McCain and Obama: A Contrast in Courage
July 3rd, 2008 at 01:51am Mark Noonan
From the Associated Press:
Obama, McCain’s Democratic rival in the race for the White House, also lists bipartisanship as a congressional credential. A recent Associated Press-Yahoo News poll showed about 40 percent of the electorate believes both men would work across party lines.
Even so, none of the examples cited by Obama’s aides, beginning with a bill to secure nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, placed the Illinois lawmaker at odds with the leaders of his own party or gave significant offense to outside interest groups aligned with Democrats.
Not so, McCain.
The Arizona Republican “took on his own party’s leadership, and that takes enormous courage,” says former Rep. Martin Meehan of Massachusetts, a Democrat who worked closely with McCain for years on the campaign finance legislation that Bush reluctantly signed into law. He added that such defiance can often lead to retaliation by the leadership.
“He’s a tough adversary. He’s a very effective legislator,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview.
As a longtime member of his party’s leadership, McConnell has often borne the brunt of McCain’s bipartisanship, yet he said he has never seen him cross an imaginary line into foul territory.
There is one very good reason why Obama has not strayed from the leftwing base of the Democratic party: No Democrat who strays from the leftwing base in any serious way would ever be the Democratic nominee for President. Why is the feckless Obama the nominee while the very much more qualified Hillary forced to campaign for a man she is, apparently, convinced will lose in November? Because Hillary strayed from the left - she voted for the war and then, much worse, when the left demanded that all Democrats who so voted denounce their vote, she refused. Oh, she went as close to the wire as she could - but somewhere deep inside Hillary Clinton is someone who isn’t stupid enough to really believe (a) that the war is lost and (b) that its all a corrupt scheme by Bush and the PNAC/Neo-Con/Likud cabal. And so she wouldn’t say she was wrong for casting her vote for the liberation of Iraq. Obama, on the other hand, conveniently denounced the war in 2002, even more conveniently forgot his 2004 support for the war and all through 2006 and 2007 trumpeted the leftist, defeatist line. And so he’s the nominee.
While McCain from time to time angers movement conservatives, we should be happy to take a man who does what he thinks right even at political risk over a man who won’t risk anything. Obama wanted to be a State legislator; then we wanted to be a United States Senator; now he wants to be President and in each step of his rise he’s never - not even once - stuck his neck out beyond the leftwing worldview. There is nothing in Obama which isn’t entirely predictable - from defeatism in Iraq to “windfall profits” taxes on oil, each and every Obama opinion comes right out of central scripting at the leftwing wordshop. In any given situation, anyone with even a cursory knowledge of politics will be able to tell precisely what Obama will say and do - and this is why we conservatives know that the election of Obama means a disaster for the nation.
In these terribly dangerous times, we need a President - like McCain - who will tell it like it is and who will be willing to defy everyone in service of the right policy for the United States of America. We don’t need an Obama who will always seek the blessings of the left before he even opens his mouth.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Kook Left, Republicans
38 Comments
1. My new WordPress MU Site &hellip | July 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 am
[...] Andrew Hunt wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOh, she went as close to the wire as she could - but somewhere deep inside Hillary Clinton is someone who isn’t stupid enough to really believe (a) that the war is lost and (b) that its all a corrupt scheme by Bush and the … [...]
2. test » Blog Archive&hellip | July 3rd, 2008 at 2:38 am
[...] and Obama: A Contrast in Courage Andrew Hunt wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOh, she went as close to the wire as [...]
3. french student | July 3rd, 2008 at 5:29 am
where does macCain stray from the GOP line in this campaign, again?
4. Pain | July 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 am
Can you say bitter about being swift boated in the 2000 election “by his own party leadership?”
Which party was that again who sent the cold calls to voters in South Carolina telling them John McCain had an “illegitimate black child?”
We know you get paid to run this screed and that helps to feed your family. However, Noonan you betray your real fear in this post. That fear is that Obama can seize the center and that your candidate might have to follow him there. If he goes to the center and gets off the Bush track he will lose millions of votes to Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.
You might want to listen to some of the things Senator Thad Cochran has said about McCain even recently and what his responses were, yesterday. McCain is such a maverick that he’ll call members of his own party a liar!
5. '08ama | July 3rd, 2008 at 7:47 am
It’s too late.
The McSame/Bush link is solid as granite.
I dont understand tho, if Bush is such a great president with such great vision, why are all the GOPpers running away from him at light speed ??
6. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 7:56 am
in following mccain we find a man who will stand up and fight for what he believes in
in following obama we find a man who will believe in anything to get you to follow him
isnt it strange how the gonna do’s happen after the have dones are over looked? mccain has accomplished a lot in his career, while obama’s sided with neutrality with his voting “present” more times than any senator in history….
so if he spent the majority of his political career afraid to take a side and fight for it…what makes anyone think he is going to change now?
its beyond logic and reason to think that all he is saying he will do will ever come to pass…he might say that he thinks truth and justice should prevail….but his record shows that he really doesnt believe it enough to fight for it!!
