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God put President Elect Barack Obama in office. Do you recall a King by the name of Saul? Saul hated David, a simple sheep herder. King Saul sought to kill David but David understood that no matter how good or bad King Saul was, God had appointed him King.
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1Ti 2:1-4 KJV).
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing" (Ro 13:1-6).
I will not touch or speak evil of that which is ordained of God. "Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm" (1Ch 16:22 KJV).
Conclusion: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Ro 13:10 KJV).
There are several accounts out there about John McCain's involvement in causing the disastor or in making the disastor far worse. No one will ever really know the full truth due to a cover up. You see John McCain's father and grandfather were both admirals. Wink Wink ;-)
John McCain's own account of what happened doesn't match other eye witness accounts.
This investigative reporting of what happened that day is done by Mary Hershburger a free lance award winning author.
Mary Hershberger is a historian and the author of “Jane Fonda’s War” and other books. She is a recipient of the Binkley-Stephenson Award, given annually for the best scholarly article in the Journal of American History.
Investigating John McCain’s Tragedy at Sea
By Mary Hershberger
John McCain’s personal account of his life has shaped a powerful political narrative that accords him deference on the full range of policy issues. His first effort at shaping that narrative received a remarkable boost when the May 14, 1973, edition of U.S. News and World Report gave him space for what is perhaps the longest article the magazine had ever run, a 12,000-word piece composed entirely of his unedited and often rambling account of his prisoner-of-war experience. Ever since, McCain has added compelling details at key points in his political career. When his stories are placed beside documented evidence from other sources, significant contradictions often emerge.
One such case involves McCain’s experience in the devastating fire and explosions that killed 134 sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War three months before he was shot down over North Vietnam. McCain has made claims about this accident that differ dramatically from parts of the official Navy report and accounts of reliable eyewitnesses.
In considering the 1967 catastrophe, it is important to note that the official report concluded that no individual bore responsibility for the fire or its spread. There are a number of conflicting accounts of the Forrestal accident, but here is the story as based on the strongest sources.
The fire started at 10:51 a.m. Saturday, July 29, 1967, as 30-year-old Lt. Cmdr. John McCain sat on the port side of the Forrestal in his A-4 Skyhawk going through preflight checks. To his right was Lt. Cmdr. Fred White, also in an A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft. A Zuni rocket on another airplane accidentally fired and flew across the flight deck, passing through White’s auxiliary fuel tank and falling into the ocean. Fuel spilled onto the deck from White’s craft and ignited. McCain told his biographer, Robert Timberg, and repeats in his own book, “Faith of My Fathers,” that the rocket hit his own plane and knocked two bombs from it into the burning fuel as he scrambled out of his cockpit and raced to safety across the deck.1
There was, in fact, a single bomb—not two—that dropped to the deck. It exploded 90 seconds after the fire broke out, intensifying the blaze until it raged out of control. White and Thomas Ott, McCain’s parachute rigger, were among the first to be killed instantly or mortally injured, along with most of the firefighting crew. McCain’s plane captain, Robert Zwerlein, was one of those who suffered fatal wounds at this point.
A camera on the deck recorded images showing that the Zuni rocket struck White’s plane. The Navy report later attributed the dropped bomb to White’s plane, although the film footage does not seem to establish this definitively. However, McCain has said many times that the Zuni rocket caused the bomb (two bombs in McCain’s version) to fall from his own craft.
Some of those who were on the Forrestal and other persons familiar with the ordnance told me that because the rocket did not hit McCain’s craft, only actions by the pilot could have caused any bomb to fall from McCain’s Skyhawk. These sources—who spoke under the condition that they not be publicly identified—agree with each other that, if any bomb fell from the McCain airplane, it was because of actions that he took either in error or panic upon seeing the fire on the deck or in his hasty exit from the plane. Two switches in the cockpit of a Skyhawk need to be thrown to drop such a bomb, according to the sources.
Whatever the circumstances of the fire’s origins, McCain did not stay on deck to help fight the blaze as the men around him did. With the firefighting crew virtually wiped out, men untrained in fighting fires had to pick up the fire hoses, rescue the wounded or frantically throw bombs and even planes over the ship’s side to prevent further tragedy. McCain left them behind and went down to the hangar-bay level, where he briefly helped crew members heave some bombs overboard. After that, he went to the pilot’s ready room and watched the fire on a television monitor hooked to a camera trained on the deck.
McCain has never been asked to explain why he claims that the Zuni rocket struck his plane. If a bomb or bombs subsequently fell from McCain’s plane as he has said, it seems to strongly suggests pilot error, and if a bomb or bombs did not fall from his plane, it suggests rash disregard for important facts in his accounts of the accident.
There is plenty more about this story that raises questions about McCain’s truthfulness and judgment. In the first hours after the fire, he apparently did not claim to have been injured. New York Times reporter R.W. Apple, who helicoptered out to the ship the day after the tragedy and sought out McCain as the “son and grandson of two noted admirals,” never mentioned him being wounded, although he reported on him more than on any other crew member. This would be an odd omission on Apple’s part if McCain indeed had been wounded, given that service wounds are usually highlighted in such reports during wartime. McCain’s own father, after seeing his son several weeks later, sent a letter to relatives and friends about the fire saying, “Happily for all of us, he [John] came through without a scratch.”2
A week after the fire, McCain made a statement in which he said that when he was on the hangar deck he noticed that he had a wound on his knee and small shrapnel cuts in his thigh and shoulder. He was not treated in sick bay, however, and he tells a story in “Faith of My Fathers” that seems to be at variance with the facts. He writes that he went to sick bay to have his wounds treated but when he got there, a “kid” who was “anonymous to me because the fire had burned off all of his identifying features” asked him if another pilot in the squadron was OK. When McCain replied that he was, the “kid” said “Thank God” and died before McCain’s eyes. McCain said that experience left him “unable to keep my composure,” and that is why he left sick bay without being treated.
