John McCain keeps relying on a series of political operatives to run his campaign and the results have been a series of disasters. His latest negative attack ads on Obama even make him, at his age, look immature rather than presidential. They represent the old politics that Obama says he wants to change. They say that McCain is not confident with who he is and what he represents and that he doesn’t want to campaign on the issues.
Why should I contribute more to McCain’s campaign for this type of drivel. McCain has the advantage on most of the issues but he still hasn’t put forth or been able to articulate a moral vision. He intuitively knows that both breaking the Geneva Conventions and that giving in to terrorists are both wrong, but he can’t convey to us and the global community why. Like President Bush, the academics, and the media he talks about freedom, but not about responsibility, a respect for human dignity, justice, equality and our common humanity. Instead of focusing on good government and a moral vision for a pluralist global community, he is now running a lousey campaign controlled by political hacks.
And this is from someone who still thinks he is the better candidate.
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David Brooks has this to say about Senator McCain:
"But any decent person who looks at the McCain record sees that while he has certainly faltered at times, he has also battled concentrated power more doggedly than any other legislator. If this is the record of a candidate with lobbyists on his campaign bus, then every candidate should have lobbyists on the bus."
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Obama is now backtracking on accepting federal financing for the general election if his opponent does. This will be a recurring pattern where Obama’s politics of “hope” is again and again modified with a “but” for expediency, budget realities, congressional constraints, military concerns and world events. Sen. McCain should press this issue of federal financing as setting a precedent for “change” and an upgrade in the nature of campaigns.
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I think that the following link is a pretty good assessment of the current military situation and the difficult problems that are ahead.
Sen. McCain should be able to win on this issue if he can also put forward a positive moral vision of equality, human dignity, justice, and freedom in the ideological debate with the Muslim terrorists.
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You can read about John McCain's fiscal record here.
"The support of supply-siders Jack Kemp and Phil Gramm has not been enough to reassure some economic conservatives about the direction of economic policy in a McCain administration. Yet a look at Mr. McCain's record in Congress over the past 25 years demonstrates a tax-cutting pedigree at least as strong as, if not stronger than, Mitt Romney's or Mike Huckabee's (they both raised taxes as governors)..."
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Sen. McCain still needs, however, to consolidate the conservative base. McCain is solid on the war on terror, fiscal responsibility, and judicial appointments. He is also solid on health care. He can further bring about campaign reform by accepting federal funding for the general election. He can push for cooperation now on securing the borders. Sen. McCain has also been right on supporting the Geneva Conventions and opposing torture as a means of interrogation. He needs to expand that position to define our values as equality, a respect for human dignity, justice and freedom. These values can not only consolidate the Republicans but also provide a moral vision that can unite Americans and accommodate a pluralistic global community.
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Sen. McCain will in all probability be the Republican candidate considering his victory margin in the Super Tuesday primaries and Mitt Romney withdrawing from the race. He also matches up well in polls against either Clinton or Obama. It should be noted, however, that there has been a 2:1 Democratic turnout in primaries to date. McCain will need to both unify the Republicans and continue to do well among Independents to win the general election. He could begin this difficult task by putting forth a moral vision based on a respect for human dignity. He could begin by conveying our moral values as equality, human dignity and justice as well as freedom.
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From Jeff Jacoby at the Boston Globe
"IT IS NOT news that much of the conservative base bitterly opposes John McCain and is appalled that the man they consider a Republican apostate could soon be the GOP's presidential nominee. From talk radio to the blogosphere to the conservative press, many on the right are outraged that what Mitt Romney last week called "the House that Reagan Built" - the modern Republican Party - might anoint as its standard-bearer the candidate who by their lights is the least likely to follow in the Gipper's footsteps..."
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The question again arises whether Sen. McCain can elevate himself to the role of statesman.
McCain can win on national security and foreign policy. He can win on taxes, fiscal responsibility and reforming government. He can even win on health care. He can win on the issue of judicial nominations. McCain can also hold his own on in a general election on immigration and the environment. He can even win on the issue of change if he can put forward a more accurate vision of American values as being based on equality, human dignity, and justice as well as freedom. He can speak to young America about values the way he has written about them. He can focus on the role of individual and cultural responsibility as well as government policy in education, health, and a civil society.
