John McCain at his fieriest before 'don't ask, don't tell' vote (McLame throws temper tantrum)

I used to think that too. Then I learned that an industry had developed to milk the loved ones of MIAs & other caring people regarding sightings of U.S. personnel in SE Asia, and it was that which caused McCain to become a harsh skeptic on the issue.

And add to that all the lies claiming he was a collaborator & got special treatment as a POW etc., it kind of made me start being a bit sympathetic to him.

*** The stupidest campaign move was when McCain “suspended” his campaign and tiptoed into Washington to work on what?-----the discredited stimulus/bailout- ***

Ditto x 10⁶

When McInsane did that I thought, 'He doesn't want to be president, he wants to be a senator'. And I knew then he was doomed to defeat.

Personally I never actually thought his goal was to be POTUS. He just wanted to get even for 2000 and *win* the GOP nomination. Once he did that it was, 'mission accomplished'.

In the meantime, I'm happy to have his support. But I dare not count on it.

Agreed. And I think it is stupid to bash him no matter what he does. He will do plenty over the next six years that is worthy of scorn, bashing him even when he does the right thing just makes the bashers look petty.

He still has anger management issues.

Well, rabs, you have hypocrisy management issues - you supported David Nolan for Senate in 2010, and Nolan was as pro-gay-rights as they come.

Everyone needs to realize that Rabs is no conservative here, he is a liberatarian Paultard who will hypocritically bash McCain even as he supports candidates who favor repeal of DADT.

So tell us, rabs - do you disagree with Ron Paul and think that DADT should not have been repealed?

McCain was on the mark on this—and passion was exactly what was needed—as he was on the crucial support for the Surge in Iraq.

If it wasn’t for McCain and the Surge, the battle for Iraq would surely have been lost.

The hell with “McCainologists” including the poisonous keyboard warriors on this site.

You'll never be able to tag me with that kind of inconsistency. I've been reliably hostile to McQueeq for the best part of a decade.

Johnny, you're the one who told the American public that Obama was your friend and that they had nothing to fear from his Presidency. It's TOO LATE to bitch about Obama now!!!

That is if you beleive he was sincere. I believe he is so thoroughly coopted by the radical elements in the global community that evrythig he does is either to drive the SOROS/TIDES/Center for American Progress aggenda—OR GIVE HIM TEMPORARY COVER.

This was an easy one for him to oppose—HE KNEW THERE WAS NO CHANCE INHELL IT WOULD BE DEFEATED. Easy call for MCLAME. McCain ceased being a “GOOD GUY” many years ago.

Even stupider was candidate McC telling voters his opponent Obama " is a decent person, a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States"

.......practically telling voters to vote for Obama.

Yet, McC ran fellow Republican JD down with a Mack truck.

I despise him for his treatment of Rummy.

Would you have preferred to lose the Iraq War so that Rumsfeld's tender feelings would not have been hurt?

Until the very end, Rumsfeld opposed the The Surge that won the Iraq War.

Do you remember how things were back in 2006?

The current strategy was going nowhere. The Iraq War was "lost" according to the belief of most Americans. The Democrats were openly advocating "Cut & Run". Advocating something like The Surge was considered political poison.

Yet, as far back as 2006, McCain had been loudly championing The Surge when just about every other Congress-critter just wanted to either "Cut & Run" or blindly "Stay the Course" in regards to the policy of "Train & Leave" that had previously lost the Vietnam War.

Published December 27, 2006 ..... Novak: McCain's 'aggressive surge' stance backfiring ........ conservative columnist Robert Novak suggests that Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) "aggressive" push for a U.S. troop expansion -- or "surge" -- in Iraq may be costing the top 2008 GOP contender in the polls, especially when matched against another presumed front-runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). "The decline in the polls of [McCain], as measured against [Clinton], reflects more than declining Republican popularity ......... "It connotes public disenchantment with McCain's aggressive advocacy of a 'surge' of up to 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq "I understand the polls show only 18 percent of the American people support my position. But I have to do what's right, what I believe is right and what my experience and knowledge and background tells me is the right thing to do in order to save this situation in Iraq ... In war, my dear friends, there's no such thing as compromise. You either win or you lose." - Sen. John McCain's reaction to the Iraq Study Group Report, 2006

By comparison, Rumsfeld was advising Bush to "Stay the Course" and actively opposing The Surge.