Lt. j.g. Dave Dollarhide witnessed that encounter because he was in sick bay, having broken his hip escaping from his plane, which had been immediately to the left of McCain’s when the blaze started. Dollarhide knew McCain and also the “kid,” a young man whom McCain knew well because he was his own plane captain, Robert Zwerlein, who was terribly burned when the first bomb exploded on the ship. Notwithstanding McCain’s dramatic account of witnessing someone die before his eyes, Zwerlein did not die then but instead was evacuated to the hospital ship USS Repose, where he expired three days later. On the basis of Dollarhide’s account, if McCain left sick bay without being treated it was not because someone died before his eyes.3
McCain’s actions after the fire show a determination to exit the ship as quickly as possible. When New York Times reporter Apple finished gathering his notes on the fire, McCain boarded a helicopter with him and flew to Saigon. Given that fires still burned on the ship and some of his fellow airmen were gravely wounded and dying, McCain’s assertion that he left the carrier for “some welcome R&R” in Saigon has a surreal air. Apple, now dead, said nothing in his news reports about inviting McCain to leave the ship, although he did report talking to him in Saigon later that day. McCain does not mention receiving permission to leave the still-burning ship. Merv Rowland, a commander and chief engineering officer of the Forrestal at the time of the fire, told me that he had not known that McCain left the ship within 30 hours of the fire and that he found this “extraordinary.” Rowland added that only the severely wounded were allowed to leave the ship and that no one, as far as he knew, would have been given permission to fly to Saigon for R&R. McCain’s quick flight off the Forrestal meant that he missed the memorial service for his dead comrades held the following day in the South China Sea.
Not long after McCain left, the Forrestal set off without him on its somber voyage to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where it would undergo initial repairs. He rejoined the ship a week later when it was docked at Subic Bay. There he gave an official statement and asked for a transfer to the aircraft carrier Oriskany.
Apple filed two stories about McCain’s time in Saigon. Apple’s first story said: “Today, hours after the fire that ravaged the flight deck and killed so many of his fellow crewmen, commander McCain sat in Saigon and shook his head. ‘It was such a great ship,’ he said.”4 Apple’s second story was filed three months later, just after McCain was shot down over Hanoi. In that story Apple wrote: “It was almost three months ago that the young, prematurely gray Navy pilot was sitting in a villa in Saigon, sipping a Scotch with friends and recalling the holocaust that he had managed to live through. He was John Sydney [sic—spelling is Sidney] McCain, 3rd, a lieutenant commander. The day before, he had watched from the cockpit of his Skyhawk attack plane as flames suddenly engulfed the flight deck of the Forrestal, on which his squadron was based. ‘It’s a difficult thing to say,’ he remarked after a long time. ‘But now that I’ve seen what the bombs and the napalm did to the people on our ship, I’m not so sure that I want to drop any more of that stuff on North Vietnam.’ ”5
The record suggests that after McCain left the burning Forrestal for the greater ease of Saigon, he saw his Navy career as being in jeopardy. Soon, he went to London, where his father, Adm. John S. McCain Jr., was stationed as commander in chief of the United States Naval Forces in Europe. Sen. McCain has written little about the fire, and his book does not mention any conversations with his father about bombs dropping from his plane on the Forrestal or his leaving the ship. However, it is difficult to imagine that he did not discuss the tragedy and his own personal difficulties because, by McCain’s own account, his father had intervened on his behalf before. After seeing the admiral in London, McCain went to the French Riviera, where he spent his nights gambling at the Palm Beach Casino.6
McCain’s book skips over the weeks after the Forrestal fire, but Timberg says that the young naval officer spent the months of August and September 1967 “unsure of his status.” Following McCain’s application for a transfer to the Oriskany, his orders were delayed, and in September he returned to his home in Jacksonville, Fla. There, an old friend, Chuck Larson, saw a change in McCain: The pilot was discouraged about his future. McCain confided to Larson that he might have to get out of the Navy because, in the words of the Timberg biography, “his past had become a burden” and “whenever he joined a new outfit he was dismayed that his reputation for mayhem had preceded him.”7 Aside from any questions about his Forrestal actions, McCain had, in his short Navy career, crashed two planes and flown a third into power lines in Spain because of, as he put it, “daredevil clowning.”8
The investigation into the Forrestal fire was in the hands of Adm. Thomas Moorer, chief of naval operations and a close friend of McCain’s father. (Their friendship was why Moorer would personally convey the news to Adm. Jack McCain three months later that his son had been shot down in Vietnam.) Moorer gave the investigation to Rear Adm. Forsyth Massey, who handed in his report on Sept. 19, 1967. McCain received orders to report to the Oriskany on Sept. 30.9
During the period when John McCain was shot down over Hanoi on Oct. 26, 1967, less than a month after being assigned to the Oriskany, recent events—the Forrestal fire and his possible role in its growth, misgivings about “dropping more of that stuff” on Vietnam, his decision to leave the stricken ship for some “R&R” in Saigon, anxiety about his naval career—were fresh in his mind. What had been going on in McCain’s life may cast light on some of the decisions he made later as a prisoner of war. While he was a POW, he famously refused to be released early, electing not to leave his comrades behind.
