SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Feb. 19) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain , looking to improve his standing with the party's conservative voters, said Sunday the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned.
"I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned," the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states.
McCain also vowed that if elected, he would appoint judges who "strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench."
The landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade gave women the right to choose an abortion to terminate a pregnancy. The Supreme Court has narrowly upheld the decision, with the presence of an increasing number of more conservative justices on the court raising the possibility that abortion rights would be limited.
Social conservatives are a critical voting bloc in the GOP presidential primaries.
McCain's campaign also announced early Sunday that he had been endorsed by former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who had been considering his own bid for the White House, and former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, who failed in his bid for the Republican nomination in 1996.
Keating told the crowd that McCain is the "only candidate who is a true-blue, Ronald Reagan conservative."
McCain was scheduled to attend a rally promoting an abstinence program Sunday evening.
McCain has strong name recognition and the largest network of supporters in South Carolina. That backing comes in part from his staunch support for the Iraq war, something on which he focused a day earlier in Iowa. But it's the same state that dealt a crushing blow to his presidential aspirations in 2000.
McCain is trying to build support among conservatives after a recent rebuke from Christian leader James Dobson, who said he wouldn't back McCain's presidential bid. Conservatives question McCain's opposition to a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He opposes same-sex marriage, but says it should be regulated by the states.
he won't. i think this is just campaigning. mccain was on the daly show and they had a whole bunch of anti-falwell craziness, then he admitted as much as this was a bit of a sell-out. I still respect mccain though, he seems like a good guy.
Sen. John McCain's troubled presidential campaign is eliminating some non-senior staff positions and cutting some consultants' contracts.
The Arizona senator's campaign characterized the moves as "minor adjustments" that are part of an overall effort to revamp its fundraising office and budgeting operation.
McCain ordered a financial overhaul after he reported raising only $12.5 million from January through March, third behind his top GOP rivals, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
"A campaign is a dynamic organization like a business, and we have to take the necessary steps to ensure it's as efficient and effective as possible," said Brian Jones, a campaign spokesman.
The campaign dismissed the notion of mass layoffs, but it wouldn't quantify exactly how many jobs are affected. Some positions won't be filled as planned in May, and some consultants will be paid on a per-project basis.
No jobs in the political or communications divisions or early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and elsewhere are affected, the campaign said. It has about 120 employees in its Arlington, Va., headquarters and in early primary states.
I'm really surprised he's not doing better. At this point I don't see him surviving the primary. Then again the primary is still a ways away & things could change.
I think his biggest problem is this: he spent the last seven years portraying himself as a "maverick" republican, who fought the GOP "establishment."
Unfortunately for him, that selfsame establishment, in either party, is where the early support comes both in terms of fundraising and and endorsements.
Thursday, April 19, 2007 McCain sings 'Bomb, bomb Iran'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- At a town hall meeting in South Carolina Wednesday, Arizona Sen. John McCain was asked if there is a plan to attack Iran. McCain began his answer by changing the words to a classic Beach Boys' song.
"You know that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?" the Republican presidential candidate said. Then, he sang. "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran."
He finished his answer by discussing the Iran's nuclear ambitions and the country's desire to wipe Israel off the map to emphasize the real dangers that it poses to the world.
"The senator was adding levity to the discussion and the crowd reacted with laughter," campaign spokesman Kevin McLaughlin said. "He went on to discuss the seriousness of issue."
I'm sorry. I didn't realize that a modertator was here. Oh. Wait. It's just you, G-man. Geez, you're turning into the old man in the neighborhood that the kids call "admiral." You're long past your prime, hell you're long past any point of value to anyone. And the only reason we haven't sold you to the glueman is because the law says we can't. fair thee well, old timer. fair thee well.
Quote: WASHINGTON - Republican presidential contender John McCain (news, bio, voting record) dismissed a demand by a prominent House Democrat that he apologize to U.S. troops in Iraq for making a joke about an explosive device, saying critics should "lighten up."
In an appearance Tuesday night on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," McCain joked that he had brought a gift for Stewart back from a recent trip to Iraq.
