Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

7 Comments

1. 1

   

   Horatio says:
   

   September 5th 2008 at 11:19 am  

   [Ethics Committee counsel and]Democrat Robert S. Bennett, who was the special investigator during the scandal, suggested to the Senate Ethics Committee that it pursue charges against neither McCain nor Glenn, saying of McCain, “that there was no evidence against him.”

2. 2

   

   Ron Chusid says:
   

   September 5th 2008 at 11:30 am  

   McCain probably did not break any laws and no charges were brought. That doesn’t mean that this didn’t raise questions about both McCain’s judgment and his history of being a maverick who fought corruption.

3. 3

   

   Horatio says:
   

   September 5th 2008 at 1:58 pm  

   McCain indicated that it was stupid. It was also 20 years ago. If every political decision every politician makes is open for 2nd guessing, especially ones for which they were investigated and cleared, then we have a problem in our system.

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   Ron Chusid says:
   

   September 5th 2008 at 2:18 pm  

   The McCain campaign made a decision to concentrate on McCain’s biography and avoid talking about the issues (realizing he would lose any debate on the issues). If he is going to make his campaign about biography then his full biography is fair game.

   This is especially true considering how he is now basing his campaign on his POW experiences, which were even further back, and has been using that as an excuse for any mistake.

   He was investigated and cleared of criminal offenses. That does not change the fact that he acted unethically.

5. 5

   

   Horatio says:
   

   September 5th 2008 at 6:02 pm  

   He was cleared of all charges, and was never charged with an ethics violation.

   “realizing he would lose any debate on the issues”

   In your humble opinion

   🙂

6. 6

   

   Ron Chusid says:
   

   September 5th 2008 at 7:27 pm  

   Not being charged and not having committed acts which contradict his claims of having fought corruption are two entirely different things.

   If he didn’t realize he couldn’t win on the issues he wouldn’t

   1) adopt a campaign strategy specifically designed to attempt to avoid discussion of the issues and

   2) repeatedly lie about Obama’s positions on the issues as opposed to presenting an honest comparison between his views and Obama’s. If Obama is wrong he should criticize Obama’s actual positions, not make up a bunch of false positions to attack.

   Actually the second point applies to McCain’s speech writers and advisers. In McCain’s case it is very possible he does not know enough about the issues, or Obama’s views, to realize that what he is reading is untrue.

7. 7

   

   Murphy says:
   

   September 6th 2008 at 2:30 pm  

   McCain’s staff is loaded with lobbyists.  If this campaign is about his biography, then no one argues that he suffered in Viet Nam, and was a noble example of grace under persecution.  Still his behavior towards his first family when he arrived home makes Edwards look like a model spouse.   His socializing with Keating and vacationing with him in expensive getaways is legendary. When asked about his affairs and asking his second wife for her hand while sill married to his first, he said that happened 30 years ago.  Is there a statute of limitations on his biography?   We all respect McCain’s service, but many suffered in Viet Nam, 55,000 direct casualties, and indirect casualties are never counted.  He does not speak for them, and he does not have the right to use this as justification for anything else he does in life.  It exploits human suffering, just as using the word “race card” reduces the tragedy and suffering of generations, exploits and undermines human rights and dignity, to a metaphor for a card game–something they did not hesitate to do whatsoever.    Enough of the Pseudo Self-Righteous with an Agenda.