Conservatives and Neocons breaking with Sen. Air Quotes

[fryguy]

I'm sure this repeats a bunch of things that have already been posted here, but I thought I'd post the email I sent and put on my Facebook page.

* * *

In addition to the high profile endorsements of people such as Gen. Colin Powell and Christopher Buckley, some noteworthy individuals and periodicals have recently expressed serious misgivings about McCain’s ability to be president and, if not outright endorsing Obama, have made it clear that McCain is the wrong choice for the office, including:

Francis Fukuyama - a leader in the Neoconservative movement, member and contributor to the Project for the New American Century, and adviser to President Regan - wrote yesterday on the American Conservative’s website) that he is voting for Obama because “it is hard to imagine a more disastrous presidency than that of George W. Bush” and “as a general rule, democracies don’t work well if voters do not hold political parties accountable for failure. While John McCain is trying desperately to pretend that he never had anything to do with the Republican Party, I think it would a travesty to reward the Republicans for failure on such a grand scale.” He goes on to say that “McCain’s appeal was always that he could think for himself, but as the campaign has progressed, he has seemed simply erratic and hotheaded. His choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate was highly irresponsible; we have suffered under the current president who entered office without much knowledge of the world and was easily captured by the wrong advisers. McCain’s lurching from Reaganite free- marketer to populist tribune makes one wonder whether he has any underlying principles at all.”
(http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/nov/03/00020)

The Economist has also endorsed Obama, saying that he “has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence” and that “this cannot be another election where the choice is based merely on fear.” Obama, in the minds of The Economist, provides a brighter future for America and the world” and has displayed “more style, intelligence and discipline than” McCain. This comes after initially considering McCain as a good choice because “he has bravely taken unpopular positions—for free trade, immigration reform, the surge in Iraq, tackling climate change and campaign-finance reform.” A view, however, that changed to where McCain, who once opposed Bush’s tax cuts, “now proposes not just to keep the cuts, but to deepen them” and “now embraces theocratic culture warriors” of the religious right who he once denounced ‘agents of intolerance.’ Moreover, The Economist notes that “McCain has never been particularly interested in economics, but, unlike Obama, he has made little effort to catch up or to bring in good advisers” and that “the choice of Sarah Palin epitomised the sloppiness” given that he “made his most important appointment having met her just twice.”
(http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?source=most_commented&story_id=12516666)

Neil Cavuto, Fox News commentator and host, while not endorsing Obama, yesterday criticized McCain for having no convictions when it came to economic matters. In his on-air attack, Cavuto notes that McCain’s changing position on the $700 billion bailout legislation and his criticism of Obama’s support of it (despite McCain having also voted in favor of the bill) is a display of “verbal gymnastics that rival anything John Kerry was ever for before he was against.” He further derides McCain for being “a man who says he hates government spending, but supports pushing $300 billion to bail out folks behind on their mortgage…You can't say you're against earmarks when you're earmarking that kind of dough.” And while Cavuto doesn’t throw his support to Obama, and indeed criticizes him for certain policies, he does recognize that Obama’s policies and positions have been consistent…something distinctly lacking from McCain’s campaign.
(http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/cavuto-mccains-got-courage-convictions)

[UnrepentantUnitarian]

1. Guess they're saying "thanks but no thanks"...

to that flaming pile of dog poo on their front steps?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

2. When I have looked at The Economist this year

they have been very critical of the Democratic candidates and seemed pretty set on endorsing John McCain. Certainly when I looked at an issue in August, the neo-liberal magazine was praising McCain and bashing Obama.

It's been quite the turnaround.

[Occam Bandage]

3. They haven't been exactly friendly to McCain this campaign, either.

As a subscriber, I wasn't at all surprised. They've been more favorable to Obama than McCain on balance, and absolutely hated Sarah Palin.