A Blog Called Hope

In his own speech, John McCain responds to Obama and stands by the war in Iraq

Following Senator Obama’s lead, John McCain outlined his own plans for US foreign policy.

His major linchpin, as always, is the need for the United States to remain in Iraq for the foreseeable future.

“It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge — which Senator Obama opposed — that we will win in Afghanistan. With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know how to win wars.” -John McCain, July 15, 2008.

Hmm. Interesting.

John McCain knows how to win wars? History tells us that McCain has never been served as a General or Commander in Chief; so what qualifies him to say he “knows how to win wars”???

Aside from that obvious misstatement, there also remains McCain’s questioning of Senator Obama’s position on Iraq. Never has Senator Obama proclaimed our fate in Iraq is certain failure, never has he speculated that we cannot win both Iraq and Afghanistan. Senator Obama’s position, which McCain and his supporters are ignorant to, is that we should seek outside assistance in Iraq to enable the United States to re-focus our efforts in the war on terror ON terrorists, including bin Laden, sitting pretty in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

For a man who attempts to convey that he is a different person than President Bush and paints himself as a straight-talking independent thinker, it sure seems that John McCain has fully subscribed to the failed foreign policies of the Bush administration. This is the same ’stay the course’ mentality that has kept over 100,000 of our brave men and women in harms way. This is the same misguided, and detrimentally stubborn, attitude that permeated throughout our government during the 60s and 70s when McCain himself was serving our country.

Instead of offering something new, something that may in fact turn the tide in our country’s favor, it certainly appears that The McCain “straight talk express” has taken a detour down some perilous routes that Bush and Nixon have traveled in the past.

McCain backtracks on support of Iraq war and President Bush, in direct conflict with past assertions

Given the length of the conflict, and slumping position in world affairs, there are few things the American people are more concerned about than ending the war in Iraq and bringing our brave men and women home.

Sensing this ever-present reality, John McCain’s camp has ramped up the anti-Bush/Iraq war machine.

On Meet the Press this past weekend, McCain Victory ‘08 Chair Carly Fiorina sidestepped from McCain’s history of support of President Bush and his war on Iraq.

“To say John McCain was aligned with President Bush on the prosecution of the war in Iraq is to change history.” -Carly Fiorina, July 13, 2008.

The only persons hoping to alter history is the McCain camp. The truth of the matter is that John McCain was one of the leading proponents of the war in Iraq, and even when the battle began to go array, McCain steadfastly supported the President’s decision to go to war and strategies implemented during the war.

“I think the President has led with great clarity and I think he’s done a great job leading the country.” -John McCain, April 23, 2003.

“We’ve got to stay the course.” -John McCain, June 29, 2005.

McCain and his supporters continue to feed the American public what they want to hear, all the while leaving the truth behind a smokescreen of lies. McCain’s history is one of prolonged Bush and Iraq war support coupled with public double-talk and political deceit.

McCain and adviser Gramm proclaim America’s economic troubles are merely “psychological”, and that we should all stop “whining”

McCain campaign co-chair Phil Gramm recently ruffled voters’ feathers when he asserted that we, as a nation, are merely a bunch of “whiners” and have merely conjured up our economic struggles.

Realizing that the comments were both insensitive and ill-informed, McCain quickly sidestepped from Gramm’s comments at a recent appearance. However, McCain did echo that economic struggles are just a figment of our collective imagination.

“I think, psychologically — and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological …A little psychological boost. Lets have some straight talk. Its not a huge amount of money… a little psychological boost, that’s what I think it would help.” -John McCain

Straight talk huh? Downplaying the exorbitant gas prices and devastating mortgage crisis makes you a ’straight-shooter’?…

In the video below, John McCain condemns Gramm’s comments while mirroring those assertions in one of his own speeches. This is yet another example of the desperate double-talk the American people are seeing from the McCain camp on a regular basis.

McCain surrogates launch personal assault on Obama; McCain stays mum

Unfortunately, it appears the gloves are off.

After months of spirited political debate on the Primary and Presidential trails, the McCain camp has commenced what is certain to be a series of attacks on Senator Obama’s character.

“Sen. John McCain’s allies have seized on a new and aggressive line of attack against Sen. Barack Obama, casting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee as an opportunistic and self-obsesses politician who will do and say anything to get elected. McCain typically leaves the sharpened criticism to others, in the hope of being able to claim the high ground of conducting a ‘respectful’ campaign. But the abrupt shift in tone among his paid staff members, volunteer surrogates and other Republican staples of the cable news circuit is unmistakable, and it resembles the unified message the GOP used to paint the 2004 Democratic candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry, as a flip-flopper.” -Washington Post, June 30. 2008.

