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How is it possible for a politician as cynical as John McCain to get away with a statement as arrogant and narcissistic as this:
"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."
Unselfish? Putting country first? Whom does he think he's kidding?
For the last year, we have watched McCain sell out his principles on issue after issue, including, of all things, his opposition to torture. He's changed positions on virtually every policy for which he once claimed to stand above others. He's pandered to and now totally caved to the religious right, extremists he once abhored as a threat to the nation.
The media, who once worshipped his candor and openness now condemn his evasiveness and intemperate, robotic statements. One by one, they've awakened to find a man they no longer recognize.
He's turned over his campaign to the same unprincipled smear artists who slimed him so that they could slime his opponent. And to help in that effort, he's asking his unqualified running mate, a self-described "pit bull with lipstick" to do the dirty work.
His campaign, now stripped of all integrity, and in complete denial about his responsibility for supporting the last eight years of failed policies, has become little more than pumped up self praise, relentless narcissism over a sense of honor he no longer displays, while smearing Obama's character and lying about his energy and tax proposals. His strategy has been reduced to a Nixonian cultural war coupled with Rovean partisanship designed to divide the nation he claims to love, all as he cynically promises to end the "rancor" in Washington.
He uses his years as a POW -- 30 years ago -- as an excuse for every failing today. As bmaz noted, "I challenge you to show me any American veteran, ever in history, that has so shamelessly milked and exploited his military heroism."
Shameless is the right word.
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Excuse my language but I do not fucking believe they are playing Sarah Palin’s nickname song Barracuda by Heart. WTF?
This team is so energizing Dems again. I’m fighting mad. I read on DKos that Hillary is coming out on Monday. Whoohah!
Gotta run, am donating again to Obama and to IL-13 Scott Harper up against Repub. Judy Biggert.
First time Ive been able to get online today to FDL. You must have a lot of visitors.
Spot-on, Scarecrow.
And I LOVE you for using the correct grammar [Whom does he think he’s kidding?]
Is it over yet? The Republican reign of terror?
Shameless is too nice a word.
Well, McCrazy is now the front-runner.
Tweety has decreed it, thus it is so.
I have to admit that I tried to avoid most of McCain’s speech. Finally I turned on the TV. The very first thing I heard was John McCain saying, “A culture of life.” Confirming that he has sold his integrity and soul to the fundies.
Now on PBS they are raving about McCain’s speech. Great stage craft, short on specifics, Obama is in for the fight of his life, yadda, yadda, yadda.
OK the ONLY person in the crowd, please take note, clapping on the TWO beat is that black guy. All whities clap on the One and the three beat. Sad idn’t it?
TDS is brilliant tonight.
How about “motherfucker?”
i gotta call it a night fore i start to cry for these folks. this is another of those ‘methinks thou dost protest too much’ moments, all the hoopla over nuttin.
all hat and no cattle.
love ya’ll
EPIC FAIL balloon drop.
A fitting end: too much POW, too much 911, too much GOP, too many balloons.
Caw! Caw!
Did you expect honesty?
The whole night was BAD
Kelly O’Donnell reported that McCrazy *really* doesn’t like to talk about his POWiness. christ. But the party higher-ups have ordered him to ramp up the POW references, ya see.
omfg. He has so got nothing, but we’re gonna be forced to listen to it for two more months anyway.
I avoided all of it and the rest of the RNC as well. I cannot afford a new TV right now.
Mark Shields,,,,This was NOT a great speech. Read it, sounds like a resurgent challenger, failed Admin., do nothing, throw the bums out speech. Mark thinks it is awful…throw the rascals out.
I can’t believe it. Mark Shields is the only one who says that this was a speech that didn’t work.
I guess he felt that cheatin’ on his wife was because he fell in love with “America”…and that telling investigators to back off from Charles Keating (Cindy Lou’s business partner) was decent and good. After all, screw those little people who lost their life savings in the S&L debacle!
judas forking priest i am so glad this clusterfork of a convention is over
We are getting closer. How’s your semester going?
Fuck the republican media. Did anyone expect them to say the speech blew?
I would say that instead of using the word “heroism”, the word “service” should be substituted. True heros rarely if ever use their deeds for self-promotion so shamelessly.