"What do you want to start with, the bomb Iran song or the walk through the market in Baghdad?" Stewart asked McCain, referring to two recent controversies involving statements by the Arizona senator.
"I think maybe shopping in Baghdad," McCain responded. "... I had something picked out for you, too — a little IED (improvised explosive device) to put on your desk."
On Wednesday, Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), D-Pa., demanded in a speech on the House floor that McCain apologize to troops for joking about the explosive devices that are responsible for many of the casualties in Iraq.
"Imagine a presidential candidate making a joke about IEDs when our kids are getting blown up," Murtha said.
"I don't know how to respond to that kind of hysteria," McCain said when asked about Murtha's demand during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "When I was in combat and tough situations we used humor all the time, and all I can say to Murtha and others is lighten up and get a life."
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Old men, fear me! You will shatter under my ruthless apathetic assault!
Uschi - 2 Old Men - 0
"I am convinced that this world is of no importance, and that the only people who care about dates are imbeciles and Spanish teachers." -- Jean Arp, 1921
"If Jesus came back and saw what people are doing in his name, he would never never stop throwing up." - Max von Sydow, "Hannah and Her Sisters"
The bottom line here is that, if people do care, the thread rises to the top and there is no need to pin it. If they don't care, pinning it is a waste of time.
Personally, I think its pretty silly to be pinning up topics for an election thats about 18 months away.
But if you really, really, feel the need to pin something up there, why not start a topic called, I dunno "Meet the candidates," put in links to all the threads about ALL the candidates, pin it and lock it. That way, anyone who comes here can do there, find the thread on, say, Barack Hussein Obama or Rudy Guiliani without searching.
The New York Times magazine has a brief interview with John McCain in which McCain is asked whether he would tap his wife's fortune for his struggling campaign:
Might you consider borrowing, say, $5 million from your wife, Cindy, an heiress to an Arizona beer-distribution fortune?
I would never do such a thing. I don’t think it’s the appropriate thing to do.
Why not? You’d consider it an insult to your masculine pride?
No, it really isn’t masculine pride. It’s more that I think getting small donations is part of campaigning. It’s part of whether you can succeed or fail. I think that’s going to be the key to our success in the future, whether we can get the small-donor base.
I’m sure you’re aware that your rival Mitt Romney just tapped into his personal savings to self-finance his campaign.
Yeah, $9 or $10 million or whatever. I am not criticizing anyone else’s decisions, but I should be able to raise my own money from contributors or take matching funds according to the law, not dip into my wife’s assets.
Did she ask you to sign a prenuptial agreement when you married her?
Yes, yes. That was 27 years ago. We were married in 1980.
Students to McCain: Too Old to Be Prez? By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer 2 hours ago
CONCORD, N.H. - An unflinching John McCain was told Tuesday by New Hampshire high school students he might be too old to be president and too conservative to be respected. McCain, the Arizona senator whose presidential bid has stumbled through the summer, countered the Concord High School students with humor.
"Thanks for the question, you little jerk," McCain joked back to one student who asked the 71-year-old about his age. "You're drafted."
McCain's two-day trip to New Hampshire launches his fall campaign for the GOP nomination. During a morning visit with students, he explained why he was not shrinking from his support for a temporary increase of troops in Iraq and why students should pay attention.
"If this war continues much longer, there will be people in this audience who will serve in the military, who also may be going over there (in Iraq) or to Afghanistan," McCain told the high school students.
He said the students should watch the upcoming report on Iraq from Gen. David Petraeus.
"It may be a seminal debate. It may be one of the most important debates in history and it may directly affect your lives," he warned. "He's going to say: Whether it was or was not in the beginning, if we lose Iraq, it will be part of this struggle against radical, Islamic extremism because al-Qaida will take over and the area will deteriorate into chaos and destruction."
But during a town hall-style meeting, students were more interested in pushing McCain on the environment, his support for gay rights and even his age.
"If elected, you'd be older than Ronald Reagan, making you the oldest president. Do you ever worry you might die in office or get Alzheimer's or some other disease that might affect your judgment?" one student asked.
The audience groaned; McCain slid into a joke.
