McCain would make a wonderful guest on the old SCTV skit, "Celebrity Blow-Up".

Jeez at the rate they're going there'll be nothing left for us to throw at him!

It's astounding how the media manages to keep Americans minds constantly distracted and focused away from having a sharp critical look at THE ECONOMY.

Absolutely stunning.

McCrazy should just bow out gracefully and ride off into the Arizona sun.

MikeL @ 1:

If it's true, but irrelevant and inflammatory, then it arguably is a smear.

But is Senator McCain's divorce irrelevant to the Republican voters in South Carolina? That's the question that should be asked and many of them will say "yes".

Now, the rest of us may not think much on it, as we will put the divorce into the context it deserves, but the Republican base, which happens to be a lot of evangelicals, don't care for divorce one bit. That's the real reason former Speaker Gingrich didn't run for the nomination and why Mr. Guiliani is having such a hard time with religious conservatives.

Isn't it amazing though, that the top three Democratic candidates have never been divorced?

Smeared with the truth? This one is child's play. How about when George Smathers was running against Claude Pepper in the 1950 Florida Senatorial primary:

In a classic campaign speech in rural northern Florida, Smathers told his audience that Pepper was "a shameless extrovert" who was known to have engaged in "nepotism" with his sister-in-law, "whose sister was once a thespian" in wicked New York City, and who was acknowledged to have "practiced celibacy" before his marriage."

More here.

Well, if it is true, it's fact. I would imagine that facts can be used both positive and negative.

Earlier today we were talking about the checks bush wants to hand out to give the economy a boost. Many of us thought it was just a gesture and would do nothing of real consequences. Jim Cramer was on Hardball tonight and he agrees with us. He had a dire warning about the companies that insured all these falling mortgages. He says they don't have the money to cover them all and unless something happens fast, they are all going to be shutting their doors. Then all hell will take place in the market.

I will believe Jim before I believe anyone we have heard from yet.

nonny mouse @ 9:

If the 'smear' were only that he divorced his wife, then it's a pretty pathetic smear. I'm divorced. Does that make me a bad person? Or my ex? (Well, maybe my ex... ;) )

But read a bit further, and it's not that he divorced his loyal and long-suffering first wife; it's that he was having it off with a younger, prettier, richer woman BEFORE he divorced his first wife. That speaks to his true character. What a creep. So frankly, smear away...

Well, nonny, ya'd best not run in any election in South Carolina, you shameless hussy!

Lollimom @ 2:

McCain would make a wonderful guest on the old SCTV skit, "Celebrity Blow-Up".

Big Jim McBob: Hey, McCain! Blow up!

Billy Sol Hurok: Blow'd up good, blow'd up real good!"

I don't care what any candidate did in the past, I want to know what they are going to do in the future, what are their plans to attempt to fix this mess our country is in.

The media is so screwed up, they only want people to look in the past and not the future.

Maybe we don't have a future anymore..

www.pafundi.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central Command: 4387

We shouldn't be even thinking about whether or not someone running for President has divorced, we need someone who know when things are bad that changes need to be made.

Want something to Sober you up .....
Bush and his clowns have 366 days left in office. Plenty of time to ruin what is left of our once great country.

L.A. Confidential @ 13:

I still think McCain will end up being the front runner.

The Bushes want to retire and gallop off into the sunset so want to lose this year.

You think the Bushes want to be stuck trying to come up with $50 trillion in Medicaid, Social Security, etc. promises after they've looted their $20 Trillion?

ConcernedCanuck @ 17:

pissed off patricia @ 14:

Well, if it is true, it's fact. I would imagine that facts can be used both positive and negative.

Earlier today we were talking about the checks bush wants to hand out to give the economy a boost. Many of us thought it was just a gesture and would do nothing of real consequences. Jim Cramer was on Hardball tonight and he agrees with us. He had a dire warning about the companies that insured all these falling mortgages. He says they don't have the money to cover them all and unless something happens fast, they are all going to be shutting their doors. Then all hell will take place in the market.

