been for Palin. BS. That is simply revisionist history.

[tgb]

I'm not so sure. I think Palin cost McCain the presidency in the sense that people were concerned as to what would happen should McCain drop dead/become incapacitated while in office. Don't discount the age/succession thing.

[Kurth]

Look Kurth, people want to act like they love McCain and Palin ruined it, but fact is when people had the chance to vote for him they didn't. The VP does just about nothing. Palin would have shown up at special events. Truth is when the election came around suddenly people decided he was extreme when he had spent his entire career being seen as a moderate conservative. Now after the fact I hear many people act like they would have voted for McCain had it not been for Palin. BS. That is simply revisionist history.

Look Chrisoc13, there's no way I would have voted for McCain over Obama in the 2008 election, regardless of who his running mate was. Maybe I wasn't clear above.

My point is simply that throughout his career, whether I agreed with him on matters of policy or not, McCain seemed to me to be a principled guy who genuinely placed the needs of the country over political expediency and his own narrow self-interest. I found that understanding of John McCain to be completely at odds with his choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate.

No need to come on so strong with the revisionist label. I'm just saying that it's nice to see McCain getting back to who I always thought he was (and I realize this is getting dangerously close to Denny Green territory).

[raydude]

Look Kurth, people want to act like they love McCain and Palin ruined it, but fact is when people had the chance to vote for him they didn't. The VP does just about nothing. Palin would have shown up at special events. Truth is when the election came around suddenly people decided he was extreme when he had spent his entire career being seen as a moderate conservative. Now after the fact I hear many people act like they would have voted for McCain had it not been for Palin. BS. That is simply revisionist history.

When the run up to the elections first started, my staunch Republican father-in-law and my staunch Democrat brother-in-law asked me who I wanted to see coming out of both parties. I said I'd vote for McCain or Obama if they came out of it. They both laughed at my choices. When it was McCain as the front runner I was all but sold on his "maverick" stance and the fact that he stood up for good ideas regardless of party. He totally lost me with his batshit crazy VP pick. That's the truth, Ruth.

[GreenGoo]

I have no idea how much Palin influenced the election or not, but she's awful. Just awful. And it has nothing to do with which party she belongs to. Maybe as a furner I could have tolerated her as a VP, but getting that close to the big chair would be uncomfortable. If she actually sat in it, with McCain out for whatever reason, I would have looked at it as the end of times. That's how little I think of her ability to lead anything but a popularity contest, and even that is iffy if she has to open her mouth for anything more than a 3 second sound bite.

Horrifying choice McCain made. I was repulsed by just how vacuous and self serving she was. All the worst traits of a North American politician and none of the good ones.

[Kraken]

He totally lost me with his batshit crazy VP pick. That's the truth, Ruth.

I, too, was entertaining a McCain vote until he named Palin. As tgb said, McCain was just too old to discount the odds of him dying in office.

'Course, if he had won we'd probably be at war with Iran today.

[ydejin]

He totally lost me with his batshit crazy VP pick. That's the truth, Ruth.

I, too, was entertaining a McCain vote until he named Palin. As tgb said, McCain was just too old to discount the odds of him dying in office.

'Course, if he had won we'd probably be at war with Iran today.

And Syria. He's been pretty clear he wants us to take more forceful action with Syria.

[Defiant]

Truth is when the election came around suddenly people decided he was extreme when he had spent his entire career being seen as a moderate conservative.

While he was seen by many as a moderate conservative, I don't think he ever was that. He was, maybe, a somewhat centrist Republican - note the difference, a moderate politician suggests moderate positions whereas a centrist suggests that the averaging of his positions is closer to the center than the norm. He had two or three issues where he bucked the Republicans completely and willing to reach across the aisle, but on the other issues, he was in complete lock step with the average Republican or somewhat to the right of them. He was also not shy to occasionally use "straight talk", which also added to his reputation.

