McCain shows his 'foreign expertise' in Jordan

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Ok, I'm also not a McCain voter, but I'll say this, dude's old. I actually don't question his foreign policy or military expertise, but, he's old. And the mind may be going, so he may misspeak. Happens to old people. Just sayin'.

nittany....let's give him the benefit of that doubt aabout the old thing, still,would someone want to have to worry about a slip like that with an important ally or an enemy we are trying to make into an ally?

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

nittany....let's give him the benefit of that doubt aabout the old thing, still,would someone want to have to worry about a slip like that with an important ally or an enemy we are trying to make into an ally?

Oh, I'm not defending or endorsing him, I'm just saying, dude's old. And to be fair, we've had 8 years of someone who can barely form a coherent sentence and has made more gaffes than the Keystone Cops, so I actually believe that even as old and possibly-headed-toward-feeblemindedness as he is, McCain would still be an improvement over what we have been living with.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Oh, I'm not defending or endorsing him, I'm just saying, dude's old. And to be fair, we've had 8 years of someone who can barely form a coherent sentence and has made more gaffes than the Keystone Cops, so I actually believe that even as old and possibly-headed-toward-feeblemindedness as he is, McCain would still be an improvement over what we have been living with.

that scares me...

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

that scares me...

Actually, it isn't McCain that scares me, it's the lack of change that would come with him to D.C. If the GOP keeps the White House, there won't be much of a shake-up and that town NEEDS a shake-up. Sure, some of the WH personnel will shift around, but a lot of the cronies who are snuggled deep in the hearts of the bureaucratic agencies will stay put and the lobbyists who have had their run of things will keep it in high gear. It's like people who think term limits will make a difference in Congress. It would move the elected faces around, but the staffs would stay put, and ask anyone in D.C. who really pulls the strings in that town and they'll tell you it's the staffers.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Actually, it isn't McCain that scares me, it's the lack of change that would come with him to D.C. If the GOP keeps the White House, there won't be much of a shake-up and that town NEEDS a shake-up. Sure, some of the WH personnel will shift around, but a lot of the cronies who are snuggled deep in the hearts of the bureaucratic agencies will stay put and the lobbyists who have had their run of things will keep it in high gear. It's like people who think term limits will make a difference in Congress. It would move the elected faces around, but the staffs would stay put, and ask anyone in D.C. who really pulls the strings in that town and they'll tell you it's the staffers.

As I was told by a gentleman working for one of the other candidates:
With McCain you will get a smarter, angrier Bush.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by jon1856

With McCain you will get a smarter, angrier Bush.

This. Yes. (adding in all the same people and crap and whatnot)

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

This. Yes. (adding in all the same people and crap and whatnot)

That's only a step up and rarely do people think 'smartly' when they are angry...

[PhiGam]

Originally Posted by jon1856

As I was told by a gentleman working for one of the other candidates:
With McCain you will get a smarter, angrier Bush.

McCain is ideologically different than Bush. Here's my opinion:

The ever-changing Republican party can be broken down into Neo-conservatives (Bush Jr., Cheney, Some would say JFK), Small government conservatives (Paul), Maverick conservatives (McCain, Specter), religious conservatives (Huckabee, Falwell), and traditional conservatives (Bush Sr., Powell). There is a lot of overflow here but I did my best to put famous conservatives in the category which they fit best.

The Maverick conservatives are often viewed as angry because they constantly lobby against pork barrel spending and campaign finance. It is very hard for them to stay elected unless they are involved in highly publicized national reform policy because they are unable to reward their states with specific projects and funding. The downside is that they are forced to be "media whores." McCain will call for a line item veto if elected and I think that the conservative supreme court would give it to him. McCain's biggest issue as a senator was cutting pork. I personally support the line item veto for whomever gets elected, even if it is Obama.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

I personally support the line item veto for whomever gets elected, even if it is Obama.

I know that sounds attractive, but legislatively and in practice, it would be a big, huge mistake and an enormous surrendering of check-and-balance in the functioning of our government.