Monday With McCain

Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be. We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives.---on the Iraq war

Monday With McCain

Thanks for the question, you little jerk. -(John McCain, after being asked by a high school student if he was too old to be president. For good measure, McCain then threatened to draft him.)

John McCain Embraces Bush's Radical Views Of Executive Power

John McCain yesterday delivered a speech in which he hailed the inspiring constitutional principles of Government on which our country was founded, including the central goal of avoiding excessive, unlimited power in any one branch, secured by checks and balances from the other two branches:

In America, the constitutional restraint on power is as fundamental as the exercise of power, and often more so. Yet the framers knew that these restraints would not always be observed. They were idealists, but they were worldly men as well, and they knew that abuses of power would arise and need to be firmly checked. Their design for democracy was drawn from their experience with tyranny. A suspicion of power is ingrained in both the letter and spirit of the American Constitution. . . .
The executive, legislative, and judicial branches are often wary of one another's excesses, and they should be. They seek to keep each other within bounds, and they are supposed to. And though you wouldn't always know it from watching the day-to-day affairs of modern Washington, the framers knew exactly what they were doing, and the system of checks and balances rarely disappoints.

Sadly, though, McCain lamented that "there is one great exception in our day" to these principles. Surely "the exception" to which McCain refers must be the fact that we've lived for the last eight years under a President who literally has claimed powers greater than those possessed by the British King; whose underlings have promulgated radical and un-American theories literally vesting him with the power to rule outside of the law, who has exploited a political and media culture devoid of "suspicion of power" when exercised by the White House, and who has acted with no meaningful constraints or checks from Congress and virtually none from the judiciary? No, actually, that isn't the "exception" to which McCain was referring at all. Instead:
[It] is the common and systematic abuse of our federal courts by the people we entrust with judicial power. For decades now, some federal judges have taken it upon themselves to pronounce and rule on matters that were never intended to be heard in courts or decided by judges. With a presumption that would have amazed the framers of our Constitution, and legal reasoning that would have mystified them, federal judges today issue rulings and opinions on policy questions that should be decided democratically. Assured of lifetime tenures, these judges show little regard for the authority of the president, the Congress, and the states. They display even less interest in the will of the people.
According to John McCain, then, executive power in the U.S. now is exactly what it should be, perfectly in line with what the Founders envisioned -- except that it is too constrained by a judiciary which "show[s] little regard for the authority of the president." To McCain, the only real problem with our system of checks and balances is that the judiciary has too much power, and the President not enough.

This was exactly the view of the world articulated by George Bush last November when he spoke to the Federalist Society. In that speech, Bush had the audacity to tout the central importance of "separation of powers" and warned that "tyranny" can be avoided only if all three branches "resist the temptation to encroach on the powers the Constitution accords to others." Bush then went on -- just like McCain yesterday -- to lament that our Constitutional framework was endangered not by a President who has seized the defining powers of an autocrat, but rather, by "activist" judges. Not only is McCain's view of presidential powers identical to Bush's, his speech yesterday -- in terms of structure, arguments and even some wording -- was almost an exact replica of the one Bush delivered to the Federalist Society.

Virtually every abuse of the last eight years has its roots in the Bush/Cheney view of the President as Monarch, and John McCain clearly endorses its fundamentals. Indeed, when responding to a questionnaire on executive power circulated to all the candidates by The Boston Globe's Charlie Savage earlier this year, McCain (while paying lip service to nice principles and even taking the extreme position that he would never issue a signing statement) refused to say that there was even a single aspect of Bush's use of executive power that he found unconstitutional or otherwise objectionable:

10. Is there any executive power the Bush administration has claimed or exercised that you think is unconstitutional? Anything you think is simply a bad idea?
McCain declined to answer this question.

By contrast, Obama answered the same question at length, and said:
I also reject the view, suggested in memoranda by the Department of Justice, that the President may do whatever he deems necessary to protect national security, and that he may torture people in defiance of congressional enactments . . .