This whole campaign is such a circus, as is our country. I laugh but I am so sickened because I know there is half a country outside of these freaks at the convention who are 100 percent behind this lunacy. Parallel universe is the best description I’ve seen to describe the whole 8 year nightmare which may well extend beyond. This is so unbelievable. You know, it is their goal to make us all numb, so that we no longer get shocked or even react to the lies and the weirdness, and they have half succeeded in doing that. And Obama goes on Fox tonight? What’s up with that, after his pandering to the rightwing church crowd in that horrendous thing they did a few weeks ago.
When the going gets too weird, the weird get going…or something like that!
Straightshooting McCain is running against the last 8 years of Democratic misrule.
His speech made me sick!!! To base his readiness on the fact that he was a POW 36 years ago is just freaking stupid. What does he think the American people want more of the same old tired policies that reward the rich and leave nothing for the middle class??
Tired OLD OLD man…
Tom Ridge calls his candidate George McCain!
It’s all OK if you love your country (as long as you are a Republican and a POW). Kind of like a magic get out of jail free.
And the same music on a short repeating loop, just like their failed policies. They have so little. This is the only kind of recycling they believe in.
McCain came out of Vietnam realizing that a man can not stand alone so he married an heiress with a $100 million fortune. Problem solved.
Already PBS is raving about McCains speech. Richard Norton Smith the Republican historian implied McCain is going all the way to the White House. Of course Jim Lehrer seemed pleased that his man has energized the storm troopers. Lehrer is breathing a sigh of relief that his postition of wealth, priviledge and power have been given a reprieve. It’s hard to believe that Americans will fall for this shit but as Robert Kennedy Jr. said, “Americans are the most entertained people in the world and the least informed.”
Did anyone expect them to say the speech blew?
No. This is another edition…. /s
For pity’s sake, *they* can’t even tell McCain apart from Bush.
Dood, where in the Hell is the DIGG button?
Great post!
Here, have a new razor, yer’s must be dull after that blood letting.
McCain was a POW??? Well that changes everything.
“Get out of jail free card”. Grrr.
WAR! What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing!*
*except to get me into the White House
The Bush Administration is the worst Democratic administration ever!
Just got home from long slog of a day @ the office & opened an email from my daughter- she & hubby made 100 buck donation to Obama/Biden after St. John finished up. Postscript reads, “btw Mom, that FDL writer you think does such a good job has a post up about McSame’s dreck-filled speech.”
Great analysis, Scarecrow, from Marie. Also from Natalie & Scott.
Really just started. Missed a class for Labor Day, so I haven’t gotten into much yet.
O Canada!
Ghouliani - noun, verb, 9/11
McCain — noun, verb, POW
Palin — noun, verb, cleavage
I think McCain is a poor speaker at least partly because he doesn’t practice. Often he did not seem to know what was coming next.
John McCain came out of Viet Nam thinking the world owed him a free ride.
bmaz’ quote had “heroism” in quotes.
judas forking priest i am so glad this clusterfork of a convention is over
concise, clear and correct.
Shit, even the weather around here has gone to hell since this monstrosity started. I blame Fred Thompson.
Left Coasters - don’t miss TDS! and - hiya Suz!
So, correct me if I’m wrong, but this crew just absolutely, unequivocally does not get the idea that increasing carbon in the atmosphere is a really, really bad idea?
digg and newsbox have been disabled as they search for the ghost in the code
they will be back - hopefully soon
Nice concise summary of McCain and his campaign. A man who would do anything to be President should never be allowed to be President.
Gotcha.
we use that word “clusterf*ck” a lot around here but I have to say that it has never rung truer than the last 2 nights in St. Paul MN. It really and truly describes it.
And if you miss the Daily Show tonight or any of it’s reruns tomorrow, you will truly have missed a masterpiece of actual reporting.
And there will also be new shows tomorrow to wrap up the week.
Lucky dog! We are already in the second week. So far the classes are going well. Looks like I have a really good group in my theory seminar.
Priceless!
Careful, then. McCain has a history of crashing his free rides.
Gergen likes the war story…I will be a warrior for you. Man without rancor against Obama; but substantive stuff did not work well. Country wants fresh answers. Thin. Good David. Heart was in his story.
Check this out:
Cheney still in Europe fanning the flames?
That is exactly the tactics that the Nazi’s used to keep people off balance and numb. They learned from their ideological heirs.
When do ya leave Kirk???
Did McCain really say Palin was a . . . hockey-Momin’ . . . ?
