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Jason Linkins

The Huffington Post

Bush-Cheney Mouthpiece Boards 'Straight Talk' Express

January 7, 2008 03:27 PM


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Remember back in 2004, when the Swift Boat Veterans For [Depends On What Terrifying, Sick, Debased Definition You Have For The] Truth attacked presidential candidate John Kerry? Well, the Bush-Cheney campaign basked in the benefits, but when questioned, they played coy and feigned ignorance. Cast about long enough and you're sure to find the statement that was offered by the campaign's press secretary: "The Bush-Cheney campaign has never and will never question John Kerry's service during Vietnam."

Way back then, Kerry's fellow senator and Vietnam veteran John McCain also assailed the group with some of his patented "straight talk." He called the Swift Boaters "dishonest and dishonorable," and said "I can't believe the president would pull such a cheap stunt."

So much has changed! Flash forward to 2008, and you'll find the magnanimous McCain locked in a cynical embrace of those same dishonest and dishonorable Swift Boat Fools For Nonsense. It makes you wonder how on earth the McCain we see walking the earth today is going to reconcile this collaboration with the McCain that existed just four years ago.

Well, in that regard, McCain has gone out and gotten himself just the help he needs to traverse all this hypocrisy. Re-boarding the Straight Talk Express today is Steve Schmidt -- the very spokesman who smirked that "The Bush-Cheney campaign has never and will never question John Kerry's service during Vietnam."

With regard to "cheap stunts," it sure looks like McCain is becoming a believer!

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The MAVERICK McCain of 2000

became

The ICK McCain of 2008

If he still had his testicals and spirit...he would have SPIT on Falwell's casket.

IMO

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:59 PM on 01/08/2008

It will be easy to beat McBush, all you have to do is play footage of his angry rant against the Christian Reich like Falwell after they used the Christian phonetree in South Carolina for the racist Black Baby smear. Then show him groveling and selling his soul to suck up to Falwell. HE SOLD OUT!
I would have EATEN GLASS before I would have kow towed to someone who smeared my family in such a lying hateful way.
Bush/Rove thought up the smear, and McBush hugging all over Georgie Junior will be the cherry on top of the SH*TTY SMELLIN' SUNDAE

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:55 PM on 01/08/2008
photo

I think being a prisoner of war for 5 years has made him mentally unbalanced.

Who wants a president who was dumb enough to get shot down?

This is a man who thinks we could have won the war in Vietnam if we just allowed the boots on the ground to do their job.

He never explains why he thought it was so important to fight the Vietnamese or why he felt it was so urgent to defeat them?

Just another warmonger Looney.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:09 PM on 01/08/2008

Now THAT'S the picture of McCain they ought to be using on his campaign posters!
Truth in advertising!
The man is a nutter, and a hypocrite.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:52 AM on 01/08/2008

This can mean ONLY one thing: We MUST distrust and QUESTION McCain's 'actual' miltary record and everything else that happened in Vietnam, this comes from his buddies and the horses mouth.
QUESTION Every aspect of his servicxe and medals and records Including what he likes to brag about.......
This is what he is asking for by hiring and using these unamerican so-called vets with lies.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:35 AM on 01/08/2008

Walnuts/Cheney '08!!! All aboard the Torture Express, we're headed for Gitmo!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:32 AM on 01/08/2008

McCain groveled down in the pig shit when he got up on the campaign trail and supported Bush in 2004 after being slimed by the unofficial Bush machine with the "black baby" story in 2000.

Once you get down into the Republipig shit it never totally washes off. You can tell by the smell.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:15 AM on 01/08/2008

Funny...the picture of MyKane makes him look insane. Remember how Howard Dean lost his candidacy on a scream? Wonder how many gaffes and insane pictures it would take to derail MyKanes's candidacy? Probably never happen only because Wall Street is praying for him to overtake Huckabee.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:00 AM on 01/08/2008
photo

I find it hard to believe that the Republicans are going to select this old cancer ridden war-mongering bigot as their candidate? Obama will eat his K-rations.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:27 AM on 01/08/2008

After watching McCain's pathetic sychophancy in sucking up to George W in 2004, why should anybody be surprised at this development. His driving core value is ambition and every other value fades in comparison. If it weren't so disturbing, it would be sad, almost Shakespearean.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:13 AM on 01/08/2008

Seems McCain & Co. are embracing the 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em' idealogoy. What a shame.