I believe the Administration's use of executive authority to over-classify information is a bad idea. We need to restore the balance between the necessarily secret and the necessity of openness in our democracy – which is why I have called for a National Declassification Center.
Obama then went on specifically to identify numerous issues -- torture, detention of Americans as "enemy combatants" without due process, warrantless surveillance, violations of international treaties, the lawless creation of military commissions -- which he said were unconstitutional or otherwise objectionable expressions of excessive Presidential power. By contrast, McCain refused to identify even a single Bush assertion of power he rejects.

Ultimately, these are the issues which are the most consequential in determining what type of country we will be, and what type of government we will have (and these issues, therefore, receive the least attention from most of our establishment journalists, for whom there is a perfectly inverse relationship between the significance of an issue and the interest they have in it). All of the other issues of significance flow from these differences.

In a superb new book, entitled The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power, Gene Healy documents the multiple ways our political system has been corrupted by an out-of-control, unchecked Executive that could not be any more antithetical to the "presidency of limited powers and modest goals the Framers gave us in 1787." As Healy demonstrates, allowing the President to transmute into some central, omnipotent figure of authority -- as Bush/Cheney have done and as McCain seems to embrace -- "is the source of much of our political woe and some of the gravest threats to our liberties," and -- more significantly still -- this model (as the Founders recognized) virtually guarantees a state of ever-expanding militarism and endless war:

Throughout American history, virtually every major advance in executive power has come during a war or a warlike crisis. Convince the public that we are at war, and constitutional barriers to action fall, as power flows to the commander in chief.

Little wonder, then, that confronted with impossible expectations, the modern president tends to recast social and economic problems in military terms . . . . Martial rhetoric often ushers in domestic militarism, as presidents push to employ standing armies at home, to fight drug trafficking, terrorism or natural disasters. And when the president raises the battle cry, he can usually count on substantial numbers of American opinion leaders to cheer him on.
As the amazing commenter Pow Wow repeatedly documents here (see here for one typically excellent example), Congress has "increasingly deferred, dangerously and slavishly, to the presidency, which today very much resembles a monarchy," a state of affairs which -- for the reasons Healy describes -- makes endless war and imperial behavior almost inevitable. As Pow Wow puts it: "The choice for Americans today . . . is between Empire and Republic. We cannot have both."

The central truth of the 2008 election is that, with the exception of a few relatively inconsequential and symbolic matters, John McCain enthusiastically embraces the Bush/Cheney worldview in every way that matters. His ludicrous speech yesterday -- actually complaining that it is the judiciary that wields too much power and is excessively limiting presidential powers -- simply leaves no doubt about that.

-- Glenn Greenwald

Monday With McCain

Fuck you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room.
–to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), during a testy exchange about immigration legislation

Hey Ladies! Thinking About Voting For McCain?

After the Senate recently failed to get the 60 votes necessary to force an up-or-down vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Senator John McCain said that widespread gender-based pay inequity isn't due to discrimination. In his view, women just need more "education and training" to close the wage gap.

I think women need equal rights under the law.

Lilly Ledbetter worked 19 years at Goodyear before she learned the men at her level were earning far more. Eventually she sued, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court where five male justices ruled her claim invalid because she filed it more than 180 days after the date when the discrimination first started. Now, Senator McCain wants to stop legislation to correct this injustice -- and in the process, roll back 50 years of women's rights.

Lilly Ledbetter and women across the country are not only paid less when they have the same education and same training, but also for doing the exact same job as men. The only difference between men and women in the workplace is women bring home less money to take care of their families.

Senator McCain should know better. Tell him to take back his sexist statement and stop blocking an up or down vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Introspection...Words are heavy like rocks...they weigh you down. If birds could talk, they wouldn't be able to fly. Marilyn Whirlwind

ADDboy unmedicated...

Words.

