McCain
Republican Senator John McCain, in my estimation, is Not Like The Others. He and I disagree on some things, but I respect him because he appears to behave honorably even when it costs him (like when he lost the Republican nomination because of the Bush camp's coordinated campaign of lies about his military service). He is the only Republican I've ever decided I would vote for, but I didn't get the chance because the malicious fucktard who is in the White House right now has no honor whatsoever and played as dirty during the campaign as he has during his presidency.
Now Bush supporters are starting the same smear campaign against Kerry, a tactic which McCain calls "dishonest and dishonorable". He's even urged the White House to condemn the smear campaign (they declined, of course). He's going out on a limb and risking retribution from his own party because he believes in honor and fair play. No wonder they didn't make him president... how the hell could they fuck the country with a president that has scruples?
The thing about Kerry's service record is, the facts are there for all to see. On the one hand, you've got the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, what appears to be a hate-group making television ads that contain false information. On the other hand, you've got the official records of Kerry's military service, and the people that were actually on his boat call him a hero. But then again, most of America gets its news from FOX, which might as well be the National Enquirer in terms of verifiable factual content, so more people are going to hear the lies on TV than will read the truth on the web.
Some of this is a moot point, because I don't think that military service automatically makes someone a better presidential candidate. It potentially speaks to the claim that the individual has a history of making sacrifices to serve their country. Cops and firemen do that too, by choice. Most of the people in Vietnam were not there by choice. When I hear someone slandered because they didn't serve in Vietnam, I generally think 'lucky them'... with all due respect to the people that served in that war, their government unnecessarily put them in harms way based on specious data and outright lies... much like our current situation. Those soldiers did what they were told to do, which is the highest and most honorable mode of conduct for a soldier. The fact that the things they were told to do were based on manipulation and lies is a separate issue.
I thought McCain could help heal the country a bit. I still think a Kerry-McCain ticket would have been the sanest solution to the problems we face right now - with many Republicans withdrawing their support for Bush (who, let's face it, has abandoned *every* plank of the Republican platform except for "run up the national debt"), a mixed-party ticket would get votes from both sides, and the quasi-'coalition government' that resulted would suffer less from internecine conflict because they'd be shooting themselves in the foot. Or they would fight so much that they'd get nowhere, which is better than our current situation, which closely resembles being driven home by a drunk friend.
Now Bush supporters are starting the same smear campaign against Kerry, a tactic which McCain calls "dishonest and dishonorable". He's even urged the White House to condemn the smear campaign (they declined, of course). He's going out on a limb and risking retribution from his own party because he believes in honor and fair play. No wonder they didn't make him president... how the hell could they fuck the country with a president that has scruples?
The thing about Kerry's service record is, the facts are there for all to see. On the one hand, you've got the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, what appears to be a hate-group making television ads that contain false information. On the other hand, you've got the official records of Kerry's military service, and the people that were actually on his boat call him a hero. But then again, most of America gets its news from FOX, which might as well be the National Enquirer in terms of verifiable factual content, so more people are going to hear the lies on TV than will read the truth on the web.
Some of this is a moot point, because I don't think that military service automatically makes someone a better presidential candidate. It potentially speaks to the claim that the individual has a history of making sacrifices to serve their country. Cops and firemen do that too, by choice. Most of the people in Vietnam were not there by choice. When I hear someone slandered because they didn't serve in Vietnam, I generally think 'lucky them'... with all due respect to the people that served in that war, their government unnecessarily put them in harms way based on specious data and outright lies... much like our current situation. Those soldiers did what they were told to do, which is the highest and most honorable mode of conduct for a soldier. The fact that the things they were told to do were based on manipulation and lies is a separate issue.
I thought McCain could help heal the country a bit. I still think a Kerry-McCain ticket would have been the sanest solution to the problems we face right now - with many Republicans withdrawing their support for Bush (who, let's face it, has abandoned *every* plank of the Republican platform except for "run up the national debt"), a mixed-party ticket would get votes from both sides, and the quasi-'coalition government' that resulted would suffer less from internecine conflict because they'd be shooting themselves in the foot. Or they would fight so much that they'd get nowhere, which is better than our current situation, which closely resembles being driven home by a drunk friend.
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