"In September [2006], Rumsfeld had rejected the idea of a surge when retired Gen. Jack Keane, a former vice chief of staff of the Army and a member of the advisory Defense Policy Review Board, met with him and [Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter] Pace. Keane insisted the "train-and-leave" strategy, as Bush referred to it, was failing. He proposed a counterinsurgency strategy, the addition of five to eight Army brigades, and a primary focus on taking back Baghdad. Rumsfeld was unconvinced."

Rumsfeld's Attempts to Rewrite Himself on the Right Side of History Are Laughable

When Bush decided that The Surge was the way to go, he realized that he needed new leadership that actually believed in The Surge. Therefore, Rumsfeld was sacked by Bush.

Woodward: Military Brass Opposed Surge ..... The president decided the new strategy needed a new team; he replaced many in the military leadership. Woodward reports that even the influence of Vice President Dick Cheney diminished sharply. "When the president decides to replace or fire Rumsfeld, he doesn't consult Cheney," Woodward explained. "He calls him in privately after a meeting, day or two before the announcement that Rumsfeld is gonna be replaced, and he says, 'I'm replacing Rumsfeld.' Cheney’s surprised and says, 'With whom?' He says, 'With Bob Gates.' And Cheney's pretty open and says, 'Well I disagree, but it's obviously your call.'"

If Rumsfeld, not McCain, had been the final influence on Bush, the Iraq War would not have already been won by the time of the 2008 Presidential Election, Obama would have "Cut & Run" as soon as he took office and the Iraq War would have been lost.

I know this may sound farfetched to some, but I think McCain is going ballistically conservative because he may want to run for President again.

That's not farfetched at all. I think he will do it, Palin will endorse him in the primary, and he will pick Lieberman or Graham as his VP.

If it wasn’t for McCain and the Surge, the battle for Iraq would surely have been lost.

Agreed. See Post 70.

The hell with “McCainologists” including the poisonous keyboard warriors on this site.

Some of the hard core McCain haters were actually trashing the McCain/Palin ticket during the campaign against Barack Hussein Obama. Notice how some are still obsessing on McCain instead of giving a rat's arse that Barack Hussein Obama is destroying America.

What else can you say about self-proclaimed "conservatives" who claim to be conservative while helping Barack Hussein Obama get elected to the Oval Office?

I am not among the Rumsfeld fans on FR. Rummy had a vision for a change to the miliary. I was willing to give it a chance. But when it failed to produce results, Rummy refused to adapt and instead clung stubbornly to his dogmatic viewpoints. That is a recipe for disaster, which was only avoided by the surge.

Everyone forgets that the pundits were writing McCain's political obituary for standing against the prevailing tide of political 'wisdom' by calling for more troops in Iraq instead of cutting and running. To this day, Paultards like the poster of this article support candidates who think we should get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

And you will be supporting Ron Paul again, rabs. Real conservatives should not be swayed by rabs the Libertarian charlatan and hypocrite, who bashes pubbies simply to try and build up his third party agenda.

Johnnie must be worrying that if soldiers come out of the closet, what going to happen to Lindsey Boy!?!?!?!?

McCain is a “war hero” only to those who don’t know the whole story. I suppose if you consider a prisoner of war a hero status then okay, he was certainly that. But he crashed a plane, started a fire on a carrier, and lost some expensive planes during his flying days.

Good points.

I’m glad we’re rehashing Rachel Maddow’s talking points here (/sarcasm)

I would have expected the OP’s headline to be on DU, not FR. McCain dd not “throw a temper tantrum”. Having to serve besides gays who get to watch you get naked in the military is a serious issue, no matter how much Rachael Maddow or the OP wants to make light of it.

After years of greasing the skids for the massive invasion of his State by foreigners, Juan did a good job on this one.

Not when there’s over 60 votes