His biggest challenge will be the economy. The electorate will see a need to address the growing divide in income distribution. Will McCain be able to address the very complicated issues on fair trade as well as open trade and the trade balance? Will he be able to understand and address the anxieties of families about jobs, health care, housing and energy prices? Will he be able in temperament and vision to elevate himself to the role of statesman?
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Sen. McCain still needs to become more presidential and assume the role of statesman. After the Florida primary and the endorsement of Giuliani he could be expected to transcend what the voters perceive as personal attacks and a negative tone. He could focus more on the positive role of the American values of equality, human dignity, and justice as well as freedom. He could focus more on not just winning the war on terror, but also on how we will need to win the peace; that is, how we need to put forth a moral vision that can prevail in the battle of ideas in a pluralistic global community.
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A nicely done victory speech and Giuliani to endorse McCain.
John McCain's Florida Primary Speech[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link
The Democratic Party is divided between Hillary Clinton, who represents the understandable but often divisive identity group politics of the past and Barack Obama who represents a transition to a possible future in which human dignity is understood in a more universal perspective. The country is also in transition as both points of view are still valid in our society. Sen. McCain represents the future in which we aspire to understand equality, human dignity, justice, and freedom in terms of universal aspirations both domestically and in the global community. Without such an underlying moral vision diversity can be divisive both at home and abroad.
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Since both the chairman of the Federal Reserve and President Bush now see the need for an economic stimulus package, Sen. McCain should support that this be done in a bipartisan manner. Thus it should include some relief for those families that need it the most as well as possibly some incentives for business. Sen. McCain has been shaking the hands of thousands of people and he would need to be tone deaf if he doesn't understand and empathize with some of the problems and anxieties of displaced workers. Saying that he will depend on experts and then trotting out the failed former executive of Hewlett Packard as he did in Michigan just won't cut it with voters. McCain has considerable strengths in the economic area with his commitment to keep taxes low but also control spending, and his opposition to earmarks and the pay-to-play influence of lobbyists. He is also willing to take on the difficult issues such as Social Security. The current problems though are more immediate and will have to be balanced against concerns about our also growing problems with the deficit.
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The worst scenario for conservatives would be Hillary Clinton as President, a blank check for the legislature of Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Reid, John Edwards as Attorney General, the appointment of very liberal judges, a premature withdrawal from Iraq leaving chaos in the Middle East, increased taxes, and the perpetuation of divisive, identity group politics. The candidate the Democrats most fear is Sen. McCain because he actually has the possibility of winning against either Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama even in a year in which the Republicans are expected to poorly.
The far right media pundits, however, continue to criticize Sen. McCain for not adhering to the litmus tests of their own philosophy. Pat Buchanan, as a typical example of these pundits, however, got just o.4% of the votes in his last national election
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It is apparent that jobs and the economy are going to be one of the major issues of this election. The economic issues for many voters are also immediate. Offering only long term retraining and fiscal responsibility just wasn’t responsive enough to the concerns of the voters or sufficient as a developed economic policy.
Sen. McCain could have talked about combating the loss of jobs overseas with fair trade practices. On the other hand, he could have talked about combating the loss of skilled jobs to illegal immigrants in the construction industry, for example, with a crack down on employers. He could have talked about making health care more accessible and affordable. He could have talked about the government providing some type of economic stimulus package and lowering some taxes. He could have discussed the independent role of the Federal Reserve, but also that the economy is a little like a pillow in that if you push it down in one place it is likely to pop up in another. Very low interest rates, for example, caused a lot of hardship for those retired on a fixed income and contributed significantly to the speculation that has now led to the housing crisis. He could have noted that Greenspan was just wrong in describing 4 ˝ % unemployment as inflationary when you are also trying to revise welfare to workfare. Sen. McCain did not have to offer false promises to demonstrate that he has also been listening to all of those hands he has been shaking.
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Ideas are as important in foreign policy as power. For this reason, President Bush's recent speech in Abu Dhabi, will probably become the defining speech of his presidency. In his First Inaugeral Speech he made a reference to the common aspirations of humanity. In his speech in Abu Dhabi on January 13, 2008, however, he for the first time correctly conveyed our values as equality, human dignity, and justice as well as freedom.
Sen. McCain should read, reread, and study this speech and the way it conveys our values to the world. Sen. McCain, of all the candidates, has come closest to approaching this level of statesmanship. Sen. McCain should also begin to convey our values as equality, human dignity, and justice as well as freedom.
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Sen. McCain is doing well on issues of national security and the war on terrorism. If he can begin to also convey American values and constitutional democracy as being based on a respect for human dignity he will begin to be perceived as the statesman that the issues of our times need.
Sen. McCain also has developed positions on health care, energy independence, fiscal responsibility, the ending of pork barrel spending and transparency, global warming, education, immigration, social securtity, and tax policy. Sen. McCain has demonstrated leadership in trying to address the most difficult problem in a bi-partisan manner. These issues are all interrelated and required long term strategic planning. They are also, however, very immediate and personal because of the economy, a budget and trade deficit, a falling dollar, high gas prices, a mortgage crisis, the outsourcing of jobs, 43 million people without health insurance, rising unemployment, and the real possibility of a recession.
For these reasons, Sen. McCain will need to be have well-developed domestic policy positions that address these immediate concerns and anxieties of the voters concerning the economy. Hopefully he will also be able to direct the debates in the general elections toward some serious in depth discussion and education on these complicated issues, and begin to search for and emphasize where there may be some areas of agreement. There are some real areas of difference, but the electorate is also clearly tired of gridlock.
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Foreign policy is as much about ideas and particularly moral ideas as it is about power. Sen. McCain in the New Hampshire debates described equality to be one of our basic principles. He now needs to convey to the global community that this primary moral concept of equality is based on a respect for human dignity -- a respect for human dignity that is both a self-affirmation and an affirmation of our common humanity.
This respect for human dignity is a forward looking moral vision that at least has the capacity for accommodation in a pluralistic global community. This is in sharp contrast to the terrorism and totalitarianism of the radical Islamic extremists. It is indeed the military people such as General Petraeus and Sen. McCain who understand how damaging the events at Abu Graib and waffling on the issue of water boarding and the Geneva Conventions have been to the standing of the United States in the Middle East.
This is intuitively understood by most Americans. The populist campaigns of Sen. Obama and Gov. Huckabee have been successful by calling for a higher moral vision and a unity that transcends the gridlock of special interest groups and the status quo. Sen. McCain has more than an impressive record as a maverick who has opposed special interests groups. He is the candidate who has understood the global threat of radical Islamic terrorism and been the strongest on national security. He has also, however, demonstrated in both his writings and his career that he understands the importance of ideas and moral values in both domestic and foreign policy.
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Sen. McCain needs to stay on message, but also put forward a unifying moral vision. He can win particularly on national and global security and his experience in military and foreign affairs. He can win on taxes and fiscal responsibility, healthcare, and his record against special interests. The voters are clearly against the petty divisive politics of Washington. They want someone who can build coalitions across party lines. McCain has displayed honor, courage, and leadership. These strengths have earned Sen. McCain very significant endorsements and editorial support.
There is also, however, going to be a populist part of his election which is going to emphasize change and moral vision. Sen. McCain also has the credentials for “straight talk” on the values that can unit us beginning with our sense of equality based on a respect for human dignity. He can relate individual, family, and cultural values to such pressing issues as education, health care, and financial security. The oldest candidate can tell the young people who value freedom that there two ways that you can lose your freedom in our society -- one is to commit a crime and be placed in prison and the other is to become addicted to drugs. He can point out that graduating from high school is important in part because, as Woody Allen pointed out, the most important part of a job is showing up. The most important improvements in health care would also come from changes in individual behavior. And although there are many types of loving families, those who are married before they have children on average do much better in many ways including financially. McCain can become the statesman on both domestic and foreign policy.
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The assassination of Benazir Bhutto again places the methods and ideology of the radical Islamic terrorists in focus. Sen. McCain has written on Eric Hoffer who after WWII in his book The True Believer described the nature of fanaticism of all kinds. Such totalitarian ideologies find that they can prevail only by eliminating all opposition. The ends are used to justify the means such as assassination, terrorism and genocide, but these methods subvert, change, expose, and come to redefine the ends. The assassination of Benazir Bhuuto is about the nature of the terrorists. A war is being waged here against moderate Muslims as well as the West. In our war against terrorism the “climate of opinion” and moral ideas and concepts are important.
Senator McCain, with his stance against torture as a means of interrogation and support for the Geneva conventions is perhaps in the best position to convey our primary moral concept of equality as a respect for human dignity and our common humanity. This is a forward vision for accommodation in a pluralistic global community.
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“McCain has two main strengths in this GOP race: His record on national security, and the belief that he can reach enough non-Republicans to assemble a viable center-right coalition and defeat Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in what could be a difficult GOP year.”
“With the success of General David Petraeus’s counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq , even some conservatives have taken to arguing that foreign policy and military policy will become less important in 2008. We doubt it. This is still a post-9/11 country, and voters know they will be electing a Commander in Chief in a world that is as dangerous as it was during the height of the Cold War. In an election against any Democrat next year, Mr. McCain would have little trouble winning the security debate.”
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The following from the McCain website indicates that Sen. McCain can be a statesman with a vision for going forward:
During more than five years as a POW in Vietnam, John McCain experienced the worst assaults on human dignity imaginable. Yet each day he also saw in his fellow prisoners the power of human compassion and the will to prevail against unimaginable evil. It is this experience, and a life dedicated to public service, that has imbued in John McCain a fundamental commitment to the protection of human dignity that will shape his presidency.
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Does Sen. McCain really believe that we can reach energy independence in five years?
Is advocating doing away with farm subsidies and ethenol programs in an Iowa debate honest "straight talk", or is this just careless without also explaining the nuances? Are farm subsidies an all-or-none proposition? Are more efficient biofuel programs worthy of support?
Sen. McCain has some natural advantages as a candidate based on his experiences and his record, particularly in foreign policy. He also has to be able, however, to convey a detailed understanding of policy issues in such domestic areas as the economy, education and health. So far Gov. Huckabee has assumed more of the "bully pulpit" on values and Romney and Guiliani have been more detailed on policy.
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The Post-war Election by David L. Brooks
"But the more comprehensive difference between a wartime election and a postwar election is that there is a shift in values. In wartime, leadership traits like courage, steadfastness and ruthlessness are prized. Voters are willing to vote for candidates they distrust so long as they seem tough and effective (Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani).
In a postwar election things are different. When Wall Street Journal/NBC pollsters asked voters what qualities they were looking for in the next leader, their top three choices were: the ability to work well with leaders of other countries; having strong moral and family values; bringing unity to the country. Those are cooperative qualities, not combative ones. They require good listening skills, openness and the ability to compromise.
It’s clear that voters are not only exhausted by the war, they are exhausted by the war over the war. On the Democratic side, Obama captured the mood exactly with his Jefferson-Jackson Day speech of a few weeks ago. In that speech, he asked voters to reject fear, partisanship and textbook politics. He asked them to vote instead on the basis of their aspirations for a new era of national unity. As a result, Obama has pulled ahead in Iowa and approached parity in New Hampshire."
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One of the benefits of running for the presidential nomination is that one gets the opportunity to help define the agenda of issues to be discussed. Sen. McCain should use this opportunity for some “straight talk" on economics, education and health. The simple statistical facts are that the greatest gains in these areas would come from valuing education and obtaining at least a high school diploma, avoiding crime and addiction, getting married before having children, and abstaining from risky and unhealthy behaviors. These are basic areas that effect our quality of life. The greatest potential for improvement lies not with government, but relates to our general culture and issues of individual behavior and responsibility. I am a physician and consider, for example, the lives that have been saved by cultural changes concerning smoking and drunk driving.
Although Sen. Clinton has not as yet made such issues a major part of her campaign, consider this related recent statement from Sen. Clinton:
“Teen pregnancy has damaging effects on teen parents and society. Teen parents are more likely to live in poverty, to drop out of high school, and to rely on public assistance. The sons of teen mothers are more likely to end up in prison; the daughters are more likely to themselves end up as teen parents. According to a report by Dr. Saul D. Hoffman and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, teen childbearing in the United States cost taxpayers at least $9.1 billion in 2004”
These are not partisan issues and they transcend the concerns of both the moral majority and liberal group politics. One of Sen. McCain’s strengths has been his willingness as a statesman to address the larger issues in a bipartisan way. The Presidency has been described as having a “bully pulpit.” Sen. McCain should lead, but also work with the other candidates (including Sen. Clinton), to put these cultural and individual behavioral issues on the agenda concerning economics, education, and health.