7. hermie | July 3rd, 2008 at 7:57 am
Again, the trolls can’t show Obama’s leadership, bipartisanship, consistency on policy, or experience. They simply want to attack McCain, hoping that this will cover for their extremely inferior candidate.
8. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 8:25 am
about obamas courage….
his new tv commercial represents that he worked for low income housing…
all that was tied in to rezko….
rezko was organized criminal activity…
the low income projects that obama helped rezko with covertly enriched the organized criminal organization….
and obama want us to think that is a good thing to point out in his record…
boy does he have ballz….
9. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 8:31 am
8. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 8:25 am
Theres that guilty by association mime again. Hey js, I heard he he shook hands with a man at one of his rallies who fornicated with a sheep! What kind of man does that?
10. neocon | July 3rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
“…where does macCain stray from the GOP line in this campaign, again?” - french
AGW and immigration to name two.
hermie,
Great observation. I have noticed that over the last month, concurrent with Obamas run to the center, liberals seldom tout his credentials, or lack thereof, to unify and to heal this great nation. Instead they direct their anger and venom towards McCain and everthing conservative.
Suggesting of course that theirs is an anxiety-filled protest vote moreso than a supporting vote in favor of hope and change.
What happened to all the fainting?
have a party line day
peace, neocon
11. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
9. Some Assembly Required
atypical of a mental midget is your ability to believe the improbable, fight for the unlikely, and then stand up and shake obama’s hand like he never did anything wrong….
12. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 am
11. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
Thats Rich coming from a die hard Bush supporter.
Incidentally, America is famous for it’s love of the ‘underdog’ or as you say ‘fight for the unlikely’. So what’s your point?
13. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
die hard bush supporter? whats that got to do with anything? The fact that you were the guy shaking hands with obama? The sheep thing? Incidentally, sex involving animals is deviant sexual behavior…just like homosexual behavior is deviant sexual behavior…..that doesnt make you an underdog, nor does it make obama honest or the underdog….
i guess if you wanted to know what the point of it is…its basically the truth…the one think you cant stand….
14. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 10:39 am
this thing about truth….liberals argue against it until they turn blue…many of them argue based on what they read in some column or news service….without any basis in reality….factual substance….or even the common sense to know right from wrong, good from evil, and light from darkness….those are the mental midgets…sustaining an impossible cause by representing a lie as the truth….even after they are buried do deeply in ridicule and rejection….
15. FmrMarine | July 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
WOW!!!
>>>telling them John McCain had an “illegitimate black child?”>>>
earbama is J. McCain illegitimate black child????
I thought earbama is a mulatto …..im confused!
16. InDaVA | July 3rd, 2008 at 10:48 am
“AGW and immigration to name two. ”
He actually changed his position recently on those two issues. Flip flop flip flop.
Let me go check scrappleface.com for the latest breaking news…..
17. neocon | July 3rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
InDaVa,
um…..no he hasn’t. He grandstanded with Arnold in CA over AGW just a short while ago and addressed it again in hise energy speech last week.
On immigration, he still supports a more liberal approach, albeit now wanting to secure the border first, after being slammed by many conservatives. Nevertheless, his immigration stance is still much more liberal than the traditional conserfvative stance.
It would be refreshing if you debated from a position of knowledge from time to time.
Just saying
peace, neocon
18. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
js,
My point was that your blatant projection is hilarious. What’s sad is that you don’t even realize it.
i guess if you wanted to know what the point of it is?its basically the truth?the one think you cant stand?.”
Whose truth? The middle class person who has had their house foreclosed on? The Iraqi who has been forced from their country? The solider who fights for a lie? The priest who molests a child? Bush’s? Yours? Mine? God’s?
“this thing about truth?.liberals argue against it until they turn blue?many of them argue based on what they read in some column or news service?.”
So where do you get your information from? Fox News? Limbaugh? Hannity? O’reily? What makes your sources so much more credible? Is it because they are republican and as such they are incapable of lying? Faced with simple reason and logic your arguments crumble to “Mental Midgets” and “Simpleminded” facts are not even required when debating you. I laugh at you!
19. hermie | July 3rd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Again, nothing to show where Obama (D-Archer Daniels Midland) ever showed any political courage.
An empty suit, which if the MSM decided to take a close look at the tailoring, would find poor stitching, and lightweight material.
20. \'08ama | July 3rd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Thanks to the GOP, America is well dumbed down and sees issues as strictly black and white.
Therefore …
Obama… ‘Hope and change’
McSame .. ‘Stay the course’
Given these times, the choice is obvious.
21. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
18. Some Assembly Required
i really dont think your point is relevant
if you think the truth changes just because of the skin you wear, then you will forever sit dead center of mental midgetry
exactly where you are now
22. InDaVa | July 3rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t. Oh and by the way, McCain has missed every major environmental vote this Congress. McCain has a nasty habit of promoting environmental policies he’s already voted against.
McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. Now he’s against it. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would vote against his own legislation.
Flippity Flop..
It would be refreshing if you actually verified your ‘facts’ before you type for a change.
