The Democrats' Plan To Hit McCain

Politico: Presumed GOP Nominee's Reputation For "Straight Talk" Will Be Scrutinized

(The Politico)  But his opponent could note that McCain's campaign is being led by Tom Loeffler, whose lobbying firm has made millions inserting earmarks into spending bills.

And McCain himself isn't exactly simon-pure on the issue. He has secured special funding for Arizona projects, including a $10 million allocation he sought for the University of Arizona to build a center honoring the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

McCain's unyielding support for the military surge in Iraq could be another troublesome area. While many Republican primary voters viewed his steadfastness as a sign of strength and leadership, his position will be more precarious when courting a general election audience.

According to a January Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, 20 percent of registered voters want to withdraw immediately; 43 percent want American troops home within a year. Only 31 percent of registered voters - mostly Republicans -- said the troops should stay as long as it takes to finish the job in Iraq.

McCain was already facing those headwinds before he said in January that he "would be fine" with having American troops stationed in Iraq for 100 years, provided they were not being harmed or killed.

Democrats will leap on that remark to try to paint him as a warmonger, hopelessly out of touch with the American electorate and blind to their version of realities in Iraq.

They are also likely to push back against McCain's penchant for blaming the Iraq campaign's problems on former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

That rhetoric allowed McCain to criticize the pace of progress in Iraq without directly targeting Bush during the primary season. But Democrats will try to link McCain with Bush.

"The Iraq war wasn't just a bad strategy implemented by a bad secretary of defense. It was the wrong strategy for the president and McCain was in the middle of all of it," said Devine.

McCain's decision to highlight - and enhance - his conservative credentials for the primary race has created new general election vulnerabilities he didn't have during his 2000 presidential run.

The most potent argument the Democrats will make: That the McCain of 2008 is a paper-mache version of the Maverick McCain of 2000.

In 2000, many independent voters -- and even some Democrats - admired McCain when he took on the Rev. Jerry Falwell and conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson by calling them "agents of intolerance" within the party.

This year, he courted both Falwell and Robertson in an effort to win over evangelical voters.

In 1999, McCain said he didn't want to see Roe v. Wade overturned because it could force "women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations."

Today, McCain says repeal of the landmark abortion rights Supreme Court decision "wouldn't bother me any."

On the volatile immigration issue, McCain saw his fundraising dry to a trickle last summer after he led the charge for Bush's comprehensive reform legislation.

Today, McCain has recalibrated his stance, saying he would push for strengthening the border to block illegal immigration before dealing with those already here.

McCain also has remained relatively silent on whether that means he would take up the Bush comprehensive bill anew after securing the borders - a question the Democrats will try to force him to answer.

Then there are the matters of McCain's advanced age and his temperament.

If he wins the general election, he will be 72 years old when he takes the oath of office, the oldest of any president. He's also had three bouts with melanoma, a skin cancer.

On the campaign trail, he's joked about his age and, at one point, casually suggested he might serve only one term. He's also said he's learned to control his temper.

Democratic strategists tend to discount either issue as a major line of attack on his candidacy, barring the sort of You Tube, "macacca" moment captured on film that derailed former Virginia Sen. George Allen's re-election campaign and presidential aspirations.

But that's not to say his opponents might not give it a shot. Barack Obama this week on CNN seemed to be testing a line for a McCain match-up.

McCain should be honored for his "half a century of service to this country," the 46-year-old Illinois senator said, but he's "not the person who is going to lead this country in a new direction."

Kenneth P. Vogel contributed to this report.

[jack3213]

The Clintons are as corrupt as can be. What''''''''s more disheartening and hard to fathom, is the sheer number of gullible, entitlement minded supporters there are for them. Especially when the Clintons criminal history is still relatively fresh. I fear for the future of our country, when so many potential voters are more enamoured with gender politics and pop culture than the more important issue of character and adherance to the Constitution. The Clintons are not only power-mad, but they also promise a Socialist/Marxist style of government. Something their supporters either ignore, or actually support. The ignorance and rejection of the greatness of America by the Democrat electorate is stunning and sad. The ominous, looming danger of a Clinton or even an Obama Presidency is horrifying.

[the74blaster]

Posted by von_marko,

He who laughs last laughs best! Hopefully my turn comes on the first Wednesday in November. I heard Rush is stocking up on the pain meds already.

This is going to be fun.

