McCain is running in 2008 -- now we know why he's trashing JK and

[emulatorloo]

promoting Hillary.

DU THREAD:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1452858

Article:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0507mccain-mensjournal07.html

<snip>

McCain says he 'absolutely' wants to lead country

Billy House
Republic Washington Bureau
May. 7, 2005 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain says that he "absolutely" wants to be president and that he is qualified for the job but that he is focused on his Senate duties and will "wait a couple of years" to decide about a White House bid in 2008.

"I have the luxury of being able to wait because I don't have to lay any of the groundwork. I don't have to go meet all of the state party chairmen - I've done that before," McCain says in the June issue of Men's Journal magazine, due Tuesday on newsstands.

The Arizona Republican also discusses his battle with melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, and describes his health as fine.

"I just came from my dermatologist yesterday with a clean bill of health. I get examined every three months, because once you've had a melanoma, the likelihood of another one is greatly increased," McCain said. "Most normal Americans have to go once a year; I go every three months. And once in awhile, they find something somewhere on my body, and they cut it off."

<snip>

[GRLMGC]

1. People still respect him

God knows why...

[fedupinBushcountry]

4. No respect here

After his playing up to Bushie , I lost what little respect I had for him. Also Mr. Conservative voted for the pork barrel budget,whose butt was he kissing in that vote ?

Also, I wouldn't be to worried about him running in '08, he will be 72 years old.

[whometense]

2. I just read a killer post on McCain

by a Tucson blogger here. Read and pass along.

[TayTay]

3. That was incredible!

And oh so true. I remember a comment someone made about Clinton and the fact that he was the only US President since WWII to bomb white people. (In the Baltics.) Mostly the US bombs brown people and people who ain't Fristians.

Those pictures of the Agent Orange babies are so sad. (Kerry was doused with that stuff in Vietnam. I thought of that when he got the prostrate cancer two years ago. I know his father had it, but he was still realtively young to get it.)

We still have so much to learn as a country.

[whometense]

5. I didn't know that about Kerry

and Agent Orange. Cripes. I guess it shouldn't be surprising.

This stuff is freaking me out today. I'm getting agitated waiting to get the Senate back in session to see how they're going to handle all the newest revelations.

My daughter's taking me to see the Wild Parrots movie this afternoon for my Mother's Day present. No politics there, hopefully. :-)

[TayTay]

6. Have fun! I'm going back to bed

and get some rest from my cold. Then I'll read a book and watch a movie. (Probably a musical. I can't absorb much more heavy stuff today.)

Happy Mother's Day to one and all!

[whometense]

25. Sorry you're sick :-(

It's a good day to be inside, though. :hug: Hopefully you'll be mostly over it by tomorrow.

Mother's Day is my very favorite holiday because I get to be with or hear from my kids, and because presents aren't required. It's pure.

Fiddler on the Roof is on channel 44 tonight. I might go for that. The Wild Parrot movie was wonderful, even though buckets of tears were shed. The best part eas that my daughter did the vacuuming when we got back!! Bliss.

[karynnj]

7. In one of the later VN commemoration speeches ,

Kerry talking about the better moments in VN mentioned swimming in the rivers - which had to be contaminated with it as well.

[JI7]

8. that's nice he can get great health care like that

if his ass would look at what Kerry is doing he would see that Kerry is trying to get those who don't have such great access to health care some help. especially for the millions of kids.

don't you just love how he is talking about 2008 so much and of course his ass was the first one in new hampshire to give a speech after the elections last year. and then he lectures Kerry on how he should focus on the Senate and not a Presidential run. asshole.

[JohnKleeb]

9. hes gonna be in for a surprise when he wont win the GOP primaries

[emulatorloo]

10. I guess it depends on if Rove renegs on his deal w McCain

because you just know there was one -- in exchange for McCain campaigning for/hugging Bush and trashing Kerry in '04.

[JohnKleeb]

11. I think they'll go with a southern social con like my senator, Allen

[JI7]

12. does the deal include continuing to trash Kerry now ?

because that's what it seems like

[emulatorloo]

18. He's scared of John Kerry - that's why he's pushing Hillary. . . .

thinks he can beat her, scared he can't beat John Kerry,

[JI7]

20. i wouldn't say he could beat Hlillary either

much of his positives is based on media whoring for him. but he has shown he ins't able to handle the negative things done to him. Hillary and Kerry have both shown they can take it and still try to overcome it rather than a huge blowup as happened with McCcain during the primaries in 2000.

in fact i would love it if he got his wish of making it a McCain vs Hillary election and Hillary kicking his ass.