Just saying…
23. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 pm
My point is that this ‘truth’ that your arguing over often depends on perspective and circumstance. You loosely say liberals argue against the truth but do not define what truth is. (aside from good vs. evil as if liberals were evil Americans)
js, in America today that’s exactly what I’m saying! The hard truth for the middle class family is different than the truth for the elitist which is different from that of a solider and so on. It’s the truth in each American’s individual life that has lead to the FACT that Bush has the worst approval rating since polling began. It’s this same truth thats leading to an over whelming cry to pull out of Iraq. AND it’s this same truth that has proven the republican brand flawed which will give Obama the presidency come November.
24. hermie | July 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
So SAR and the other trolls don’t have any actual proof that Obama has experience, leadership, bipartisanship, judgement…they are just counting on people not liking Bush.
A pretty poor means of electing a President. But then, all liberals want is a collective thrill up their legs, rather than anything with substance.
25. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Hermie,
http://www.barackobama.com
Anything and everything you want to know about ‘experience, leadership, bipartisanship, judgment… etc. is there. Not that it really matters because you are not going to vote for Obama regardless.
P.S. who was the last senator to champion ethics reform in Chicago, that terribly corrupt city?
But who am I to judge, “I don’t know much about economics” either
26. neocon | July 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm
InDaVa,
Do either of those examples your provided suggest that he now tows the conservative line on those issues?
I don’t think it does. And that was your original point.
Stay focused
have apartisan kind of day
peace, neocon
27. hermie | July 3rd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I love this!
The trolls can’t even come up with any examples on their own of Obama’s supposed ‘leadership’, ‘bipartisanship’, ‘political courage’ or even ‘convictions’.
It’s ‘Look at the website …Look at the website’. Just like Polly the Parrot.
28. InDaVa | July 3rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
My original point is that he changed positions on AGW and immigration recently and you state…
“um…..no he hasn’t.”
I provide examples of him changing his position on those issues ,quite recently too.
Flippity Flop….
Stay focused…
Have a Happy 4th!
29. hermie | July 3rd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
And because I can’t resist before I leave to enjoy the 4th holiday …Obama has performed his greatest flip flop of all regarding troops in Iraq… and those who voted for him because of ‘change’ and his ‘judgement’ are royally PO’ed.
30. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
hermie, if you need to be told by some commenter on a right wing blog what a candidate stands for what does that say about you? If you cannot do the research yourself into a candidate which you may or may not vote for but instead rely on third party information I think I did you a service. Would Polly like another cracker?
Have a good fourth of July holiday Hermie
31. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
so you think that depending on “perspectives” the truth changes?
you mean that if you and another person are sitting side by side, looking at the stars in the sky, full moon shining…that from one perspective its nighttime and the others perspective its daytime? nope…
it just goes to show that you have your head stuck in a duffle bag and you are sucking dustballs for dear life because you cant change the truth….
and that…in essence…is why you are a mental midget…you say anything it takes that you think will let you overcome the truth….to the point that you represent the truth….as a lie….and in ignorance…you actually believe it…
give it up…you came to a gun fight with a butter knife….
32. neocon | July 3rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
InDaVa,
Sorry, I had to tend to making more excessive profits.
You are right though. I had erroneously thought that you had accused McCain of now supporting the mainstream conservative position on those issues, and you hadn’t, only that he changes his stance.
My response to that: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
McCain has done that fairly consistently throughout his career. As has most every other politician. I am not a huge McCain fan and he was 4th or 5th on my choices of candidates, so I would never defend him against this accusation.
I consider McCain to be the best alternative, that’s it.
What I do find amusing is Baracks recent “reconsideration” of his policy positions in light of his claim that he is not the typical politician.
Pretty typical if you ask me.
have a day
peace, neocon
33. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
31. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
js, come back when you can comprehend what I’m saying to you.
But just for fun and because tomorrow’s a holiday, heres something that may make your head explode…
When you stare at yourself in the mirror, you see the reflection as your true self.
Just bare with me, I know this is a little complicated for you.
Now, when your best friend looks at you, they do not see what you see.
No.
They have their own perception of what you look like. This perception may or may not be close to what your perception of yourself is.
Which one of you is lying?
“give it up…you came to a gun fight with a butter knife….”
That maybe so, but you’d piss your pants if you knew what I could do with a butter knife
34. FmrMarine | July 3rd, 2008 at 7:08 pm
SAR;
>>>>That maybe so, but you’d piss your pants if you knew what I could do with a butter knife>>>
Try not to cut the gerbil when inserting that butter knife!
35. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
FmrMarine, who said I’d use the sharp end?
36. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 pm
33. Some Assembly Required
actually, if you had a valid point, you should have already put it in writting….
but you dont…you are the same as you were before this thread started….a mental midget….still under assembly…some folks never grow up…thats indicated in the name you chose….a freudian slip you could say….
37. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 pm
35. Some Assembly Required | July 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
FmrMarine, who said I’d use the sharp end?
lol, still choking on reality….a slow death it is….you gonna stick the handle of the butter knife in the bullet hole in your forehead and chase me now?
good luck with that
38. js | July 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 pm
“When you stare at yourself in the mirror, you see the reflection as your true self.”
I’d say you been staring at yourself way too long….thats probably how you got to be so conceited….and also a reasonable exposure as to why you are the mental midget that you are….