To answer all those out there who keep asking what experience Obama has, I say, “let’s look at all the [questionable] experience McCain has.”
He was born outside the US in Panama (which technically is a bar to his becoming president under the constitution). BTW, Obama WAS born in the US–in Hawaii. McCain was born into a long line of navy officers–so I guess this makes him some sort of a military “affirmative action” candidate? And his class ranking at Annapolis was appalling.
How’s this for privilege:
After he became a POW: “Although McCain was badly wounded, his captors refused to treat his injuries, instead beating and interrogating him to get information. Only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a top admiral did they give him medical care.”
He touts his military service and likes to say “I know how to fight wars.” Um, Johnny, you were a prisoner of war for almost 6 years. They beat the crap out of him, tortured him, left him for dead, but he thinks waterboarding isn’t torture. Gotta love the voice of experience.
[don’t get me wrong, I feel for the guy’s suffering. But he of all senators should be the first to speak out against our torture practices in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo and the rights of those prisoners. The torture itself is bad enough, but what it has done to America’s moral reputation is even worse.]
He was loyal to his fellow prisoners and refused early release but, several years later, couldn’t manage to be loyal to his crippled wife. He requested a divorce in February, it was finalized in April and he married the trophy wife in May. Ok, being tortured does something to a guy….
He left the navy when it became apparent there was little upward mobility left for him there and turned to politics. Despite his wealthy wife’s income, he received a disability pension from the military.
He served as a state politician in Arizona. With the assistance of local political endorsements, his Washington connections, as well as money that his wife lent to his campaign, McCain won a highly contested primary election. Gee, some connections helped him win the election…
Then a US senator. He was investigated for selling political influence as a member of the “Keating Five” and later cleared except for the exercise of poor judgment. [Public memory is so short–the was the Rezko of the 80s]. So years later, perhaps from real remorse, or maybe just to cover things up, he introduces some campaing finance reform legislation. (Sort of like drug traffikers like to put DARE and “Back the Badge” stickers on their drug running cars.) Now, he is back to taking the same campaign money as everyone else. He lost the presidential nomination to GW in 2000.
Running again this time around, he nearly lost before he started as his campaign ran out of money early on.
Both BO and JM have something going on about their fathers: JM wrote Faith of My Fathers and BO wrote Dreams from My Father.
Enjoy–I for one am doing my part to “even out” the postings re the candidates.