[von_marko]

the74blaste... Do you think Swift Boat had an effect on the Kerry campaign?? It did. How can you put Hillary against McCain?? ha ha

Would you put Obama up against McCain?? Obama wants to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. ha ha

Keep drinking the Kool Aide liberals.. if it helps you to get by day to day. ha

[the74blaster]

Dems to challange McCain?? ha ha ha While Hillary was supporting communist, McCain was being tourtured by them. WHile Obama was trying to surrender the war in Iraq, McCain got was busy winning it. ha ha you libs are toast.

Posted by von_marko,

I hope you really believe your comments and do not bother to vote in the upcoming elections. I mean the wars..shoot a typo...I mean the election is going to be a cakewalk. Its Mission Accomplished for the GOP!!!

Posted by v

[von_marko]

Dems to challange McCain?? ha ha ha While Hillary was supporting communist, McCain was being tourtured by them. WHile Obama was trying to surrender the war in Iraq, McCain got was busy winning it. ha ha you libs are toast.

[the74blaster]

"Democrats could also take some sharper shots at his economic plan, which centers on two core messages: cutting taxes and cutting spending.

Yeah heaven forbid! We democrats have to keep takin your money so we can give it to our constituents! How else would we stay in power ?

Posted by speakinup,

Interesting point of view since the party you support squandered an annual budget surplus of 234 billion they inherited from Clinton and turned it into an admitted 400 billion debt. Based on this we simply cannot afford another GOP president with GOP majority in congress.

I''ll take my chances with a democratic president. They certainly cannot be as bad as Bush.

[mh4cbs1]

Something the Corporate Media forgot to mention about Corporate-Owned Democratic Party Corruption....

Take ALL of the people from ALL of the following states, and their votes counted LESS than the "superdelegates", who are mostly DNC party hacks

Arkansas
Connecticut
Deleware
Hawaii
Iowa
Idaho
Kansas
Maine
Missouri
Montatna
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Hampshire
Nevada
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wyoming

Thats right! If you lived in any of these states, your collective vote (ALL of you combined), counts LESS than the superdelegate party hacks (who during Clinton the first gave us NAFTA, Telecom Deregulation, Wall Street/Banking deregulation, and nothing on alternative energy, corporate welfare reform, progressive taxes, cut bloated military....)

so much for corporate-controlled democracy

[mh4cbs1]

Something the Corporate Media forgot to mention about Corporate-Owned Democratic Party Corruption....

Take ALL of the people from ALL of the following states, and their votes counted LESS than the "superdelegates", who are mostly DNC party hacks

Arkansas
Connecticut
Deleware
Hawaii
Iowa
Idaho
Kansas
Maine
Missouri
Montatna
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Hampshire
Nevada
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wyoming

Thats right! If you lived in any of these states, your collective vote (ALL of you combined), counts LESS than the superdelegate party hacks (who during Clinton the first gave us NAFTA, Telecom Deregulation, Wall Street/Banking deregulation, and nothing on alternative energy, corporate welfare reform, progressive taxes, cut bloated military....)

so much for corporate-controlled democracy

[heartnspirit]

One color, tears down another color... One race tears down another race... One religion tears down another religion... One size, tears down another size... One name, tears down another name, One appearance, tears down another appearance, One liberal, tears down another... One conservative, tears down another, One ***, tears down/belittle another ***, One person, tears down another person, One child, tears down another child, On and On , a deadly- slow cancer, that breeds ... and breeds into... tearing down selves, tearing down good-true leaders, tearing down examples for our youth, ... tearing down our country.

'' NO FREEDOM, NO INTEGRITY, NO PEACE, NO HARMONY, NO UNDERSTANDING, NO CARING, NO INSPIRATION, NO ENCOURAGEMENT, NO MOTIVATION, NO EXAMPLES FOR OUR YOUTH, NO SHARING, NO GIVING-(without the essence of greed), NO UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, (just words spoken- for self satisfactions).... clearly, NO REAL AND TRUE LIFE TO LIVE.

[buddhabman]

Enough from the uninformed Hillary supporters.

CLINTON v. OBAMA on LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE:

Senator Clinton, has served one full term (6yrs.), has managed to author and pass into law, (20) pieces of legislation including the following:

These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress (www.thomas.loc.gov).

During the first year in the Senate, Sen. Obama sponsored over 820 bills. He authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These included the following:

The Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 -(now law )
The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, (now law),
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate,
The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, (now law),
The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, (In committee). In all since he entered the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1096. An impressive record, for someone who supposedly has no legislative record or experience.

[user168-2009]

"Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth."

Yes, America, go only for TRUTH!

At the end only TRUTH stands - for peace, for harmony, for hope, FOR ALL...

