Third Term

Elisabeth Bumiller has a fairly bland run down of the similarities and differences between McCain and Bush but she gets to the right place when she concludes that -- well he's the same as Bush:

A look at Mr. McCain's 25-year record in the House and Senate, his 2008 campaign positions and his major speeches over the last three months indicates that on big-ticket issues -- the economy, support for continuing the Iraq war, health care -- his stances are indeed similar to Mr. Bush's brand of conservatism. Mr. McCain's positions are nearly identical to the president's on abortion and the types of judges he says he would appoint to the courts.

Right -- so on economic issues, the biggest foreign policy issue, the biggest domestic policy issue, and on social issues -- McCain is clearly in line with George Bush. Yet Bumiller is still giving John McCain way way too much credit:

On diplomacy, Mr. McCain has regularly distanced himself from the go-it-alone unilateralism of the Bush administration...In the same vein, Mr. McCain has significantly broken with Mr. Bush on nuclear security policy. Unlike the president, he supports a legally binding accord between the United States and Russia on limiting nuclear weapons, the elimination of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, a strengthening of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, increased financing for the International Atomic Energy Agency and nuclear talks with China.

This is a case where a reporter is simply regurgitating campaign rhetoric without thinking. Can someone please explain to me how John McCain plans to kick Russia out of the G-8, move forward on national missile defense, and still plans on establishing good trusting relations with Russia on nonproliferation that will lead to a mutual reduction in both of our nuclear arsenals. THESE ARE CONTRADICTORY VIEWS and together these views represent a completely incoherent foreign policy vision.

Additionally, how McCain can be called more favorable toward "diplomacy" than George Bush when he is not in favor of diplomatic talks with Iran or Cuba, adopts a more hardline approach toward North Korea, is in favor of kicking Russia out of the G-8, repeatedly belittled our European allies in the run-up to the war in Iraq and has hardly been an advocate of the UN. That is certainly not the record of someone who believes in diplomacy.

All of this being said -- Bumiller manages to miss the biggest reason why McCain will be a continuation  of George Bush -- McCain adamantly adheres to the neoconservative vision of foreign policy. In fact as the Economist noted in 2002, John McCain had George Bush's foreign policy before George Bush. This is not just some campaign line -- it happens to be the truth.

Comments

[Squalish]

I've seen this quite a lot watching cable news the last few days.

In the current self-conscious attempt to be Fair And Balanced, hosts display the democratic talking points (consisting of a video of McCain six months/years ago claiming a position and another video of McCain six days ago claiming the opposing position as what he's always thought), and the republican talking points (consisting of blunt, often incorrect assertions about his political position without any supporting information or actual statements from him) as if they are both neutral facts.

At least it's not bringing on three McCain talking heads and one Obama talking head, and watching what information gets shouted down to the viewer. Using direct video evidence of your opponent (immune from personification of yourself) has that benefit - but it's still cklearly a blatantly unlevel playing field *to those of us who have some preexisting knowledge of the race*.

[TXfemmom]

I swear that if John McCain either wins or steals the election, I am leaving this country and asking for political asylum somewhere where they sane.

[andrew2009]

Susan Sarandon said the same thing, and all I can say to that is to join up with Obama's campaign and campaign for him. If you can talk to folks who aren't as information saavy as us, that will go along way instead of "hoping" that he doesn't win. Cast your vote, but go beyond that - campaign for Obama - it will go along way. I hope Susan Sarandon does the same thing.

[new logic]

now for something completely different
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/bush-threatens-iran-with-military-action-848488.html
Bush threatens Iran with military action

The US President's remarks on the last leg of his "farewell tour" of Europe raised fears at Westminster that Mr Bush is determined to take action against Iran before he leaves office in January if the sanctions fail to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.

McCain:"bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran"
case closed

[uvymopkq]

MCCAIN: Senator Obama says that I'm running for Bush's third term. It seems to me he's running for Jimmy Carter's second

[waverly]

America is crumbling under the Republication foreign, domestic, and economic policies. Their policies are strictly self serving and have no forethought of what is best for the nation and its people. The Good Old Party is really old, out of date and destructive.

[hopeless277]

You forget that Republicans live in a much different reality than the rest of us. In their world the Iraq occupation is going quite well. No troops have been lost and the Iraqi population loves the US militaty presence in their country. The world loves us and John McCain is a youngish 54. When you point out that their facts are totally wrong, they simply say that you have your view and they have theirs. Even when confronted with the truth, they will still stick to their stories(Jean Schmidt and China drilling). It's like arguing with a 3 year old. There is no way to convice them because they do not accept as fact your basic premise. They cannot be wrong because they are right and if they are right then they cannot be wrong. So we are stuck with a president that believes the world is flat and that god loves war. It wouldn't be so bad except that every Republican in the nation believes it too.

[andrew2009]

Your sentiments are right on. People either convince themselves to continue to lying, or they believe it. For instance, I have doubt that Dana Perino will be coming out with a confession 20 or 30 years from now. So many aides have come out about the truth after the president dies because they were too afraid to say anything due to something happening to their family, etc. This world is run by corporate rich folks, which mean that if the little folks don't challenge them, they will get away with it. Why aren't people rising up like they did during the Civil Rights Movement and the Suffragist movement? Boycott goes a VERY long way. I know that this may sound cynical (and I promise, I'm not a cynical person), but I hope that gas goes up to $6 or $7 a gallon because in a way, it's been a blessing in disguise to the Repub's. This attractive female, long red hair, die hard Repub from CA stated that it burns her to vote for Dem, but she is solely because she wants to drive an energy efficient car. Why? It will keep MORE money in her bank account, and she knows that the Repub's aren't going to vote that way. The point of the matter is when people rise up against the establishment, and enough folks speak out and speak up, it does work. If it didn't, we wouldn't have had the Civil Rights or Suffragist movement.

[BlueOnBlue]

You actually have to go quite a bit further back than 2002 to find the beginning of McCain's hard line stance about Iraq. In 1998, he and Lieberman were the major figures helping to funnel almost $100 million to Ahmed Chalabi for the "liberation" of Iraq. Some of that money was used to spread Chalabi's lies, which the Bush administration's neocoons then turned into their argument for war.

Even further back, McCain was for the forceful elimination of Saddam Hussein, parting with George H.W. Bush's opinion that an invasion would be untenable for the United States.

McCain has ALWAYS been for this war and that should be communicated loud and clear. He did not copy George W. Bush. Bush copied him.

[JonStewart4President]

But but he's a Maverick, full of maverick-y goodness and totally not like Dubya on almost everything. Well except that he is and even he has said so in the past and we have it on tape to prove it.

Oh that mean Obama, daring to pick on John McCain with the, ya know, truth. That's so unfair of him.

[RRonin]

What are ya gonna believe? Truth or TRUTHINESS?

[ImissTheCOLDWAR]

If John McCain is the another George Bush, Then An Obama Presidency is a second term of Jimmy (I don't know what the heck I am doing) Carter.

[rtrickey]

It's a clever line, but the truth is that McCain's policies are far more in sync with Bush than Obama is with Carter. I used to adore John McCain, but the policies he's advocating are lousy.

[Norsky]

Bravo!!

[Daly]

War War War how do you like it, how do you like it