Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Did John McCain Say He Didn't Really Love America?
Talking Points Memo ^ | 6/19/08

Posted on 06/20/2008 9:58:18 AM PDT by mngran2

Yes he did.

On his show tonight, Dan Abrams drew attention to a quote from John McCain in an interview with Sean Hannity that flew under the radar for the past 3 months:

HANNITY: -- and then I understand you didn't get any medical help for nine days. You spent two years of this five-and-a-half-year period in solitary confinement. What does that do to a person, to spend that much time in solitary confinement?

MCCAIN: I think it makes you a better person. Obviously, it makes you love America. I really didn't love America until I was deprived of her company, but probably the most important thing about it, Sean, is that I was privileged to have the opportunity to serve in the company of heroes.

In light of all of the political hay that the repubs have made out of Michelle Obama saying that seeing such enthusiasm in this election cycle had caused her to be really proud of America for the first time in her adult life, I think it is worth giving a second look. Does anybody think McCain didn't love America before he was a POW? No. It's interesting that both McCain and Obama used the qualifier "really" in their statements... although Michelle's comments are oft repeated without the "really." It's interesting how when lines fit or don't fit particular scripts the are or are not noticed. Obama's comment were pounced upon almost immediately, while McCain's comment wasn't noticed for 3 months.


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; election; mccain; michelle; oppositionresearch; patriotism; rino
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-113 next last
Here's the link to the MSNBC video.

Video

Research, people, research. Does this sound as bad to others as it does to me? Does it pretty much put an end to the Michelle comments controversy?

1 posted on 06/20/2008 9:58:18 AM PDT by mngran2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: mngran2

And Mrs. Obama wasn’t really proud of America until just a little while ago...


2 posted on 06/20/2008 9:59:45 AM PDT by stuartcr (Election year.....Who we gonna hate, in '08?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2

A much better statement would have been:

“I really didn’t realize how much I loved America until I was deprived of her company.”


3 posted on 06/20/2008 10:02:17 AM PDT by vietvet67
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
Dumb.

He's saying that being without America as a POW was what made him realize just how much he loved her.

Moron.

4 posted on 06/20/2008 10:02:33 AM PDT by Lakeshark (Thank a member of the US armed forces for their sacrifice)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
Research, people, research. Does this sound as bad to others as it does to me? Does it pretty much put an end to the Michelle comments controversy?

No, and I'll tell you why.

McCain didn't understand how great America was until he experienced what other countries are like. America didn't have to change to earn his love: HE changed.

Michelle wasn't proud of America until America did what she wanted. She DIDN'T change.

Now do you see the difference?

5 posted on 06/20/2008 10:02:56 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
Hey, did you happen to notice the SOURCE of this left-wing PROPOGANDA? I wouldn't lose any sleep over this now.
6 posted on 06/20/2008 10:03:07 AM PDT by GOP_Lady
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2

7 posted on 06/20/2008 10:03:10 AM PDT by I see my hands (_8(|)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
I think that he was saying that his love for the nation was shallow before his experience. He said that he didn't really love the country before then. "Really" in this context used to emphasize a deepening of his affection for the nation.
8 posted on 06/20/2008 10:03:34 AM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: vietvet67

A much better statement would have been:

“I really didn’t realize how much I loved America until I was deprived of her company.”

Yes, same difference, so libs— try again, losers


9 posted on 06/20/2008 10:04:22 AM PDT by TribalPrincess2U
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: GOP_Lady
Hey, did you happen to notice the SOURCE of this left-wing PROPOGANDA?

Yes, the source of the original interview was Fox News.

10 posted on 06/20/2008 10:05:03 AM PDT by mngran2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: I see my hands

try again loser


11 posted on 06/20/2008 10:05:10 AM PDT by TribalPrincess2U
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: mngran2

no comparison...McCain was hot-shot young man in Navy when his plane went down.....a “jerk” by his own description in his book....Michelle Obama is a 45 year old successful lawyer.

At 25 I didn’t know enough to “love my country”.,,,and I voted for “change” with Ross Perot. What an idiot I was then....


12 posted on 06/20/2008 10:06:02 AM PDT by HappyinAZ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
Research, people, research. Does this sound as bad to others as it does to me? Does it pretty much put an end to the Michelle comments controversy?

It only sounds bad if you aren't thinking. He didn't say he doesn't love America now. He said he didn't really love America until he was deprived of the freedom the country gives to him. He learned to really appreciate the country when he saw what liberty was all about. He was a young man, most young men don't think about loving the country, they take it for granted. I am not a McCain lover, actually I kind of dislike many things about the guy, but this statement is not bad, actually it is quite good. Don't like it? Try putting your brain in gear, or maybe get a transplant, you sound as if you need one.

13 posted on 06/20/2008 10:06:11 AM PDT by calex59
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Army Air Corps

Exactly. And if one doesn’t realize that, well... I mean, this man served/is still serving our country for heaven’s sakes.


14 posted on 06/20/2008 10:06:24 AM PDT by GOP_Lady
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: mngran2

No, it was MSNBC SPINNING.


15 posted on 06/20/2008 10:06:59 AM PDT by GOP_Lady
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
I suspect that he meant something more like "love America as deeply as I do now"

And,

I'm certain that Michelle Obama is an America-hater just like her husband and his good friends the Ayers and Dohrns and Wrights, and Phlegers, etc.

But, FOR PITY SAKES!

John Sidney McCain...

Words have meaning. Don't give the enemy ammo, when you are surely better than your words implied, and you just plain know better!

Sheesh!

16 posted on 06/20/2008 10:07:31 AM PDT by Seaplaner (Never give in. Never give in. Never...except to convictions of honour and good sense. W. Churchill)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
It took imprisonment and torture for McCain to really love his country. It took the possibility of power for M. Obama to really be proud of it.
17 posted on 06/20/2008 10:08:15 AM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: A_perfect_lady
McCain didn't understand how great America was until he experienced what other countries are like. America didn't have to change to earn his love: HE changed. Michelle wasn't proud of America until America did what she wanted. She DIDN'T change. Now do you see the difference?

Thanks for the straight-forward explanation.

Not sure why some need it explained.

18 posted on 06/20/2008 10:08:20 AM PDT by FreeReign
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: mngran2

Yep, I saw the tape.


19 posted on 06/20/2008 10:08:20 AM PDT by Jane Austen (Boycott the Bahamas!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mngran2
Does this sound as bad to others as it does to me?

No. Context. If he had only said "I really didn't love America" then that might have been something. However when you take it into context you realize that he was talking about prior to being a POW.

He was pretty much a kid, and probably loved America like a home, but not REALLY love America through appreciation that can only be gained with knowledge and wisdom. Then America was taken from him and he realized what it actually meant to him.

We joke often here that if people don't love the United States then they should move somewhere else and see how much they miss it.

Well John McCain did just that by getting interned at the Hanoi Hilton.

Compare his vietnam experience to that of John Kerry and tell me who is the better man of the two. John McCain hands down, without a doubt, even with an out of context quote trying to make him sound un-American.

20 posted on 06/20/2008 10:08:29 AM PDT by Domandred (McCain's 'R' is a typo that has never been corrected)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-113 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson