The Election Thing

It's finally over and a new President was sworn in on January 20th to face a multitude of problems. The election, however, though historic in the election of Barack Obama, again revealed the divisive nature of American society.

Americans prefer to think the best while excluding any thought of the worst in anyone. This election, however, displayed the Republican Party at its worst. John McCain did a complete turnaround from his year 2000 position and with his snarling partner, Sarah Palin, became a "its only business" campaigner. Their campaign seemed desperate, disjointed and unfortunately, McCarthyistic in both tone and action. Attacking personalities became more important than debating ideas further illustrating the limited intellectual capacities of both candidates. Sarah Palin's rhetoric empowered cries of "traitor," "Arab," "Communist," and other derisive terms towards Obama coupled with her denial to be the cause of it.
Palin cannot dispute a singular fact released by the Secret Service: her utterances caused a sharp increase in death threats towards President Elect Obama. This, alone, should cause the Republican Party to stop and reflect upon the dirty tactics utilized and to what end. Governor Palin needs to reassess her position in this election and drop the offended position towards the media. She was responsible for the hatred rise and should address that immediately. Overall, the greatest responsibility is held by John McCain who displayed his true moral character not only foisting Sarah Palin upon the American Public, but disdaining any opposition towards lack of credentials, ethical problems and importantly, her utterances. The real John McCain came forth and was rejected in mass by voters.

The Republican Party, guided the past few years by neocons, has not rejected the hate generated by the McCain Campaign Committee. Seemingly, it has begun soul-searching on the election loss and disconnect with the public. The most obvious answers seem to elude Republican leadership-Americans just became tired of the flip-flops, hate spewing, transparent tactics and lack of issue discussion. The primary issue was and still is the economy; an issue McCain avidly avoided since it was the singular one the election could be lost on. The lack of specifics and noticeable effort to keep Sarah Palin away from any press questioning doomed the Republic effort. They are a party in turmoil both morally and emotionally.

Discussion of Sarah Palin being a frontrunner is an affront to the voters' intelligence. Obviously, if she cannot withstand press questioning, how can one rely upon her to discharge the Presidency? Secondly, her own ethical problems created bonafide character doubt intensifed by her affiliation with the Alaska Independence Group, an anti-American group, church affiliations, and abuse of power as governor. These doubts are only doubled by a definite lack of domestic and international knowledge a presidential candidate must possess.

John McCain needs to retire since it is obvious major credibility has been lost and Sarah Palin needs to remain in Alaska where, though her popularity has waned, she can be with those who appreciate her.

The United States needs to be unified, not disunited by these two who would do almost anything to be elected. To paraphrase, one can understand giving your soul to God, but to Washington D.C.?

The Sarah McPalin Press Conference

Ladies and gentleman, we are proud to present the Governor of Alaska bordering on Russia and also on Canada, which she can see out of both windows on a cloudy day when Russian planes aren't flying over, Sarah Palin
 
