Another NH Paper Endorsement

The latest in a long string of NH media endorsements is the Valley News.

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It is entirely possible that at age 71, Sen. John McCain of Arizona is now making his last stand in presidential politics. That almost certainly will be the case unless New Hampshire Republicans rally to his cause in the Jan. 8 primary. We hope that they do, not only because McCain's life reflects the highest ideals of service to the nation, but also because he represents the best hope to liberate a party that is being held hostage to its own worst instincts.

McCain is by no means a perfect candidate, or, as he is the first to admit, a man without flaws. We disagree with him on several fundamental issues, including his longstanding opposition to abortion rights. Nevertheless, the case for McCain is a strong one: Duty and honor are to him living imperatives forged in family tradition, not mere rhetorical flourishes calibrated to the exigencies of the campaign trail. He should be just the ticket for Republicans astonished and appalled that, during the Bush years, their party has become identified with a brand of evangelical, anti-immigrant, big-government, borrow-and-spend “conservatism” that is antithetical to its best traditions.

The senator's current struggles in the polls are probably largely the result of his continuing support for the unpopular war in Iraq. It must be noted, however, that McCain's judgment in this matter has been vindicated in several important respects. He warned early on about the dangers of trying to fight a war on the cheap, with too few troops and without a comprehensive plan for victory. He was among the first to call for the sacking of Donald Rumsfeld, one of the chief architects of the fiasco. And he also, almost alone, was a vigorous champion of the troop-surge strategy eventually adopted by President Bush, which almost certainly has improved the security situation in Iraq, despite a lack of accompanying progress toward political reconciliation.
And although we do not agree with McCain's thesis that prompt withdrawal of American troops from Iraq would necessarily have dire consequences throughout the Middle East and the world, we do not dismiss it lightly, either. His case is plausible, and his credentials in national security matters impeccable.

McCain, of course, is literally battle-tested. He springs from a distinguished line of admirals and himself served with distinction as a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, when he was shot down over North Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for five and a half years. His stubborn defiance while being tortured by his captors is the stuff of legend. But just as heroic, we think, is his principled stand against the use of torture by the United States against detainees in the war on terrorism. He alone among the major Republican candidates seems to understand that failure to adhere to civilized standards of conduct during war not only puts our own servicemen and -women in jeopardy in the future, but also grievously wounds America's moral standing in the world.

Nor do we assume that a McCain presidency would necessarily be bellicose because of his military background. It is often the case that leaders who have themselves served in the armed forces have a fuller appreciation of just what committing troops to combat entails than do those who feel the need to demonstrate their toughness. It ought to be noted that McCain has a son now serving with the Marines in Iraq and another soon to graduate from the Naval Academy. It is difficult to credit the notion that he would be reckless with their lives or put them in harm's way without a compelling reason to do so.

There are other reasons to prefer McCain to the rest of the Republican field. He not so respectfully declines to pander to party orthodoxy on several important matters. He understands that sealing the borders is not a substitute for rational immigration reform; he disdains pork-barrel spending and the lobbyists who corrupt the public purpose; he remains a small-government Republican and a fiscal hawk; he does not regard the dangers of climate change as mumbo-jumbo cooked up by liberals; he champions campaign-finance reform.

Yes, by all accounts he has a short fuse. His candor can border on simple meanness. He would be the oldest man ever elected to the presidency if he were to prevail next November. But those flaws may be kept in perspective when his main competition for the Republican nomination comes from the likes of Mitt Romney, who combines a justifiable claim to executive competence with opportunistic serial flip-flopping; and Rudy Giuliani, whose life work in recent years has largely been to wring political advantage out of his response to the 9/11 attacks. As for Mike Huckabee, well, it is perhaps enough to say that he's no John McCain.

http://www.vnews.com/12192007/4445768.htm

McCain's Success in New Hampshire

Senator McCain has been experiencing a swell on good press and good will in New Hampshire. He received the Union Leader endorsement, he made an appearance with Red Sox star Curt Shilling, and he has done well in several debates that show him as the grown up and the thinker in the room. As a volunteer, I along with others have noticed that each week the tone of the phone calls we make improves. While undecideds are still a clear majority there are more and more who are leaning towards or supporting Senator McCain. Each event and town hall he wins more people over to his side. He has a good rapport with his audience, and can talk at length on a variety of subjects showing his experience and depth of knowledge. He frequently states at town halls that ‘you may not agree with me on all the issues, but you will know where I stand’. He draws a wide range of supporters because of this. He sticks to his guns even when it’s not politically advantageous and wins people over not because they agree with him completely, but because they respect that he has the backbone to stand up for what he believes in.

McCain tops list of thankworthy

By Wayne Woodlief Thursday, November 22, 2007 http://www.bostonherald.com

Character, conviction personified

Today’s the day again to thank all the pols and pundits who’ve made me think anew or laugh or sometimes shout. Some have been outrageous, some have been straight arrows, but none that I’m grateful for has been dull.

