Straight Talkin' John

I know he's popular here, and I know why he's popular here, but John McCain was just being preposterous last night with Chris Matthews.
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/10/john-mccain-unveils-his-grand-plan-for.html
I watched this in real time. The silence after the "how many of you are going to join up?" question was deafening.

 

Don't sell McCain short. I see lots of parallels between him and Reagan regarding age at time of election, scandal in his party in his ramp-up to election, etc. Only differences are lack of Iran hostages, a weakened Carter in WH, etc.

 

I'm not. He's the clear frontrunner, unless his health is worse than we think it is. But to say that the solution to Iraq is more troops, but that we don't need a draft to get there, is just incoherent.

 

I admire his service, and even have respect for his gravitas...but McCain FOREVER etched his name on my "No Vote" list with his pride swallowing, Bush hugging act in '04...somehow, though, I think he'll step in something smelly before the '08 Convention....

 

Yeah, I guess in a normal economy if we paid our troops Blackwater wages, recruits would be beating down the door. But we aren't, and as a result our armed forces aren't drawing well. So what do you do? LOWER THE QUOTA!

Voila, we met the quota, all is well with our military, our recruits remain patriotic as our forefathers, etc. Never mind that the Guard and Reserve are about to start a second cycle of tours of duty in country.

 

And that's McCain's problem. He's arguing for huge new deployments concocted, as near as I can tell. straight out of thin air. If he were the person he's been made out to be, he'd call for a draft and let the chips fall. But he wants to be president too much for that.

 

Read Jones' Esquire story on McCain.
I voted for McCain in the primaries in 2000.
We would be much better off if he had won.
It would be an honor to vote for him again.

 

As Dan Hickling mentioned, I lost a great deal of respect for McCain with his Fredo loving act in 2004, I'd have voted for him in 2000 but there is no way I'd voted for him now.
Zero credibility.

 

You're kidding yourself if you believe that the McCain 2000 paradigm works as well this time. There's been too much trimming and hedging and sucking up over the past seven years, too many big-talk-no-action moments, and too many moments like the one above, for me to buy the image much any more. He's got more work to do than (I think) he thinks he does.

 

How far back did that story appear? I'd be interested in reading it.

 

I dont know about zero credibility, but the Dems would have to put up the functional equivalent of Fredo (See: Dean, Howard) before I'd vote for McCain

 

Aug 2006.

And why do you think McCain lost the 2000 nomination?
He has to kiss a little evangelical ass if he's going to have a shot.
Once he gets the 2008 nom., he'll head back to the center.
And if the Dems actually are dumb enough to nominate Hillary, McCain will win in a cakewalk.
Of course the Dems will make an issue on McCain's age, health and temper.
I don't usually post on the polly threads but I really admire McCain and hate to see him take flak. He just can't say f-you to the pres or the GOP right wing and still have a shot in 08.