LA CROSSE, Wisconsin - Asked to describe his greatest weakness, Republican presidential front-runner John McCain had to think for a second before he came up with an answer.
“My greatest weakness? Hmmmm,” he said. “I have very little taste in clothes and music, according to my children, anyway.”
McCain was speaking at a packed town hall meeting here on Friday as he seeks to produce a strong turnout for his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in Wisconsin’s vote on Tuesday.
The young woman who asked the question was not completely satisfied with his answer.
“She shook her head ‘no, not enough,’” McCain said. “Let me count the ways. I don’t know any parents who wouldn’t like to be a better parent to their children. I think many of us think we fall short.”
Another questioner was tougher on McCain, asking him to explain his frequent comments in campaign speeches that the United States will face “more wars” against Islamic extremists.
After first defending the remarks as emblematic of his tendency toward “straight talk,” McCain later returned to the subject and said he would like to amend his answer.
“Maybe wars isn’t the right answer to your comment, sir. But we are in a conflict and in a struggle, and that struggle is military, diplomatic, intelligence and ideological,” he said.
“It’s not that I believe we’ll be in more wars. I believe we’re in a long, titanic struggle” against radical Islamic extremists, he said.
Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.
- Photo credit: Reuters/Allen Frederickson (McCain at a campaign town hall event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.)
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What’s John’s Greatest Weakness? Here it is:
Dear John McCain,
Any GOP candidate who wants to “consolidate” the party, and who refuses to
use a nationally televised debate v. other GOP’ers to do so, is either:
1. too weak and/or too lame
2. giving lip service to the idea of “consolidating” the Party, and is so
foolish that he actually believes he can win the National Elec. w/o
consolidating it
3. is lying when he says he will out-campaign, out-debate and out-perform
the Dem’s - if you can’t do it in your own camp, you can’t do it against
the opposition.
“Good luck” with your continued attempts to pressure the thinking American
public & smart Republicans into backing you without you doing the actual
work. BTW, I’m not an evangelical, I’m more of a New Age spiritualist who
disagrees w/Huckabee on his family values platform, so you’ve gotta ask
yourself, “Why isn’t she voting for me?”
Maybe you should give me the decency and respect of telling me why I
should vote for you - in a debate v. your only true opponent - Huckabee -
without the Romney static. In my eyes, along with all of my friends - who
were former Rudy & Mitt supporters & who STILL don’t like you & yet
believe Mike won’t make it - you never won any of the debates.
John, if you fail in a Feb 08 GOP Debate, you sure as heck are going to
fail in the Fall. So, you might as well debate now and reach a conclusion
of:
1. You’ve got to improve your debating skills
OR
2. You’ve got to withdraw because you’ll cause the Party to fail in Nov.
Think of it this way: If Huckabee should drop out now because he won’t win
in upcoming primaries, or he won’t win in a Contested RNC, then logically,
you should drop out now because you won’t win in November - against either
Dem candidate. Hillary will out-debate you on substance, and Obama will
out-debate you as a communicator and inspirational speaker.
With regard to your debate style & discussion of substance beyond the
bullet points & national security - the line of “just ask my friend _____,
he’ll tell you how tough I am on ____, ” - As Dr. Phil says, “How’s that
workin’ for ya?”
Not too well for you, John, not too well for either you or the Party.
[And, woe to the "king" who is deluded by the "yes-men" with whom he
surrounds himself.]
Wishing the Great USA All the Best,
Theresa Markham, Esq.
[divorce atty]
Hamburg, NJ
—————————–
BTW, in case you think John McCain would, in part, retort with the idea that he’s not asking Huckabee to withdraw, here’s a quote from an actual memo sent to his supporters on Feb. 12, 2008, from Rick Davis, his campaign manager, which, of course, is a blatant lie:
“With only 774 delegates left on the table after tonight, Governor Huckabee cannot win the Republican nomination for president.”
A very loud, public retraction, complete with a copy to all of his supporters, is in order.
- Posted by Theresa MarkhamObama is the best choice. There is a reason Obama is winning this Primary. He is winning in states. He is winning in the popular vote. He is winning on delegates, even taking into account those “Super” establishment delegates. The reason is simple. He is the better candidate who can bring all of us together to work towards real and lasting change.