McPalin: Thank you, everyone, you betcha I can see those things and I want to remind the kindergarten Alaska legislature that they get extra credit for this press conference.
Press: Governor Palin, you have been criticized for your inexperience and overall lack of knowledge particularly in foreign affairs. How do you respond to that.
 McPalin: Moose hunting this year was very good and I tracked one into Canada which meant a discussion with  Canadian Customs was undertaken. They were nice and I came home rich with bountiful foreign affair experience. Those moose are so cooperative when it comes to diplomacy.PRESS: Governor, you indicated prior that you would cooperate fully with the Alaska Legislature investigating Troopergate, but have let McCain campaign lawyers stonewall the inquiry. What did you decide to do this contrary to your earlier statement?McPalin: Being a hockey mom who fires people who don't sign personal loyalty oaths means wearing a different hat when confronted with situations. Alaska is a energy producing state which I became governor of and dedicated myself to reforming the wasteful type of government that existed. John McCain wants to do the same, but can't find Alaska. He has been lost for several decades, but no one has noticed and I will ride his coattails hopefully to the White house in lieu of climate warming which is only partially manmade, but some. (Wink, wink, nod, nod, elbow to the ribs)Press: Governor, you didn't answer the question at all. Please do so.McPalin: Now, I may not answer the way you want, but will be straight with the Russian people living near Georgia since they can't be seen from Atlanta. This tussle over Troopergate is simply an internal matter which has become partisan due to a few deciding I wasn't hard enough on my ex-brother-in-law, a former trooper. Its a drop in the bucket compared to my taxes.Press: You were hesitant to release your taxes and your assets really don't match your earnings. However, you claimed $15,000 on per diem payments working out of your house and used state money to fly your children on vacations. This doesn't seem to be quite legal according to the Alaska Tax Commissioner and the IRS.McPalin: What have they got to do with it? I am a hockey mom who needs to set rules for my children and the same for the state. I have reformed a good old boy network, cut necessary waste like naughty books in libraries and terminated some who didn't agree with me. Oh, gosh, Harry Potter is so satanic and librarians should expect criticism. My taxes are in order since I deem them so and support our troops in Iraq. My children are precious and I take them with me as much as possible in spite of Alaska forcing me to save money by charging the state.Press: Governor, a lot of what you are saying is disjointed and to be honest, doesn't really make sense. You are sounding like someone who makes rules for themselves and then screams upon getting caught. Your interview answers have been uninformed, problems with taxes and ethics have arisen, and you have difficulty answering the simplest questions. Don't you see that as an impediment to the McCain campaign?McPalin: John McCain is an honest man who only made occasional propaganda broadcasts for the North Vietnamese while a POW to secure more privileges. Wait....oh, I wasn't supposed to say that...oopsie, sorry.....never mind about that....Anyway, he has been a solid friend to MIA/POW activists....what, oh, oopsie, sorry, never mind about that either....I along with John McCain support our Veterans....what, damn ear mike, he voted against Veterans bills 27 times....oopsie, what the hell can I say..okay...Sorry about that....I support John McCain having numerous lobbyists in his campaign since they are so charming and very well informed and approved by Karl Rove.Press: Have you ever answered a question directly?McPalin: I have always wanted to eradicate hunger and poverty and make people happy. That is why I have chosen to participate in this vice-presidential pageant. It is an honor to represent my state....what, oh, oopsie, wrong answer....Yes, I answered directly during my wedding ceremony with an I do and have been happily married for some years with 5 beautiful children...a hockey mom who supported Alaska secession, wearing different hats while frowning upon polar bear rights and urging oil companies to drill, drill, drill even if it means my own teeth.Press: How do you expect to proceed in the Vice-President's position, a heart beat away from the Presidency, if elected, with this type of management style.McPalin: I am opposed to same sex marriage and understand that seagulls are gay. They will be banned from the White House lawn. Also, as Mayor of Wasilla, I undertook extensive reforms to achieve federal earmarks which resulted in a debt of $20 million in a city employing 63 people. I am opposed to earmarks unless the money can be kept like the funds for our wonderful bridge. It is called the Bridge to Nowhere, but to me is the Bridge to Somewhere....just waiting for someone somewhere to finish the wonderful concept I began and supported, but didn't support since I am a NRA hockey mom who wants to be vice-dictator....oopsie...president.
 Ladies and gentleman, the Governor will take a final question now.
 Press: Governor Palin, what exactly have you achieved towards vice-presidential experience?McPalin: My husband, Todd, entered snowmobile races yearly, but should have perhaps been watching our teenage daughter who is now pregnant. You betcha I talked to him about that. Dick Cheney and Henry Kissinger have advised me, but I really don't know what they said, but will do as they say. The Vice-President's office should be unitary, all by itself, contrary to the Constitution which is just an old document anyway. What do old documents have to do with running a country? It's the same as running a PTA which I haven't done either. Anyway, my executive experience makes me well qualified to achieve more monetary gain as vice-president. I am so excited about a pay raise and all those other ways to get more money quietly Dick told me about.

Thank you for inviting me to this press conference and I hope we have many more to develop understanding in achieving the eradication of hunger, poverty and those pesky Russians flying over Alaska. Oh, and a vote for the McCain/Palin ticket is a vote for something somewhere like my bridge. Over and out, you betcha.

Contrived Hero Myth-John McCain

Objective analysis points to a simple fact: John McCain is not a hero. A close examination of his history indicates a parallel to George W. Bush Jr. and not in a flattering manner. Both had fathers who continually bailed them out from trouble and these sons took ready advantage of their fathers’ reputations to achieve unearned status.

*McCain earned an extraordinary amount of demerits at the Naval Academy, but was allowed to graduate 5th from the bottom of his class.

*He crashed an aircraft in Naval flight training which mandated expulsion, but McCain was allowed to complete the course.

*McCain ran into power lines on the Iberian Peninsula while deployed to the Mediterranean causing a second crash without repercussion.

*Oddly enough, he was made an Instructor Pilot upon return to Pensacola, Florida, and proceeded to lose another aircraft while flying to the Army-Navy football game. The Navy rewarded him by assigning to the carrier, USS Forrestal.

*McCain lost his fourth jet on July 29, 1967, when a rocket slammed into his fully loaded jet killing 134 sailors. He escaped injury, according to some by immediately going below while others battled the flames. Oddly enough, McCain took it upon himself to simply leave the Forrestal without notifying his superiors to party in Tokyo. The Benevolent Navy took no action against him and transferred the erring pilot to the USS Oriskany.

*He lost his fifth jet after being shot down over North Vietnam and captured on October 26, 1967.