After McCain made his first run for the presidency, in 2000, Gregory Freeman wrote a book on the fire, “Sailors to the End.” Freeman’s 2002 book appears to be mostly reliable, but it ignores key parts of the official report and hews closely to McCain’s claim that the Zuni rocket struck his plane, not Fred White’s, causing the two thousand-pound bombs to drop into the burning fuel.
In addition to following McCain’s misleading narrative of the Zuni rocket accident to the letter, Freeman published an uncredited hand-drawn sketch purporting to show the Forrestal deck just before the fire. In that sketch, the plane in which White died is stripped of White’s name, even though Freeman printed the names of the other pilots near McCain’s plane and told their stories. The only place that White’s name appears is at the back of the book in a list of those who died. In the narrative of “Sailors to the End,” Fred White’s name is conspicuous by its absence.
After erasing White, Freeman’s sketch presents an incorrect line between the original position of the Zuni rocket and McCain’s plane, instead of showing the actual line that the rocket took in striking White’s plane. This sketch alone will cause the unwary reader to believe there is visual evidence to support the claim that the Zuni rocket hit McCain’s plane, not that of White, the pilot lost on the Forrestal and now airbrushed out of history, at least in Freeman’s book.
McCain wrote a glowing blurb for Freeman’s book, drawing and all, calling it a “riveting account.” The presence of his enthusiastic blurb on the book cover raises another issue: Freeman relied heavily on interviews of survivors who were close to the Forrestal events but he never quotes McCain directly or mentions having requested an interview with him. Because his book pushes McCain’s misleading and unsubstantiated account, Freeman should make public whether McCain, or people around him, played a role in the genesis of “Sailors to the End.”
“I’m an old Navy pilot. I know when a crisis calls for all hands on deck,”10 Sen. McCain said recently in explaining why he was temporarily suspending his presidential campaign and calling for postponement of the first debate between himself and Democratic candidate Barack Obama, which eventually occurred as scheduled. At the one time in his life when he was faced with a real crisis on deck, we now know, McCain left the crisis to others and descended to safety below. As to the question of whether the first bomb to explode on the Forrestal dropped from his plane through pilot error, it is not reassuring to hear him describe his attitude as a Navy pilot toward safety procedures. He told reporters during his 2000 presidential campaign that his motto in those days was: “Kick the tires and light the fires [jet engines]. To hell with the checklist. Anybody can be slow.”11
McCain has gone much further than most veterans in using his military experiences for political purposes, but he has not allowed his military records to be released, save for the list of his awards and medals, all of which were given only after he became a prisoner of war. It is appropriate that he release those records before the election. If his actions contributed to the magnitude of the Forrestal disaster and if he left the burning ship under less than honorable circumstances, that information should be available to voters as they choose their next president. At the very least, John McCain should be asked to explain his actions in the summer of 1967 and tell American voters why he has repeatedly given a false account of Robert Zwerlein’s death.
Bibliography
1 John McCain with Mark Salter, “Faith of My Fathers,” 177-181; Robert Timberg, “John McCain: An American Odyssey,” 71-74.
2 R.W. Apple Jr., “Start of Tragedy: Pilot Hears a Blast As He Checks Plane” (New York Times, July 31, 1967) 1; McCain, 181.
3 James Caiella, “Hell 1051,” Foundation Magazine (fall 2003) 52.
4 Apple, ibid.
5 R.W. Apple Jr., “McCain’s Son, Forrestal Survivor, Is Missing in Raid” (New York Times, Oct. 28, 1967) 1.
6 Timberg, 75-76.
7 Ibid.
8 McCain, 155-156, 159, 172.
9 Ibid., 192, 182.
10“Prepared Remarks by John McCain to the Clinton Global Initiative,” Boston Globe, Sept. 25, 2008, online.
11Roger Simon, “Honest John, on the Loose: With McCain, you get the good, the bad, and the angry,” U.S. News & World Report, posted Sept. 19, 1999.
End of article...
I'd like to comment on McCain's refusal to leave his commrades behind when he was a POW. If he had left he would have been automatically deemed a traitor. There are strict rules about what order POWs come home and if he would have left then... it would have labeled him forever a traitor as it was NOT his turn to come home. So NO he wasn't being a hero by staying he was trying to cover his worthless backside!
The article above proves he is a LIAR! He is inept! He abandoned and refused to help the wounded and dying men on the USS FORRESTAL! He did NOT show leadership qualities! He didn't do his duty! He is responsible for loss of life on USS FORRESTAL! He ran to daddy to be bailed out again! Lied about being injured! He likes to embellish his accounts with lies in order to make himself look like a hero!
"McCain left the crisis to others and descended to safety below!"
Real hero's don't toot their own horns! Real hero's don't use their hero status for political gain! Every time I turn around McCain uses his fake hero status campaigning! When he makes an error or mistake he uses it even more. In fact the fake hero status has kept the media at bay. Shame on them for not having the guts to tell the the REAL truth about John McCain!
