More about McCain

With the election for President of the US heading into the General Election, an examination of Democratic charges that McCain is in effect running for a Bush third term is in order. To do this we need to find criteria for the judgment. The criteria I will use are McCain’s voting record and his stated position on the issues.

As to his voting record, the Congressional Quarterly, a non-partisan publication tracking developments in the Congress, reports that McCain voted with Bush 89% of the time in 2006, 95% of the time in 2007, and through May 15 of 2008 he voted for the President’s stated position 100% of the time. 

Looking at his website we can find his stated position on a variety of issues, which in most cases are vague. On abortion and the Supreme Court he is crystal clear.

On a Woman’s right to choose the website states “John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. 

“Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states.”

But he does not stop there. He adds, “However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion.”

In other words, while he does not specifically say so, McCain favors criminalizing abortion. 

This should be of particular concern to women who have been supporters of Hillary Clinton. If any of them are considering not voting, or as some may have threatened, to even vote for McCain, they should think long and hard, for McCain would take away from them the right to control their own bodies.

But it is not entirely fair to give the impression that McCain agrees with the President on all issues. On North Korea Bush followed a hard line for most of his Administration resulting in Korea building an increasing a number of atomic bombs. Recently, under prodding from Condoleezza Rice, Bush adopted a more flexible approach which resulted in Korea actually backing away from its insistence on continuing its nuclear bomb program, has begun dismantling its facilities, and turned over 18,000 documents on its reactor at Yongbyon. But McCain has denounced the Administration for abandoning its hard line approach.

In Iraq McCain echoes the Bush bluster about victory but shows little understanding of the dynamics of that conflict. He talks constantly about defeating El Qaeda in Iraq, ignoring the fact that they were a non-factor before the invasion, and appear be a non-factor now. He shows no understanding of the difference between Sunni and Shiite; see here, a misstatement that was dismissed by Fox’s Brit Hume as a senior moment. Here is what Hume had to say: 

“I think it’s probably just a blip, but it was a bigger blip than he wanted or needed at the time. I think the overall impression of the trip was this is a man welcomed by, knowledgeable of and comfortable with foreign leaders across a big part of the globe. But the mistake, nonetheless, raises questions not about his knowledgeability —we all kinda believe he has that—the question, perhaps, about his age, which is an issue. You know, the feeling was not that he’s a dope, didn’t know his way around, that he might have had a senior moment there, and I think that’s unfortunate for him.”

I don’t agree with Hume. I don’t know who the “we” is in that “we all kind of believe that” but in a way it doesn’t matter. We cannot afford a President who either has senior moments or lacks knowledge and understanding of the nature of our enemies. McCain lacks the understanding that no matter how long we stay in Iraq, Iraq’s Shiites will always have a greater affinity for Iran than for the US.”

He fails to understand that the war in Iraq has put strains on our military that has brought it very close to the breaking point; that the policy that has required the men and women of our armed services to bear an unbearable burden, with ever longer tours of duty and ever greater numbers of deployments, can not be sustained. That in order to continue our deployment in Iraq we would have to reinstitute the draft, a step neither Bush nor McCain are willing to embrace because it would be politically unpopular.

He claims to be a friend to our veterans but he actively opposes the bill sponsored by Senator Webb, which would give our veterans the same educational benefits that was given to the veterans of World War II. See here.

At one time McCain occasionally broke with Republican orthodoxy. But now that he is running for President he caters increasingly to the Bush/Republican base.

Anyone who thinks they can allow this man to become President out of peeve or disgruntlement does not appreciate how much the decisions of the next four years will impact our lives and those of our children. McCain, as President, would be a disaster for the US and the whole world.