I digress. I ramble. Today, I feel heavy. Like a random, anonymous rock, tossed into a pond to eventually settle forever amongst other anonymous rocks, weighted down by my mere existance.

I love to laugh at myself...To have the ability to make others laugh with me--or at me. In my own mind, I'm a comedic genius. Yes. Most days I crack myself up. Somedays, I also have the ability to make myself cry...And to make others around me cry. Maybe later today or tonight, I will laugh. But, right now I cry. And I'm pissed. I'm pissed at words. Fucking words. Hurtful words. Painful words.

Nancy McMichael. Most of you will never know her. When The Minutiae King decided to give higher education a second try, Nancy M. was my English 103 professor. May 2000. She was a pain in my ass. She read my initial essays out loud. To the rest of the class. As an example really bad writing. She embarrased me. And I thank her for that. She gave me a B on my final paper. While my grammar and writing abilities haven't improved much since then, Nancy M. did teach me one valuable lesson: write about a topic that you're familiar with and passionate about, strive to make people feel what you are feeling, write with meaning, and when you struggle for words, just keep writing...free writing.

And so I do.

It's funny how a few simple words can change your day. Last night I went to bed feeling like I was coming down with the flu or some other unknown illness. This morning, I received an IM from Cookie G. which read, "how do you feel today?" Which, of course, made me follow Alice down the rabbit-hole that is today's blog.

Those that know the true identity of TMK, are aware that I spent 1998-2004 as the full-time caregiver/legal guardian of a step-grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, a grandfather in chronic congestive heart failure, and a disabled aunt, all living under the same roof. My step-grandmother--I called her Miss B--was famous for her quick and witty replies, even up to the very last week of her life. As Miss B lay dying in hospice, I would often brush her hair which seemed to have a calming effect upon her. My last verbal communication with Miss B is as follows:

TMK: Good morning Miss B. How do you feel today?
Miss B: How do you think I feel? With my hands.

While Miss B had existed in an almost constant coma-like state for 2 weeks prior to her passing, I had continued to talk to her as if she could still hear me. I hoped she could. I wished she could. From the moment Miss B was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in August 1998, I felt like I was Mr. Answer.com, answering repetitive questions such as "What day is it?" to "Is there something wrong with me?" Hundreds--no, thousands--of time each day. Every minute. Every hour. Every day. Every week. Year after year. Remember the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray? Miss B never stopped asking questions. Never. I can't tell you how many times I would selfishly hope for just 5 minutes of quiet. Miss B existed on her daily single sip of Ensure and a bite of toast for more than a year. I have no idea how she lived as long as she did, losing almost half her body weight in her last 12 months of life. Alzheimer's disease had reduced Miss B to a hollow shell of who she once was. But even through that last year of her life, Miss B would have very brief moments of amazing lucidity--moments that to me, felt like I was finding and opening a forgotten Christmas present--in April. Yes. It was THAT special! Words. We would hold conversations that lasted for but a few moments, but those conversations reminded me of those "talks" Miss B and I had 20 years prior, when she could tell me exactly which page of Grey's Anatomy book discussed appendicitis or how she cut the tie off of a Doctor she was assisting in Trenton Hospital operating room. And I will forever cherish those all-too-fleeting moments Miss B shared with me.

So it was to my shock and amazement when Miss B opened her eyes one last time and spoke those words to me. "How do you think I feel? With my hands." Miss B died 12 hours later, just before midnight on May 31, 2003. I was holding her left hand.

So as I was reading that IM from Cookie G. earlier today, I was thinking of Miss B. And then I thought of those earlier words from the man that wants to become President of the United States, John McCain:

"It's not social issues I care about."

"I said, 'The nice thing about Alzheimer's is you get to hide your own Easter eggs.'"

The current state of political affairs has left many with a feeling of apathy. I simply ask that you not allow yourself to be like that random, anonymous rock settled on the bottom of a pond that I was when I began writing today's blog. So on November 4, 2008 when you walk into your local polling place--and I sincerely hope you do--please remember Miss B and ask yourself if John McCain has the character to run this great country of ours.

