David Corn

DC,

Great piece.

POW status should demand a PTSD check-up. His medical records were missing any reference to mental health, I wonder why?

War, bombing etc. - I keep hearing rumors of a "pin-point" bombing strike just like the attack on Syria. That seems to be the measure for reaction - Syria was bombed, nobody know for sure what or why and is seems like nobody really cared much, so they think they can get away with the same thing in Iran.

Thanks

"As someone who has survived the harsh conditions of Vietnamese prisons, John McCain knows that . . .

Making Bush’s failed economic policies permanent will save the economy.

Staying will cement our support from Iraqi’s and so they will give us their oil

Barack Obama really is the most liberal politician on the planet

There will be more wars - the sooner we start them the sooner we will win them

Victory is the opposite of peace

Peace would involve surrendering and appeasing the warmongers that defy our warmongers

*****

Good thing we won't elect him.

Wow!

I really got you libs in a hissy. It's come to death threats now from you all?

Nice!

Now, about McCain using his POW status, Kerry used his war record as reason to be president and I didn't hear any complaints from the left when he did it. The only problem with his use of the war record is that it wasn't true and it back fired on him!

John McCains war record might not even be relevant after this bombshell:

Is Obama's candidacy constitutional?
Secrecy over birth certificate, demand for 'natural-born' citizenship cited

PTSD can occur at any age, including childhood. The disorder can be accompanied by depression, substance abuse, or anxiety. Symptoms may be mild or severe--people may become easily irritated or have violent outbursts.

(Psychcentral.com)

*****

McCain's History of Blow-Ups: The Top Ten

As former GOP Senator Rick Santorum put it, "Everybody has a McCain story." Over his tenure in Congress, McCain has had angry, expletive-laced exchanges with a number of his colleagues and peers,- both Democrat and Republican alike- many of which have been covered extensively by local Arizona and nationwide news sources. Below are the ten most notable among them.

http://tinyurl.com/6p2qeb

*****

Fair to question his mental health when he shows obvious symptoms from a condition he certainly earned as a POW.

The more he plays the POW card the more his mental health will be questioned.

I don't think his camp has thought this through.

McCain: Bringing Troops Home from Iraq "Not Too Important"

In a live interview on NBC’s "Today," McCain discussed his economic plan, energy and Iraq. Promoted his tax cuts and criticized Obama’s plan– "I don’t want to redistribute the wealth." On energy, said his plan will promote nuclear and renewable energy, though he doubts gas prices will fall in the short term. On Iraq, said bringing troops home is "not too important," insisting that cutting casualties is the key goal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSaH2uyWz_I

*****

McSame's plan: If we stay until they aren't killing us we can stay forever. Does he not notice we still suffer casualties today - or does that not matter.

Kerry hit McCain hard on his remarks today that it was not "important":

Speaking of military families, Kerry said: "To them it's the most important thing in the world when they come home."

Kerry also cast the comments as proof that McCain is befuddled about the situation our military finds itself in. "Our generals have made it crystal clear that we cannot sustain our forces in Iraq at this level," he said.

"Senator McCain, it is important when they come home," Kerry concluded. "It is important when we can revitalize our military."

(kos)

Joe Biden also hits McCain. It's pile on McCain time, and McCain deserves it:

"Senator McCain’s comment is evidence that he is totally out of touch with the needs of our troops and the national security needs of our nation. I think many of our brave soldiers and their families would disagree that it’s ‘not too important’ when they come home.

"Knowing when our troops can come home from Iraq is vitally important, because the costs of staying with 140,000 or more troops are getting steeper every day: the continued loss of the lives and limbs of our soldiers; the strain on our troops and their families due to repeated, extended tours; the drain on our Treasury – $3 billion every week; the impact on the readiness of our armed forces; and the inability to send enough soldiers to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the people who actually attacked us on 9-11 have regrouped and are plotting new attacks. It is long past time to refocus our foreign policy on the many challenges we face, not just Iraq.

