Not So Bad???

"John McCain is not so bad." What is that even supposed to mean? For those of you think that John McCain is "not so bad"...think again. We're all happy to see George W. on his way out... don't we owe it to ourselves, and to the world at large and all of the people who look to America for an example of hope, change and possibility, to elect someone better than John McCain???

Why do people have this idea that McCain's not so bad? Maybe it's because when people think of McCain, they often think of the media portrayal of him as a "maverick" and seem to forget that he is a man who helped George Bush launch the Iraq war.

A memo from VoteVets.org shows that regarding the war in Iraq, John McCain has been the president's greatest ally from the get-go—and most striking is the fact that his plan for Iraq going forward is the same as Bush's: Stay indefinitely.

Furthermore, McCain has voted against a woman's right to choose, against family planning, and against clinic-protection measures. Since 1983, he has voted anti-choice 125 times on 130 choice-related votes!

Here are a few quotes:

"If I am fortunate enough to be elected as the next President of the United States, I pledge to you to be a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement."

[Statement by Sen. McCain read by Sen. Sam Brownback at the March for Life in Washington, DC, January 22, 2008. http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=26539

"I do not support Roe v. Wade. I think it should be overturned."

[Ann Althouse, Rudy & Mitt Hem & Haw on Abortion, N.Y. Times, February 24, 2007.]

Click here for more detailed information.


Also, please check out the information on the VoteVets.org site- but here are some...um..."highlights":

Senator McCain on the war in Iraq:

* January 2003: "But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily." [MSNBC, 1/22/03]
* December 2005: "Overall, I think a year from now, we will have a fair amount of progress [in Iraq] if we stay the course." [The Hill, 12/8/05]
* November 2006: "We're either going to lose this thing or win this thing within the next several months." [NBC, Meet the Press, 11/12/06]



Senator McCain on the future for U.S. troops in Iraq:

McCain: "I believe to set a date for withdrawal is to set a date for surrender." [Charlotte Observer, 9/16/07]
* McCain: "[M]ake it a hundred" years in Iraq and "that would be fine with me." [Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall meeting, 1/3/08]

* McCain on how long troops may remain in Iraq: "A thousand years. A million years. Ten million years. It depends on the arrangement we have with the Iraqi government." [Associated Press, 1/04/08]


During The War:

Senator McCain praised Donald Rumsfeld as late as May 12, 2004, after the Abu Ghraib scandal.

* Asked if Donald Rumsfeld can continue to be an effective secretary of defense, McCain: "Yes, today I do and I believe he's done a fine job. He's an honorable man." [Hannity and Colmes, 5/12/04]

Senator McCain repeatedly supported President Bush on the Iraq War—voting with him in the Senate, defending his actions and publicly praising his leadership.

* McCain maintains the war was a good idea.

At the 2004 Republican National Convention, McCain, focusing on the war in Iraq, said that while weapons of mass destruction were not found, Saddam once had them and "he would have acquired them again." McCain said the mission in Iraq "gave hope to people long oppressed" and it was "necessary, achievable and noble." McCain: "For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush

Senator McCain: "The war, the invasion was not a mistake. [Meet the Press, 1/6/08]

Asked if the war was a good idea worth the price in blood and treasure, McCain: "It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons of mass destruction, and it's clear that he was hell-bent on acquiring them." [Republican Debate, 1/24/08]


You think he's not so bad? Think again.