McCain Camp Is Neocon Redux: It's Official
Speaking Monday at a fascinating on-the-record session on U.S.-Russia relations at the Nixon Center, former Reagan administration official Robert McFarlane declared that McCain's first year as president would be "neocon redux." McFarlane, who was Reagan's national security advisor and who supports McCain's candidacy, emphasized that he wasn't speaking as a member of McCain's team, but as a practical realist and private citizen. His remarks were uttered in a calm tone, and all the more blistering for it. McFarlane pointed out that Ronald Reagan was dealing with a declining Soviet Union and from a position of strength, while McCain would be dealing with a resurgent Russia, one that it would be foolish to heedlessly antagonize. According to McFarlane, "the youngsters" would run foreign policy the first year and then likely be "fired" by the second after they mess up.
My ears perked up when I heard this assessment because it confirms what I've been hearing elsewhere: while Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, and other realist elders are consulted by McCain, his heart is with the younger neocons, the "beavers," in the words of one McCain supporter, who draft the speeches and get the grunt work done. As Fareed Zakaria points out in the Washington Post today, the result is disastrous recommendations such as threatening to expel Russia from the G-8. In the aftermath of the Iraq debacle, the U.S. needs allies, not enemies. But the neocons don't see it that way.
The gap -- and it is fundamental -- in the GOP today is generational. The elderly realists haven't groomed anyone to replace them. The neocons have. Hence neocon redux. When someone of McFarlane's stature offers the assessment that the neocons are in charge, then it's pretty much official. The longer the election campaign goes on, the clearer it becomes that the neocons aren't back. They never went away.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
The Dems should have put up a candidate than can beat McCain, then.
Obama can't. He won't win more than five states.
Thats for sure!
Gee, Jethro, great grammar ! You in-breeds are sooo funny.
Well, it is a good thing you are here. Otherwise I would have gone on thinking that Obama had a chance. Now that you have spoken I can relax and not have to worry about the pesky task of voting. Thank you for your contribution to the electoral process. We should have employed you long ago to predict the outcome of all of the presidential races so that all of us democrats would not have to waste time actually researching and participating in this process.
I wouldn't think Obama would do so hot either, until I realize he's running against John McCane and then I realize Obama wins 50 states.
If you look at the primaries, registered Democrats who voted have outnumbered the Republicans who voted an average of three to one. There has also been a surge of voters registering as Democrats in the past year - not so for Republicans - and an overwhelming majority of newly registered Democrats have been brought in through the Obama campaign. The Democratic nominee - whomever it is - will have an advantage over the Republican based on the number or voters registered to each party alone. If Obama is so unelectable, how come he leads Hillary in the number of delegates and in the popular vote and why have hundreds of thousands more people come out to vote for Senator Obama than have voted for McCain?
Duh!!
Why am I not surprised? John McCain has unabashedly proclaimed his metamorphosis from Maverick to panderer. "Come on over everybody. Hey, you Neocons! Get off your duff. I'm an open-minded guy with ever an ever diminishing number of brain cells. Gimme some input."
It will be very interesting to see who McCain picks as his running mate. If he were win (god help us), that's probably the person that will end up being president. With McCain we'll get more of the same.
80% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are in this country. 50% would vote for John McCain. Why? BEcause they won't vote for a black man (who si half white) or a woman. This country is the way it is because as a whole we are a bunch of narrow minded pinheads. Canada is looking better and better.
With you. The main reason the wedge issue is successful. Maybe not this time. There's some pain out there. If the Nation buys into the whitewash, the histrionics, the tap dance around issues of substance, the bandaid fixes, cripes, I don't know what I'd do.
I will say it's about time hope for the arrival of a higher intelligence. No doubt we've been assessed as self-destructive. LOL
"I will say it's about time hope for the arrival of a higher intelligence". Not to worry Mike, the good news is that the higher intelligence is already here -- but the bad news is that the neoconned Republicans and their talking heads have managed to keep him under wraps and under ridicule. Dare I mention his name here? Hints: His initials are R.P., and he's the other Republican Candidate who rejects the neocon flavor of the year, McCain.
50% is simply stunning after all the destruction conservative ideology has left us with. There really isn't anything the Republicans have touched that isn't going really badly.
I think once the Dems have a nominee that 50% will be swiftly reduced. Of course that means the superdelegates need to get off their ass and show some guts. You know the saying, no guts no glory. John McCain is getting such as pass by the media. Especially cable news, the only bad press was a few "mis-spoken" gaffes in Iraq. All that ensued over that was a bit of snickering and then the media promptly returned to the important issue of lapel flag pins.
Keep telling yourself that, GeoNorth. I remember hearing the segregationists quoting similar statistics that supposedly proved a vast majority of people opposed integrating public schools. I would like to see a breakdown by age of those voters who said they will never vote for a black man or a woman. An overwhelming majority of voters 25 and under don't even rank race or sex as factors in deciding who to vote for and the last time I looked the most rapidly growing demographic registering as new voters is 25 and under.
If millions of Americans can believe the Adam and Eve fairy tale, they can certainly believe Republicans are good for the country.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
