Maverick AKA Reckless

Last week, McCain said he was working on the bailout proposal, but then said in another interview that he hadn't read it yet. He had not read it before or during the time he suspended his campaign. McCain said in his book that he wants to be the first one to make a decision--he makes decisions quickly and he sometimes pays the price for that--but that hasn't taught him anything.

He showed that when he selected--much to the surprise of pundits and colleagues alike--Sarah Palin as his VP, when this meant she would be one bad heartbeat away from the presidency, should he again get cancer as he has four times before, or suffer from myriad other ailments usually visited on those over 70. The running mate issue is usually not so onerous, but that's because most Presidents-elect chose someone who was qualified. Does any freethinking person REALLY believe that Palin is qualified or capable of being president? She may seem like "common folk" but i don't want my president (OR VP for that matter) to be "Common folk." I want them to be uncommon. And uncommonly able. I want them to be intelligent, discerning, experienced and rational.

Need an example of irrational?

How about not believing in abortion, but also not believing in sex education and birth control? Could there BE a better way to insure that all young girls become pregnant? One need only look as far as Palin's own 16 year old PREGNANT daughter to get this point. And what about Palin's statement that dinosaurs walked the Earth with man? Anyone who maintains that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, without acknowledging the empirical proof we have to the contrary, is not someone who has her head on straight. Does she know about our geologic column and the FACT of evolution and geologic time? Or does she just dismiss it as "not of God"? Never mind her hobby of killing endangered wolves, not to feed her family, but for the sheer joy of killing an animal. And never mind that she has to be hidden from the media because she's not capable of holding her own in any real question and answer session from a respected journalist (Couric). Never mind that she has to be "Trained" to debate, and has to "Cram" for the test of being Vice President. I believe one ought to be qualified beforehand. (And by the way, Governor Palin: the word is pronounced "new- clee-ur" not "newk-ya-lur"...didn't we just put up with that bit of insipidness for the last 8 years with BUSH?)

Did McCain think that choosing Palin would gain the ticket all those female voters who supported Hillary? Like we'll vote for whomever has breasts? So yeah, McCain picking Palin does show he's a maverick. But in this context, that's not a compliment. Do you want a Maverick to have his finger on the nuclear button? Someone who has stated that he likes to make the quickest decision, no matter what the cost? Someone who is willing to stay in the Iraq war for a hundred more years?

McCain also revealed his maverickness again when he suspended his campaign to ostensibly ride in on his white horse and save the poor congress and the nation (though we have since learned the obvious--that this was merely political maneuvering and a blatantly transparent attempt to make himself look like he has priorities he doesn't truly have)--and then when he gets there, he doesn't even read the bill, (like he didn't read the "user's manual" for the five aircraft he ditched) and has almost nothing to offer to the conversation; he showed this maverick streak when he said he would not return to his campaign nor to the first debate until there was an agreement, (since he obviously isn't capable of multi-tasking) and then he goes to the debate after all. Do we really want a president who makes snap decisions without studying the issue fully? Don't presidents need to make informed decisions? Doesn't every thinking person need to do that?

But McCain has a history of making ill-advised decisions. When he was in the U.S. Naval Academy, there were only four other cadets who scored lower than he did. He was ranked 894 out of 899. His classmates referred to him as "McNasty." He rarely studied, and spent most of his time partying and drinking. Because of who his father and grandfather were (respected generals in the Navy) he was allowed to train as a Navy Pilot. He almost died several times in his plane because he didn't study as he should have and didn't know how to operate it properly. Once, he almost drowned when his plane crashed- (his own fault) because he didn't know how the release mechanism on his seat worked (again, his fault). By luck, he figured it out before he drowned. He was a "below par" pilot, and lost/destroyed FIVE planes. The fifth one resulted in his capture by enemy forces, which led to his being a POW. So before we pat him on the head or feel sympathy, we should first recognize that if he had been more responsible, he would not have been captured in the first place. When he returned, he was given a Commander assignment that he didn't earn, and used it to fraternize with subordinates and have affairs, which violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He was obviously not interested in his marriage; his wife (a former model) had been crippled in a car accident while he was away, and she was therefore damaged goods to him when he got home. He divorced her after falling in love with someone else.

One would think that a veteran would have a clear idea of what veterans need. But since he always had his needs met, because of his family name, his viewpoint is skewed.

