How Many Houses?

Ok, seven houses....but that doesn't count estates that have more than one house. And, we can forget about McCain's primary residence where he bought two condos in Phoenix and combined them into one 6-7000 sq. ft. megacondo.

Go here to read about all of John McCain's houses.

McCain Ads Lie the Most

From Newsweeks Jonathan Alter:

The now famous Britney Spears and Paris Hilton ad, accusing Obama of being a celebrity, wasn't false, just dopey. But it detracted attention from a string of false McCain spots on taxes. One ad said that Obama would raise taxes on electricity. Nope, not in Obama's plan. Another said 23 million small-business owners would pay higher taxes under Obama. Factcheck.org found that the "vast majority" of small-business owners would pay the same in taxes as they do now, and "many" would pay less. An ad saying Obama had voted for a bill raising taxes, for families making more than $42,000 a year, was found to be "false." And McCain's consistent claim that Obama would "raise taxes on the middle class"--a major theme of his campaign--is "simply false," according to this neutral policy center. In truth, under Obama's plan, families earning less than $150,000 a year would get a tax cut, and only those making more than $250,000 would see their taxes rise. Maybe by the time the Democratic Congress got done with it, Obama's tax program would look different. It's reasonable to speculate that Democrats will raise taxes. But the McCain ads weren't talking about that, they were talking about Obama's plan, which is easily accessed on his Web site. McCain's description of his opponent's plan was and is untrue. This isn't opinion, it's fact.

Alter points out that in the past, ads of these types were sponsored by the Republican or Democratic National Committees. Not in the above cited cases.....McCain approves everyone of those ads personally.

Withdrawing from Iraq to be Announced?

The Wall Street Journal has announced that there is an agreement to withdraw all combat troops out of Iraq by 2011.

U.S. and Iraqi negotiators reached agreement on a security deal that calls for American military forces to leave Iraq's cities by next summer as a prelude to a full withdrawal from the country, according to senior American officials.

The draft agreement sets 2011 as the date by which all remaining U.S. troops will leave Iraq, according to Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Haj Humood and other people familiar with the matter.

Looks like Bush is finally taking the advice of Democrats and the majority of the American people.

If this is an accurate report, it brings up a few issues for the Fall campaign for President. Bush will be pulling out the troops....does this mean he "wants to lose the war" or that he is "unpatriotic"? Are we "cutting and running"? Is this a "timetable" or a "horizon"? Will McCain now lose his most important campaign issue...that we need to win the war in Iraq? Will McCain have to admit that he was mistaken when he told us that Maliki didn't really want a timetable for withdrawal.

I wonder how much the fact that Afghanistan seems to be falling apart has to do with this decision? But at least now McCain will have the extra troops necessary to protect Georgia and the Ukraine and Poland from the Russians.

John McCain and Wealth

Poor John McCain. He apparently doesn't know how many houses he owns. No, he really doesn't know! I wonder how many "regular, non-celebrity" people have that same problem. John McCain also has a real problem defining wealth. And, it's not just that 5 million dollar quip he made the other day.

“I define rich in other ways besides income,” he said. “Some people are wealthy and rich in their lives and their children and their ability to educate them. Others are poor if they’re billionaires.”

Now the old guy may have a point....but imagine the uproar there would be if that celebrity Barack Obama had made such a remark.

It continues to amaze me that people are impressed with the likes of John McCain. Want to discuss evil? John McCain has only two words...."defeat it". Very nice, very understandable, fits on a bumper sticker so conservatives love the quip. No thinking involved, no real world analysis, no specifics....perfect!

McCain is so out of touch with reality that he makes GW Bush look like some sort of savant. This isn't straight talk, it's Reaganesque quiping.

Jack Cafferty - McCain is Bush

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. "It means I'm saved and forgiven." Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries.....

One after another, McCain's answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has -- virtually none.

Where are John McCain's writings exploring the vexing moral issues of our time? Where are his position papers setting forth his careful consideration of foreign policy, the welfare state, education, America's moral responsibility in the world, etc., etc., etc.?

John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet.

He no longer allows reporters unfettered access to him aboard the "Straight Talk Express" for a reason. He simply makes too many mistakes. Unless he's reciting talking points or reading from notes or a TelePrompTer, John McCain is lost. He can drop bon mots at a bowling alley or diner -- short glib responses that get a chuckle, but beyond that McCain gets in over his head very quickly.

I am sick and tired of the president of the United States embarrassing me. The world we live in is too complex to entrust it to someone else whose idea of intellectual curiosity and grasp of foreign policy issues is to tell us he can look into Vladimir Putin's eyes and see into his soul.

George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.

He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.

I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.

Read it all here.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

I haven't visited the Mahablog in some time, but there is an excellent post about the GOP advantage and I think it hits the nail on the head. The advantage...stupid is easy, smart is hard. I think the advantage all started with Reagan's "quips". They were funny and easy to understand. You didn't need to think much at all. "There you go again". In "rightieland", Mahablog points out that being smart and analytical is just boring.

But, here is how Mahablog sees the conservative way of doing business:

Now, let’s think about that last sentence. To me, weighing, analyzing and explaining issues are inseparable from “confronting” them. You have to understand an issue thoroughly before you can deal with it wisely, and sometimes the wisest course is to leave the dadblamed issue alone. In Rightieworld, however, “confronting” an issue takes these steps:

1. Identify what you want to do (e.g., attack Iraq; help your oil industry buddies increase their profits).
2. Find or manufacture a reason why you should do what you want to do.
3. Overwhelm news media and the American people with blustering rhetoric about why America must do what you want to do, accompanied by juvenile taunting of anyone who disagrees with your doing what you want to do.
4. Do the thing you want to do.
5. Spend the next several months or years denying or making excuses for the mess you made by doing what you wanted to do.
6. Eventually, when the mess turns out to be an undeniable failure — blame liberals.

Notice there is neither weighing nor analyzing in the list above. Weighing and analyzing is for academics and women. Red-blooded Americans take the hairy-chested, Neanderthal approach and just smash the hell out of whatever is bothering them.

Drill here, drill now to solve our energy problems. Attack the Russian imperialists for invading an independent nation. If you are sick, go to the emergency room. When was the last time an American President called upon the American people to achieve excellence - the moon race? We are still living off the benefits of that "race".

The USA seems to becoming increasing populated by citizens that believe being smart is being "elite". Electing smart people is French and dangerous. Voting for someone that actually wants to help you improve your life will result in the terrorists winning. No, it is so much easier to listen to quips and three word slogans, then vote for the same type of guy that wants to continue the policies of the last 7 years.

Senator Lieberman a Prick?

Hey I didn't say it...it's right here in an Associated Press story.

His top contenders are said to include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Less traditional choices mentioned include former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter, and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential prick in 2000 who now is an independent.

Who says the press is never accurate?

Vietnam POW Will Not Vote for McCain

I get several updates from military.com every week. I was a bit surprised to find this article by Dr. Philip Butler, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, classmate of John McCain and a Vietnam POW. Dr. Butler was a prisoner of war for 2.5 years longer than John McCain. Butler discusses why he thinks prisoner of war status should not be a qualification for President of the USA.

A Good Question

Do you support George Bush more than you did 4 years ago? John McCain does.