McCain likely will continue the charade that he is conducting a respectful and honorable campaign against Senator Obama, but the bottom line is his minions are not acting in such a manner.

These are the same people that responded with seething disgust when retired General Wesley Clark asserted McCain’s war record had nothing to do with McCain’s aptitude to serve as President; which is quite striking considering only four years ago GOP surrogates levied a callous assault on Senator Kerry’s (D-MA) decorated service record in order to blow a hole in his candidacy.

These are the same people that see terrorist attacks on our country as beneficial to McCain’s pursuit of the Presidency.

McCain appears to forget that ‘you’re only as good as the company you keep.’ McCain is surrounded by cold and calculated political personnel. It’s hard to imagine a way McCain could work so closely with such individuals without being either cognizant, or downright supportive, of the positions they present.

If McCain genuinely wishes to conduct an honorable campaign he must take appropriate steps to curb the wave of personal attacks and ignorant and insensitive declarations perpetrated by his supporters.

Declining poll numbers and an unfavorable political disposition towards Republicans indicates John McCain has to do something more to better connect with the American people and maintain the Republican hold on key red states. And with record numbers of voters identifying themselves as Democratic nationally, McCain’s chances for the White House win are looking more and more dismal.

Senator John McCain’s energy plan focuses on off-shore drilling, a plan strongly reminiscent of Bush policies that benefit Big Oil. Such policies will further push the US behind countries such as Japan, Germany and Spain. Off-shore drilling would not contribute to a real change in gas prices instead only fooling consumers by providing what McCain called in an MSNBC article a “psychological impact.”

This new position goes against his previous stance form the 2000 election, when he opposed lifting the moratorium and campaigned against off-shore drilling.

Other energy ideas include McCain’s support of using Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a national dump site for both nuclear and radioactive waste. He also wants to create 45 new nuclear plants, which would only create more nuclear wasts. John McCain has a history of opposing incentives for renewable energy and green jobs.

Conversely, Senator Obama suggests a plan to create a new energy economy. He rejects McCain’s plans and denounces the Republican nominee’s claim of a psychological benefit as political posturing: “In case you’re wondering, in Washington-speak what that means is that it polls well. It’s an example of how Washington tries to convince you that they’ve done something to make your life better when they really didn’t,” the Senator said.

Polls indicate that Senator McCain has failed to break with the notion that he will uphold Bush policies, strengthening the already commonly held belief that his election will be nothing more than a third Bush term.

Top senior advisor to McCain, Charlie Black has only made matters worse for the presumptive Republican nominee by suggesting that another attack on American soil would help McCain’s campaign. On Monday, it was also reported that another top McCain advisor was quoted as saying Benazir Bhutto’s assassination earlier this year “helped us” in their campaign.

McCain also seems to be losing trust with voters as he repeatedly ignores and violates campaign rules; he violated multiple federal laws by taking a political trip to Canada, broke laws regarding the use of a corporate jet, and skirted around FEC regulations by withdrawing from the FEC’s matching funds program after using the program for financial gains for his campaign.

With more voters identifying themselves as democratic and with McCain’s inability to persuade the American people that his election will not result in a Bush third term, it seems as though McCain’s Bush-Rove tactics are finally catching up with him.

Despite Senator McCain’s recent efforts to paint himself as the energy-savvy candidate, a further look at his record exposes the truth of his environmental ineptitude

In recent weeks, Senator John McCain has shifted his campaign focus to energy; presumably a response to public concerns over rising gas prices and global warming.

One must agree that the Senator from Arizona has indeed put on a good show. Though, a series of entertaining rants is all Senator McCain has devolved into. He has thrown around a $300 million figure to possibly motivate inventors to help resolve our dependence on oil. He has discussed the development of nuclear energy facilities in Nevada (despite the fact 3/4 of Nevada voters oppose such a move).

The reality is that Senator McCain has repeatedly voted against legislation to create “green” jobs and in favor of increasing nuclear waste in the state of Nevada.