I’m most thankful for Sen. John McCain, the one candidate for president who stands up for what he believes and says it plain, regardless of the political cost.
He’s ardently backed the troop surge in Iraq (losing some independent support along the way) even as he rebuked President Bush for not sending in more troops when the war first began, as McCain had advocated.

He stuck by the doomed immigration bill he co-authored with Sen. Edward Kennedy, though it cost him deeply among the conservative and important Republican Iowa caucus electorate. Yet that compromise bill was the closest we’ve come - or may come - to a solution that would both secure our national borders and open a path toward citizenship for illegal immigrants. For all the screaming and degradation of McCain by the hard-righters, why haven’t they found an answer?
The Arizonan has bucked the president on torture and on those so-called “signing statements” by which Bush asserts he can disobey whatever parts of bills passed by Congress that he chooses, without vetoing them.

He has heart and fortitude. McCain was given up for dead a few months ago when his presidential campaign had overspent and was in disarray. Yet he is rising again as he focuses on the New Hampshire primary, where an upset of Mitt Romney would catapult McCain forward. Already, he has passed Fred Thompson, is edging by Rudy Giuliani for second place and has Romney in his sights in the Granite State.

In the latest Fox News poll, voters nationally also rate McCain as the Republicans’ best hope against Hillary Clinton. In trial heats, Clinton beats Giuliani by 4 percentage points, Thompson by 9 and Romney by 13. But she and McCain are in a virtual tie, with the former first lady at 46 percent and McCain at 45 percent.

So keep telling it straight, brother McCain. You could win this thing yet. And even if you lose, you’ll feel better about yourself.

Reprinted from: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1046301&format=text

John McCain Town Hall - Franklin Pierce University

I went to a McCain town hall meeting last night at Franklin Pierce University. This one was a little more formal than the average town hall as it was being filmed. Senator McCain gave an opening speech, and the following is an excerpt from the tail end of that speech.

“These are some of the essential issues this election will decide. I offer one direction for America. Senator Clinton and her Democratic rivals offer another, a course I believe is absolutely wrong for America and wrong for the world. It is your turn, my friends, to decide who is right. It's a huge responsibility. I know you will take it seriously.

I don't expect you to take our promises on faith. I expect you to listen to us, as New Hampshire voters always do, and then examine our records to determine whether we can be trusted to keep our word to you.

I didn't seek public office to go along to get along. I went to Washington to get something done for the people who sent me there. And since then, I know I've made some people angry.

I made defense contractors angry when I blew the whistle on a $30 billion boondoggle and the culprits were sent to jail.

I upset the special interests and Washington lobbyists when I fought for ethics reform and to stop union bosses and corporations from writing million dollar checks to political campaigns.

I made the Pentagon angry when I called for the resignation of Don Rumsfeld; said we needed a different strategy in Iraq; and a bigger military so that ours sons and daughters didn't have to serve four and five tours in combat zones.

I displeased a lot of the media when I said we couldn't afford to fail in Iraq, and stood by the changes in our strategy that are now showing success.

I made some folks mad when I worked to cut harmful greenhouse emissions because I believe climate change is a real and needs to be addressed now.

I made politicians angry when I called for earmark reform and spending cuts; for government to do its job, not your job; to do it better and with less of your money. I said no to bridges to nowhere and 74 million dollars for peanut storage in a defense spending bill.

Yes, I've made a lot of people angry. But I didn't go to Washington to win the Mr. Congeniality award. I went there to serve my country.

I might not like the business as usual crowd in Washington, and they might not like me. But I love America. I love her enough to make some people angry.”

I'm going to put the business as usual crowd out of business -- and make them thank me when I do. I won't only restore your trust. I'll make you proud of your government again. I'm going to keep this country safe, prosperous and powerful. So help me God. And I respectfully ask for your vote to help me do it.

Thank you.”

The hall was packed and it erupted into a standing ovation when he said, “I didn't go to Washington to win the Mr. Congeniality award. I went there to serve my country.”

The Lil McCainiacs

Cross Posted from - http://madirishmaninc.blogspot.com/2007/11/lil-mccainiacs.html

I took my children on the 'campaign trail' this weekend for the first time. My lil girl was so excited at the opportunity to meet Senator McCain it was crazy. Who ever would've thought a four year old and nine year old would have enough respect and knowledge to appreciate this meeting.