"Like President Bush, Senator McCain cannot tell the American people when, or even if, Iraqis will come together politically – which was purpose of the surge in the first place. He can’t tell us when, or even if, we will draw down below pre-surge levels. He can’t tell us when, or even if, Iraq will be able to stand on its own two feet. He can’t tell us when, or even if, this war will end."

(kos)

John McCain's suicide attempt and his resulting PTSD

Presidential candidate John McCain's recently released Christmas ad depicting him as a tortured POW survivor underscores a reoccurring theme McCain's handlers have, for decades, carefully intertwined deep into his public persona and political campaigns.

McCain says because he survived 5½ years of brutal torture, while a prisoner of the communist Vietnamese, he is better qualified to be president of the United States than any other candidate. McCain claims his POW sufferings included three years in solitary confinement where he was tortured so badly that he "broke," causing him to attempt suicide.

What McCain's promoters have carefully edited out of their McCain-for-president equation is his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Department of Defense psychiatrists have evaluated McCain for PTSD several times, the results of which remain locked by privacy laws.

http://www.usvetdsp.com/dec07/mccain_suicide_ptsd.htm

*****

If he wants to run for president those files cannot remain private.

We can't have a president that suffers from a mental condition.

Where are the press on this one? (crickets chirping)

While the left is trying to make much to do about nothing when ot comes to McCains age, Obama has his own party members and supporters jumping ship already.

Elite Jewish Democratic Donors Are Flocking to John McCain

Okla. Dem Calls Obama Liberal, Declines To Endorse (Says Obama's Record Isn't A Bipartisan One

Ted Strickland (Gov OH) would not run with Obama as VP

Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama for president raised her “unfavorable” ratings

Lieberman: Criticism of McCain comment ‘outrageous’

Hillary and Bill are busy updating their enemies lists. And Obama is racking his brain trying to figure out where to stash his erstwhile rival.

Sign of things to come: McConnell attacks Obama

It was only a matter of time before the Senate and House were fully overtaken by the presidential campaign. And now, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has launched the first major attack on the Senate floor.

With the energy debate seething yet stalled, the Kentucky Republican on Wednesday criticized Barack Obama's support of a windfall profits tax and his suggestion that Americans would have accepted a gradual increase in gas prices.

This one is my favorite:

With a Rebel Yell: Jim Webb hearts the Confederate States of America.

He [Jim Webb] has suggested many times that while the Confederacy is a symbol to many of the racist legacy of slavery and segregation, for others it simply reflects Southern pride. In a June 1990 speech in front of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, posted on his personal website, he lauded the rebels’ “gallantry,” which he said “is still misunderstood by most Americans.”

Then theres the Rezco fiasco:

Blue on Blue: And lo, there were rumors of impeachment in the Illinois legislature.

Obama campaign no doubt about to preemptively issue a "____ was not the man that I knew" press release.
By Moe Lane

Breitbart has some details of a very interesting memo:

Memo outlines Illinois gov's potential impeachment

John McCain's suicide attempt and his resulting PTSD

Members of the two major POW/MIA family organizations know the "real" John McCain and they despise him. They have experienced firsthand his cruel, angry temperament.

In 1996, McCain encountered a group of POW/MIA family members outside a Senate hearing room. The family members were some of the same who worked tirelessly during the Vietnam War to make sure Hanoi released all U.S. POWs - including POW McCain.

McCain immediately began quarreling with the POW/MIA family members, who were eager to question him on the issue of what happened to their loved ones.

Instead showing courtesy and appropriate compassion by answering their questions, the Arizona senator pushed through the group, shoving them out of his way, nearly toppling the wheelchair of POW/MIA mother Jane Duke Gaylor. Her son, Charles Duke, a civilian worker in Vietnam, is among 2,300 American POWs and MIAs still unaccounted for by the communists.

The POW/MIA families, shocked at McCain's overly aggressive behavior toward Mrs. Gaylor, registered complaints with senate officials.

In an earlier incident involving families of servicemen still MIA, McCain got so angry that he went ballistic.

http://tinyurl.com/695n27

*****

Talk about a Manchurian candidate?

Who would ever think it is a good idea to have this hothead’s finger on the button?

What should McCain do about Cheney?

