John McCain unveiled his new campaign strategy today: invite the American people to take a magic carpet ride with him to the land of Eternal Sunshine.
In a speech this morning in Ohio -- backed up by a companion TV ad -- McCain hopped into an imaginary time machine and took us all to the year 2013, offering a sneak peek of what the world will look like at the end of his first term as President.
And what a wonderful world it will be: "The Iraq War has been won": "Iraq is a functioning democracy"; "al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated"; Osama bin Laden has been captured or killed; there's been no major terrorist attack in the U.S.; Iran and North Korea have renounced nuclear weapons; "the size of the Army and Marine Corps has been significantly increased and are now better equipped"; there's been "a substantial increase" in veterans' benefits; the genocide in Darfur has been stopped; "the United States has experienced several years of robust economic growth, and Americans again have confidence in their economic future"; "the world food crisis has ended"; "test scores and graduation rates are rising everywhere in the country"; "health care has become more accessible"; Medicare and Social Security have been fixed "without reducing benefits" or "increasing taxes and raising premiums"; America is "well on the way to independence from foreign sources of oil"; "our southern border is now secure" and "illegal immigration has been finally brought under control." And, oh yeah, there are a lot fewer fat kids trudging their way through PE class.
Sounds pretty great, doesn't it?
There's only one problem: it's pure, unadulterated fantasy. The political equivalent of the trippy tour the Beatles gave us in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds -- only instead of rocking horse people eating marshmallow pies, we have "professional and competent" Iraq Security Forces and an Iraqi government "capable of imposing its authority in every province" and "defending the integrity of its borders."
Despite starting his speech by saying how important it is for candidates to lay out "what they plan to achieve not with vague language but with clarity," McCain then proceeded to spin his cotton candy daydream with nary a hint of how his lofty and admirable goals will be accomplished. He's taking us on a trip to Fantasyland, but at no point does he show us how we're going to get there.
Sure, he tossed out a few generalized, pie-in-the-sky allusions to "reforms of the [health] insurance market" and "reforms to the way we acquire weapons programs" and a handful of specifics, including "a reduction in the corporate tax rate" and the building of "20 new nuclear reactors." But when it came to Iraq, he didn't offer even the vaguest clue about how -- after five long years of failure -- victory, democracy, the defeat of al Qaeda, the prevention of civil war, the disbanding of militias, and the sudden competence of the Iraqi military will magically be achieved. Rather, one morning four and a half years from now, we're going to wake up and pigs will be flying, and all will be right with the world.
I get the thinking behind the McCain camp's strategy. With 82 percent of the public unhappy with the direction of the county, and with 68 percent unhappy with the war, and 75 percent anxious about the economy (which McCain admits he doesn't understand all that well), there is no way McCain or his fellow Republicans can run on reality or their record over the last seven-plus years, so they have to run on fantasy.
But building castles in the sky -- and painting rosy, reality-free scenarios -- runs counter to McCain's brand as a straight talker™ who tells it like it is, even when that means admitting that ending the war or fixing the economy or passing needed reforms won't be easy.
You know things have gotten bad for the GOP when John McCain, the man who ran a TV ad claiming "One man does what's best for America. Not what's easy," and who told us on the campaign trail "I've got to give you straight talk, my friends. This is a tough war we're in. It's not going to be over right away. There's going to be other wars, I'm sorry to tell you... My friends, it's going to be tough," is now acting like Mr. Rogers. It's going to be a beautiful day in the neighborhood. In 2013. I can't tell you how, boys and girls, but it will be. You just have to trust me.
I'll admit, I found McCain's fantasy speech moving and effective, especially the part where he envisions a growth in national service, fueled by young Americans who "understand that true happiness is much greater than the pursuit of pleasure, and can only be found by serving causes greater than self-interest." I also appreciated his promise to "set a new standard for transparency and accountability," abstain from Bushian signing statements, and do away with "mindless, paralyzing" partisanship while making the coming campaign "an argument among friends, each of us struggling to hear our conscience and heed its demands."
Then the pig that was flying overhead fell from the sky, showed me his McCain button, and reminded me that Hamas wants Obama to win.
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I think my vision is every bit as likely to come about as McSame's.