According to the U.S. Veteran Dispatch,

"In 1979, while attending a military reception in Hawaii, McCain met and fell in love with Cindy Lou Hensley, 17 years his junior, who was the daughter of James W. Hensley, a wealthy Anheuser-Busch distributor from Phoenix, Arizona. McCain filed for and obtained an uncontested divorce from his wife in Florida on April 2, 1980 and promptly married Cindy on May 17, 1980.

He resigned from the Navy in 1981 and went to work for his father-in-law in Phoenix; where he used the opportunity to make powerful and wealthy friends in Arizona including banker Charles Keating and Duke Tully, the editor-in-chief of the Arizona Republic. Keating was later convicted of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy and Tully was disgraced for concocting a phony military record of combat in Korea and Vietnam including medals for heroism."

The designation of "Maverick" is not always a good one when it describes a man who doesn't think things through, doesn't do the work required to be informed, and creates more problems than he solves. This is more accurately defined, not as maverick, but as reckless. How can he be depended upon to do what he says, and keep his word and be dependable, when he constantly changes his mind? This erratic modus operandi is dangerous when it exists in the highest office of the US. And we've already had 8 years of a president with "C" and "D" grades. As a president, those grades will again fall to an "F."

And his voting record on behalf of veterans in the senate?

"John McCain skipped close to a dozen votes on Iraq, and on at least another 10 occasions, he voted against arming and equipping the troops, providing adequate rest for the troops between deployments and for health care or other benefits for veterans."

Specifically?

"September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments. At the time, nearly 65% of people polled in a CNN poll indicted that "things are going either moderately badly or very badly in Iraq.

July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq. At the time, an ABC poll found that 63% thought the invasion was not worth it, and a CBS News poll found that 72% of respondents wanted troops out within 2 years.

March 2007: McCain was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all combat troops within one year. Around this time, an NBC News poll found that 55% of respondents indicated that the US goal of achieving victory in Iraq is not possible. This number has not moved significantly since then.

February 2007: For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a resolution condemning it. However, at the time a CNN poll found that only 16% of respondents wanted to send more troops to Iraq (that number has since declined to around 10%), while 60% said that some or all should be withdrawn. This number has since gone up to around 70%.

June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.

April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

March 2004: McCain once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans' needs.

October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.

April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000. To his credit, he also voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which he now supports making permanent, despite the dire financial condition this country is in, and despite the fact that he indicated in 2001 that these tax cuts unfairly benefited the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class. " (Veterans For Common Sense)

McCain, a populist? A veteran's champion? Um. No.

It would take far more time and space to examine the voting record of McCain or anyone else; but it's not necessary. I know I would both agree and disagree with his various votes. (AndI have a slew of suggestions about what should change across the board in that subject). What i have seen from McCain, though, in his fundamental character and in his choices just within the election paradigm this year, is enough to tell me he is not someone I want in charge. ANd i most assuredly don't want Palin in charge, should McCain keel over.

The president needs to be intelligent, discerning, decisive and most of all INFORMED. He needs to be an accomplished communicator, more willing to negotiate before engaging in conflict, more apt to take the high road than the road of baser instinct, more capable of bringing people together, rather than tearing them apart. He needs to prefer the input of others who are experts, and have proven their mettle and their honesty, and who might disagree with him, and then consider all the variables before making a decision. He needs to be educated and to have proven the quality of his education by his grades and his decisions after schooling. This describes Obama, not McCain. And a VP needs to be capable of being this kind of president, should the president die or become incapacitated. This describes Biden, and most assuredly not Palin.

A McCain-Palin team is frightening on so many levels. Starting with the fact that he is of the same party as George W. Bush, who has almost single-handedly ruined America.

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REFERENCES
*"John McCain:Unfit to serve as Commander-In-Chief: The spoiled son of military privilege got a free ride throughout his military career despite repeated instances of sex scandals and screw-ups" Ted Sampley. U.S. Veteran Dispatch. January 27, 2008 http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan08/mccain_military_record.htm

*"McCain's Voting Record: He Does Not Support Our Troops and Veterans." Veterans For Common Sense. http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/9559

*"McCain Profile: At the Naval Academy" Dan Nowicki and Bill Muller - Mar. 1, 2007 10:52 AM. The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/mccain/articles/2007/03/01/20070301mccainbio-chapter2.html

Maverick AKA Reckless