"I think it was one of my sons that alleged I'm getting to the point I hide my own Easter eggs," McCain said to laughter. "When you saw my 95-year-old mother (on a video introduction), you saw the kind of genes I have."
He said he's a hard campaigner and his age won't be an issue.
Another student pushed him on gay rights; McCain repeated his pledge to oppose discrimination but support for traditional marriage.
"I came here looking to see a good leader," 16-year-old William Sleaster told McCain, earning himself boos from his classmates. "I don't."
McCain, a veteran of such candid exchanges in New Hampshire, smoothly pushed forward and told the crowd not to disrespect its peer.
"I understand. I thank you," McCain said. "That's what America is all about."
McCain is neither too old nor too conservative. But he should be more critical against Bush Jr.
"Batman is only meaningful as an answer to a world which in its basics is chaotic and in the hands of the wrong people, where no justice can be found. I think it's very suitable to our perception of the world's condition today... Batman embodies the will to resist evil" -Frank Miller
"Conan, what's the meaning of life?" "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!" -Conan the Barbarian
"Well, yeah." -Jason E. Perkins
"If I had a dime for every time Pariah was right about something I'd owe twenty cents." -Ultimate Jaburg53
"Fair enough. I defer to your expertise." -Prometheus
Who gives a shit what teenagers think? They can't vote.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Who gives a shit what teenagers think? They can't vote.
"Batman is only meaningful as an answer to a world which in its basics is chaotic and in the hands of the wrong people, where no justice can be found. I think it's very suitable to our perception of the world's condition today... Batman embodies the will to resist evil" -Frank Miller
"Conan, what's the meaning of life?" "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!" -Conan the Barbarian
"Well, yeah." -Jason E. Perkins
"If I had a dime for every time Pariah was right about something I'd owe twenty cents." -Ultimate Jaburg53
"Fair enough. I defer to your expertise." -Prometheus
Clinton and McCain win big newspaper endorsements Reuters Sunday, December 16, 2007; 7:42 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton got a boost to their campaigns for presidential nominations from an influential newspaper on Sunday despite setbacks in opinion polls.
The Des Moines Register, Iowa's largest newspaper, endorsed the two candidates for the fast-approaching Iowa caucuses, calling them the best prepared and most tested of the White House contenders.
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The paper is an agenda setter in a state where on January 3 voters kick off the state-by-state battle to choose Republican and Democratic candidates in the November 2008 election.
Clinton is embroiled in a tight three-way battle in Iowa with Barack Obama, an Illinois senator, and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, and has seen her once formidable national poll lead slip over the last few weeks.
Also on Saturday, the Boston Globe said it would endorse McCain and Obama in the January 8 New Hampshire primary. "Obama has the leadership skills to reset the country's reputation in the world," the newspaper said.
On McCain, the newspaper said in an editorial, "the iconoclastic senator from Arizona has earned his reputation for straight talk by actually leveling with voters, even at significant political expense."
The Register's endorsement was especially bad news for Edwards, who won the newspaper's endorsement in the 2004 race, helping him make a late rush to finish second behind winner John Kerry, but the paper's editors said this was a different race and "we too seldom saw the 'positive, optimistic' campaign we found appealing in 2004."
The Register said Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, was best prepared of the Democratic candidates to confront the country's challenges.
"From working for children's rights as a young lawyer to meeting with leaders around the world as first lady to emerging as an effective legislator in her service as a senator, every stage of her life has prepared her for the presidency," the paper said.
McCain has barely competed in Iowa, focusing instead on New Hampshire and other later voting states, and trails badly in the state behind leaders Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.
The newspaper said none of the Republican candidates could offer the "tested leadership in matters foreign and domestic" of McCain, an Arizona senator and former prisoner of war in Vietnam.
It cited his willingness to adopt contrarian views, including bucking his party to oppose President George W. Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, support Bush's decision to increase troop strength in Iraq and support comprehensive immigration reform.
"The force of John McCain's moral authority could go a long way toward restoring Americans' trust in government and inspiring new generations to believe in the goodness and greatness of America," the paper said.
McCain hasn't been doing so well so far but this could turn the tide for him. I'm obviously not a Republican but it seems that there really isn't much enthusiam in general for any of the top GOP candidates so a McCain comeback could be viable in an arena where Huckabee has rocketed to the top.
