Ace McCain

The Onion's "War For The White House" Blog includes a (mean but funny) post by McCain's (fictitious) Viet Cong torturer on an actual LA Times story about McCain's poor flying record. Take it away, Dac Kien:

Still, you have to admire the man. After all, he was a brilliant fighter pilot, right? At least, that's what I always thought, back when I used to pass the time by seeing how long old Johnny could hold his breath for. But then, just yesterday, I saw this.

According to his Air Force flight record, apparently my pal Johnny was something of a "Betsy butterfingers" when it came to flying jets. His flight commanders even gave him the sarcastic nickname "Ace McCain" because he crashed so many times!

Maybe one too many times for your own good. Isn't that right, you big pussy? Ha ha.

I'm just kidding you, John McCain!

Has John McCain's Campaign Been Honorable?

The recent Robocalls and attacks on Obama have turned nasty. Many voters have been turned off by these attacks. Voters want to hear McCain provide answers for our people and our economy. Jack Cafferty from CNN tells it like it is.

A commenter writes:

The Robocalls and false information being spread in vile brochures by the campaign have put him over the top in the area of dishonor and disservice to the nation as a whole. McCain may have been honorable with his service in the past and even the principles he once had. However, he has lost himself through this process and has been sucked into the RNC machine.

McCain Speech Interrupted by Iraq Vet Protester

John McCain was caught off guard this evening when an Iraqi War Veteran interrupted his speech.

"Service" is the theme of the Republican National Convention. Isn't John McCain all about military service? Watch the video.

McCain Can't Handle Media - Reaches For Crying Towel

On Monday night, CNN's Campbell Brown asked Tucker Bounds, McCain spokesman a tough question for which he had no answer:

Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard, just one?” Ms. Brown asked.

Mr. Bounds responded, “Any decision she has made as the commander of the National Guard that’s deployed overseas is more of a decision Barack Obama’s been making as he’s been running for president for the last two years.”

Ms. Brown pressed again, saying: “So tell me. Tell me. Give me an example of one of those decisions.”

To which Mr. Bounds said, “Campbell, certainly you don’t mean to belittle every experience, every judgment she makes as commander.” The argument devolved from there, with no real resolution.

In response to this questioning, McCain has cancelled his interview tonight with Larry King. It seems that McCain would rather 'punish' CNN for asking his spokesman tough questions than reprimand or fire Bounds. It's unfortunate because this action leaves no opportunity for McCain to answer the above mentioned question.

Will we ever find out if Palin had experience leading the National Guard? We have the answer.
Regarding Sarah Palin’s National Security experience, here is Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard’s comments:

“Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin “extremely responsive and smart” and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.
But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.”

Harry Reid and John McCain are not BFF

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid feels strongly that John McCain is not the right guy to fill the president's shoes. Reid said McCain is wrong on a host of issues and "does not have the right temperment" to be Commander-in-Chief.

This comment comes at a time when McCain needs all the positive press he can get. Now I ask you Senator Reid - Have you had your ass kicked in a Vietnamese prison for 6 years and still been able to hold a smile? No? Then shut the hell up.

Big Suprise - McCain prefers Big Oil to US Jobs and Clean Energy

Instead of voting for oil alternatives, like solar and wind, John McCain voted against these things and for Big Oil on H.R. 6 (Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 )

See the Senate votes here.

As a result, instead of powering millions of homes with clean energy and building next-generation solar technology, we're giving ExxonMobil and other companies billions in tax breaks at a time when they're already making record profits.

McCain "Trailblazer" And Lots Of Other GOP People in Haiti Telcom Scandal

So, in the wake of his firm receiving a $1.3 million fine from the Federal Communication Commission, Jim Courter (one of John McCain's top fundraisers*) has stepped down from the position of national finance co-chairman for the candidate's presidential campaign.

New Jersey-based IDT — of which Courter is CEO — was fined by the FCC for failing to file a contract for telephone service to Haiti in 2004. More interesting, however, as Lucy Komisar points out:

Its work with Haiti has been put under scrutiny since a former employee, Michael Jewett, then IDT’s manager for the Caribbean, sued the company. His suit claims he was fired when he balked at negotiating a scheme that routed a portion of the company’s long distance revenue from Haiti calls to a shell company owned by then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. [...] In a quarterly S.E.C. report filed June 6, IDT's balance sheet shows $365 million "income taxes payable," meaning the sum is put aside for back taxes. The figure was zero last year.

All the executives below Courter involved with the Haiti deal are gone. The June report announced the "involuntary" departure of the chief legal officer.

Top-tier Republicans have also bailed out.

William Weld, former G.O.P. governor of Massachusetts, was head of corporate governance at IDT but resigned after the Jewett complaint was unsealed in July 2005.

IDT announced in October 2006 that its entire board would not seek reelection, including former congressman and vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, former Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz, and former Washington Senator Slade Gorton. [Note: I posted all their faces at the above left. From top to bottom: McCain with Gorton; Courter; Boschwitz; McCain with Kemp; Kirkpatrick; and, lastly, Gilmore with an eye patch photoshopped on by another blogger.]