I have been studying John McCain's POW experiences and have read accounts by senior ranking officers at the prison camp as well as other witnesses and have come to the conclusion that he is indeed a traitor to his country.
I have also studied how he mistreated and abused the POW and MIA families from the Vietnam War and I can safely say I have nothing but complete and utter disgust and contempt for the man. A man whom boasts that he is a war hero for political gain when in reality he is is nothing but a traitor to his country and to his fellow servicemen.
His Military files and POW records MUST be unsealed BEFORE the election! and if there is any justice in this world he should be court martialed as a traitor!
Juli Norwood
The first blog I posted had to do with McCain's choice of Sarah "I Kill for Fun" Palin. It was written the day of the announcement, well before Palin was vetted -- something McCain clearly didn't do. Now, we've all seen what poor judgment McCain exercised in the most important decision he could make in his campaign.
Now, he has propelled this guy, "Bob the Builder" as I'll call him, into the national spotlight to attack Obama. You all know who I'm talking about, but I can't bring myself to use the generally accepted nickname -- which lies about his occupation.
I briefly thought that this guy must have been a McCain plant to trap Obama with his now proven false claims (not a licensed plumber, not intending to buy a business as he claimed). Then, I thought he couldn't be a McCain plant because he's turned out to be such an embarrasment. Yet, McCain's campaign is still using that guy -- and multiple variations -- on the stump.
But then I come back to Palin. McCain chose her, and look at what she has shown herself to be under that pretty face of hers. "Bob the Builder" is no better. He is now using his 15 minutes of infamy to try to land book and record deals. Watch for a TV movie now that "Bob" has hired a publicist.
These two things should give everyone great pause. Why? McCain chose these two people. Who would he choose for cabinet posts? Supreme Court seats? Advisors? Will it be new, unvetted people, or the old RNC guard -- if any remain? Neither is an acceptable choice to me.
McCain does not have what it takes to be president. He has shown himself to be:
The prospect of a McCain / Palin administration terrifies me. If by some act of evil they should win, I will seriously consider returning to the land of my ancestors: Holland!
VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE * VOTE* VOTE * VOTE
Turns out that Gov Palin's $150,000 outfit bill, ran up in less than two months, is not the only make-over expense that is draining McCain's campaign coffers. Now we learn that the highest paid staffer on the McCain payroll is Palin's hair stylist @ an annual salary of $557,000 per year!!!
With Obama having leads in numerous battle ground states (PA, VA, CO, FL, NH, etc) and Bush strongholds up for grabs (FL, MO, IN, NV, NC) and Obama out spending and out staffing McCain 3-to-1 in these states, one must question McCain's judgment for not only picking Palin in the first instance, who's dearth of experience is glaring, but also for his decision to make a proverbial runway model caricature out of the governor of Alaska.
From the NY Times:
Chief Make-up Advisor and "Communications Consultant" to McCain's Campaign: Amy Strozzi
"Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi’s payment as “Personnel Svc/Equipment.”
Chief Hair Stlyist Advisor, Get-Out-the-Vote Consultant, and Cindy McCain BFF: Angela Lew
Angela Lew, who is Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, got $10,000 for “Communications Consulting” in the first half of October. Ms. Lew’s address listed in F.E.C. records traces to an Angela M. Lew in Thousands Oaks, Calif., which matches with a license issued by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. The board said Ms. Lew works at a salon called Hair Grove in Westlake Village, Calif. W Magazine’s blog reported earlier this month that “the Guv has been traveling with a hairstylist named Angela, who usually works out of a salon called the Hair Grove,” and that she was directed to the salon by none other than Cindy McCain.
Angela Lew, who is Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, got $10,000 for “Communications Consulting” in the first half of October. Ms. Lew’s address listed in F.E.C. records traces to an Angela M. Lew in Thousands Oaks, Calif., which matches with a license issued by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. The board said Ms. Lew works at a salon called Hair Grove in Westlake Village, Calif.
W Magazine’s blog reported earlier this month that “the Guv has been traveling with a hairstylist named Angela, who usually works out of a salon called the Hair Grove,” and that she was directed to the salon by none other than Cindy McCain.
We need no additional proof that McCain's judgment is critically flawed, his twisted priorities are wrong for the nation, and he values are terribly out of touch with suffering American middle class.
...Obama had a choice at that moment. He could thank Petraeus for the briefing and promise to take his views "under advisement." Or he could tell Petraeus what he really thought, a potentially contentious course of action — especially with a general not used to being confronted. Obama chose to speak his mind. "You know, if I were in your shoes, I would be making the exact same argument," he began. "Your job is to succeed in Iraq on as favorable terms as we can get. But my job as a potential Commander in Chief is to view your counsel and interests through the prism of our overall national security." Obama talked about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the financial costs of the occupation of Iraq, the stress it was putting on the military....Petraeus said he understood that Obama's perspective was, necessarily, going to be more strategic. Obama said that the timetable obviously would have to be flexible. But the Senator from Illinois had laid down his marker: if elected President, he would be in charge. Unlike George W. Bush, who had given Petraeus complete authority over the war -- an unprecedented abdication of presidential responsibility (and unlike John McCain, whose hero worship of Petraeus bordered on the unseemly) -- Obama would insist on a rigorous chain of command.
