John McCain, lying to the American Legion:
I suppose from my opponent’s vantage point, veterans concerns are just one more issue to be spun or worked to advantage. This would explain why he has also taken liberties with my position on the GI Bill. In its initial version, that bill failed to address the number one education request that I’ve heard from career service members and their families — the freedom to transfer their benefits to a spouse or a child. The bill also did nothing to retain the young officer and enlisted leaders who form the backbone of our all-volunteer force.
As a political proposition, it would have much easier for me to have just signed on to what I considered flawed legislation. But the people of Arizona, and of all America, expect more from their representatives than that, and instead I sought a better bill. I’m proud to say that the result is a law that better serves our military, better serves military families, and better serves the interests of our country.
And of course the media will give him a pass.
dmsilev
I was worried for a moment; that speech didn’t seem to include the obligatory “I was a POW” reference. Then I read the whole thing and found this:
All is well with the world, and John McCain is still a former POW.
-dms
Brian
So McCain was successful in making sure benefits could be transferred to family members?
JL
Does anyone remember McCain voting for the bill?
Bob In Pacifica
The number one priority is that a vet can’t transfer his benefits to a wife or child? That’s more important than actual benefits?
He pulled that one out from between his cheeks.
The guy is a liar.
Xenos
What is it with veterans’ groups? Are they really this passive and willing to be lied to by authority figures? Not having served, I would expect that any vet would have had his fill of getting bullshitted by the brass, but then certain personality types never seem to get enough.
Maybe this is what you get when the ‘warriors’ are self-selected, rather than drafted from the population as a whole.
JL
Luckovich is a must see today. John will probably be upset because I’m just copying and pasting.
ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/luckovich/index.html
Jason
I’m sure I’ll get chastised for this, and probably rightly so, but John, please talk to your webhost and have your database server moved to something that isn’t powered by hamsters. All these “WordPress can’t connect to your database” errors are giving WordPress a bad name, and I love the app (and open source in general, OpenOffice FTW) to death.
Okay, on topic. Is McCain ever going to get called on his incessant lying to veterans in the MSM? The fact that he’s not been thus far repeatedly punched in the face gland over this by the so-called “liberal media” is starting to erode the carefully constructed “liberal media” myth, and they’d better do something quick to reestablish it, or Republicans won’t have anything to bitch about.
Brian
“Does anyone remember McCain voting for the bill?”
Oh, I know. I’m just…just wondering how someone can do what he’s doing. It takes a special sort of gall to do what he’s doing. Hey, maybe Obama should try this with the surge.
Bill H
He wants the young leaders to stay in the service until they become old leaders and are no longer of any use to the service before they can leave the service and benefit from the GI Bill, at which point the GI Bill is of no real benefit to them.
He did not vote against the bill that eventually passed, but he didn’t vote for it either. Like all other bills that have been on the floor since he began his campaign, he voted “absent”. But he criticizes Obama for voting “present” on bills as a state senator in Illinios.
JL
Brian, Don’t forget now that lying is okay if you were a POW.
Dennis - SGMM
McCain bravely skipped the vote on the Webb GI Bill. The issue was of such importance to him that he couldn’t bear to vote on it.
McCain sided with the DoD in opposing the bill. Despite unprecedented amounts of VRB (Variable Re-enlistment Bonus) money, the Army is hemorrhaging Captains and NCO’s. The argument was that offering these men an opportunity for an education as a reward for their service would cause even more of them to leave. In other words, if they could get something better they would. Who could have guessed?
cleek
this sucks.
Obama’s gonna get smacked around for giving a speech on that stage. it’s gonna be “arrogant!”, “presumptuous!” until November.
Punchy
You’re such the fucking ageist. All old people lie. And smell funny.
Zifnab
See, I always remembered McCain’s primary objection to expanding the GI Bill was that soldiers might actually leave the military in an attempt to use it. I believe the logic was that once you sign on the dotted line, the military should do everything in its power to keep you in the ranks until you get shot or develop a mental disorder or something and they need to kick you to the curb. The GI Bill flew in the face of all of that.
cleek
McCain hasn’t voted on anything since March.
Kirk
Xenos,
Most military folk are convinced that if the Dems were completely in charge, the military would be eliminated. Or at most, treated like Bush treats the EPA. It’s a locked in stereotype – Dems are anti-military, would never serve, even if they do it’s to be a fifth column, etc.
And once anyone gets a stereotype locked into their minds, it becomes almost impossible to break the lock.
KXB
Thought of a great commercial. Show footage of McCain being asked a difficult question, like say, how many houses he owns. When he plays the POW card, you then superimpose a cartoon bubble with “POW!” written on, like the old Batman TV show.
Face
And you’re such the fucking odorist.
TheFountainHead
cleek, I don’t get what the issue is with that stage. There’s nothing more American Government in architecture (ironically, perhaps) than greek columns.
Kirk
Cleek, he’s already getting them. On the other hand, he was getting them before just for setting up in an open air auditorium. And let’s face it, he’d get them REGARDLESS of what he did.
(Over on the corner they’re asking if he’s going to be getting ankle bracelets with wings. Over on RedState it’s lightning bolts. And no, I refuse to link.)
cleek
check out memeorandum. all the wingnuts are all “Temple of Obama”, “Will Zeus make an appearance?”, “How fitting for a messiah”, etc..
Zifnab
Good. If this is their campaign strategy – painting Obama is too omnipotent – I think we have a fair shot in November. I mean, talk about psyching yourselves out. Imagine if the Red Sox had lined up to play the Yankees while the fans shouted, “Oh, big bad baseball team. Whatcha gonna do? Win another World Series? Break another league record? Go on a homerun rampage? I hate you!” I wouldn’t be beating on that fan base’s team, is all I’m saying.
Tsulagi
Far more accurate, and topical too.
PC
Mark Foley certainly admires the ancient Greeks.
Bey
It doesn’t matter what decor they use – if it were a cardboard box he’d be accused of faking humility.
Gay Veteran
McCain like Bush and many other ReThugs have treated veterans and the troops like shit. All veterans and the troops are good for is to act as a political prop.
jake
Fixed!
tBone
You know, John McCain didn’t have access to veteran’s benefits while he was imprisoned by the Vietcong for five and a half years.
If veterans think they need benefits, they can just do what John McCain did: dump their first wife and hook up with a wealthy heiress.
Xenos
Given the scale of the columns, so dwarfed by the stadium as a whole, my impression was that of STONEHGENGE!
Nethead Jay
Not quite on topic, but related since it’s about McSame and the media: Check this out from the Jed Report Ad “crosses a new line into dishonesty”.
When Jake Tapper, of all people, calls McSame out you know something is wrong. Or very right. For some reason I’ve got a mental picture of Satan strapping on some ice skates…
Egilsson
This is excellent news for McCain!