*According to an article written by him for the U.S. News and World Report, May 14, 1973, ...”After being periodically slapped around for “three or four days” by his captors who wanted military information from him, McCain called for an officer on his fourth day of captivity. He told the officer, “O.K., I’ll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital.” Not only was this a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Code of Conduct, but can be viewed as collaboration with the enemy.

A surgeon was flown in from Moscow and McCain accepted preferential medical treatment at a hospital near Gia Lam airport reserved for Vietnamese officers. No other POW received the same which again violated the UCMJ and Code of Conduct.

*According to sources and McCain in his autobiography, specific military information was given such as the carrier he flew from, number of pilots lost, specific flight information and rescue units currently available. Apparently, he did this to gain medical attention.

*Retired Army Colonel Earl Hopper states McCain told his captors "highly classified information, the most important of which was the package routes, which were routes used to bomb North Vietnam. He gave in detail the altitude they were flying, the direction, if they made a turn...he gave them what primary targets the United States was interested in." Hopper further contends this information allowed the North Vietnamese to adjust their air defenses and subsequently the US lost sixty percent more aircraft resulting in the curtailment of North Vietnam bombing. All this was due, Hopper states, because of the information McCain divulged.

*McCain participated in propaganda films and radio broadcasts aimed at American troops. According to the Saigon UPI, June 4, 1969: “Reds say POW Songbird is Pilot Son of Admiral...Hanoi has aired a broadcast in which the pilot son of United States Commander in the Pacific Adm. John McCain purportedly admits to having bombed civilian targets in North Vietnam and praises medical treatment he has received since being taken prisoner.” He had earned the nickname “Songbird” from his captors.

*He talks often of torture, but did not transfer to the Hanoi Hilton until December, 1969. According to the Phoenix New Times, March 25, 1999, Two former POWs, Air Force Colonels Ted Guy and George “Swede” Larson, said in a feature article they could not guarantee that McCain was not physically harmed, (but) they doubted it. Both Guy and Larson were senior ranking officers (SROs) in McCain’s POW camp at a time he claims he was in solitary confinement and being tortured.

*Larson told the New Times, “Between the two of us, it’s our belief, and to the best of our knowledge, that no prisoner was beaten or harmed physically in that camp (known as ‘The Plantation’). My only contention the the McCain deal is that while he was at the Plantation, to the best of my knowledge and Ted’s knowledge, he was not physically abused in any way. No one was in that camp. It was the camp that people were released from.”

*McCain bases his hero myth on the contention he refused to be released unless everyone was. Sources state this was not a big deal since McCain was ordered by Senior Officers to state this. Secondly, former Rep. Bob Dornan (CA) states transcripts exist from former POWs reacting to McCain’s collaboration negatively. According to Dornan, McCain has always been afraid these transcripts would turn up particularly during a presidential campaign. Dornan offered another reason why McCain refused release by the North Vietnamese. He said those released first were collaborators, which McCain was one, and this would have ended not only his military career and hurt the Navy, but would impact his father also.

*McCain has actively opposed the efforts of MIA/POW activists and according to witnesses, physically attacked at least one. He has rudely interrupted hearings to berate MIA/POW family members and has worked religiously to curtail any POW information being released either from the government, any POWs or their family members. It seems rather odd he would take these positions, but he has been no friend of Veterans as well. McCain voted against 27 Veterans bills indicated by his record, but falsely states support for Veterans. He simply does not consider Veterans a priority much less MIA/POWs, but brags of his support.

*He returned from captivity to his wife, Carol, who was in a wheel chair from a car accident. He desired a coveted Admiral slot and the Navy assisted by reinstating him to flight duty in lieu of his disabilities. McCain assumed an Executive Officer, Replacement Air Group 174 position, which trained pilots and crews for deployment. While Executive Officer and later Commander, McCain authorized flights allowing him to mingle with subordinates and engage in extra-marital affairs again violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice regarding adultery and fraternizing with subordinates. The Navy, however, continued the tradition of excusing McCain from penalties and he got away with it.

*Robert Timbert, author of The Nightingale’s Song, wrote: “Off duty, usually on routine cross-country flights to Yuma and El Centro, John (McCain) started carousing and running around with women. To make matters worse, some of the women with whom he was linked by rumor were subordinates...At the time the rumors were so widespread that, true or not, they became part of McCain’s persona, impossible not to take note of.” The Navy overlooked his behavior and excused him from any discipline.

It seems apparent John McCain has contrived his own history and should be viewed as lacking sufficient character to hold the office of the Presidency or the Senate. His POW and Naval records need to be scrutinized for collaboration and other accountable acts. The truth needs to be ascertained prior to this man ascending to any higher office for to do otherwise would be looking the other way. This is exactly what caused the current problems with John McCain.