I think you could have just stopped after “this crew just absolutely, unequivocally does not get the idea”.
No, they think they will get raptured before any of the serious shit comes down. So par-tee like it was the end of days, because with this crew it well could be.
What has been most surprising to me, is that the McCain campaign has succeeded in accomplishing what no Dem would have ever dared TRY to do.
They have turned McCain’s POW experience into a joke. A caricature. No matter the circumstance, no matter the gaff, they proudly trot their one and only “McCain the Victim” card.
Did I mention he was a POW?
Try to avoid aircraft carriers for a while. 8-)
thanks - am so lookin forward to what jon and crew do with this mess. (wicked evil laugh)
Well, at least one Fox-owned channel has worthwhile programming on right now. “Young Frankenstein”… as opposed to the elder Frankenstein that they are fetêing on every other Fox channel.
Woof!
So he wasn’t “tortured” in Vietnam, contrary to earlier reports. Just “roughed up.” And yet he said they broke him.
As Ehrenstein said over at Digby’s: “The Republicans are running HER for President and McCain for Veep.”
Ayup.
Neal Cohen on NPR brought up the point that McCain is against the system he voted with 90% of the time.
So much fer looking into his eyes and seeing his soul, Dorkmeyer.
Colbert is drowning The Republican National Convention in a bathtub.
our pushback framing is getting picked up … nice :)
Colbert is good, too. Best line on Lieberman after Lie says “What’s a Democrat like me doing here?” Colbert says “wait! wait! I know this one! Spitting in the face of everyone who voted for you!?!”
that one’s for Jane!
I thought PBS was really bad in their response to McSames speech but Charlie Rose, Al Hunt and Byron York might as well be on McCain’s payroll. They were absolutely gushing about McCain. With most of the electorate getting what information they get from the corporate media it’s not surprising that the race is so close.
Hell, neither one of them even has a soul.
Obama campaign release a long list of fact-check lies in the speech.
From Hillary Clinton:
Ooooh, Colbert is rawkin’!
Toobin hated the speech, shockingly bad. Boring, no policy proposals. etc etc.
Was about to queue up TiVo of John McTeleprompter, but on 2nd thought, forget it.
I’d rather backread here @ FDL & sip a Sapphire & tonic.
TTFN.
No doubt. But I have to admit I live in a bit of a bubble. I really only see these people on MSNBC and I kinda confuse them with the all prisoner, all night programming, like production makes them not quite human.
They really, really are that stupid, aren’t they. I guess I always just thought it was a stupidity of choice in order to rationalize the necessary screwing over of the fellow man and still showing up in church bit. As a collection of folks, they are really kind of impressive in terms of collective social disease.
thanks - setting to record now….
It is the pure and complete contempt that they have for voters. After their last 8 years in power they realize that they need to do things differently so they want another 4 years to do more of the same.
Colbert is rocking too! They are the only ones in the habit of committing journalism.
There may be no DIGG Button but you can Digg this POST right Here DIGG IT!
It was the long way but it seems to work (:>))
Just like when they used Springsteen’s
I don’t think they get it.
Barracuda
“You lying so low in the weeds
I bet you gonna ambush me
You’d have me down down down down on my knees
Now wouldn’t you, barracuda?
…
If the real thing don’t do the trick
No, you better make up something quick
You gonna burn burn burn burn it to the wick
Ooooooohhhh, barra barracuda.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. “
As John Stuart Mill put it, “Not all conservatives are stupid, but stupid people tend to be conservative.” Personally I think Mill was far too generous.
What was that bit near the end about being ‘anointed’? That was like, instant commercial. “John McCain: he might be the Miracle of Lourdes”
or “John McCain: You may touch my raiment, cripple.”
shocked. I’m shocked I tell you. /s
OMG, the blogger who helped pick Sarah Palin actually admitted he blogged from Mom’s house to pimp Palin.
-Spew-
I actually learned something tonight (let that be an inspiration to your young minds, DrDick and EvilDrPuma)
I learned (which I had not realized before) that Tom Ridge has no neck
Gergen must’ve been listening to a different speech…surely he’s not too shallow to recognize subtext?
But it’s the closest they’ve come this whole convention to saying George’s name!
I’m beginning to think that Republican should be a DSM classification. Maybe Kirk can come up with the criteria for it.