Senator McCain could also find important common ground with Sen. Obama in basing our respect for each other in universals terms and emphasizing those things the unite us. Sen. McCain has a chance to clarify and convey that our primary moral concept of equality, the moral assertion of human dignity, and individual rights and freedoms all in some way relate to an understanding of our common humanity.
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Let’s Review
Iraq -- Sen. McCain has been right in his criticism of Rumsfeld’s policies. It is McCain who has both supported the troops and the “surge” which has seen some significant success. This is in contrast to both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama. He has opposed torture as a means of interrogation and supported the Geneva Conventions.
McCain now needs to begin to expand that position to a concept of equality understood as a respect for human dignity as the primary moral concept of American constitutional democracy. Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, and Lincoln all considered equality to be the primary moral concept of our government. The great reformers such as the women suffragettes and the Rev. Martin Luther King did not repudiate this moral concept but urged us to live up to it.
Immigration -- Although it is apparent that the public wants border security as a priority, there still is and there will continue to be a need for a comprehensive approach to illegal immigration issues and this will need to be bi-partisan. Sen. McCain unabashedly now promote both of these objectives.
Fiscal Responsibility -- Sen. McCain has well-established and known positions on this issue.
Social conservatism – Despite Sen. McCain’s long consistent conservative position on most social issues, the religious right has not forgotten his chastising some of their leaders for being intolerant and his willingness to reach a bipartisan consensus on difficult issues. Sen. McCain should continue to address his social agenda to the country as a whole. He should begin by addressing young people on crime and drug addiction, which are the two ways that you can easily lose your freedom in our society. Then, with a recognition that there are now many loving non-traditional families, that statistically there are still very practical economic and social advantages of education and having children within the context of marriage.
Health Care – Sen. McCain has a good start on health care, but he will still have to address in the debates to come how he would find a way to include some of those that may still not be able to get coverage or affordable coverage under his plan as compared to a more centralized universal approach.
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Senator McCain has been strong on support for the military, national security and Iraq. He has established strong positions on fiscal responsibility, opposing earmarks, conservative social issues and now health care. Even though only parts of his proposals on campaign reform and immigration have endured, he deserves credit for putting these issues on the agenda and moving those issues forward.
McCain at this juncture needs to put forth a moral vision for a pluralistic global community. That moral vision should be based on a respect for human dignity. This is the concept of equality that Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, Lincoln, the women suffragettes, and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. all considered to be the primary moral value of American constitutional demcracy. This is close to his positions against torture and against abortion.
China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States account globally for 90% of the capital punishment cases. We are thus to some degree providing cover for the killing and capital punishments that are sometimes the arbitrary tools of dictators, tyrrants and terrorists. One way for McCain to put this issue on the agenda and to focus attention on a respect for human dignity as being our primary moral value, would be to advocate the eventual abolishment of capital punishment. In a state like Ohio the issue of capitol punishment could be on the ballot in Nov. 2008. It is such a bold proposal that would associate McCain with the concept of a respect for human dignity. It is the type of proposal the would demonstrate the thought and leadership of a statesman and connect him to a larger moral vision.
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Senator McCain needs to indicate that, after the coming debates in the Senate on Iraq, that he will begin to address health care. Most of the components of the Republican positions were recently summerized by Karl Rove in the WSJ. Some of Bush's plan and even some components of Hillary's recently released health care plan could be considered.
McCain needs to begin to show some breadth in addition to just showing more commitment to his position on Iraq. The concern is whether he has the capacity to do this. He basically blew through 25 million dollars on polling and fund raising and didn't develop a health care policy. This will be one of the major issues and the Republicans should embrace this because, they can put together a better plan. McCain just has to combined the best of the ideas that have already been put forward and be able to understand and promote them as a package. The Republican candidate will probably have to extensively debate Hiilary on this issue.
