Admiral Smith: Obama Should Have the Guts to Question McCain's Service Himself

Statement by Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith on Gen. Wesley Clark's Attack on John McCain

ARLINGTON, VA -- Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith, USN (Ret.) today issued the following statement on Gen. Wesley Clark's attack on John McCain's military service record today on CBS' "Face the Nation":

"If Barack Obama wants to question John McCain's service to his country, he should have the guts to do it himself and not hide behind his campaign surrogates. If he expects the American people to believe his pledges about a new kind of politics, Barack Obama has a responsibility to condemn these attacks."

Admiral Leighton "Snuffy" Smith, Jr. retired from the Navy after over 34 years of service in positions that took him, literally, around the world. His last active duty assignment was Commander, U.S. Naval Force, Europe, Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (NATO) and, concurrently, Commander of NATO's first ever out of area land operation, the Implementation Forces (IFOR) in Bosnia charged with implementing the Dayton Peace Accords. As a naval aviator Admiral Smith flew carrier-based light attack jet aircraft during multiple deployments to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Western Pacific and Indian oceans. These included three cruises in waters off North Vietnam where he flew over 280 combat missions.

Full Press Release

McCain Calls Obama On Breaking His Word

A Matter of Economics A Matter of Record

Another myth coming out of the Romney camp is that he is the ‘economy candidate’. The problem is, and we’ve seen this movie before, his rhetoric doesn’t match his record. His four-year record as Governor of Massachusetts shows a substantial increase in fees and taxes, low job growth, and a large exodus of residents from the state. As Michael Widmer, president of the independent Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, told Reuters, "There's never been under his watch an economic turnaround to speak of," further saying, "We added a few jobs over the last three years of his tenure but very few. He also raised corporate taxes and fees and the (deficit) gap turned out to be less than $3 billion."

Governor Romney has made a habit of making inaccurate claims about his record throughout this race, but ironically you don’t even have to go back that far to see that Governor Romney is not a fiscal conservative. First, he supported farm and ethanol subsidies in Iowa. Senator McCain was considered politically crazy for not pandering to Iowans and stated his opposition to farm and ethanol subsidies relaying his dedication to free trade principles. In Michigan Governor Romney offered voters a $20 billion bailout to the auto industry, not something a fiscal conservative would do. Senator McCain instead told the truth that many of these jobs are not coming back, and offered a retraining program for displaced workers. Now that the race is headed down to Florida Governor Romney is offering incentives to the elderly. Governor Romney’s claim of being conservative is not only a turn-around from his record in Massachusetts, they’re a turn-around from statements he made just a few weeks ago.

Now the Governor is criticizing Senator McCain’s position on the Bush Tax Cuts. Senator McCain has clearly stated that he wanted spending cuts to accompany tax cuts, and if you look at his record and the record of congress over the last eight years its clear that there has been a massive government spending problem that he has battled against. He supports extending the tax cuts because a repeal would be practically the same as a tax increase, which he has never supported. That is a fiscal conservative. Now Governor Romney is offering a huge economic stimulus package the dwarfs President Bush’s. That is not a good thing, and not a conservative thing, that money has to come from somewhere, which in the end means it comes from the voters pockets. Senator McCain instead offers a series of corporate tax breaks, and tax incentives for start-up businesses and for research and development. Choosing to focus on stimulating growth and ingenuity over massive bailouts. The beauty and the frustration of running against a candidate such as Governor Romney whose rhetoric doesn’t match his record is that there is plenty of documentation to show what his record really is. So feel free to not believe me just check the record, and learn for yourself that this newly dubbed ‘economy candidate’ looks a lot like a Liberal.

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Original Post A Matter of Economics and A Matter of Record

Union Leader Explains Why Vote McCain and Not Romney

The Romney backlash: Conservatives are coming home

THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is.

Like a lot of people in New Hampshire, we wanted to believe Romney. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. We listened very carefully to his expertly rehearsed sales pitch. But in the end he didn't close the deal for us. Now, two weeks before the primary, the same is happening with voters.

Republicans and right-leaning independents in New Hampshire gave Romney a chance. His events have not been sparsely attended. Nor have they been scarce. He's made more campaign stops here this year than any other Republican, even John McCain.

And after a year of comparing Romney to McCain, of sizing up the two in person and in the media, Granite Staters are turning back to McCain. The former Navy pilot, once written off by the national media establishment, is now in a statistical dead heat with Romney here.

How could that be? Romney has all the advantages: money, organization, geographic proximity, statesman-like hair, etc.

But he lacks something John McCain has in spades: conviction.

Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth. John McCain has done that day in and day out, never wavering, never faltering, never pandering.

Mitt Romney has not. He has spoken his lines well, but the people can sense that the words are memorized, not heartfelt.

Last week Romney was reduced to debating what the meaning of "saw" is. It was only the latest in a string of demonstrably false claims -- he'd been a hunter "pretty much" all his life, he'd had the NRA's endorsement, he saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. -- that call into question the veracity of his justifications for switching sides on immigration, abortion, taxes and his affection for Ronald Reagan.

In this primary, the more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. That is why Granite Staters who have listened attentively are now returning to John McCain. They might not agree with McCain on everything, as we don't, but like us, they judge him to be a man of integrity and conviction, a man who won't sell them out, who won't break his promises, and who won't lie to get elected.

Voters can see that John McCain is trustworthy. Mitt Romney has spent a year trying to convince Granite Staters that he is as well. It looks like they aren't buying it. And for good reason.

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=The+Romney+backlash%3a+Conservatives+are+coming+home&articleId=bc5bd60b-68a2-4427-93aa-d0fc2548ba3d