[...]

n an interview he gave to the Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes in 2006 for Hayes’s biography, “Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President,” McCain said: “I will strongly assert to you that he has been of enormous help to this president of the United States.”

Going further, McCain even told Hayes in comments heretofore unpublished that he’d consider Cheney for an administration post.

Asked whether he’d be interested in Cheney had the vice president not already have served under Bush for two terms, McCain said: “I don’t know if I would want him as vice president. He and I have the same strengths. But to serve in other capacities? Hell, yeah.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11000.html

******

"That's not leadership we can believe in, my friennnnnnndsh"

There have been rumors about McCain's mental status for decades.

And yes, it does relate to spending five years in a POW camp. This isn't to take anything away from his heroism, but when we're considering the presidency of these United States, the mental solvency of a candidate is worth debating.

McCain's occosional bouts with insanity have manifested repeatedly, to the point where George W. Bush's surrogates made mentions of it in 2000.

His lashing out. His anger issues.

His confusion over basic facts.

His absurd "Bomb Iran" song.

The fact is that John McCain's mental health state can and should be a central part of the discourse surrounding this election. And every day we refuse to raise this very valid question about this 71 year old man, is a day we fail to engage this debate with the intensity we should.

The strategy for this should be clear.

Our pundits, our personalities, our on-air media people, should ALL be raising the question of John McCain's mental health in every appearance they make.

Asking this question over and over will force the mainstream media to consider whether he's sane enough to be president.

Suspicions that the man is batshit crazy won't take very long to suss out once these questions start getting asked.

But it's up to us to ask them. We're the footsoldiers on our side, and while the other side is raising bullshit nonsense about Madrsassas, we're pointing out that McCain is wrong on the issues.

That's not enough.

McCain is someone who shows clear signs of dementia. This may or may not be due to the traumas of his time in a POW camp, but that doesn't mean we can't ask these questions.

It is vital for all of us to force the press to ask this basic question: Is John McCain mentally stable enough to be president?

(kos)

Hey Capt,

How come no warning to your buddy uncledad for using foul language and death threats?

Death threats and foul language not as offensive to libs as the name Pansy? Jeesh!

Does Mr Corn approve of that Capt?

Just asking!

Breaking News: Jim Johnson Resigns From Obama Vice Presidential Selection Team

The kitchen getting hot in Obama land!

Senator Reid just hit McCain on this gaffe!

"McCain's statement today that withdrawing troops doesn't matter is a crystal clear indicator that he just doesn't get the grave national-security consequences of staying the course -- Osama bin Laden is freely plotting attacks, our efforts in Afghanistan are undermanned, and our military readiness has been dangerously diminished. We need a smart change in strategy to make America more secure, not a commitment to indefinitely keep our troops in an intractable civil war."

*****

When Harry actuallly says something you know it is (once again):

The gaffe that keeps on giving!

lol

Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighs on this as well:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to Senator John McCain’s comments on the "Today" show this morning that it is "not too important" when our troops can redeploy from Iraq:

"Senator McCain’s statement that it is ‘not too important’ when U.S. troops are redeployed from Iraq is yet another indication how out of touch he is with the effect the war in Iraq is having on the readiness of our military. Addressing the national security implications of the military readiness crisis ought to be considered as extremely important by someone who aspires to be commander in chief.

"The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said again yesterday that our military commitment in Iraq is hindering our ability to meet threats to our national security in places such as Afghanistan. Military leaders agree that the demands of frequent deployments to Iraq are stretching our Army to the breaking point, and that unacceptable strain is being placed on our troops, their families, and their equipment.

"For our military readiness, for the families of our brave men and women in uniform, and for our national security, America needs a New Direction in Iraq — not the continuation of the Bush-McCain plan for an endless war in Iraq.

Rep. Rahm Emmanuel also chimes in on this as well:

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel released the following statement reacting to Senator John McCain’s comments this morning on the Today Show that it is "not important" when American troops are able to come home from Iraq:

"When asked this morning about American troops coming home from Iraq, John McCain said ‘that’s not too important.’ Senator McCain, to the men and women who are serving their second, third, or even fourth deployment in Iraq, and to their families, it is incredibly important.