So thanks to Cookie G. for the IM. And to Nancy McMichael. And Marilyn Whirlwind.

Words.



P.S. Thank you Miss B. It's April. I just found the present you left for me.

McCain Quote Of The Day

"It's not social issues I care about." February 2008

"I said, "The nice thing about Alzheimers is that you get to hide your own Easter eggs.'" ---John McCain citing the sort of "insensitive and stupid and cruel" remarks that get him into trouble even though, he maintains, "You've got to have humor in a campaign."

What? No American Flag Pin?

After lambasting Barack Obama for his "refusal" to wear an American flag pin on his lapel, John McCain appeared with Georgee Stephanopoulos on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" at the Newseum in Washington April 20, 2008 sans an American flag pin on HIS lapel? Does this mean that Sean Hannity can no longer call McCain a "Great American?"

John McCain Quote Of The Day

"I hate the gooks,I will hate them as long as I live."

A Sad Anniversary: 5 Years Of Arrogance

Courtesy of the Huffington Post. A photo Mosaic.

In remembrance of the 4,000 brave men and women who sacrificed everything for us -- and the two men who would continue this great tragedy, despite the cost to our soldiers, our military, and our nation.

Bastards...

John McCain: Foreign Policy Expert

Here's what he told CNN in 2002:

"I am very certain that this military engagement will not be very difficult. It may entail the risk of American lives and treasure, but Saddam Hussein is vastly weaker than he was in 1991. He does not have the support of his people."

"And I'd ask one question: What member of the Iraqi army is willing to die for Saddam Hussein when they know he's going to be taken out? So I don't think it's going to be nearly as difficult as some assume."

Interesting to see McCain wondering how many Iraqi soldiers are willing to die for Saddam, while he and the rest of the establishment at least pretend to believe that Iraqi soldiers will be willing to die for Bush, if "trained" (i.e., indoctrinated) sufficiently.

John McCain: “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should"

Obviously, John McCain doesn't understand anything about the Middle East either. Is McCain senile? Or does he do this on purpose? Glad Joe Lieberman was there to correct Pappy McCain!

Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who is touting his foreign policy credentials on a tour of the Middle East, got himself tangled up on which Islamic extremist group Iran is accused of supporting.

Senator McCain, at a news conference in the Jordanian capital of Amman, accused Iran of supporting the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq.

US officials believe Iran has been backing Shiite extremists in Iraq, not a Sunni group like al- Qaeda.

"It's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That's well known and it's unfortunate," Senator McCain said.

Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, traveling with Senator McCain on a swing through the Middle East and Europe, whispered in his ear and Senator McCain quickly corrected himself.

"I'm sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not al-Qaeda. Not al-Qaeda. I'm sorry," Senator McCain said.

Democrats quickly jumped on Senator McCain, a strong backer of President George W. Bush's troop build-up in Iraq.

"After eight years of the Bush administration's incompetence in Iraq, Senator McCain's comments don't give the American people a reason to believe that he can be trusted to offer a clear way forward," said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the senator "misspoke and immediately corrected himself."

"Democrats have launched political attacks today because they know the American people have deep concerns about their candidates' judgment and readiness to lead as commander in chief," he said.

Senator McCain's next stop is Europe, where Mr Bush has been heavily criticised for a perceived "go it alone" approach on a wide range of international issues.
Before his arrival in London, Senator McCain wrote in the Financial Times that the United States must be a "model country" and work with others to tackle challenges such as terrorism and global warming.

The newspaper said Senator McCain distanced himself from what allies see as the unilateralism of the Bush administration, promising to "listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies."

In a column in the newspaper, Senator McCain promised to renew the "mutual respect and trust" between the United States and Europe and vowed to put America at the forefront of international efforts to tackle climate change.

"When we believe that international action is necessary, whether military, economic or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must also be willing to be persuaded by them," Senator McCain wrote.