I have a lot of problems with McCain, but if it comes down to it, I'd support him over any democrat running. I won't vote for Huckabee under and circumstance.
I used to like Mccain, but I think he shows a lack of resolve. For example he's very critical of Bush in non-election years, and Bush basically campaign-raped him with Rove, but then during the 2004 race he became Bush's biggest supporter. Until 2005 when he was criticizing Bush again. That plus his stance against Jerry Falwell lasting until he needed Fallwell's support. The man comes off as whorish. But he's way better than Rudy, Thompson, or Huckabee.
Well, in McCain's defense, there's nothing wrong with being critical of a politician and then supporting that politician as the better candidate over someone else.
I have a lot of problems with McCain, but if it comes down to it, I'd support him over any democrat running. I won't vote for Huckabee under and circumstance.
I would be surprised if Huckabee has staying power, the guys got alot of baggage. He's got charisma though & he has a way of talking that even gets me the democrat thinking he doesn't seem so bad at first glance.
I remember way back somebody had a prediction thread of who they thought would be the final two for '08 & I figured it would be McCain vs Hillary. Lately though I just figured he was done for but now since he recieved the Des Moine Register's endorsement he's been making a serious comeback.
John McCain moved into the top spot in the New Hampshire Republican primary and is now leading previous front-runner Mitt Romney by a 7-point margin, 34 percent to 27 percent. A new FOX News poll shows that McCain picked up 14 percentage points since the last FOX News poll in mid-December, while Romney suffered a 6-point decline.
Essentially, McCain turned a 13-point deficit into a 7-point advantage in about three weeks’ time.
Okay. That's a "surge."
I have to say: I have problems with McCain, I've never hidden that fact. But I'd definitely vote for him over Huckabee, Rommney or any of the Democrats. (But I'd still prefer Rudy or Thompson)
South Carolina is known for its dirty politics and no one knows more about that than Senator John McCain. He suffered despicable personal attacks by George Bush and Karl Rove during the 2000 presidential campaign, and once again he finds himself the victim of a brutal and baseless smear campaign, similar to the swift boat ads John Kerry encountered in 2004.
Keith Olbermann talked with Jonathan Alter on today’s Countdown about negative campaign ads being distributed in South Carolina attacking GOP candidates and about a particularly nasty flier attacking Senator John McCain by a group calling itself Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain that accuses the senator, who was held captive in Vietnam for some five years, of betraying his fellow POW’s during his captivity. This group’s website is really cheesy, and regardless of your political views, this kind of attack is the epitome of dirty politics. The flier is so bad the original Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group that attacked John Kerry is condemning it.
It's despicable that this sort of thing happens to anyone. Especially someone like John MCain who served honorably and suffered for his country. It's just endemic of this attitude that opponents must be destroyed at all costs. Or as I put it, they eat their own.
Now McCain did take a fundraising check from one of the leaders of the Swift Boat vets even after he publicly condemned their tactics....
Of course this begs the question, will the GOP supporters who rallied around the Swift Boat vets when they did this to John Kerry, now denounce this?
Of course this begs the question, will the GOP supporters who rallied around the Swift Boat vets when they did this to John Kerry, now denounce this?
I haven't seen the literature put out against McCain, but I would note there are some differences between McCain and Kerry, most notably that McCain didn't come home from that war, cozy up to Hanoi Jane, pretend to throw his medals away and smear his fellow vets by accusing them of war crimes.
So one could argue that an attack on Kerry was way more justified than any similar attack on McCain.
The Politico has a helpful look at how he did it--making progress with social conservatives, dominating with moderates and veterans and doing better with conservative voters.
If McCain can ride his South Carolina win to victory in Florida, the Republican race will have its first generally recognized frontrunner -- and maybe the nominee.
The outright lies that were told by the Republican candidates during the Florida debate was astounding to me. McCain might have been the worst offender, but I’d like to know where the heck Tim Russert was? Oh, that’s right—it was a Republican debate. Never mind, He can’t be bothered with follow ups. He’s only confrontational in Democratic debates.
fair thee well, old timer. fair thee well. 