It is time for McCain to stop jesting about being the fifth from the bottom of his class at the naval academy. Voter's are looking for someone more articulate than Bush and all of McCain's rivals are very capable and intelligent. I think that McCain can prevail on the war in Iraq, fiscal responsibiliy, health care, and even putting immigration on the agenda, which has led to addressing it in a serious way. He is in the best position to define our moral position in terms a respect for human dignity and to clarify that our government is a constitutional democracy that also protects minority rights as well as voting and majority rule. He will not be successful, however, unless he broadens his agenda and demonstrates a detailed understanding of most of the issues. including health care.
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McCain did well in the recent New Hampshire debate and no one questions his courage, honor and commitment. The question is now whether he has the intellectual depth for nuance in foreign affairs and for policy in domestic affairs.
McCain at this time needs to be able to articulate a health care policy and be able to defend and promote it. This doesn’t require a lot of development as a combination of The positions of Romney and Giuliani is probably the best response to Hillary care. The major point from Giuliani, which is not in Romney’s proposals is that consumers should be able to choose a policy from any state, and not be required to get a policy only from their own state that may require that a great deal of unnecessary and expensive services be included. Health care will be a major issue with voters.
Now, a radical proposal. McCain should encourage a reconsideration and debate on capital punishment. In a recent survey, 90% of execution as capital punishment occurred in four countries – China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. We are providing cover for for one of the most effective tools of terrorism and totalitarianism. Capital punishment is also ineffective against suicide bombers who consider themselves martyrs. It diminishes our standing in the court of world opinion. We are actually losing the battle of ideas in the Middle East to a cabal of terrorists. We need to do all that we can to distinguish ourselves from their atrocities. This doesn’t even include the many domestic arguments that can be made against capital punishment.
McCain is the candidate best positioned to educate the public that the primary moral value of United State constitutional democracy is equality understood as a respect for human dignity and worth and a respect for our common humanity. This was the belief of Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, Lincoln and the great reformers such as the women suffragettes and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Encouraging a reconsideration and debate on capital punishment is a idea that displays intelligence and strength in the battle of ideas. It is the appropriate balance to his strong support for the military and the battle against terrorism.
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In his recent book, Second Chance, Zbigniew Brzezinski, quotes Raymond Aron writing that “In the twentieth century, the strength of a great power is diminished if it ceases to serve an idea.” After criticizing the foreign policies of the last three administrations. Brzezinski then concludes that that great idea for America should be universal human dignity. This was the concept of equality that Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, Lincoln, and the great reformers including the women suffragettes and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood to be the primary moral concept of United States constitutional democracy. See the following:
- Equality as an Affirmation of our Common Humanity concerning our difficulties in understanding and conveying this primary moral concept.
- The Moral Foundations of United States Constitutional Democracy: An Analytical and Historical Inquiry into the Primary Moral Concept of Equality to understand the several historical roots of this concept in the liberal tradition of Western Civilization.
- An Ecological Organic Paradigm: A Framework of Analysis for Moral and Political Philosophy and What Medical Ethics has to Offer the Larger Fields of Moral and Political Philosophy to understand the nuances of this concept when human nature is understood to be multidimensional.
Senator McCain, based on his writings and his opposition to torture and support for the Geneva Conventions, is perhaps the best suited at this time to put forth again what Lincoln called this “central idea” as the primary moral concept of our government. It will not come, however from his staff that is concerned with “micro” rather than “macro” issues or his advisors who are concerned with polling and fund raising. It should and will have to come from McCain’s intuitive understanding of the history and larger purpose of American constitutional democracy and the ideas on which it was founded. The other candidate who may intuitively understand and be able to convey the importance of Brzezinski’s advice is Senator Barack Obama, who has spoken of civil rights in a universal context. This “central idea” of equality as a respect for the dignity and worth of our common humanity can help provide cross-cultural understanding and enable ethical dialogue. It has at least the capacity to accommodate pluralism in a global community without the use of coercion or alienation.