I will believe Jim before I believe anyone we have heard from yet.

ABC News is reporting that the "rebate" would be between $800 and $1600 "depending on Congress". What that means is, whatever the amount, they can say the economy didn't recover because of the Dems.

That is assuming the economy recovers on this life support system they are going to try.

I would almost promise to vote for McCain if he would swear to never ever again use the phrase, "my friends". And if he would do the same with his speech about chasing OBL to gates of hell to get him.

Of all the hundreds of reasons not to vote John McCain I find that the fact he came back from Nam a changed person and divorced his first wife not to be very high at all on my list.

If anybody said: 'I WAS going to vote for McPain,but now that I find out he's DEVORCED, I'm not', the Dr. will see you now in room 3-C.

Mud, turds or rotten eggs. He deserves whatever he gets thrown at him. In Sylvester's words, "He's DITHPICABLE!"

Not a McCain fan.

But have observed in the Wife 1 - Wife 2 situation, man gets involved with Wife 2-person before divorcing Wife 1. Always seems to happen that way.

Is it just me, or does this photo of John McCain resemble the late Bud Dwyer? Gives me some creepy memories of that awful moment captured on tape, when Bud decided to go out with a bang.

Normally I'd instinctively stick up for McCain despite his political views and affilations, against what I consider pretty filthly tactics by his rivals, but he's the one who has aligned himself with these scuzzwipes.

Lie down with dogs and you'll get fleas, or however that saying goes...

Sorry, McZombie:
Yer on yer own.

Sen. Russ Feingold is the Best!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. XXXX @ 42:

Sen. Russ Feingold is the Best!!!!!!!!!!

Yes he is! In so many ways.

Repubs surely shouldn't be allowed to swim in their own gene pool, and neither should anyone else. :)

From the linked article:

"I hate to break it to the McCain campaign, but pointing out the truth about the senator’s messy private life — he is the first admitted adulterer to ever seek the Republican presidential nomination — is not a “dirty trick.”ric

Not strictly true. Ronald Reagan began his relationship with Nancy Davis before he divorced Jane Wyman.

But then Reagan is a Republican saint, so none of his sins or his failure as a father matter. IOKIYAR.

It seems to me in cases like this it depends on who is making it. It might be a smear if it is from the Fred Thompson camp, because it would then likely be a purely Machiavellian political ploy, without an actual basis in a truly held value (given his marriage history). However, if it was from Huckabee it *could* be a genuine concern of that camp (I am not saying it would be, because I don't know where he stands on divorce).

In other words, even if true, an attack might be a smear. It depends on the context.

Frank @ 31:

This is not a smear and Mccain has admitted to it here is what Mccain said about the affair according to wikipedia

"My marriage's collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine."[51] His wife Carol would later echo those sentiments, saying "I attribute [the breakup of our marriage] more to John turning 40 and wanting to be 25 again than I do to anything else."[51]

Also you should look at where the money for his first campaign came from. You should look at his wife and her father. If you want to know about that money look at this

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-02-17/news/haunted-by-spirits/1

It is not a good thing and be sure to read about Kemper Marley business partner of Cindys dad.

I dont understand why people would vote for Mccain.

I keep voting against him as I live in Arizona.

Gee, I thought that he had divorced his wife and was appearing at political events with his granddaughter. Oh, wait, that is his wife. I think all the plastic surgery she's had may have been a mistake. It just makes him look a lot older than his 71 years.

I commented over on the Velvet Shiv thread, it's just a fact-no fair or
unfair about it-That the Media likes McCain and doesn't like the Clintons.

You can bury you head in the sand about it, or play the "SHE'S A VICTIM AND HOW UNFAIR" like the Taylor Marsh brigade of the Hillbot army...

But, it's a fact, and I don't think it's going to change.