When people deride Obama for having a lack of experience, they conveniently forget three things:
McCain has the wrong experience. His entire Navy career he was coddled by his admiral father. McCain should have flunked out of Annapolis. McCain should have washed out of flight school (after stalling and crashing a training aircraft). McCain should have never received a flying assignment or should have been grounded after crashing two more aircraft. Once McCain returned home from Vietnam, he was given cushy Navy posts. What other experience does McCain have? It's all politics from there. McCain has no executive experience. McCain is so ingrained in the Washington political elite old boys club (he invented the old boys club), that he cannot cause any sort of change.
McCain has not learned from his experience. He should have learned from Gulf War I (Desert Storm) that you go into battle only with overwhelming force, and you don't leave a power vacuum.Yet, McCain was a staunch supporter and cheerleader for invading Iraq a second time. Additionally, during the 2000 Republican primaries, George W. Bush and Karl Rove launched a heavily negative, mean, and anti-family values attack on McCain. They said that McCain had fathered a black child out of wedlock (in actuality, he adopted a girl from Bangladesh). The immediate effect was to allow Bush to beat McCain in South Carolina (why the South Carolinians fell for it and based their decision on it is a topic for another discussion). However, after the election when the dust settled, that very negative, racist, unacceptable bahavior put a stain on the Bush presidency (one of many, many stains). McCain then flip-flopped and became Bush's poster child. McCain is now using robocalls and other negative Rovian tactics to attack Obama. My prediction is that they will backfire on McCain.
Finally, McCain has shown extremely poor judgment. The list is long, but three outstandingly poor decisions he has made are:
Barack Obama surrounds himself with brilliant people. He has run his campaign like a precision machine, but with heart. He says he will have a place in his administration for Colin Powell. Obama has shown superior judgment and intellect -- far superior to McCain. We cannot afford a failed McCain presidency.
Obama will return respect and excellence to the office of the President.
On Sunday, Republican Colin Powell, retired Army 4-star general, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and former Secretary of State endorsed Barack Obama.
"I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities -- and we have to take that into account -- as well as his substance -- he has both style and substance -- he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world -- onto the world stage, onto the American stage -- and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."
Powell's experience and intellect
Ken Adelman, a lifelong conservative Republican who worked for Goldwater, Nixon, Ford, and Reagan, just endorsed Barack Obama. "Temperament" and "judgment" were his main reason for favoring Obama:
When the economic crisis broke, I found John McCain bouncing all over the place. In those first few crisis days, he was impetuous, inconsistent, and imprudent; ending up just plain weird. Having worked with Ronald Reagan for seven years, and been with him in his critical three summits with Gorbachev, I've concluded that that's no way a president can act under pressure.
Second is judgment. The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate.
That decision showed appalling lack of judgment. Not only is Sarah Palin not close to being acceptable in high office -- I would not have hired her for even a mid-level post in the arms-control agency. But that selection contradicted McCain's main two, and best two, themes for his campaign -- Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick.
These sure are weird times when I find myself agreeing with two prominent Republicans. Maybe that shows that Obama can work across the aisle -- and not just in Congress, but across the nation -- more effectively than McCain.
* BREAKING NEWS * John McCain's transition team headed by Sadam Hussein Lobbyist & Supporter! Unbelievable! *WRITE THE MEDIA* and make sure this news is out!
.................................................... Associated Press, Ron Fournier: rfournier@ap.org NBC - Brian Williams: nightly@nbc.com NBC - Chuck Todd: chuck.todd@nbcuni.com MSNBC - Rachel@msnbc.com MSNBC - Shuster@msnbc.com Kieth Olbermann: countdown@msnbc.com Chris Mattherw: hardball@msnbc.com FOX: friends@foxnews.com FOX Brit Hume: special@foxnews.com FOX Shepard Smith: studiob@foxnews.com FOX Greta: ontherecord@foxnews.com FOX Major Garrett: major.garrett@foxnews.com FOX Alan Colmes: Colmes@foxnews.com FOX Sean Hannity: Hannity@foxnews.com Tom Brokaw: mtp@nbc.com ABC - George Stephanopoulos: thisweek@abc.com CBS Katie Couric: evening@cbsnews.com CNN Weekends: weekends@cnn.com CNN Live: cnnnewsroom@cnn.com CNN Anderson Cooper Comments: 360@cnn.com CNN Candy Crowly: candy.crowley@turner.com CNN Situation Room - Wolf Blitzer http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?65
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The story courtesy of Huffington Post online:
William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.
The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.
During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.
Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism. His dealings on behalf of the deceased Iraqi leader stand in stark contrast to the views his current employer held at the time.
John McCain strongly supported the 1991 military action against Iraq, and as recently as Sunday described Saddam Hussein as a one-time menace to the region who had "stated categorically that he would acquire weapons of mass destruction, and he would use them wherever he could."
Timmons declined to comment for this story. An office manager who works for him said that he has made it his practice during his public career to never speak to the press. Timmons previously told investigators that he did not know that either Vincent or Park were acting as unregistered agents of Iraq. He also insisted that he did not fully understand just how closely the two men were tied to Saddam's regime while they collaborated.