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Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them
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As he faces down the perplexing issues of war in Iraq and immigration reform at home, it's fitting that Arizona senator McCain, a contender for the 2008 Republican presidential bid, would spend time reflecting on principled stands that either "win a hero's welcome or indefinite pain and suffering." McCain and co-author Salter follow the blueprint of their previous book, Why Courage Matters, to provide readers with a series of character-as-history profiles of the men and women who shaped seminal moments in 20th century political and cultural history, from the integration of professional baseball to the pardoning of Richard Nixon to the end of the Cold War, as well as seemingly trivial accomplishments like the invention of the disposable razor ("Sell the shave, not the razor"). Throughout, an insider's view provides keen insight on the caprices of history and more than a few echoes of current events, most importantly the interplay between personal experience and national destiny. Meticulously crafted, this collection will appeal to those who respect McCain's reputation as a maverick for whom "faith and courage" ranks among the most important forces in human history. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
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(CNN)–Senator Barack Obama drew criticism from Republican presidential candidates over his recent comments over how he would shift the focus of the war on terror from Iraq to Pakistan. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said Obama has been inconsistent in his recent comments. “You look at that Democratic debate, I had to laugh at what I saw Barack Obama do,” Romney said in reference to the CNN/You Tube debate last month in South Carolina. “I mean in one week he went from saying he’s going to sit down, you know, for tea, with our enemies, but then he’s going to bomb our allies. I mean he’s gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week.”
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Senator McCain hope for recovery rests on being true to his message rather than changing course. Edward Kennedy’s one time bid for the Presidency fell apart when someone asked why he wanted to be President and he had no reply. He apparently just wanted to be the President. John McCain knows why he wants to be the President and he has to show that the substantive policies that he supports are more important the winning the election. Paradoxically this is not just the way for him to be relevant, but also probably the only way for him to possibly be elected.
His support for the military combined with an advocacy of human dignity and rights in foreign affairs, has been mature compared the politics of the far left which is driving foreign policy in the Democratic Party.
His attempt to address the immigration issues in a bipartisan manner put this difficult issue on the agenda rather than ignoring it. If preliminary conditions related to identity and security need to be addressed before a this can be resolved, then these preconditions are what the Congress and Senator McCain should be working towards as that issue will not just go away by ignoring it or doing nothing. Senator McCain rather than backing away from the issue should stay the course.
The same goes for campaign finance reform. Even after the Supreme Courts reversal of part of McCain-Feingold most it remains intact. Although it will now be seen as a matter of necessity rather than principle, Senator McCain should commit to Federal funding for the general election. Something he should have done from the start. Most voters, and particularly independent voters, remain concerned about the role of big money in politics.
Fiscal responsibility and the control of earmarks, K street lobbying, pay-to-play, and budget deficits, all remain strong topics for Senator McCain.
Senator McCain’s credentials on conservative social issues also speak for themselves. He should not pander to an uncompromising far right, which has very little general support. He should again not be dismissive, but stand his ground. He can’t prevent that far right from possibly shooting itself in the foot.
At this time Senator McCain does need to do more to address the issues in health care and outline an approach that is both progressive and fiscally responsible.
Finally Senator McCain needs to curtail some of the frantic activity of fund raising and take on more of the role of a confident statesman who sees the larger picture and who has a moral vision. That vision should be based on the affirmation of the dignity and worth of our individual and our common humanity. Senator McCain has come the nearest to approaching this moral vision in his support of the Geneva Conventions and his understanding of the importance of ideas in foreign affairs in a pluralistic global community.
This election will not be about fund raising but about the issues and the moral vision of the candidates. Senator McCain should stay on message.
href="http://www.exploremccain.com/Undecided/whymccain.htm">Why McCain?[/html]
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The war against terrorism is going to remain a pivotal issue in the presidential election. Senator McCain's position is likely to be better appreciated on the one hand if things begin stabilize in Iraq or, on the other hand, if the democrats hasten an untimely withdrawal leading to chaos with no plan B. Things are likely to look much different in February and next November.
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It's about time. Nelson and Weaver and some others are leaving the campaign. They have been a miserable failure by focusing on fundraising and polling rather than the issues and McCain's strengths. Having gone through 20 million for overblown staffing with no commitment to the message and they now jump ship like mercenaries. If McCain had not made a drastic change in his staff, one would have to question his ability to manage as an executive.
McCain can still win on the issues by not taking the short term easy way out. His long term perspective and agenda is what remains sound and what may again become popular as opposed to wishful thinking, partisan politics, and the appeasing of factions.
