Hey Mike,

>If he stops acting like McSame I will be less tempted.
>
>This is dead serious, not partisan at all. I actually like and admire John McCain and have said so here many times. But he is running on nothing at all other than faith that our right-skewing populace will vote him in. He has no vision. He outright promises to perpetuate bad policies like staying in Iraq and tax cuts in the face of skyrocketing deficits. Electing him would signal our tacit acceptance of the U.S.'s diminished stature in the world. I want us to be better than that. I want us to reassume the role of inspirational world leaders. We are on the same page about that.

Bad policies to whom? To you and like-minded, for sure, but not to me. I don't want to cut and run in Iraq and I believe that tax cuts - judiciously applied - do help the economy, So I like that direction, Mike. And where does diminished stature come into play? What, because some other friendly countries don't agree with us that diminishes us?

My squadron in the USAF had a motto: "Lead, follow, or get out of the way". In terms of geopolitics we'll lead, they can follow, or they can STFU and mind their own business. If you believe, as I do, that we're a major force for good in this world then you have to look the other way when we're being criticized and not take it too seriously. It's human nature for other countries to take shots at us.



>>No, it's not BS and one who uses the phrase "McSame" should be careful about throwing the word "spin" around.
>>
>>>This is too much. I will stop being polite. You are 100% full of BS and spin. For your possible edification (unlikely):
>>>
>>>1. Calling Obama a Chicago machine politician is so far off the mark it's comical. You know squat about Chicago politics. You haven't seen Mayor Daley lift a finger for him, have you? He somehow managed to infiltrate Chicago Democratic politics from the outside, losing one election to Bobby Rush in the process. (That time he really did go too soon). There is a well known local anecdote about Obama knocking on doors of local leaders when he first decided to move from community organizing on the South Side to statewide office. He shows up at the guy's office and says he wants to see him. A flunky brings the answer back: Who sent you? Nobody sent me. The answer comes back: If nobody sent him I don't want to see him.
>>
>>I'm not sure how outside he really was when he began to win elections but I do know that Chicago, historically, has the most corrupt local politics of any major city in the nation (Miami might rival them). Obama appeals to Chicagoans underrepresented, perhaps, by the Daley machine. I'll leave this point and concede you probably have a better grasp of "Obama: The Early Years" than I.
>>
>>>2. Obama was about 15 when William Ayers was in the Weather Underground and gained his notoriety. He was nowhere near Chicago. Needless to say, they had no association. Ayers has since joined the establishment, to the extent that even Mayor Daley speaks well of him, and got to know Obama in community efforts in that capacity.
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>>Dude, they have served on boards together! I don't really care when Ayers did what and what he's doing now. Personally, I would never be seen in the same room as anyone who had done what Ayers did no matter how rehabilitated he was. Even though forgiveness is a very noble sentiment there are things that are unforgiveable. I just think it shows poor judgement.
>>
>>>3. Rev. Wright's inflammatory remarks have been his own, not anyone else's. They do not reflect the views of Barack Obama. Obama has been guilty of no more than being slow to condemn mentors who have helped him politically. If you want to call it cold eyed politics, go ahead, that's fair enough. I thought we wanted a tough leader, don't we?
>>
>>Yes, we do want tough leaders but define tough. He only threw Wright under the bus when it started to become public Wright's sermons and views. If Obama was a member of that church for a long time and had his kids baptised there, where's the compelling evidence that their views were in conflict? This becomes a matter of faith whether you believe Obama or not because the evidence is not there.
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>>>Sometimes I hold my tongue out of collegiality and sometimes I feel the need to swing back. Obviously, this is one of them. These baseless slanders -- such as the "fact" that Barack Obama is Muslim, which 12% of Americans believe -- will not go unchallenged. He has rare leadership potential and I am not going to stand by idly and watch him be Swift boated. If you're going to spread BS here, I will get in your face about it every single time.
>>
>>Did I say anything about Obama being Muslim (or not)? No. You can get in my face all you want but you're acting like a 19th century preacher who's just been told about the Theory of Evolution. You scream lies and BS and have nothing but your beliefs and faith and hope to back it up. Obama may have rare leadershiup potential but it's unproven. If you have faith that he does, it's doesn't make my dubiousness "BS". At best it makes you partisan; at worst it makes you a kool-aid drinker.