McCain Earned the Right to Question Obama’s Patriotism

Below is the far left answer for the White House. He asks John McCain not to question his patriotism. John McCain’s patriotism speaks for itself based on his personal record. Obama has no record outside of sound bites and policy suggestions that fail. He says he has opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. The excerpt below is an example of the kind of leadership he offers. He was advocating surrender, withdrawal and defeat in 2006 and earlier. John McCain supported the troop surge and it was a success. He opposed the handling of the war before the surge and is why he supported victory in Iraq with the surge. So who do you want running the country? Surrender, withdrawal and defeatist appeaser Barack Obama or experienced Senator, Veterean and War Hero John McCain?

Sen. Obama: Iraq withdrawal should begin in 2007
POSTED: 5:08 p.m. EST, November 20, 2006

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama called Monday for U.S. troops to start leaving Iraq in 2007, arguing that the threat of an American pullout is the best leverage Washington has left in the conflict.

“The time for waiting in Iraq is over. It is time to change our policy,” said Obama, a freshman Democrat from Illinois touted as a possible national candidate in 2008.

“It is time to give Iraqis their country back, and it is time to refocus America’s efforts on the wider struggle yet to be won.

And Barack Obama likes to court the far left of which he is a member. The big resume’ he touts is community organizer and state senator in Illinois. His legislative experience has been analyzed as containing too many ‘present’ results in his voting record rather than taking a stand on issues. Two ends of the spectrum for McCain would be his staunch support of the troop surge against compelling opposition in which he is vindicated. His support of amnesty nearly derailed his pursuit of the nominatin for President. He admitted he was wrong and ‘learned his lesson’. This blog is as yet unconvinced on that point but will take John McCain over Barack Obama any time. Read Obama’s silly speech excerpt to the far left listed below.

I don’t oppose all wars.

After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration’s pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income – to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

Now let me be clear – I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He’s a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

The report from VOA listed below is the inspiration for this post. From the report, the real bottom line is John McCain’s quote on Obama, ‘“Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of failure for America over the path of success and victory,” McCain said. “In short, both candidates in this election have pledged to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference is that I intend to win it first.”

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Obama Tells McCain Not to Question His Patriotism



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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday urged his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, to stop questioning his character and patriotism. Obama spoke to the same veterans group in Florida that McCain addressed the day before when he accused Obama of putting his political ambitions ahead of U.S. national interests. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the presidential campaign from Washington.
Senator Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Florida, that Afghanistan remains the central front in the war on terrorism, and that he was right to oppose the war in Iraq from the start.

Obama also challenged Senator McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, to refrain from further attacks on his patriotism.

“I have never suggested and never will that Senator McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics and personal ambition,” Obama said. “I have not suggested it because I believe he genuinely wants to serve America’s national interests. Now it is time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same. Let me be clear-I will let no one question my love of this country. I love America, so do you, and so does John McCain.”

A day earlier, Senator McCain told the same conference that Senator Obama had put his own political ambitions ahead of the national interest by trying, in McCain’s words, to legislate failure in Iraq.

McCain opposes Obama’s proposal for a troop withdrawal timetable in Iraq, and he criticized Obama again for refusing to acknowledge the success of the Bush administration’s military surge strategy in Iraq.

“Even in retrospect, he would choose the path of failure for America over the path of success and victory,” McCain said. “In short, both candidates in this election have pledged to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference is that I intend to win it first.”

Apart from the debate over Iraq, both presidential contenders are focused on picking their vice presidential running mates and getting ready for the national nominating conventions.

Obama is expected to pick his running mate first, since the Democratic convention begins Monday in Denver, Colorado. The latest media speculation focuses on Democratic Senators Joe Biden of Delaware and Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

Senator McCain is expected to announce his choice shortly before the Republican convention begins on September 1 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

Much of the Republican speculation has focused on Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.

Public opinion polls show a close race at the moment with a slight edge to Obama. Both contenders will be looking to get a boost out of their party conventions before they enter the general election campaign in early September.

University of Virginia expert Larry Sabato says the presidential candidates and their parties try to maximize the impact of the modern political conventions.

“The reason why conventions still matter is because millions of voters are distracted. They are busy,” Sabato said. “A convention is a wonderful opportunity for both parties to [tele] scope into just four days their major arguments on behalf of their candidate and their party.”

Each party convention will last four days, and will culminate with the party nominees giving a televised acceptance speech, watched by millions, both in the U.S. and around the world.

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