If anyone was wondering how Senator John McCain is holding up after getting destroyed by then Senator Barack Obama I’ve posted a vid on a recent appearance he’s made. I am a Democrat, and I voted for Barack Obama. However I must say, I feel a throng of sadness when I realize McCain was destroyed. Let’s be honest folks now that the campaign is over, John McCain was/is the most liberal republican currently serving either house. He could have passed for a Democrat.
I voted for Barack Obama, but I never subscribed to the idea that John McCain was a “Third Bush Term”. I have always felt that John McCain is a republican that best illustrates some of the positive aspects of his party, and is a heroic American of unmatchable proportions.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P90eqeNvssg[/youtube]
Steve,
John McCan had Karl Rove and much of Bush’s 04 team working for him. He is a good man but don’t get fooled. Dozens of lobbyists were on his campaign staff, he would have appointed another Anotia Scalia, wanted to extend Bush’s tax cuts, picked Sarah Palin, ran ads calling Obama a friend of terrorists, and wanted to keep the troops in Iraq.
A unhealthy chunk of democrats approved John Roberts and worst yet, Alito, voted for the Iraqi resolution, and Barack had/has lobbyist on board as well. And Sarah Palin was an idiot, even he know’s that now, he won’t endorse her for 2012.
I’m not going to going to defend McCain further in these comments, because I’m not in his party, and he wasn’t my candidate. I just admire him for being the individual that he is. He’s not perfect, but if all republican’s were more like him, we would get some things done in this country.
Perhaps you shouldn’t be fooled with your jaded outlook which seems to be, all republicans are evil.
Steve,
You of all people should not claim a nuanced view. Some of your self-righteous rants have been over the top. Yet, I will repeat I said McCain is a good man but just because he has some good policiies and is funny on Letterman doesn’t redeem the cynical Rove/Bush campaign he ran this fall.
Haha perhaps I am a little self righteous, but I really don’t think there are inconsistencies with my politics and having a favorable view of John McCain. All is fair in politics, and like in nature, the strongest survive (or win). All in all, John McCain did in fact run a honorable campaign, President Elect Barack Obama saids so. I’d be interested in knowing if anyone else likes the Senator from Arizona as well!
Are we talking about the Senator McCain of 2000 and 2004 or the Presidential candidate McCain of 2008. They are totally different people, as far as I’m concerned.
Sen. McCain was a principled moderate who worked to find common ground and get things done.
Candidate McCain tried so hard to win over his party’s base voters that he sold out his reputation as a consensus-builder.
2004 version couldn’t win a Republican nomination so McCain.2008 was created. That version couldn’t win a general.
Bottom line, I lost respect for the man when he allowed himself to be redefined.
John McCain may be a great guy but he neither is nor was the most liberal Republican in Congress as claimed in the post. The American Conservative Union ranked McCain as being more conservative than 16 other GOP senators, not to mention the House. McCain more liberal than Susan Collins, Olympia Snow and Arlen Spector? Gimme a break!
The ACU probably also took note of McCain’s voting rank with other groups: F grades from the National Education Associaition and the League of Conservation Voters; 0% from the AFL-CIO, NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign. He got a 100% rating from the National Tax Limitation Committee and the US Chamber of Commerce. And don’t forget his 90% rating with the John Birch Society.
I like and respect McCain and was irritated by some of the cheap chots thrown at McCain by some on the left. But it would be more accurate to describe him as being a moderate conservative until, as LC notes above, he started running for the 2008 White House.. Then he became a harcore conservative , turning his back on the immigration, global warming, and campaign finance issues that caused many liberals to think that maybe the guy read the New York Times and drank white wine. He WAS a maverick on some issues and maybe we’ll see the old John McCain back in the saddle this Congress.
What?, TLC, & Blade-
Good points from all of you. McCain used to be one of my favorite Republicans before the 2008 campaign began. He was no “liberal”, center-right at best, but still seemed to have no problem reaching across the aisle to accomplish good things. HOWEVER, that old persona changed when he began to position himself for this election.
McCain voted just over 90% of the time with Bush. He ran what may go down in history books as the sleaziest Presidential Campaign ever. Instead of picking a VP who he could trust to handle the job, he used Sarah Palin as a cheap stunt to polarize the electorate to his advantage. Frankly, I’m not saddened at all by the fact that it all backfired on him.
Maybe if McCain actually shows in the next few months that he’s not that persona we saw during the campaign, I might forgive him & recapture my fond memories of McCain v.2000. Otherwise, I’ll go to Arizona in 2010 to campaign for the Democrat running against him.