"Once again, John McCain has displayed a fundamental misunderstanding about the situation in Iraq, our strained military, and American troops and their families. The truth is, with more than 160,000 American troops in Iraq with no plan from the Bush Administration for a timely exit, Al-Qaeda reconstituting on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, and the American military strained beyond all appropriate readiness, bringing American troops home from Iraq is incredibly important. With each passing day, the more John McCain talks about Iraq, the more the American people are reminded of how much we need change in Washington - not more of the same from Senator McCain."

And McCain just lied about Obama's stance on global warming:

On Friday, McCain attacked Obama's record on the environment during a campaign stop in the Florida Everglades.

"Sen. Obama has no record of being involved in this issue that I know of," he said. "I will stick by my record and my commitment of many years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Uh, it seems that McCain has forgotten that he's done this with Obama on The Obama-McCain Climate Change Reduction Bill.

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/1/12/17937/0703

(via kos)

*****

I think that is the second bill co-sponsored by McSame that he can't remember.

Time for a little mental health check. Could just be old age but . . .

McCain, continuing the deliberate falsehoods that Scott McClellan politely called a 'permanent campaign' even managed to praise the Iraqi forces as having done "pretty well" when they failed in a frontal assault on a small rag tag militia in Basra.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g6Wvx25P1oVNBEjTF_X7wJmBq8SQ

Occasionally the facade is accidentally pulled away and we see the hell hole that is Iraq under Bush more clearly. A senior intelligence official accidentally left a Secret dossier on a London train from Waterloo to Surrey. Another passenger found it, was alarmed by the contents, and passed it on to the BBC. The British government is trying to get it back.

One of the documents? A "'top secret and in some cases damning' assessment of Iraq's security forces."

Shh. Don't tell John McCain or Fred Kagan, but they've just been busted.

(JuanCole)

I wrote a post on my website on May 8. It has a little more personal take on the issue. Here's the link: http://www.tagg-theangrygayguy.com/2008/05/politically-incorrect.html
And if that doesn't work you can try http://www.tagg-theangrygayguy.com
The go to May 8 post. Thanks.

Bush or McSame see if you can guess:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB8d8L-T8bU

(I knew the answer)

Bush "Envious" Of Soldiers Serving "Romantic" Mission In Afghanistan

President Bush let his inner adventurer out while discussing the state of the war in Afghanistan with military and civilian personnel. While those in Afghanistan detailed the logistical and diplomatic problems via teleconference, the President took a much more whimsical approach to their mission. Via Reuters:

"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."

"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," Bush said.

Meanwhile, over 40 Taliban insurgents were killed in a battle in Southern Afghanistan, and six Afghani civilians were killed in a suicide bombing aimed at an American convoy.

*****

"Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war," McCain says over mournful strings against a bleak backdrop, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "I hate war, and I know how terrible its costs are."

******

So that makes Bush what - a fool or a fraud? (both?)

Obama Veep Advisor Received $1.9 Million in Cooked Books Scandal

Another example of that famous Obama good judgment.

According to today’s Washington Post, Obama’s veep vetter Jim Johnson is linked to an accounting scandal at his former company, Fannie Mae. The newspaper reported this morning that Johnson “was the beneficiary of accounting in which Fannie Mae’s earnings were manipulated so that executives could earn larger bonuses. The accounting manipulation for 1998 resulted in the maximum payouts to Fannie Mae’s senior executives — $1.9 million in Johnson’s case — when the company’s performance that year would have otherwise resulted in no bonuses at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama has made an official statement today about Jim Johnson:

"Ladies and Gentleman, Jim Johnson is not the man I once knew"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: How many crooks does it take before Obama learns a lesson?

New Gang of 14 won’t back McCain

At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.

Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined to detail their reasons for withholding support, but Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed major concerns about McCain’s energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) cited the Iraq war.

http://tinyurl.com/6p26sh

*****

Reminds me of something I heard on the radio today:

If not for John McSame it would have been the Keating FOUR.