But testimony and records made public during Park's criminal trial, as well as other information uncovered during a United Nations investigation, suggest just the opposite. Virtually everything Timmons did while working on the lobbying campaign was within days conveyed by Vincent to either one or both of Saddam Hussein's top aides, Tariq Aziz and Nizar Hamdoon. Vincent also testified that he almost always relayed input from the Iraqi aides back to Timmons.
Talking points that Timmons produced for the lobbyists to help ease the sanctions, for example, were reviewed ahead of time by Aziz, Vincent testified in court. Proposals that Timmons himself circulated to U.S. officials as part of the effort were written with the assistance of the Iraqi officials, and were also sent ahead of time with Timmons' approval to Aziz, other records show. Moreover, there was a major financial incentive at play for Timmons. The multi-million dollar oil deal that he was pursuing with the two other lobbyists would only be possible if their efforts to ease sanctions against Iraq were successful.
(continued after the break)
In their winning strategy version 12.3, the McCain campaign has asked us to pay no attention to the man yapping on about fixing our severely broken economy, and to focus on the character and judgment of the 2 men that would be president. Have you ever gotten a promotion by telling your employer that their company's success is the second most important thing to focus on? Me neither, but let's play along while we await the announcement of winning strategy 12.4.
The quality that lies at the crossroads of character and judgment may tell us more about a person than any other measure we may use. More important than their history or resume, even more important than WHAT they believe, the true measure of a mind and a leader is how he treats a person with whom he disagrees. It is what most impresses me about Senator Obama, and it speaks to the authenticity of his message of change and unity.
This was in response to an email you can find at the bottom.
I've been thinking about it, and I'd sacrifice judgment for experience. I have not found that age correlates well with maturity. I have found close-minded stupid people can be any age. In Obama we have an intelligent, thoughtful person who looks at the ramifications of every policy decision on the poor and the middle class. We have someone who inspires. We have someone who is calm even in the middle of a crisis, who keeps his cool even when he is being attacked with some of the most vicious and dirty attacks that Swift Boat creators can develop. A message of "Yes We Can" will lead America to a much better place, financially, morally, in education, and in health, than "No You Can't."Four more years of putting corporations and greed first will bankrupt thousands more. Losing health care will bankrupt and kill still more. And a president who won't even sit with America's friends is not going to improve our foreign policy. A US president who is mentally unstable is a danger to the world, as is his nitwit sidekick who needs a minister to save her from witchcraft.Obama IS the very best that America can put forth. His life story illustrates the power of our citizens to rise through the classes with access to education. His experience leaving corporate America and high paying jobs for community service illustrates our most compassionate, loving impulses at work. His international background illustrate the diversity that make this such a fascinating country. After eight years of a president who only listened to those who agreed with him and put big Halliburton and Exxon above the country, a presidential candidate who picks someone, not for political gain, but because that someone can help him to govern wisely, is a breath of fresh clean air. He picked that person despite his reputation for long windedness, because of his foreign policy wisdom. Obama had the judgment to recognize where he could use help and he got it. I will also pick judgment over arrogance and cynicism any day.
email I responded to:In Israel, with its famously combative and unrestrained media, it is the American system that is under the microscope as much as its representatives. Here, the U.S. presidential race is seen as the bitter old guy and the dimwit versus the untried young guy and the windbag. Is this really the best America can come up with?
email I responded to:
In Israel, with its famously combative and unrestrained media, it is the American system that is under the microscope as much as its representatives. Here, the U.S. presidential race is seen as the bitter old guy and the dimwit versus the untried young guy and the windbag. Is this really the best America can come up with?
Conservative Republicans like McCain and Bush have spent the last 30 years fighting for deregulation and privatization, with consistently disastrous results--such as the Savings and Loan collapse and scandal in the early 1990s, the Enron collapse and scandal of a few years ago, and now the current complete economic meltdown--the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, of AIG (the largest insurer in the world), the failure of major, venerable Wall Street firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns, the failures of many banks, large and small, including Washington Mutual, Wachovia, Countrywide, etc.
McCain and his fellow conservative Republicans have not learned from their disastrous mistakes, but instead have stubbornly continued to push for even more deregulation--thus the current crisis. McCain not only has a long history of making terrible judgments, but even worse, a stubborn refusal to alter or abandon policies that have clearly failed. Sounds an awful lot like George Bush to me.
By
Martha Glinski
For every pundit, every political news show, and every conversation I hear regarding whether or not Sarah Palin is “up to the job” of Vice President, or President, God help Us, of the United States, there’s one point never mentioned, and that’s the ability for critical thought – in fact, the ability for intelligent thinking. That means being able to connect-the-dots in complex situations – not just to have an awareness that there is such a thing as a complex issue.
What Sarah Palin is demonstrating, in her pressumption that the voting public wants “Joe six-Pack” in the Oval Office or environs in any governing capacity, is a reflection of her utter lack of interest in foreign policy, health insurance issues - and didn’t she quit her position as some kind of honcho in the energy agency in Alaska? She is flubbing, horribly, all of her interviews with Katie Couric, simply because of this lack of interest. Yet, she wants to be elected to the mightiest offices in the land; she asks us to place our very lives in her hands – a person who has no interest in the affairs of the people.
As a so-called “Born Again, Evangelical Christian”, did she not mock the very Christian behavior of Barack Obama, for his rolled-up-sleeves, down and dirty work with the folks on the South Side of Chicago, as (sneer) a “Community Organizer” –during her scripted, tele-prompted speech at the GOP Convention?
