Free Republic

Sen. John McCain brushed aside questions about his primary challenger's views on the ideology of the Obama administration Sunday, saying he had enough dealing with his own "misstatements." McCain faces former Rep. J.D. Hayworth in his home state of Arizona for the GOP Senate nomination. McCain was asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about statements on Hayworth's website that refer to the White House's "socialist agenda." "Do you think that goes too far?" host David Gregory asked McCain. "Look, you'll have to have Mr. Hayworth on to explain the things he says," McCain said. "There is no doubt in my...

On matters like abortion, capital punishment, gun control and FISA, Obama again moves closer to McCain rather than vice versa. Apparently, he realizes that no northern Democratic liberal has been elected since JFK, nearly a half-century ago—an amazing fact in and of itself—and so has to follow the Bill Clinton centrist route, which can be accomplished by a variety of measures....

Watching CNN a few minutes ago, 9:00 CDT, and the news lady said, Sarah Palin, good choice or has John McCain has lost his mind.

Mitt Romney suggested Tuesday that criticisms he leveled at John McCain during the GOP primaries would not block him from becoming the Republican nominee for vice president, arguing that he never questioned his one-time rival's readiness to be president the way the Democratic nominee for vice president questioned Barack Obama. "The clips that they have of Joe Biden," said Romney, referring to a McCain attack ad, "are ones in which he questioned Obama's readiness to be president. "I didn't say that he was not qualified to become president," said Romney, referring to his criticism of McCain. "Republicans in our debates...

Whatever tensions and hostilities might have existed between Georgians and Ossetians, they in no way justify Moscow's path of violent aggression. Russian actions, in clear violation of international law, have no place in 21st century Europe.

McCain responds to Obama in tough enough, if predictable, language: "While Senator Obama's two years in the U.S. Senate certainly entitle him to vote against funding our troops, my service and experience combined with conversations with military leaders on the ground in Iraq lead me to believe that we must give this new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic to our nation's security." But, McCain being McCain, he can't help himself and goes the next step in the statement's kicker: "By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket."...

In 1991, Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, was reprimanded by the Senate Ethics Committee for his "poor judgment" in meeting with federal bank regulators who were investigating Arizona businessman Charles Keating, one of his campaign contributors. Ever since, Mr. McCain has been trying to show he is not a hack politician kowtowing to special interests but a man of integrity and principle. Yet the main principle served by Mr. McCain's crusade for campaign finance "reform" has been the principle of incumbent protection, the same goal that motivates hack politicians who kowtow to special interests. In the end, it's hard to...