In 2002, John McCain voted to approve a site at Yucca Mountain as a repository for nuclear and radioactive waste. After the vote, McCain said that storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain would answer “one of the most important environmental, health and public safety issues for the American people.” In 2000, McCain voted to override the presidential veto of legislation that would establish a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. In 1997, McCain similarly voted to establish a repository at the Mountain. McCain voted yes on a similar bill in 1996. [2002 Senate Vote #167, 7/9/2002; The Arizona Republic, 7/10/2002; 2000 Senate Vote #88, 5/2/2000; 1998 Senate Vote #148, 6/2/1998; 1997 Senate Vote #42, 4/15/1997; 1996 Senate Vote #259, 7/31/1996; 1996 Senate Vote #256, 7/31/1996]

When coupled with the fact that Senator McCain has consistently voted against the creation of “green” jobs, it is easy to see the inherent contradiction of his policy on energy.

John McCain supported the filibuster of the 2007 energy bill that included an extension of the production tax credit to 2011. While McCain missed the vote to on the bill, according to his staff he did, in fact, support the continuing the filibuster, which eventually killed the bill. In its place, Congress passed another version of the legislation that did not include an extension of the tax credit. A 2008 economic study by Navigant Consulting found that “over 116,000 U.S. jobs and nearly $19 billion in U.S. investment could be lost in just one year if renewable energy tax credits are not renewed by Congress… The study concluded that over 76,000 jobs are put at risk in the wind industry, and approximately 40,000 jobs in the solar industry.” [HR 6, Vote 425, 12/13/07, Failed 59-40: R 9-39 D 48-1 I 2-0; Forbes, 12/13/07; U.S. News & World Report, 12/14/07; American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association press release, 2/4/08]

For a man who claims he has taken up the cause of trying to find alternative energy resources in order to salvage Americans from swelling gas prices, it has become clear that McCain has been wholly inconsistent when it comes to energy. The only constant on energy when it comes to McCain is that he talks a good game to appease the American public but makes decisions behind closed doors that push us further from resolving the energy crisis.

Despite McCain throwing adviser under the bus, McCain himself has a history of using tragedy to further his campaign

In yesterday’s Fortune Magazine, John McCain’s chief strategist, Charlie Black, was quoted as saying that another terrorist attack on our country would “be a big advantage” to McCain’s campaign.

Today, McCain, sensing the overwhelming public outrage, sidestepped from the comments. When pressed about the outrageous assertions made by Black, McCain quickly asserted he knew nothing of them, “I cannot imagine why he would say it,” McCain proclaimed.

Maintaining the stance that he did not know of the remarks by Clark, McCain claimed that IF they had been made that he “strenuously disagreed” with Clark.

However, this is not the first time that McCain’s camp has used the fear produced by terrorist attacks as a launching pad for their campaign.

Back in January, soon after the horrific attack that killed Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, Clark again saw the tragedy as a positive for McCain’s candidacy. Black observed that the assassination of Bhutto would put the American public back on notice and hone the focus in on McCain’s supposed strong point, the War on Terror.

It is unfortunate that McCain’s campaign continues to utilize terrorist tragedies for their own selfish political gain. To spin such an unspeakable act of savagery into a positive for your political aspirations is both insensitive and downright despicable.

There must come a time that either McCain disavows himself from Clark (which in and of itself assumes McCain truly disagrees with Clark’s ludicrous declarations), or the American people come to realize the truth that McCain’s campaign is solely based off of the same fear-mongering we have been subjected to for eight long years.

In interview with Matt Lauer, McCain proclaims bringing American troops home from Iraq is “not too important”

After several months of attacking Barack Obama for his ‘naiveté’ on Iraq, it seems McCain himself is the one of touch.

During an interview with Matt Lauer last week, John McCain was questioned about his stance on Iraq; particularly his position on a timetable for withdrawal. McCain took the opportunity to downplay the significance of the potential of our brave men and women returning home, and instead spewed more nonsensical foreign policy and took another jab at Senator Obama.

Here is a portion of Matt Lauer’s interview with the Republican Presidential candidate:

MR. LAUER: When the president, though, came up with this surge at a time where everyone, it seemed, was thinking the contrary, you endorsed it with great conviction and great courage. And a lot of people now say the surge is working.

SEN. MCCAIN: Anybody who knows the facts on the ground say that, yes.

MR. LAUER: If it’s working, Senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?

SEN. MCCAIN: No, but that’s not too important. What’s important is the casualties in Iraq. Americans are in South Korea. Americans are in Japan. American troops are in Germany. That’s all fine.
American casualties and the ability to withdraw — we will be able to withdraw. General Petraeus is going to tell us in July when he thinks we are.
But the key to it is we don’t want any more Americans in harm’s way. And that way they will be safe and serve our country and come home with honor and victory, not in defeat, which is what Senator Obama’s proposal would have done.

