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April 30, 2008
Vote For This Man.
I'm reposting this excerpt, which was also posted by The Indispensable Geraghty™ over at The Campaign Spot, from still another source here, because I know there are still some folks here and elsewhere who have their serious doubts about John McCain:
[Ret. Col. Bud] Day relayed to me one of the stories Americans should hear. It involves what happened to him after escaping from a North Vietnamese prison during the war. When he was recaptured, a Vietnamese captor broke his arm and said, "I told you I would make you a cripple."
The break was designed to shatter Mr. Day's will. He had survived in prison on the hope that one day he would return to the United States and be able to fly again. To kill that hope, the Vietnamese left part of a bone sticking out of his arm, and put him in a misshapen cast. This was done so that the arm would heal at "a goofy angle," as Mr. Day explained. Had it done so, he never would have flown again.
But it didn't heal that way because of John McCain. Risking severe punishment, Messrs. McCain and Day collected pieces of bamboo in the prison courtyard to use as a splint. Mr. McCain put Mr. Day on the floor of their cell and, using his foot, jerked the broken bone into place. Then, using strips from the bandage on his own wounded leg and the bamboo, he put Mr. Day's splint in place.
Years later, Air Force surgeons examined Mr. Day and complemented the treatment he'd gotten from his captors. Mr. Day corrected them. It was Dr. McCain who deserved the credit. Mr. Day went on to fly again.
Maybe he's not the exemplar of Reaganite conservatism. But consider his character, and his story, and his courage, and his struggles -- and then consider that of his opponent, be it Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Hussein Obama. This is a man for whom you must cast your vote.
April 30, 2008 by Ben | Permalink
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Comments
There's no doubt McCain is a hero and has made great sacrifice for this country.
I still have my reservations (immigration, campaign finance, Gang of 14, veto tax cuts, etc...), but I will certainly vote for him in Nov. The prospect of either Dem appointing the next few SCOTUS justices terrifies me. We finally have a balanced court (4 conservative, 4 liberal, and Kennedy). Even if McCain appointed moderate judges, it would be an improvement, since the next most likely justices to retire are liberal (Stevens, Ginsberg).
Posted by: Chris | Apr 30, 2008 2:30:34 PM
Except that, judging from some of the past appointees, moderate = liberal.
Posted by: Marty | Apr 30, 2008 2:37:45 PM
Somebody who was paying more attention in the 90's: Did John McCain have this same poke-Republicans-in-the-eye tendency then, while there was a Dem president? If "yes", then, well, okay, that's worrisome. But if this was only a recent (post-2000-election) manifestation, then I think there's hope. Perhaps it's just in McCain's nature to give a hand to the opposition when it's out of power. If McCain is president, it will almost certainly be against a strongly Dem Congress. Reaching out to "those out of power" will entail him working with the Republicans rather than the Dems.
As for recent "moderate=liberal" SCOTUS appointments, which we can blame squarely on Bush I, I recall however fuzzily that that was more an issue of him being handed a name or two and rubber-stamping it. McCain seems more hands-on with that issue.
And Chris is right -- a McCain-moderate-judge, regardless of inclination, will be lightyears further to the right than anyone Hillobama appoints. And it's not only about the SCOTUS, keep in mind -- that'll be a lot of federal appointees as well, and McCain's bound to bump up a gem or two. And if you'll allow me to fantasize for a moment, imagine the temperament of federal judiciary molded by 16 years of Republican presidential appointments...
Posted by: Ben | Apr 30, 2008 2:46:21 PM
As most of you know, I'm still a FredHead. Fred was the ONLY true Conservative in the race, and I'll spit in Huckabee's eye if I ever see him for his bullshit campaign that was doomed from the beginning that caused Fred to get out.
McCain was LOW on my list. Not that I don't admire the man.
If you're in the military and can't look with pride and admiration of a 3rd generation Naval Officer, whose father and grandfather were both Admirals,and McCain's own career and years of imprisonment, starvation and torture at the hands of the NVA--to say nothing of his years of service in the Congress, well then you're not much of a military person, or you're just ignorant.
Now that he's the nominee, It's just a matter of holding ones nose and voting for John, because he's NOT Barry O, or The Bitch.
I've no choice--Mike Huckabee (and Romney too) screwed it up for Fred. McCain would be wise to name Fred into the inner circle of his advisors, and use him for special projects just as Nixon and GWB have.
Posted by: hank | Apr 30, 2008 4:17:56 PM
Hank, glad to know you're at least in the nose-holder camp. But I really have to disagree about Huck causing Fred's downfall. Keep in mind, I was as much a Fredhead as anybody around these parts. But Fred's ship, unfortunately, sailed in November. He was so far gone in Iowa, and in failing to recoup any losses in NH, that he was (and it hurts me deep to say this) dead on arrival. Go back and look at his numbers on Intrade.com -- they're not gospel truth, by any means, but he was well on his way out even back in October, before Huck's numbers even came close to registering on the radar.
I don't know what did it, but it wasn't Huck. You have have a stronger argument about Mitt, though -- or more importantly, Mitt supporters. They were so rabid (Hugh Hewitt, National Review, etc.) over such an undeniably mediocre candidate that Fred got discounted early, after his summer buzz wore off.
Posted by: Ben | Apr 30, 2008 6:47:30 PM
I believe that Fred T. did not really want to run. He dragged his feet, so to say, and by the time he decided OK I better get into this race it was to late.
Enjoy the blog.
Posted by: EmeraldLakeEyes | May 3, 2008 1:25:39 PM
I agree and disagree with Ben. I think Fred did not capitalize enough on early buzz. He was DOA when the real action started. I think Mitt was stronger than Ben gives him credit. But the real story is the ascendancy, at least in this race, of the "moderate voter". This group of people is a very large bolus in the gut of American politics. It's a huge tent, covering everything from people who are put off by partisanship, to people who have no conviction, to people who are put off by people who show too much conviction, to political neophytes, to the politically ignorant but nor spoken for (the Dems usually speak for most of these), to the GDIs. These people were the type that lapped up Ross Perot. But this year, they have two choices: Barack Obama and John McCain. But Obama is getting set upon from the right and the Clinton camp, so McCain has the upper hand in the end for this large pocket.
Welcome to the blog, EmeraldLakeEyes.
Posted by: Marty | May 3, 2008 11:07:13 PM