That is why, more then anything, I fear a McCain vs Hillary match
up in the fall?

You can argue you bloody guts out about Obama vs Edwards vs Hillary,
but no one is going to convince me that in a McCain vs Hillary match-up
the press is going to coo and billow at the McCain side, and "Velvet Shiv" everytime Hillary pipes up about a McCain negative.

pissed off patricia @ 53:

Annoyed Canuck @ 48:

From the linked article:

"I hate to break it to the McCain campaign, but pointing out the truth about the senator’s messy private life — he is the first admitted adulterer to ever seek the Republican presidential nomination — is not a “dirty trick.”ric

Not strictly true. Ronald Reagan began his relationship with Nancy Davis before he divorced Jane Wyman.

But then Reagan is a Republican saint, so none of his sins or his failure as a father matter. IOKIYAR.

Then there's the Rudy/Judy story.

As far as I know, all our candidates are with their original spouses. Do we get extra points for that?

In the case of the Clintons, this just provides another stick to beat them with. If Hillary gets the nod, I bet there'll be a flood of stories about all the women he's been with as president and after. And what this says about Hillary and her morals, etc.

Nancy Davis was pregnant when she walked down the isle with Ronnie 'Family Values' Reagan.

I'm no fan of McCain, but I really couldn't care less about this 'issue'. How about focusing on the real problems facing this country instead of these smokescreens that push the electorate's buttons?

Unless it's something illegal or unethical that interferes with their ability to do the job, I don't give a rat's ass about a candidate's personal life. I didn't care about Slick Willie getting his pole smoked in the Oral Office, and I certainly don't care about McCain's track record of marriages.

HulksHeroes @ 55:

This chump is so lost, it isn't funny. If this is the best the repugs can do, along with the evangelical born again and mr slick, I think the Democrats are seriously in the driving seat even if they nominate a dog to run on their ticket.

I almost feel bad for the repugs if they hadn't f*cked this country up so damn bad for the past 12 years. Hope they all pay for their crimes "against the state".

Don't be so smug.I am a progressive,BUT always remember This electorate voted in w Twice. By anymeans nessisary and They did. Crooked? Yes.But There He IS.

mccain is a rich republican who never had a job in his life. show him no quarter.

pissed off patricia @ 44:

Mr. XXXX @ 42:

Sen. Russ Feingold is the Best!!!!!!!!!!

Yes he is! In so many ways.

Got no issue with that!

here's how you beat john mccain:

1) post this picture online relentlessly, and print up pamphlets and send them to anyone who might not have internet.

2) in the unlikely event that doesn't work, relentlessly post online discussion about his old man's alleged involvement in the cover-up of the attack on the u.s.s. liberty. nothing pisses off true patriotic american servicemen like that cover-up.

3) in the nearly impossible event that neither of those strategies work, remind ordinary americans that the hardline war-monger zionists are foaming at the mouth over the prospect of a mccain/lieberman ticket, and that johnny mac would probably be assassinated within two months of taking america, and that america could subsequently look forward to at least fifty years of waging war in the middle east on israel's behalf.

so there you have it. next republican douche bag candidate, please? is it romney's turn?

ROM Spaceknight @ 69:

*taking office

Best handle I have seen in awhile. The comic was actually really good, surprisingly enough.

Bonkers @ 70:

ROM Spaceknight @ 69:

*taking office

Best handle I have seen in awhile. The comic was actually really good, surprisingly enough.

i know. i remember it real well. brandy was hot.

Andy K @ 12:

Smeared with the truth? This one is child's play. How about when George Smathers was running against Claude Pepper in the 1950 Florida Senatorial primary:

In a classic campaign speech in rural northern Florida, Smathers told his audience that Pepper was "a shameless extrovert" who was known to have engaged in "nepotism" with his sister-in-law, "whose sister was once a thespian" in wicked New York City, and who was acknowledged to have "practiced celibacy" before his marriage."