But moderate? No. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Jon Huntsman, George Pataki. Those are examples of moderates.

Edit: As to the election, I think his loss was due to a combination of 1) his positions 2) Palin 3) the economy 4) his weakness on the issue of the economy 5) the Bush presidency 6) Obama's campaign was run very well.

[LordMortis]

I'm not so sure. I think Palin cost McCain the presidency in the sense that people were concerned as to what would happen should McCain drop dead/become incapacitated while in office. Don't discount the age/succession thing.

Not just age, but the thought that he could stroke out at any moment. But most importantly, they (or I) was concerned that he was kowtowing to the exact people I didn't want in power. "His" rallys were taken over by Palin supporters. Her supporters fired up "the base" and quite frankly, fuck the base.

It doesn't help that I never actually liked or trusted McCain. In the end (not beginning, because in the beginning Obama talked a good game), I would have voted for him over Obama if it weren't for Palin, but I wouldn't have liked voting for him. So I may not have been one of the people being referred to.

Jon Huntsman

Why do I never get the guy I feel like I could "like" voting for? After four years of Obama, I won't be voting for the guy I dislike least. I have to find something third party again, like I did when I was younger.

[tgb]

Having Palin on the ticket also negated the "experience" argument, which was one of McCain's strongest.

[Apollo]

... Why do I never get the guy I feel like I could "like" voting for? After four years of Obama, I won't be voting for the guy I dislike least. I have to find something third party again, like I did when I was younger.

I see you're tired of having your vote count.

[Kurth]

... Why do I never get the guy I feel like I could "like" voting for? After four years of Obama, I won't be voting for the guy I dislike least. I have to find something third party again, like I did when I was younger.

I see you're tired of having your vote count.

I heard Perot was thinking of making another run . . .

[El Guapo]

McCain always had an uphill battle as the representative of the party of the wildly unpopular outgoing incumbent. What put the nail in the coffin of his candidacy was the bottom falling out of the economy in fall 2008, which boosted the anti-incumbency mood and weakened his strongest argument (basically, "I know you don't like Bush, but let's not go too crazy with this inexperienced guy over here."). McCain's response to the financial crisis (suspending the debate to rush back to Washington to do nothing obvious, then going to the debate anyways) didn't help, as it seemed weak and erratic and so only furthered the damage from the economy.

Palin was a definite liability, and could have cost him a close election. But the election wasn't close in the end.

[Pyperkub]

Palin was not McCain's only problem in 2008. He also abandoned a number of the positions that he held prior to losing the R Nomination in 2000. He changed a number of positions away from any of his previous 'maverick' status to party-line Bush policy. As an example, he ended up not opposing the Bush Administration's position on Torture, which was one of the things he should have remained most passionate about, and yet he repeatedly watered down his proposed legislation, and supported Bush's veto of Congressional legislation that would have ensured that waterboarding and other forms of torture were absolutely out of the question.

He made changes on many other positions as well, and his ever-shifting stance on the Financial Collapse is the real thing that buried him. There was no way a Republican was going to win after the September 2008 meltdown, especially with the way he went all over the map on it.

[Sepiche]

'Course, if he had won we'd probably be at war with Iran today.

This.

More than most of what's left of the Republican party McCain has always clearly had many strong principles that I think speak well of him, but he's almost cartoonishly hawkish when it comes to foreign policy.

[Scuzz]

Look Kurth, people want to act like they love McCain and Palin ruined it, but fact is when people had the chance to vote for him they didn't. The VP does just about nothing. Palin would have shown up at special events. Truth is when the election came around suddenly people decided he was extreme when he had spent his entire career being seen as a moderate conservative. Now after the fact I hear many people act like they would have voted for McCain had it not been for Palin. BS. That is simply revisionist history.

I would have voted for McCain had it not been for Palin. I didn't for vote for President, first time since I was 18, so 1974. I was just scared that at McCain's age he could die in office and we would be stuck with that jackass of a woman.