Tonight, she goes up against a passionate-people person Senator of vast experience; she is debating Joe Biden, who, say what you will about his “gaffes”, his long-winded, maybe even self-indulgent run-on speaking, has none of her problems with hypocrisy, sleazy manipulation and mean-spirited slice and dice of any opponent not in her corner. And she’ll manage to forget to mention that a McCain/Palin administration will mean, according to John in his debate with Obama, that giving billions to the rich (and you see how well that worked these past days) and by “freezing all spending but the military” – we’ll all be broke, homeless, miserable and at a number of wars.
But, people: these are nothing, compared to her one truly fatal flaw, which no one, not even my favorite pundits, Keith Olbermann and Sarah Maddow, both of MSNBC, have actually put into precise words, however much they alluded to it:
Sarah Palin cannot think, has no interest in people issues, and has no depth. She cannot string a series of ideas into an original, visionary thought; visionary because the dots to be connected, if connected, lead to a solution. In other words, she is shallow, and not interested in anything that requires disciplined thought. This means that she can’t even buy a ticket into the rare air of Barack Obama, who can tell you that getting into Harvard and Columbia is one thing; staying there and being noted as among the top intellects, which we need FINALLY, in the presidency, is quite another. WHEN DID T HAPPEN THAT BEING SMART IS SOME KIND OF INCAPACITY? She reminds me of the “Joe-six-pack” friends I had in high school; some of them weren’t interested past their own noses, in much of anything. Someone who has managed to pass up opportunities to think, someone who has, with the platform as vast and wonderful as being the governor of an entire state, failed to seize the gravity and depth of this responsibility and fill their minds with everything about everything to do with the wellbeing of human beings, yet STILL seeks the second (and first, let’s be honest) highest office in the land – a land that impacts the world in ways beyond any other nation – has got to be judged accordingly. I say, from my perspective as a mere citizen of reasonable brain that Sarah Palin has more brass than a marching band, more arrogance than Dick Cheney, and more game than Mattel. But, she has no qualified mind, when what we should seek – now and forever – in a leader of this magnitude is the highest intellect possible, the steadiest temperament (even if he has no floor show), and the honesty to be transparent, and still be able to sleep at night, and be of good, ethical character. THAT’S ALL HE or SHE NEEDS TO HAVE TO GUARANTEE A SUCCESSFUL, SAFE-AS-POSSIBLE PRESIDENCY. Hm,m,m who has all that? NOT SARAH PALIN – NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
Of those things she claims to be near and dear to her, Sarah’s own experience of religion seems to have nothing to do with Spirit (witchcraft, forbidden in Christianity as an entity worthy of any attention, has been part of her spate of weapons to be fought against, according to the video taken in her own church, of being blessed by a witch-hunter.) Sarah’s experience with keeping current – even as someone who finally, six-colleges later, got her degree in journalism – is abysmal. Evidently, reading the newspapers has no more appeal for her than did doing her college homework. When other American presidents past were of a certain age, they were already steeped into the affairs of governance, or world affairs; had had educations that brought them in touch with great minds in literature, science, the arts, and government, she was a candidate in a beauty contest. As much as her handlers like to crow about her “expertise with energy issues” McCain bragging that “No one in this country is more of an expert with energy than Sarah”(who tried to tell us that Alaska provides 25% of America’s energy, when it’s 3.5%) then claims he’s been “100%, absolutely truthful” throughout this campaign, ”throughout his entire life” (!) well, we’ve learned that the price of integrity goes beyond pimping his own glory out, and that the dubious truth, even, of McCain’s reputation as a P.O.W. (“country first?” When he openly admitted that if he had accepted the invitation for release from prison, he would have played into the enemy’s intention to embarrass his father and grandfather, and that if he had known that the war would go on for the five years more that it did, he may not have made the same decision? – a fact too under-reported.)
In fact, it’s no wonder poor Sarah is confused when in the presence of an “elite northeast liberal press” – which is another way of saying, ”truth-seeker”. Her running mate is a disappointing liar, even in the eyes of his staunchest supporters; among those who have been preparing her for this debate are non-other Rick Davis - the on-the-take lobbyist for Freddie and Fannie Mac right up until a few weeks ago when he got caught for the company he established for that purpose, and then “left that company” to be a private consultant for Freddie and Fannie Mac to the tune of $15,000 per MONTH, doing nothing but supplying them “easy access” to McSame, just in case John won– who has much at stake, personally, financially, in a McCain/Palin victory. He’s such a sleazy liar, one can only imagine what she’s been told to say – to THINK, like.
What we’ll see tonight is a thorough example of what the venerable Bill Moyers said on one recent installment of the Bill Moyers Journal: The word “Liberal” has come to mean “Truth-seeking”. The words “Conservative Republican” has come to mean “corruption”.
Although it’s hard to believe that there is anyone living in this country for the last 8 years that isn’t ready for a big change I fear that there are still some that think a McCain/Palin presidency is a change.
At one time I actually thought that if I had to vote for a republican McCain may not be a bad choice. But this McCain is not the man he once appeared to be.
The crisis in the financial industry that has taken over the headlines is viewed as serious, far-reaching, and complex. The next president of the United States will need to address these issues when he takes office next year. Who do you want for the job?