[emulatorloo]

21. Agreed - he can't take the heat. . .and I would love to see him taken down

a peg or two by whoever the nominee is. . .what he did for Bush and against Kerry in '04 was disgusting

[elshiva]

29. Yep. McCain doesn't have a chance, again.

[JohnKleeb]

31. Yep you need the Christian Right to win a modern GOP Primary

say the year is 1976, or hell 1980, hes got a chance but the christian right dominates the republican party organizations in most important primary states such as Iowa, the exception is New Hampshire where he won last time.

[elshiva]

32. What has the Christian Right have against John McCain?

[JohnKleeb]

33. Uhhh he voted against the FMA amendment that was brought up

Hes not a Christian Right republican, I dont like him but he's a traditional conservative which isn't a good thing but its what he is.
People like Allen or Frist, southern dems have strong affilations with the Christian right.

[elshiva]

34. I AM glad that he voted against the FMA.

That is one reason why I can't hate him completely. FMA was only turned down by a hair and we needed every vote to eek it out of there.
Yes, but I still can't stand him otherwise. Is he pro-choice, too, right?

[JohnKleeb]

35. hes not pro choice

no.

[elshiva]

36. Oh. He is stupid 99% of the time then.

[JohnKleeb]

37. Ha just because of that?

I believe he was against drilling in the Arctic too, I may be wrong though. Hes not moderate in any way but hes different from other conservatives.

[elshiva]

38. Not just becuase of that, but because of a lot of the annoying

stupid things he has said. Just angry at him, but can't completely hate on him, you know?

[karynnj]

13. Actually, the McCain comments in context aren't as bad as they seemed

out of it. He actually admits that Kerry never offered him the VP slot - so that seems a Newsweek fabrication or at least exaggeration.

That he mentioned health care being too expensive as an important issue makes his Kerry comments extremely hypocritical. Maybe Kerry should email him his petition to see if he'll sign it OR actually co-sponsor the legislation. (But that would mean accepting that Kerry is working as a Senator.)

It really sounds more like he would prefer to run against Hillary than against Kerry. As someone said, Kerry really did become better and better as the campaign went on. I think what McCain might see is that Kerry (for most of the country, not you lucky Bay starters)started 2004 as a vaguely known person. McCain says (about himself) that he can start later (for 2008) as he knows all the state people and has name recognition - but that's true of Kerry too.

I think that Kerry's travel for Kids' First and the traveling for 2005 and 2006 candidates, produce pictures that remind and refresh people's memories of a positive, high energy campaign. The military and Kids' health issues also show sincerity. McCain, on the other hand, has to live down the pictures of last year. In addition to looking very subservient to Bush, McCain looks pasty and sick. Kerry looks Presidential, much younger than his age, healthy, and happy. (Especially if he smiles more.) No wonder McCain is whining - he's jealous.

It would be interesting if the pollsters looked at the 2008 choice broken down by:
-obviously blue
-obviously red
-battleground
The reason this would interest me is, that only the battleground states really got to personally see Kerry (I know there are us fanatics who saw everyone on CSPAN but we are not typical). The best sign (for Kerry) would be if his % in the battleground states are higher in the other categories.

[JI7]

14. yes, just like the debates

when people actually got to see the candidates for themselves and in comparison to each other, Kerry gained a lot of support. it helped to show many of the things the opposition including the media were saying about Kerry were lies.

another thing is that Kerry was attacked in far worse ways than McCain yet he never let it get to him , he just kept going on. contrast with McCain who just went totally downhill after something negative happened.

you also have to add in the fact that Kerry did well even with everything against him. McCain had the media on his side yet he still couldn't deal with it when something bad would happen.

[karynnj]

15. Also add in that Kerry's personality has lots of advantages

McCain is as volatile as Kerry is calm. If the country is in trouble, Kerry, while not ignoring problems, projects a calmness that anyone would admire and he is very fast on his feet coming up with answers.

Also, Kerry should mass mail the chapter dealing with the POW/MIA work of McCain's book. Kerry, in the book, comes out as a spectacular leader while McCain comes out looking unstable. Kerry sets very clear, intelligent ground rules, co-opts the ultra Conservative, Bob Smith, works harder than anyone and, probably hardest of all, keeps McCain from exploding. (The Kerry quote that the critisism of McCain was beyond cruel now takes on a bit of irony as McCain stood on stage at the RNC and didn't demand that purple heart band aids were beneath anyone who claims to be American. ) Kerry's ability to deal with the POW families, the Vietnamese, and the committee was impressive - and this is McCain's book! (Oddly if McCain runs - the bizarre attempt to use this work against Kerry, can't work. People who bought those lies in 2004 will be surprised by the truth.)