So what’s not important to John McCain is soldiers’ being safe and spending time with their families and loved ones. What IS important to McCain is “victory”, what IS important to McCain is pride. Is pride and “victory” worth the 120,000+ American lives that are on the line in?…

“I would rather be a one-term President and do what I believe is right than to be a two-term President at the cost of seeing America become a second-rate power and to see this Nation accept the first defeat in its proud 190-year history…Let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that.” -President Richard Nixon, 1969.

Couple these insensitive and ill-informed assertions with those he recently made about Iran, it is becoming clear John McCain does not have a handle on his own cash cow, foreign policy.

John McCain is expected to call for more offshore drilling today. His campaign recently released an ad meant to champion him as a supporter of renewable energy. The same day that ad was released, McCain left for Texas to meet with his friends at Big Oil.

During his last run for the presidential nomination, McCain supported a moratorium on drilling. He will also reverse his stance on the need for a windfall profit tax for oil companies. Just six weeks ago McCain said he was open to a tax on excessive oil company profits; tonight, he will take the opposite position when he rejects the tax.

His new ad claims to eliminate the US’s dependence on foreign oil by supporting renewable energy although he has repeatedly voted against such green jobs and technologies.

Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney attacks McCain’s new ad as “universally misleading”:

“How can we trust John McCain to confront soaring gas prices or break America’s dependence on foreign oil when he caved in to Big Oil on drilling and tax breaks when of his top economic advisors helped create the problem in the first place, and he has repeatedly opposed incentives for green jobs and renewable energy?”

McCain has not voted to promote renewable energy
John McCain has repeatedly voted against efforts to promote renewable energy, as with his vote against an amendment mandating renewable energy sources to produce a minimum of 10 percent of the electricity sold by electric utilities by 2020. Many bills failed to pass by only a few votes.

In 2007 alone, McCain missed numerous votes on the passage of energy policy legislation, including a missed vote on a bill that would increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Other missed votes included bills for tax credits for renewable energy production, for renewable energy R&D, and for energy related tax incentives worth $18 billion. [2007 Senate Vote #98, 3/22/2007; 2007 Senate Vote #223, 6/21/2007; 2007 Senate Vote #416, 12/7/2007; 2008 Senate Vote #8, 2/6/2008 2006 Senate Vote #42, 3/14/2006; 2005 Senate Vote #158, 6/28/2005; 2001 Senate Vote #125, 5/21/2001]

McCain blocked tax credits for green jobs
A 2008 economic study by Navigant Consulting found that “over 116,000 US jobs and nearly $19 billion in US investment could be lost in just one year if renewable energy tax credits are not renewed by Congress.” The study shows that over 76,000 jobs are put at risk in the wind industry and 40,000 more are put at risk in the solar industry.

The Enron Loophole
Years after the Enron scandal, the loophole that helped bring Enron to its demise still lives on. McCain Campaign Co-Chair Phil Gramm tucked the Commodities Future Modernization Act into a separate piece of legislation which would later be known as the Enron Loophold. Evidence shows that investors looking to make an easy gain are causing prices in oil to rise faster than ordinary market forces could. The loophole allows unregulated trading on energy futures markets where investors can essentially “bet” on oil prices at a given point in the future.

McCain violates agreement with FEC by unilaterally withdrawing from campaign spending program; DNC files official complaint

When the John McCain’s campaign commenced, he entered into an agreement with the FEC. That contract, now the focal point of the complaint filed by the Democratic National Committee, dictated limits on matching funds, campaign spending, and that the FEC must approve any withdrawal from the agreement.

However, John McCain unilaterally withdrew from the arrangement as questions emerged about a $4 million loan acquired by his campaign.

In response to McCain cavalier move, FEC Chairman David Mason sent a letter to the McCain campaign stating that he (McCain) cannot formally withdraw from the system until the FEC obtains more information regarding the terms of a $4 million loan his then cash-strapped campaign obtained last year as well as a formal vote from the commission.

Failing to honor his agreement with the FEC, or the parameters of campaign spending program, John McCain asserted that the letter from the FEC Chairman was, “Not a decision. It’s an opinion.”

Today, Howard Dean issued a statement as the Democratic National Committee formally filed a complaint with the FEC.

“The law is very clear. He can not withdraw if he has used the promise of matching funds as collateral for his loan. John McCain cannot unilaterally withdrawal from the spending limitations.” -Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

For more on this, visit the Democratic Party, MSNBC, and the Wall Street Journal.