%u201CWithout truth I know not how man can live.%u201D

Now let''s see how much TRUTH America wants...

Clinton stands for SELF, self-pity, self-absorption, narcissism, %u201Cme%u201D-winning...

McCain stands for LOYALTY, his belief, his people, his ideals, %u201Cus%u201D-winning...

Obama stands for TRUTH, intellectual truth, compassion truth, UNIVERSAL TRUTH, truth for all...

So be it that the youth sees HOPE in TRUTH...

"Live the change you want to see in the world."

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed."

"A nation''s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."

GO! OBAMA, TRUTH IS THE NATION, THE WORLD, THE HOPE!

[nearl4511]

Yeah Go Bill Clinton 2008!!!!

Four or 8 more years of invesigation and another decade or so of "It''s CLinton''s Fault" for everything.

Let''s go for a new NAME shall we? Just take the vow: No more CLintons''; No more Bushes!!!

[blondie4359]

Barrack Hussein Obama Can only talk the talk. BUT buyer beware, always read the fine print before you sign on the bottom line.
The American people are sick and tired of empty promises. What happened to our constitutional rights and In God We Trust ??
Barrack Hussein Obama has practiced many religous faiths (cults) while growing up and into his adult life. His church is Christian but of what origin??? Regardless of what his politcal party says. Check out Barrack Hussein Obama teenage years and you will be surprised. Yes,he does have accomplishments but is that what we really want%u2026 Empty promises%u2026He can not unite black and white in his own church how can he do it in America ? ? ? Are we looking for universal health care ??? How about the 15 mil, he wants to leave out? He briefly mentioned health care which Hillary went into great detail. AND Hillary is right. The government officials have excellent health care the American people have a right to have the same benefits..Are we sure we want this new chapter ? ?

GO HILLARY CLINTON '' 08

[nearl4511]

Actually, other than his warmongering stance on the war on terror and some idea that Viet Nam could have been won, I don''t know what criticism could be laid on John by the Democrats.

He is somewhot centrist on a number of issues including (a) anti-torture, (b) fiscal policy, (c) campaign finance reform, (d)closing guantanamo, (e) education, (f) imigration.

And he is a war veteran. What are they going to acuse him of...being more liberal than Hill?

[nearl4511]

THanks CBS....can''t write G*A*Y apparrently.

Don''t know what the "correct" term would be since you also censor S*E*X.

Really, moronic.

[nearl4511]

No actually, they can''t make up their minds whether Obama is atheist or a Muslim.

Fear mongering has worked pretty well for the Guns, (anti)***, and God Party in the past.

[dvsden]

For christ''s sake, will the "Obama rhymes with Osama" morons get off this board and go back to Frei Republik.com. This used to be a forum for intelligent discussion; now every time there is a story about the election, the Creationist conservatards with the IQ''s of 70 say the same stupid BS about Obabma being a Muslim facsist over and over. No one with any brains buys it; that is why the conservatives are going to get hammered this fall. Look at the turnout numbers where the Dems are killing Repubs in OPEN primaries-- all the praying at your rattlesnake fundie megachurches is not going to save you in Nov.

[user168-2009]

At the end, it is TRUTH the Nation wants!

Yes, at the end only TRUTH stands - for peace, for harmony, for hope, FOR ALL...

%u201CWithout truth I know not how man can live.%u201D

Now let''s see how much TRUTH America wants...

Clinton stands for SELF, self-pity, self-absorption, narcissism, %u201Cme%u201D-winning...

McCain stands for LOYALTY, his belief, his people, his ideals, %u201Cus%u201D-winning...

Obama stands for TRUTH, intellectual truth, compassion truth, UNIVERSAL TRUTH, truth for all...

So be it that the youth sees HOPE in TRUTH...

"Live the change you want to see in the world."

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed."

"A nation''s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."

GO! OBAMA, TRUTH IS THE NATION, THE WORLD, THE HOPE!

[byeneocons]

P.S. Good luck electing your crazy senile Uncle in November.

[byeneocons]

Hey Speakinup: It''s nice to see you and the rest of the right wing neocon nutjobs like Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, and the Bush Baby going down in flames.

Good luck with that 8 trillion dollar debt that you, your kids, and your grandkids will have to pay for.

Not to mention the other list of accomplishments Bush gave you: War, death, 9/11, revival of terrorist recruitments, deficits, recession, infrastructure failures, the response to Katrina, and the fact the government can now see which library books you check out.

Exposed as a liberal? Hell, no! I''m proud to be a liberal. Shame on the neocons for this mess we have.