[JI7]

16. that is true, if i was a Republican i would want Hagel as the nominee

over McCain because of some of the reasons you list. i think Hagel is probably far better at dealing with negative things and he wont just blow up from something negative that happens. he seems like he would be more similar to Kerry in that he would continue working harder and not dwell on the negative.

[karynnj]

17. I think you're right

What was Hagel's background before 2002. (I think that's when he was elected). He'll have the same Senate and President races problem as Kerry, if he runs. (But his state is as red as Kerry's is blue)

[JI7]

19. he was first elected to the Senate in 1996

he was one of the few (only 3 i think) Senators who endorsed McCain while the rest endorsed Bush.

so if he does run and is the nominee he would be in a similar situation as Kerry would be if he is the nominee in whether to run for his Senate Seat also.

the thing about Hagel is that he is conservative and hasn't really done anything to make the base hate him. they might prefer someone like Santorum or Brownback in a Primary over Hagel but Hagel still has a record that is acceptable and he hasn't done anything personal against them as McCain has.

but Hagel also understands the need to appeal to minorites despite his coming from a very Republican and mostly white state. he also doesn't turn off independent types since he doesn't appear to extreme. you have to remmeber that most voters thought Kerry was too liberal for them so he had that perception problem. Hagel doesn't have that problem.

i don't know much about Hagel and if he runs in a Primary we will get a better idea of how he can handle a national race. but so far he comes across as the type who can take the pressure and wont let the negative get to him. and that i think is one of the biggest strengths a politician can have. especially an unknown as Kerry was and Hagel will be. they don't dwell on the negatives but rather keep pushing ahead and working hard to do what they can.

if Hagel attacked on his military record or anything else i don't think hewill spend the entire campaign complaining about it as McCain did. i think he will get out there and continue pushing his positions and where he stands trying to build up support for himself.

at this point no matter who we nominate i would probably prefer McCain over Hagel as the Republican nominee.

[karynnj]

22. Thanks for the information

Hagel, sounds a lot smarter than Allen, who has also been mentioned. (I've only seen him when CSPAN has the Senate Foreign Relations Comittee. (Though I admit to have paid more attention to another member.)

[whometense]

23. I'm pretty sure

He's one of the few Vietnam vets in the Senate. Him, Lugar, McCain, and Kerry. There may be others, but I don't remember.

Feel free to correct if I've got this wrong. Hagel is a repug, but seems relatively thoughtful.

[JI7]

24. better than most but he didn't defend Kerry against attacks

on his military record because he wanted to run for President so i don't really care for him.

but i understand his appeal and i think he would be stronger than McCain because he would be able to deal with the pressure and negative stuff much better than McCain. and with the media already on Republicans side there wouldn't be much negative he would have to deal with.

[whometense]

26. Agreed.

I'm not a fan either. At one point, when the Senate was a civilized place, there was a kind of brotherhood among the Vietnam vets. That included Bob Kerrey too, when he was there.

Obviously, those days are over now. Too bad.

[fedupinBushcountry]

27. Hagel

Interesting tidbit on Hagel:

"If You Want To Win An Election, Just Control The Voting Machines"
by Thom Hartmann

http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=google&page=1&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3Df390b8f5f429fd80%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Dgoogle%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DnsBrowserRoll%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

[TayTay]

28. Hagel and voting machines

The link above did not work. did you mean this link:

http://liberalslikechrist.org/about/Hagelsmachines.html

With this as headline quotes:

When Chuck Hagel became the first Republican in generations to win a U.S. Senate seat in the state of Nebraska, the Washington Post characterized Hagel’s election as the biggest upset of the 1996 election season.

What the public did not know then, nor when he ran for re-election and won in 2002 was that Chuck Hagel was the Owner, Chairman and/or CEO of the company that did all of the counting of the votes in the elections that declared HIM the winner!

Gawd, are there any good Repubs left? Or just ickey Rethugs, covered in slime and moldering in the Senate.

[fedupinBushcountry]

30. Here is the link

http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fviews03%2F0131-01.htm&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3Df390b8f5f42b7d84%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.commondreams.org%252Fviews03%252F0131-01.htm%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.commondreams.org%252Fviews03%252F0131-01.htm%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSCPResults%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fviews03%2F0131-01.htm

[whometense]

39. Wicked TV Funhouse

http://video.lisarein.com/tvfunhouse/mccain-tvfunhouse.mov

[TayTay]

40. So true, so true

The real John MCain and how he reacts.

This was great!