"Why do you put very powerful politicians on your board. Because you like them, you think they’re capable and they buy you protection," said Herbert Denton, president of the New York investment firm Providence Capital, which owned IDT stock. "Why do they leave at the same time? I speculate there’s something rotten in Denmark."

I hope this story gets some traction.

[*He seems to get a lot of his coworkers to donate.]

Jindal Says Back The F*#$ Up

This Wednesday, John McCain praised two VP picks whilst on a shopping spree at the local Bethlehem, PA market.

Earlier at a stop at a grocery store, where the presumptive Republican presidential nominee got a look at the high price of milk and other staples, he spoke highly of two people said to be on his short list: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Unfortunately, Governor Jindal doesn't agree.

But Jindal told Fox News on Wednesday he wasn’t interested in being vice president.

“Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I’ve got the job that I want,” Jindal told Fox News. “And I’ll say again on air: I’m not going to be the vice presidential nominee.”

We guess John's not getting the pick of the litter.

McCain Thinks "Rape" Funny Ha-Ha

A joke John McCain made to a reporter in 1986 is coming back to haunt him. Recently, when his spokesperson was asked about this incident, they said:

"He's long said that he's said and done things in the past that he regrets," Rogers said. "You've just got to move on and be yourself -- that's what people want. They want somebody who's authentic, and this kind of stuff is a good example of McCain being McCain."

Here's McCain's infamous joke:

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, "Where is that marvelous ape?"

More here from the Huffington Post.

Take a Stroll Down Neocon Lane

GRRRRR

Unfortunately, we must face the facts. John McCain is a Neocon. For those of you not in 'the know', that's neoconservative.

Reuters: "John McCain is almost a wholly owned subsidiary of the neoconservative movement when it comes to foreign policy," Carpenter said.

A "neocon" is more inclined than other conservatives to support vigorous government advocacy of morality and interventionist foreign policy. Neoconservatives such as former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz were key architects of the Iraq war and Bush's doctrine of military pre-emption.

Air Bud: Divorce Attorney [Feel Like McCain Love]

The L.A. Times has all the gory details on the dissolution of John McCain's first marriage: how it soured his friendship with the Reagan family (Nancy especially); how his public statements on it have not always matched the court record; and how his POW cellmate and former-"Swift Boat Veteran for Truth" Bud Day represented him as the attorney suing for divorce.

More Offensively Hawkish Humor From The Candidate

So, a fun experiment—while this blog is still on the topic of McCain's "Free Ride" with the press—might be to find out how much coverage there is of this gaffe, wherein our beloved presumptive nom suggests that exporting cigarettes would be "a good way to kill Iranians."



So far the coverage = not much.

Like the "Bomb, Iran" Beach Boys parody McCain sung a while back at a town hall meeting, this is pretty much (IMHO) the most tasteless and inexcusable thing I can imagine a candidate saying.

Look! He's McCain A Joke!

[Headline Note: At a team meeting today, we seem to have decided that this blog will suffer from a deluge of McCain/Making puns.]

So, when I think about John McCain's reputation as being cozy with the media (whom he has jokingly referred to as his base), I often also think about him doing funny things like these appearances on Conan's "Secrets" segment. I went through the effort of pulling these off Hulu instead of the other grainier options (because this is a classy outfit around here):

Raining McCain [News Briefs]

• Kind of obnoxiously sexist Times UK headline delves into how Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard CEO, is fast becoming an effective "cheerleader" for McCain—and wooing away (former/diehard/ladytown) Hillary Clinton supporters.
  
• Did McCain rough up a Sandinista? And if he did, won't that just make him more popular with red state hawks?
• More great stuff from tpm: 1.) Two lazy AP journalists, Steven Hurst and Jennifer Loven, have written nearly identical "analysis" articles on Obama's run to the center, both likely based on McCain/RNC camp research; 2.) a breakdown of McCain's retinue of lobbyist-campaigners, -employees, -friends, -handlers, etc.; and 3.) a new-ish McCain Ad attacks Obama on the Hispanic vote front.

McCain Takes Money From Swift-Boat Backers

"USA Today points out this morning that John McCain has had no problem accepting $70,000 in donations this cycle from backers of the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth in 2004, despite his condemnation of the group at the time." [verbatim from tpm election central]

Running Mate?

Oil Schmoil, the Perpetual Loop

First McCain proposed a $300 million prize for whoever can develop a better automobile battery, and $5,000 tax credits for consumers who buy new zero-emission vehicles.

But then...
Sen. John McCain called yesterday for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices.

"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," McCain told reporters yesterday. In a speech today, he plans to add that "we have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

We're going to drill it because we hope we'll eventually not need it. OK, sure.

President Bush is also calling for an end to the offshore drilling ban.

"Since then offshore drilling and exploration have only been allowed in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico regions plus parts of Alaska.

The federal bans were enacted in part to protect tourism and lessen the chance of oil spills washing on to beaches"

"We are in this situation because of our dependence on traditional petroleum-based oil," said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican.
He advocated "new technologies and new fuel choices for consumers" instead. "

Read more here on how long it would take to get to a production phase and the environmental costs.

Some Basic Information on the Candidate

Here is the Wikipedia listing for John McCain and his current wife, Cindy.