John McCain

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For the current status of John McCain's presidential campaign, see the status light.

John McCain thinks emergency rooms are a good way to get health care.
John McCain thinks emergency rooms are a good way to get health care.
On the campaign trail
On the campaign trail

Senator John McCain is a former Navy lobbyist[1] and was the Republican party's candidate for the Presidency of the USA in 2008.[2] He did very well, coming in a close second to Barack Obama. McCain's running mate was Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.[3] She also came in second.

According to Conservapedia, "...John McCain and the Bush Administration agree on most issues. These include making the Bush tax cuts permanent, continuing the war in Iraq, reforming Social Security, and continuing and expanding Bush's supply-side economic policies. Voteview.com even rated McCain as the second most conservative Senator in the 109th Congress (Jan. 2005 - Jan. 2007).[2]"

Contents

[edit] "Mission Accomplished"

Not wanting to miss photo ops due to his needed naps, Senator John McCain has trained himself to smile and keep his eyes open whilst he sleeps.
Not wanting to miss photo ops due to his needed naps, Senator John McCain has trained himself to smile and keep his eyes open whilst he sleeps.
“ NEIL CAVUTO: ... Senator -- after a conflict means after the conflict, and many argue the conflict isn't over.

JOHN MCCAIN: Well, then why was there a banner that said 'mission accomplished' on the aircraft carrier? ... the conflict -- the major conflict is over, the regime change has been accomplished...

”

-June 11, 2003, on Fox News's Your World With Neil Cavuto.[3]


“ This is a mission accomplished. ”

-December 14, on ABC's This Week, referring to the capture of Saddam Hussein. [4]


“ I don't know if you could ever say, quote 'mission accomplished,' as much as you could say 'Americans are out of harm's way.' And that's the key to America's concern — casualties. ”

-May 1, 2008, at a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. [5]

[edit] The Good

John McCain (b. 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone) is the senior senator from Arizona, and a strong force in the Republican party.[4] Over the years, he has been vital in crafting bipartisan support for generally supported initiatives, including the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCFRA)[5] Until 2008, he was a strong opponent of torture, having suffered a similar fate, in the internment which has earned him the title of "war hero."[6] McCain also once stood up against the American religious right, referring to them as agents of intolerance.[7] These sensible, moderate policies have made him persona non grata among the religious right, earning hate and scorn from Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity.[8][9]

[edit] The Bad

Like his fiscal conservative predecessors, John McCain is the right man to lead the US out from its current economic woes
Like his fiscal conservative predecessors, John McCain is the right man to lead the US out from its current economic woes
John McCain's age was a significant factor in the 2008 presidential election
John McCain's age was a significant factor in the 2008 presidential election

McCain's alleged moderation made him a strong possibility for the next President of the United States.

He has modified many of his positions rightward since becoming a presidential candidate. While he's no George W. Bush, Americans probably don't don't want four more years of Bush policies, from tax cuts for the wealthy, to continuing the war in Iraq, and privatizing Social Security.

He wants to bomb Iran.[10][11]

He supports Don't Ask, Don't Tell.[12]

His unofficial economic advisor is Phil Gramm, chief architect of the Enron collapse and sub-prime mortgage crisis.

He chose Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate,[13] who would have become president in the likely event that McCain died of old age while in office. Palin is, to all intents and purposes, Andrew Schlafly in a skirt.

[edit] The Ugly

Justice Stevens is old. Justice Souter wants out. A couple other Justices are looking a little tired. All of this means that, by 2009 (when the next president will be sworn in), the Supreme Court will be set to empty, losing a couple of the liberal staples of the Rehnquist court, and possibly more. In all of this, the question is - who would President McCain have nominated to the Supreme Court?

It's not a good picture. For all of his maverick political style, and independence on some issues, McCain - like any Republican - will be beholden to the religious right for reelection, and for political clout. This means that his recent caves to the religious right are the beginning, rather than the end, and they are not outliers. A President McCain would have nominated Justices who would be all too eager to torpedo the right to choose and other important precedents.[14] This raises the most important point of all: while a maverick, McCain is still a Republican, and still a pawn of special interest groups like the religious right.

Also, McCain has aligned himself with some of the true nutjobs of the religious right, including John Hagee, who blamed the gays for Hurricane Katrina[15], and Rod Parsley, who believes the United States was founded in part to destroy Islam.

[edit] The Really Odd

John McCain eats zombies. You heard it here first!
John McCain eats zombies. You heard it here first!

John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, which is now part of the Republic of Panama and was once a U.S. colony protectorate but never really part of the U.S. At best its status was similar to that of the Swan Islands (now part of Honduras), or Palau (now an independent nation). Article II Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution says, "No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States."[16] However, the Supereme Court decided that nobody cared, and said that it didn't matter, because his parents were off playing Navy in Panama during the whole thing.