The conservatives/republicans/BushCo have always been the party of robber barons and wannabe emperors back as least as far as "Hooverville" (look it up).
McCain will make his rich cronies richer and too bad about the rest of us. Just like Bush.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to equate the Republican party of 1860 with what the Republican party morphed into in modern times. Too much history has occurred which changed the complexion of each party completely including the Industrial age of the Robber Barons which captivated the Republican party and the Depression which unhinged it.
Most importantly the Republican party today since Nixon's so called moral majority of the early 1970's was an attempt by the Republican party to get back a permanent majority by weaning away white racists who occupied the Democratic party as Dixicrats. The modern Republican party created a "southern strategy" whereby by the slimmest margin they could take power even IF they lost the large eastern industrial states and California by combining the white racist southern vote with large corporate vote thereby holding on to the presidency. Lincoln's party bears NO resemblance to the Republican party that exists today. Lincoln would not recognize the Republican party if he were alive today.
Nancy Pelosi just went there, and this what she said: "Pelosi, a top Democratic critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, expressed confidence that expected provincial elections will promote national reconciliation.
She welcomed Iraq's progress in passing a budget as well as oil legislation, and a bill paving the way for the provincial elections in the fall that are expected to more equitably redistribute power among local officials.
"We're assured the elections will happen here, they will be transparent, they will be inclusive and they will take Iraq closer to the reconciliation we all want it to have," said Pelosi. She also met with Iraq's parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq."
In fact we are working hard to replace her.
I love Huffington Post.
It is really sad what has become of this man. Perhaps he suffered irreversible damage during his incarceration.
What a man. He commits adultery on his wife with a woman young enough to be his daughter, but filthy rich. He is caught up in a scandal with lobbyists and is one of the Keating 5 but gets off with a slap on the wrist. He gets his wife off during her drug abuse, and how she procured the drugs, with a slap on the wrist. What a man.
He gets trashed by the George Bush camp, accused of fathering an illegimate black child, and then eight years later embraces him. What a man.
He gets a reputation as a maverick and an independent Republican, then gives it all back in his desperate pursuit of ambition. He says let's talk to Hamas and now trashes Obama for saying he is Hamas' choice for President. What a man.
Now, he's back full circle with yet another lobbyist scandal. What a man.
How anyone can take him seriously on anything he says or does is beyond me. His basic appeal has shrunk to the illiterate, the scared and the bigoted.
What a man.
On May 15, the White House Moron, in a war-planning visit to Israel, justified the naked aggression he and Olmert are planning against Iran as the only alternative to “the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”
He said it was "laughable" to even question that McCain is so qualified. He said this in a group, and I was embarassed.
But I still have the question--and I have studied McCain's biographical info in detail, particularly his Navy career and service in the Senate. And, I'll be damned, I can't see the fit. Can someone help me to understand his qualifications.
He has: an awful temper, shoots from the hip, flip flops, is very personable--but this makes him tricky, he is grounded in the Cold War, he has trouble being honest (Baghdad market tour spun to say it's safe while he had heavy security on the ground and in the air), believes negotiations is for wimps, screams at people, and has a heavy predisposition to attack Iran and any other country.
I just don't get it.
WHY THE HELL ARE YOU RUNNING IF YOU CAN'T IT ????????????
James Buchanan -- "At one point, he was expelled from Dickinson for wild behavior and bad conduct, but after pleading for a second chance he graduated with honors three years later on September 7, 1809." -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Buchanan
George W. Bush -- Reported history includes blowing up frogs, branding fraternity pledges, and challenging his own father to a fight.
-- http://boards.historychannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=300021486
John McCain -- "McCain had conflicts with higher-ups, and he was disinclined to obey every rule, which contributed to a low class rank (894/899) that he did not aim to improve." -- Description of McCain's behavior while attending the U. S. Naval Academy -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain
A recent Washington Post article includes revealing and recent details describing John McCain's severe temper, e.g., shouting obscenities to and engaging in a shoving match with another Republican senator, a serious concern, given the extraordinary powers now vested in the Presidency.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041902224.html
John McCain mocks those who would meet with world leaders who have not already unconditionally surrendered to U. S. demands. He perhaps realizes that he can't handle conflictual situations in a non-violent manner.
Is this the person we want representing this country's interests to the rest of the world?