More here.

Congressman Charlie Bennett (D Jacksonville), Florida's longest serving representative. was attending an opening night performance at a Jacksonville community theatre for which I was serving as House Manager in the 1980's. He needed two crutches to assist his walking and being the master host that I was, I whispered in his ear during the intermission that if he needed assistance with anything (like getting a glass of wine) that there were several young ladies who would be at his beck and call, all he needed to do was ask. I was surprised, even knowing his impeccable reputation, when he told me, "Oh no, I don't do that sort of stuff."

If only today's politicians would be as concerned about their morals!

Sorry, but I'm with McCain on this one...(oh, God help me).

Its a "smear" because of the context....family value BS?

I do not care about a candidate's personal life.

Whether Clinton, McCain or anybody else.

Got that?

This is really low class.

Now, the smears against McCain were about him cooperating with the North Vietnamese communists while in jail as a POW.

check the link:

www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com

When I was growing up, my family encouraged me to follow the same principle which (supposedly) has traditionally been advocated in Jesuit schools -- as long as you can provide evidence to substantiate your argument, you can say just about anything you want. That's why I don't agree that a negative comment can deservedly be called a "smear" when there is evidence -- meaning, something more substantial than mere hearsay -- to verify the accusation. That's not to say that it might not be a cheap shot -- but it's still not a smear. IMHO, the point at which someone becomes guilty of crossing the line between fair accusation and smear is when they start extrapolating possible intentions and/or motivations from the accused's behavior and attributing these to the accused even though there is no direct evidence to suggest that the accused has such intentions or motivations -- as an example, accusing Democrats and/or liberals of "being in league with terrorists" simply because they disagree with Bush.

I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again here...the best way to avoid a stain on your reputation is to avoid (insofar as possible at least) saying or doing anything which you would be ashamed to have printed on the front page of your local newspaper. Why else do you think that there are so many old sayings concerning the wisdom of considering the potential consequences of one's actions beforehand, such as "a stitch in time saves nine?"

americangoy @ 79:

I really expect and DEMAND more form C&L (otherwise I will... hmm the service is free...hmmm..)

...I still expect more class from a liberal blog.

ahhh....a concern troll

if this is such a non issue...why did mccain leave it out of his biography and subsequently the movie made from the biography

why is his ex shown in the movie sans injuries from a terrible car accident

why doesnt he ever talk about chasing his current wife...while he was still married?

if the fuckers can impeach clinton for getting a bj...then mccain needs to have his presidential hopes derailed for fucking another while married

war hero he may be....he is just as immoral as the rest of the repugs

Jackie @ 83:

Every thing that's been said about McCain is true. His children by his first wife are in their 40's and he never raised them. He left his sick wife for the young rich girl and never looked back. He left his wife to raise the two kids. His second wife's family helped with the large settlement in his divorce. As for as Christian Family Values McCain has none. He now wants to act like the past never happen. Now McCain admits he knows nothing about economy or how to solve the problems. All McCain knows is to start Wars and spend money. If Americans want McCain as President it will be like Bush never left office. At lease Isreal can sit back and let the US bomb Iran for them so they don't lose any soldiers. Yes more American soldiers will die while Isreal sit back and watch.

can you blame israel?

there is a retard in the wh

if i live next to a guy who is threatening me, and i can talk my other retarded neighbor into beating him up...i will do so...so what if the retard gets a bullet to the brain...hes a retard

and mccain has no morals...never did...perfect repug

but got to hand it to the ex....she still refuses to speak to the media....she musta got a heap of caishe to keep her mouth shut

wonder if the first kids will ever talk

He divorced his wife after surviving an ugly war. How quaint. Who initiated the divorce?

It was also accurate that Clinton had an affair, but was that accuracy sufficient grounds for introducing it into the political arena? So McCain got a divorce from the woman who raised his kids. That's his life and his right. And none of my business.