Posted on 11/11/2005 8:40:41 AM PST by Valin
It was only one year ago that Newsweek ran its post-mortem on the 2004 Presidential election, culling more than a year’s worth of reporting that the magazine had pledged to keep secret until the final votes were cast.
Thanks to that pledge of secrecy, both candidates offered Newsweek reporters unprecedented access to their campaigns, allowing them to observe, record, and witness the event for the history books. The resulting narrative was well worth their effort.
The most remarkable section, however, was the validation of a long-standing rumor of the 2004 campaign: Senator John Kerry did, in fact, offer Senator John McCain the Vice-Presidential slot.
Described by Newsweek as an “outlandish” offer, Kerry’s courtship “was longer-standing and more intense than previously reported.” It began in August 2003, was offered on at least seven separate occasions, and Kerry even proposed to “expand the role of Vice President to include Secretary of Defense and the overall control of foreign policy.”
McCain, according to Newsweek, told Kerry that he was “out of his mind.”
For all intents and purposes, Senator McCain had a similar message for John Kerry—and many other Democrats—at a Thursday speech before a standing-room only audience at the American Enterprise Institute, in Washington, D.C.
Immediately after stating that “success or failure in Iraq is the transcendent issue to our foreign policy—and our national security—for now and years to come,” McCain warned that if we heed the calls of Cindy Sheehan or Senator Kerry, America would “face consequences of the most serious nature.”
You read that correctly. At Thursday’s AEI speech—where in one brief segment he grouped Cindy Sheehan with Senator Kerry—John McCain officially finalized his divorce from the Massachusetts Senator. And McCain certainly won’t pay alimony.
After all, it was Cindy Sheehan who, in a March 15 letter to ABC’s Nightline, stated that her son was “killed for lies and for a Project for a New American Century/Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel.” She went on to write (in case Nightline was wondering), that her “son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel.”
You see, Mr. Kerry? Senator McCain really does think you’re “out of your mind.”
McCain’s speech was important for many more reasons than simply distancing himself from Senator Kerry. As support for President Bush, and the Iraq war, fall to historic lows, Senator McCain is poised to rise as the most outspoken—and eloquent—defender of Iraq. And unlike Bush, McCain is ready for the debate.
In fact, he said so:
“The latest polls and protests at home show that we need a renewed effort to win the homefront. If we can't retain the support of the American people, we will have lost this war as soundly as if our forces were defeated on the battlefield. A renewed effort at home starts with explaining precisely what is at stake in this war—not to alarm Americans, but so that they see the nature of this struggle for what it is.”
And what, according to McCain, is at stake?
“If we leave Iraq prematurely, the jihadists will interpret the withdrawal as their great victory against our great power. Osama bin Laden and his followers believe that America is weak, unwilling to suffer casualties in battle. They drew that lesson from Lebanon in the 1980s and Somalia in the 1990s, and today they have their sights set squarely on Iraq.”
And if they succeed, according to McCain, they will “establish a caliphate in Iraq, extend the ‘jihad wave’ to the secular countries neighboring Iraq, and clash with Israel.”
None of that, of course, will begin so long as American troops remain in Iraq. But at this point in time, as Fredrick Kagan has written and Senator McCain pointed out, “these Sunni are not yet persuaded that violence is counterproductive; on the contrary, they believe the insurgency might lead to an improvement in their political situation. There is no reason to think that an American drawdown would extinguish these motivations to fight.”
These passages explain why McCain felt compelled to demand that “critics in the Democratic Party…outline precisely what they believe to be the stakes in this battle, if they are willing to suffer the consequences of withdrawal.” They also explain why McCain described Kerry’s recent call for the withdrawal of 20,000 troops by the end of 2005 as a “major step on the road to disaster.”
McCain’s combative words have long been needed in the nation’s capital, and one hopes that they motivate others to begin speaking up. The Democrats have long since resorted to conspiracy theories and Senate shutdowns, either forgetful of their words or attempting to rewrite history. After all, it was less than three years ago that Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, and others spoke to the dire consequences of inaction, and it was only 1998 when Bill Clinton terrified the world by stating that “some day, some way, I guarantee you, [Saddam will] use his arsenal.”
McCain is one of the only Republicans who seems willing to point out that history. Moreover, the Senator correctly credits Iraq with “Lebanon’s cedar revolution, Egypt’s elections, and the Arab spring.” One wonders if today’s Democrats are mindful of this monumental change in the Middle East. Based on his speech, McCain certainly doesn’t think so.
Even in Jordan, the people are rooting for a U.S. victory. The day after three terror bombings—including one at an Arab wedding—killed at least 56 people in Jordan's capital, hundreds of angry Jordanians took to the streets to scream, “Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!”
As McCain made clear, despite our image problems abroad, the world still looks to the United States for “courage and commitment.” Sadly, amongst Cindy Sheehan, Senator Kerry, and others on the Left, that “courage and commitment” seems to be lacking.
The maverick, it seems, is back. And this time, he’s ready to fight.
David White is assistant editor of The American Enterprise.
IMO, McCain remains a RINO and he never saw an opportunity for media coverage that he didn't grab.
It's a shame I can't trust him; but that's the thing about a maverick: they're all over the place -- they're not grounded.
I don't like McCain a lot, but the one thing he's been consistent on is his vision for victory in Iraq. I have appreciated Rumsfeld, but McCain has a better take on how to win this war on terror. Rummie tries to hard to make Iraq fit his vision of a smaller, more mobile military.
Do that stuff AFTER the war in won, Donald.
Any candidate I vote for in 2008 will have a clear vision of victory in the overall war on terror.
I missed yesterday's speech referred to here. Thanks for the post, Valin.
Perhaps, but if that were the case here, could he not get much more coverage by denouncing the strategy rather than supporting it. Imagine the MSM wetting their pants over him if he were to publicly come out against the Bush administration policy. Instead he is very vocally supporting it and calling the Democrats on their stance at the very time when it is necessary, RINO or not.
If it came to McCain or Giulani, I'd take McCain. At least McCain has a relatively conservative voting record, whereas Giussolini is more of a "law and order liberal" on most issues.
Amazing. McCain talking like a republican gets him labelled "Maverick".
Donald Rumsfeld: Old Man in a Hurry (Long Article)
RealClear Politics ^ | 8/31/05 | Thomas P. M. Barnett
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516905/posts
If it came down to McCain vs. Hillary, it's a no-brainer.
One positive for McCain is that he is in favor of building nuclear power plants. His position on Anwar puzzles me though.
Kerry even proposed to “expand the role of Vice President to include Secretary of Defense and the overall control of foreign policy.”
Now I have to run over to DU for the exploding head show.
Have fun. :-)
Sounds to me like a certain RINO is starting to hear the rumbling from the right, so he figures it's time to try and fool them into thinking he's really one of them.
Won't work.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.