Obama is the most electable Democratic candidate by far. He is the way we take back the White House. The proof is in the polls. He averages 6 points better against McCain than Hillary does. Obama beats McCain in polls. Hillary only ties.
One of McCain’s own top strategists even said he would resign if Obama is the Democratic nominee because he doesn’t want to attack Obama. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/13 /top-mccain-adviser-ill-_n_86578.html
And, contrary to popular belief, Obama is tougher than Clinton. Of the two candidates, only he had the guts to oppose the Iraq war from the start. Hillary Clinton still hasn’t come to terms with the most important vote of her relatively short-lived political career as an elected official. She still won’t admit she made a mistake on Iraq. She said Bush duped her.
Just last Fall Clinton voted for Bush’s bill to declare Iran’s military to be “terrorists.” This was the equivalent of an unnecessary declaration of war. At the same time Bush was waiving around the image of World War III with Iran in support of his bill, Bush knew about a secret National Intelligence Estimate prepared by the CIA which found that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 and probably hadn’t restarted it. Hillary Clinton was duped again. And again she wouldn’t admit she made a mistake. Instead she sent a letter to the White House “clarifying” her position.
Yes, there is a reason the McCain is hoping that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. McCain is hoping he can keep independents as well as his own campaign managers from jumping ship because they like Obama. And McCain is hoping he can debate Hillary Clinton on Iraq because her spinning on that issue just is not very convincing.
And Hillary Clinton says she is more prepared and detail oriented than Obama. Once again the proof is in the pudding. Her campaign ran out of money, was unprepared to deal with caucuses and has had to fire a whole bunch of people for poor performance and political low blows. In contrast, Obama’s campaign is well run, well financed (even though they don’t take money from lobbyists while Clinton does), and consistent in its message.
It’s time to vote for the Democratic nominee who is most electable and will make a great President. It’s time to vote for a President who can unify America. Without unity, without hope, there is no chance of real change. Without hope there never would have been civil rights reform. Without hope we never would have come out of the Great Depression. Once again, we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Obama ‘08.
Yes we can!
PS I came across this post written by someone else and thought it was good so here it is:
Let’s take a closer look at who’s really qualified and or who’s really working for the good of all of us in the Senate. Obama or Clinton.
These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress http://www.thomas.loc.gov
Please pass this on
========
Clinton
========
Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term - 6yrs. - and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law - 20 - twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years.
These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress http://www.thomas.loc.gov, but to save you trouble, I’ll post them here for you.
1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.
2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.
5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.
6. Name post office after Jonn A. O’Shea.
7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.
10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.
13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.
14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.
15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty. Only five of Clinton’s bills are, more substantive.
16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.
17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11
18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.
19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.
20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.
There you have it, the fact’s straight from the Senate Record.
=============
Obama
=============
During the first - 8 - eight years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced
233 regarding healthcare reform,
125 on poverty and public assistance,
112 crime fighting bills,
97 economic bills,
60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,
21 ethics reform bills,
15 gun control,
6 veterans affairs and many others.
NY TImes Obama’s record in the Illinois Senate
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/0 7/29/us/politics/20070730_OBAMA_GRAPHIC. html
His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These inculded:
1. The Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 - became law,
2. The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, - became law,
3. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate,
4. The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, - became law,
5. The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, In committee, and many more.
In all, since entering the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1096.
An impressive record, for someone who supposedly has no record according to some who would prefer that this comparison not be made public.
- Posted by Dan Drobin“Change” the polictical buzz word like “Hearty” is to soup. Give me a break.
But you’re right about one thing… change our leader to a questionable Christian. That’s a change.
- Posted by C ThunderMcCain’s humor was apparent when asked about his weaknesses and he replied that they were clothes and music, according to his children.
- Posted by RickThe headline for this news story, failed to mention the ‘according to my children’ part. This is another sad example of media spin.
mc cain is about as exciting as bob dole or michael dukakis, what do you expect?
- Posted by larry wayne