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One of the concerns consistently heard concerning John McCain as a presidential candidate is his age. He thus has to be more concerned about off hand remarks and sound bites. It is understandable that he would describe the war on terror as good against evil and to say that he may be the last man standing, but this also understandably generates some concern.
McCain is running against some very intelligent people and some who have proven to be very good politicians. His only chance to reverse course and to be successful is to be perceived as the more accomplished statesman -- the one who has a broader vision and purpose, a moral compass and yet a practical realistic approach, and a capacity to be above partisan politics and to work for common goals. McCain has the firmness of character and the generosity of spirit to do this. The message is more important than money.
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Thomas Friedman recently wrote that, “In the past few years, hundreds of Muslims have committed suicide amid innocent civilians – without making concrete political demands and without generating any vigorous, sustained condemnation in the Muslim world.
…Muslims have got to understand that a death cult has taken root in the bosom of their religion, feeding off it like a cancerous tumor….If Muslim leaders don’t remove this cancer – and only they can – it will spread, tainting innocent Muslims and poisoning their relations with each other and the world.”
I would add that for years there has been a war going on against moderate Muslims by the radicals. It has been not only dangerous, but life threatening, to be a moderate in Palestine or elsewhere in the Middle East. The conflicts have forced many of the most talented to leave. And yet, the moderate global Muslims have provided a secondary climate of opinion which has allowed the radicals to continue to operate in a way that Freidman describes as a cancer that is “erasing the basic norms of civilization.” There has most often been a qualifying excuse if not a blind eye to a terrorism which is not only destroying Muslim communities, but as Freidman states “poisoning their relations with each other and the rest of the world.”
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Paul Collier, in his recent book The Bottom Billion, describes four traps into which really poor countries tend to fall. The first is civil war. Nearly three-quarters of the people in the bottom billion, Collier points out, have recently been through, or are still in the midst of, a civil war. Such wars usually drag on for years and have economically disastrous consequences. And once you’ve had one civil war, you’re likely to have more: “Half of all civil wars are postconflict relapses.”
Civil war, it also turns out, has nothing much to do with the legacy of colonialism, or income inequality, or the political repression of minorities. Three things turn out to increase the risk of conflict: a relatively high proportion of young, uneducated men; an imbalance between ethnic groups, with one tending to outnumber the rest; and a supply of natural resources like diamonds or oil, which simultaneously encourages and helps to finance rebellion.
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In his book Character is Destiny, John McCain includes an essay on Eric Hoffer. Hoffer was a longshoreman, who after World War II wrote The True Believer which was a criticism of fanaticism of all kinds. Those who have written of communist totalitarianism have also noted that for such fanatics as Lenin and Stalin to put their ideologies in place they had to eliminate all opposition. The ends were used to justify the means, but it was the means that subverted the ends.
This all applies to terrorism, radical versions of Islam, and the world in which we live.
Rather than informing with his knowledge of history and philosophy, however, Senator McCain seems to take pride in graduating fifth from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy. His major opponents in both parties are very intelligent people. Intelligence, however, is not always the same as wisdom. The question is where Senator McCain from his experiences, his writings, and his time in Congress has the wisdom to be President.
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“None of the above” would have a good chance of winning at this time. There is thus the attraction to run for Fred Thompson or an independent third party candidate like Michael Bloomberg. John McCain, however, has already demonstrated the courage to stand for those positions that he believes in, even though they sometimes have been critical of the current administration or unpopular. Those positions have for the most part been insightful. He has been reasonably consistent in his conservative philosophy, but he also has been willing to transcend partisan politics to try to build coalitions to address nationally important issues such as immigration, election reform and fiscal responsibility. He has not yet focused, however, on the issue of an affirmation of human dignity as the primary moral assertion of constitutional democracy. He has not yet focused on this primary moral value even though it ties together most of his positions. More importantly this moral assertion has at least the capacity for accommodation in a pluralistic global community. Equality, understood as an affirmation of the dignity and worth of our common humanity, is conservative in that it is the central value of the Western liberal tradition. Without such a central moral philosophy, Senator McCain’s support has been eroding. It is the message that is the most important part of gaining support. Someone needs to step into the relative moral vacuum.
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