John McCain is talking loudly now, but comes late to the subject. McCain has said that he always is on the side of less regulation. One of his advisors, Phil Gramm, who’s been pushed to the back for calling Americans whiners, is the author of legislation that removed or forbade oversight for much of the practices now viewed as dangerous. Carly Fiorina, a failed executive who, in addition to losing money, was involved in wire-tapping her board, is another key advisor, but she is less on the scene after saying that none of the candidates would be capable of running a large company. It is true that McCain has very little experience in the private sector and has said he is computer illiterate. Involvement with the last major financial scandal nearly ended McCain's career during his first term as senator. He was one of the Keating 5 and officially reprimanded by the Senate for having exercised poor judgment. His attention to campaign finance reform may have served to make up for this, but lobbyists, including many from the finance industry, still dominate his team. McCain has downplayed his prior admission that he needs to be schooled on economics, but he does tend to have simple solutions to everything: "drill, drill, drill" and fire the head of the SEC. He has confessed to favoring making decisions in haste.
In contrast, Barack Obama has focused on the economy, especially as it relates to ordinary Americans, as a presidential candidate, U.S. Senator, and Illinois State senator. He spoke about the impending problems with mortgages and the need for better regulation more than a year ago. His advisors, in the words of Alan Blinder, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, are "mainstream with a dash of creativity." They include Warren Buffett, Paul O'Neill, and Paul Voelcker, along with young, well-respected economists such as Austan Goolsbee of the University of Chicago. Obama is known to reach out to others to test ideas and report on actual experience (for example, successful programs in education). The Obama campaign, a large enterprise started from nothing with over 2.5 million investors, is a showcase for the use of new technology. Obama's proposals demonstrate that he understands how issues are interconnected and his plans address immediate problems as well as long-term challenges. In contrast with drill, drill, drill, Obama realizes people need immediate help with high gas prices. For the long term, his detailed proposals include removing the subsidies and advantages given to Big Oil and stimulating the development and use of alternative energy sources. This will generate new jobs as well as improve security and lessen the effects of climate change. Obama also has plans to improve mathematics and science education, which will aid innovation and industry in the United States.
By any measures of judgment, temperament, advisors, and executive competence, John McCain is not the person to put in charge of solving the complex problems of Wall Street and Main Street. Barack Obama is.
It really is the judgment, stupid.
Yet, if you take a step back and consider what experience actually does for a politician (or anyone, for that matter), you will find yourself focusing on judgment. Think about it. Aside from creating fond or not so fond memories, what benefit comes from past experience, other than to improve one’s judgment when subsequently making decisions? Experience by itself is of no use unless it improves judgment. In other words, judgment is the conduit through which experience affects our actions.
But, having lots of experience does not mean one has better judgment. There is the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience. Working effectively with others to find common ground in developing solutions to problems can promote good judgment. On the other hand, searing tests of physical hardship at the hands of an enemy can distort one’s perception about how to react to subsequent enemies, leading to bad judgment.
So, from the standpoint of voters, whose lives are impacted by the actions of a politician, what else matters but that politician’s judgment—whether or not he or she makes good decisions on important issues? And why should the voter care if that politician’s judgment comes mostly from experience or mostly from other qualities? Soldiers killed in a stupid war endorsed by a politician with lots of experience are still dead.
As the late Randy Pausch, professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, said in his "Last Lecture", "Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want." [http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/. ] I am counting on John McCain getting lots of that kind of experience this fall.
Does the phrase 'I was for it before I was against it' sound familiar? It was used by the Republican's on Democratic candidate John Kerry in a previous election. That phrase alone was key to the demise of John Kerry. When Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was asked about the bridge to nowhere, ABC news September 15, 2008 stated 'she was for it before she was against it'. In another interview, Palin was asked about the Bush doctorine. Anyone in politics should know what the doctorine means even if we do not. It was so obvious that Sarah Palin did not know the facts, that NBC Saturday Night Live on September 13, 2008 used Palin's ignorance of the facts to open the show. The Republican's would go ballistic if Joe Biden made such a mistake. Barack Obama accurately uses change as a foundation for his message and now John McCain is using it as well. The words 'experience and judgement' were used against Barack Obama. Sarah Palin now makes 'experience and judgement' an acceptable talking point because she is a 'reformer'. Sounds like a double standard to me. John McCain said in September 2008 that 'The economy is fundamentally sound'. He abruptly reversed his position on the economy when he was informed of the seven hundred billion dollar economic bailout plan. If you are an undecided voter, please look at the facts and make an informed descision by voting for Barack Obama.
In a recent appearance on The View, John McCain explained why his campaign is so extremely negative. It appears it's as a result of McCain not getting his way on the townhall meetings.
“If we had done what I asked Sen. Obama to do, because I’ve been in a lot of other campaigns where I have appeared with the opposition with the people and listened to their hopes and dreams and aspirations, I don't think you’d see the tenor of this campaign,” McCain said.
John McCain is saying that because Barack Obama didn't agree to McCain's silly town hall meetings he's assaulting the Obama campaign with lies, distortions, and outright stupid attack ads. Very vindictive and seems to be a demonstration of someone who lacks the temperment to be president of the United States of America.
If he doesn't get his way with say, Iran McCain might go nuclear. literally... He's already setting the stage, remember bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran?