Shame that McCain, who had always been so well-liked and respected by indies and moderates, moderates registered with both major parties, has lost much of that embrace by becoming a Bu$hCo lapdog.

For quite awhile I couldn't decide if McCain truly, truly believed in this Iraq mess and believed in the overall Bushco/neocon M.E. agenda. Rather, as a sitting GOP Senator and perhaps more importantly as a veteran, he may have thought that vocalizing the support of it what was the 'right thing' to do: equating to a display of support and solidarity with our military troops enganged in M.E. combat. I simply could not ascertain where is head and heart truly was/is in this situation. However,

I've made the determination that he does absolutely believe in this disasterous neocon, Bu$hCo agenda. As a result, I believe McCain is one of the last people this country would need or want at the helm, imagine: Surge, Surge, more Surge -- Surge into Iraq, into Iran, Surge throughout the entire Middle East.

By the way, this completley unrelated, but I'm curious who created his '08 campaign logo -- as a random fyi that shooting star directly under his name is the exact same logo of Thomson Financial. I worked for them about 10 years ago, and that logo was newly created and initially rolled out in 2000. (Thomson owns several business' in the financial services industry - perhaps most well-known of which is 'First Call'. ) Logo upper left-hand corner: http://www.thomson.com

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:10 AM on 01/08/2008

john mccain, a man known in my home state of az as a gentleman who says exactly what he believes.

he believes he would like to be president...

all nobility has been cooked out of this pathetic man. all that remains is appetite and expediency.

d

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:48 AM on 01/08/2008

He looks like a crazy rabbit

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:46 AM on 01/08/2008

"I think we're in vigorous agreement about getting our troops home as quickly and responsibly as we possibly can, serving notice on the Maliki government that the blank check they've had from George Bush is no longer valid. We're going to have to have intensive diplomatic efforts in the region. I don't think anyone can predict what the consequences will be. And I think we have to be ready for whatever they might be.
We have to figure out what we're going to do with the 100,000- plus American civilians who are there working at the embassy, working for not-for-profits or American businesses. We have to figure out what we're going to do about all the Iraqis who sided with us, you know, like the translators who helped the Marines in Fallujah whom I met, who said they wouldn't have survived without them. Are we going to leave them?
You know, this is a complicated enterprise, so it has to be done right."
During Saturday night's Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton offered a hint of why we shouldn't take Democratic promises of a quick retreat from Iraq seriously. This was what she said.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:51 AM on 01/08/2008

I don't comment often, but I am so amazed at your emotional bs. Yes, I am a card carrying liberal democrat. I will vote for whomever the primaries give me. I consider all 3 of the top runners preferable to any republican.
BUT, when speaking of the Republicans, who are they to run?
Mitt, the oily? He is not acceptable to the religeous right and, lets face it, a Mass. Republican is a Texas Democrat in many ways. He has way too many pictures with him at Gay Pride day and a voting record that does not speak to a conservative.
Huckleberry is acceptable to the religeous right, but not the neocons.
Julie girl is acceptable to the neocons, but not the religeous right.
Who's left? IF McCain can make it through the primary process without melting down, he will take the nomination.
But I do watch Huckleberry with much confusion. Beagle Eyes is so likeable. He is the only unknown. If he can pull the undecideds with his like-ability, then the religeous right may just sneak in and take over the republican party. And, as many bloggers have pointed out, it would serve them right. They have been sucking on that teat for quite a while without paying any real rent.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:39 AM on 01/08/2008
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