As a Panamanian-American, it is questionable whether McCain is eligible to assume office should he be elected. This question came up previously with regard to Barry Goldwater (born in the Arizona Territory before it was admitted as a state), and George Romney (born in Mexico to U.S. Mormon expat parents), but since both were failed candidacies the courts have never had the opportunity to decide whether a natural born citizen is limited to those born within any of the states. [17][18]

As a Vietnam veteran and POW, one would think John McCain would do everything possible to make life better for veterans, right? Yes, one would think that, but events have come to show that he seems to do little if anything at all to "support our troops", the most recent being his opposition to a Senate-passed legislation to increase college financial aid given to veterans. Wave that flag, Johnny.

Senator McCain has no idea how many houses he and the Beer Baroness his wife own.[19]

His campaign has been circling the drain for some time, and to remedy this he has recently called on the services of Joe the Plumber to unclog his stopped-up toilet.

[edit] The Flip Flops

This guy switches his standing on so many issues, he makes Mitt Romney look like the Rock of Gibraltar. Such as:

  • McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but has since decided to cozy up to the man[20] who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks.[21]
  • McCain used to oppose Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy, but he reversed course in February. [22]
  • In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support. [23]
  • McCain took a firm line in opposition to torture, and then caved to White House demands. [24] Strange, seeing how he was a POW for five years in Vietnam.
  • McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it. [25]
  • McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol. [26]
  • McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.[27]
  • And now he’s both for and against overturning Roe v. Wade.[28]

[edit] Things younger than John McCain

John McCain's electric delivery has his supporters cheering in the aisles
John McCain's electric delivery has his supporters cheering in the aisles
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Mildred Loving
  • Jack Nicholson
  • The Zip® code
  • Duct tape
  • The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous
  • The first TV commercial
  • Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
  • Penicillin
  • The minimum wage
  • The Lincoln Tunnel
  • War of the Worlds
  • 49 of the 50 Governors of States in the Union

[edit] Quotes

  • "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations." - John McCain breaking the irony meter in regards to the Russian-Georgian crisis[29]
  • "You know, the French remind me a little bit of an aging actress of the 1940s who is still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn't have the face for it." - John McCain on foreign relations[30]
  • "I want the families to make the decisions between themselves and their doctors; not the federal government" - John McCain on why he opposes universal healthcare[31]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ↑ http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-mccainnavy15apr15,1,7402488.story
  2. ↑ http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/the-mccain-math/
  3. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7588435.stm BBC
  4. ↑ http://www.thechicagolifestyle.com/story.asp?sID=67
  5. ↑ Later ruled unconstitutional in a particularly egregious example of Chief Justice Roberts' bloviating. See Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC S. Ct. 2007.
  6. ↑ http://news.aol.com/elections-blog/2007/03/18/mccain-close-guantanamo-bay/
  7. ↑ http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/02/29/bush.2.t_9.php
  8. ↑ http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=HuTqgqhxVMc
  9. ↑ For all of his protestations of intellectual honesty and sticking with conservative values, Hannity has long since taken the pragmatic approach and jumped behind (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) McCain wholeheartedly.
  10. ↑ Yes, he went there. (Around the 1:15 mark)
  11. ↑ http://youtube.com/watch?v=EE_DcDsp8hg
  12. ↑ On The Issues
  13. ↑ Although some theorize that she was forced on him by the fundamentalist base in his party.
  14. ↑ http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/04/president-john-mccain-and-the-supreme-court/
  15. ↑ http://mediamatters.org/items/200802280018
  16. ↑ http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A2Sec1.html
  17. ↑ Hmm...what about somebody born in Washington, D.C.?
  18. ↑ Google #1 on submitting McCain nationality
  19. ↑ Yahoo News story
  20. ↑ Falwell has since died.
  21. ↑ http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6988.html
  22. ↑ http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6731.html
  23. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=1880630&page=1
  24. ↑ http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_03/008343.php
  25. ↑ http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/8313.html
  26. ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15637887/
  27. ↑ http://mediamatters.org/items/200610310003
  28. ↑ http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/19/mccain-abortion/
  29. ↑ YouTube video of Mccain's quote
  30. ↑ http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/johnmccain/a/mccainisms_2.htm
  31. ↑ [1]

[edit] See Also

United States 2008 Presidential election articles on RationalWiki
Topics: 2008 U.S. Presidential Election - Democratic Party - Debate:Religious beliefs and public office - Republican Party - Same-sex marriage - United States Electoral College
Candidates: Hillary Rodham Clinton - Rudolph Giuliani - Mike Huckabee - John McCain - Alan Keyes - Dennis Kucinich - Barack Obama - Ron Paul - Mitt Romney
Retrieved from "http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/John_McCain"
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