The Republican electorate bought the Bush spiel in 2000 and now they’re perfectly willing to overlook 8 years of disaster and buy into the McCain baloney. They buy into the patriotism and red, white & blue and don’t think about the past and don’t look into the story. As Reagan said, why ruin a story with the truth.
McCain talked about his military experience, but wouldn’t admit the past 8 years have been a disaster. He talked about how he KNEW how to govern, but wouldn’t tell anyone enough detail to know he was full of baloney. He talked about the big issues of the day and said “trust me” when the Republicans have had nearly 30 years to do something and their oil men always said “No”. John McCain knows this is a year a Democrat should lead the way and he still hopes to con people into supporting him. That’s not patriotism, that’s snakeoil salesmanship.
He claims to Talk Straight. He ought to get up there and say what Republicans REALLY stand for: guns, anti-gays, anti-taxes, but lots and lots of deficit spending, no government except for the military, creationism in schools, no taxes on the Rich whatsoever so the poor can pay for all government, no abortion under any circumstances, no immigration and separate and unequal schooling to keep uppity Obamas from ever challenging him for political office.
But, they won’t because they’re not really patriotic Straight Talkers.
BTW, I wonder if the Evangelicals wonder why he said he was his nation’s man rather than in the hands of Jesus.
The Reagan Revolution should be over. The American people should realize we need government to do some things and give it full support to do those things well. McCain hedges and speaks vaguely on that. He talks about key issues, but doesn’t really give full support to government involvement. They really don’t like government and only give it lip service.
People really need to repudiate the Reagan Revolution which says ‘government is the enemy’. If we can’t do that, then there truly may be no hope for America. Either we have a government we want or we toss it. Which is it? Keep in mind that without a government we have no laws and the Rich will suddenly have nothing and business owners would have nobody to protect their stores. Yea, nobody likes taxes, but try living without ‘em. Think you can pass all the debt to the next generation or two? What’s the matter? You chicken? Passing debt to somebody else is just stealing their money. Are Americans all thieves?
Bill Clinton showed we could balance the budget. What can Republicans show?
—-
I’m also still thinking about Sarah Palin and a contract she made (as governor of Alaska) with TransCanada corp. $500 million to *someday* build a gas pipeline? Would Alaska really just give that much money to somebody for construction the U.S. government might never permit? It’s worth investigating.
Actually, I think I exploded some heads to day in my intro class when I explained to them that human beings do not have biological races.
dood, you forking rock.. dugg
typo in main post btw. “ever” should be “every” third paragraph.
Maybe they’ll cancel the Winter Olympics in Sochi? Give our athletes several years to be pissed off at the GOP?
Has something to do with the ability to hold a dozen or more mutually contradictory false idea and an inability to connect with reality.
God man nahant, I’m on it.
Breaking: Governor Palin assigned Secret Service code name-
“Ni”
That is Republican Derangement Syndrome you are describing.
thanks revdeb
McCain has no honor. He says Tucker Eskew is responsible for the smear used in the 2000 South Carolina that McCain fathered an out of wedlock child with an African American. Now he has hired Eskew to work with Palin. No real man would do that.
What does he have to offer us?
Races no, but they do have some interesting gymnastics competitions.
Quite frankly if a man had been responsible for saying things like that about my child, I would be in jail after meeting him.
revdeb, the typo has been magically fixed upon your next refresh
thanks
We have a different perspective. Some at the convention were tearing up. I, otoh, was gagging.
shameless hypocrisy and narcissism and nobody bought it.
CNN’s quickpoll on the speech:
Thumbs up 38%
Thumbs down 45%
Didn’t watch 17%
With Palin, the numbers were pretty much reversed. I’m going for no-bounce.
Whoo HOo! Ad for Rachel’s new show!
LOL !!
Johnny Sez:
I was never the same again. I wasn’t my own man anymore. I was my country’s.”
So in other words, he is his country’s bitch? And since he is a Republican, he might also be considered the Republican Party’s bitch.
I think I’m beginning to understand this whole politics thing.
On a somewhat related note, was it the grape or cherry Kool Aid that everyone was drinking in the convention hall this evening?
A noun, a verb, cleavage (ht Prairie Sunshine), and an army of self-empowered Mommas boys, she’s got it all!
We actually talked about that, too, as one of the reasons there are no biological races (too much fucking out of bounds going on for far too long).
As in the Knights who say Ni?
Whoo HOo! Ad for Rachel’s new show!
Any clues there as to what it’s going to be like?