We arrived in Barrington about 20 minutes early...it was too cold for them to wait outside so we slumped into Calefs store. They knew to keep an eye out for *(the big McCain Hero bus)* and when it finally pulled in they were practically dancing. In walks John, he is immediately bombarded with people. People clambering past and in front of us trying to get to John. We simply waited in the wings as I knew he would make it a point to stop by , I could tell from the wink across the room when we made eye contact. My daughter MaKayla, grabbing peoples around about the knees, asking them politely to please move, *John McCain is coming to see me!* Finally he made his way over. We talked a bit, then he generously posed for pictures with the kids and had a wee chat with them. My daughter reached for his pant leg as he made his way off , exclaiming *I wasn't done talking to him people*

Well, I finally managed to get her back and we made our way to the door. At this point I had planned on taking them home before I returned to the campaign. When we got to the front steps my daughter asked what we were doing and I explained. She immediately broke into tears...very dramatic and genuine * But Daddy, Daddy Daddy . . . I didn't get to thank him for being a Hero!*...well, after that I had no choice but to wait for the Senator to come back out. So we went outside and waited by the bus. John's Mom was the first out and she spent a solid ten minutes chatting with the kids and myself she was absolutely fantastic! John began to make his way down the stairs . . . My daughter MaKayla was the FIRST one in front of him standing there all by herself. John Said * Hey its you again sweety.,* He knelt down and asked if she would give him a hug and kiss Goodbye...She Obliged excitedly!! It made her whole weekend!&nb sp; As John began to rise. MaKayla exclaimed * WAIT WAIT JOHN MCCAIN! I forgot to tell you something!...He knelt down again and she said *Thank you for being such a good hero!*....McCain Smiled very very widely and of course the media and cameras went berserk! It was wonderful. We got home in time for the kids to see themselves on the News with John McCain!!!!

What a weekend for the lil' McCainiacs!!

John McCain Character Factor

Reprinted from the New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/opinion/13brooks.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

November 13, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
The Character Factor
By DAVID BROOKS
Rochester, N.H.

About six months ago, I was having lunch with a political consultant and we were having a smart-alecky conversation about the presidential race. All of sudden, my friend interrupted the flow of gossip and said: “You know, there’s really only one great man running for president this year, and that’s McCain.”

The comment cut through the way we pundits normally talk about presidential candidates. We tend to view them like products and base our verdicts on their market share at the moment. We don’t so much evaluate their character; we analyze how effectively they are manipulating their image to appeal to voters, and in this way we buy into the artificiality of modern campaigning.

My friend’s remark pierced all that, and it had the added weight of truth.

Eight years ago, it was fashionable for us media types to wax rapturously about McCain. That vogue has passed, but I’m afraid my views are unchanged. I have seen McCain when his campaign was imploding, and now again when he’s rising in the polls. I have seen him shooting craps and negotiating in the Senate. I have seen him leading delegations like a statesman and bickering with his old Hanoi Hilton prison-mate Bud Day like a crotchety old lady.

And I can tell you there is nobody in politics remotely like him.

The first thing that still strikes one about McCain is his energy. In his book, “The Nightingale’s Song,” Robert Timberg runs through primal force metaphors to describe the young McCain. “Being on liberty with John McCain was like being in a train wreck,” Timberg wrote.

Prison in Vietnam gave him self-respect and a cause greater than himself, but it didn’t diminish his dynamism. His office in the Senate isn’t tucked away in a tranquil corner of his suite; it’s right in the vortex, and it’s always empty because he’s walking around. Campaigning last weekend in New Hampshire, he was his old restless self, never alone, craving contact, conversation and fun.

Timberg wrote that McCain fought against the system at the Naval Academy as if it were some hostile organism, “as if any compromise meant surrendering a part of himself that he might never retrieve.”

The years and the Senate have smoothed some of his rebelliousness, but he still fights a daily battle against the soul-destroying forms of modern politics.

If you cover him for a day, you’d better bring 2,500 questions because in the hours he spends with journalists, you will run through all of them. Last Saturday, we talked about Pervez Musharraf’s asceticism and Ted Williams’s hitting philosophy, the Korean War and Hispanic voting patterns.

He analyzed the debates he won and the times he was wooden. He talked about his failures as a fund-raiser and said he’d like to pick a running mate with formal economics training because he’s weak in that area. He won’t tell you everything, but there will never be a moment as the hours stretch by when you feel that he is spinning you, lying to himself or insulting your intelligence.

Telling the truth is a skill. Those who don’t do it habitually lose the ability, but McCain is well-practiced and has the capacity to face unpleasant truths. While other conservatives failed to see how corporations were insinuating themselves into their movement, McCain went after Boeing contracts. While others failed to see the rising tide of corruption around them, McCain led the charge against Jack Abramoff. While others ignored the spending binge, McCain was among the fiscal hawks.

There have been occasions when McCain compromised his principles for political gain, but he was so bad at it that it always backfired. More often, he is driven by an ancient sense of honor, which is different from fame and consists of the desire to be worthy of the esteem of posterity.

Other Republicans used to accuse him of kissing up to the news media. But when the Iraq war was at its worst, and other candidates were hiding in the grass waiting to see how things would turn out, McCain championed the surge, which the major Republican candidates now celebrate.

He did it knowing that it would cost him his media-darling status and probably the presidency. But for years he had hated the way the war was being fought. And when the opportunity to change it came, the only honorable course was to try.

And now he pushes ahead, building momentum, but desperately needing a miracle win in New Hampshire. Everyone will make their own political choices, and you might plausibly argue that the qualities John McCain possesses are not the ones the country now requires. But character is destiny, and you will never persuade me that he is not among the finest of men.

That human point seemed worth remembering, even amid the layers of campaign pretense.