A Rare Glimpse at the Real McCain
By Bill W. Thursday Aug 21, 2008 11:00am
Ever since John McCain apparently ran out of 'get out of gaffe free' cards and was actually held to account for having more homes than he could keep track of, it has this blogger wondering if the traditional media might finally be ready to fairly report the facts and not the myths about our candidates. If so, CNN's dual "Revealed" episodes on both candidates the other night was a fair start in that direction. Besides actually asking McCain about his role in the Keating 5 scandal, they also confronted him about his multiple extramarital affairs. Watch it:
Download | play 
Download | play
John Cole ties the affair, McCain's housing crisis, and what has been the media's Orwellian framing of elitism in this campaign all together and sums it up neatly:
Just so we are clear- visiting your grandmother while vacationing in Hawaii, the state where you were you were born- elitist.
Meeting the millionaire heiress daughter (who you will soon begin an affair with and divorce your first wife and then go on and buy a ton of houses) in Hawaii and then going on and honeymooning in Hawaii – not elitist.
Yes, McCain's affairs and charges of corruption in the Keating affair are old news to the villagers, but it's been so ignored and glossed over for so long by McCain's media that many voters today across the country have no idea about any of it. All we've been told for years now about McCain is that he's a maverick and a war hero, and yet we've been inundated with every scrap of negative reporting on Obama that could be dug up, no matter how tangential or untrue. Given the fact that the McCain campaign is now claiming that everything is "fair game" and vowing to rehash all of the tired old dirt on Obama brought up over and over for months during the primaries, it's past time the voters this cycle get a full accounting of both candidates' good, bad and ugly, so long as it's the truth.
Which brings me back to the affairs. A few months ago, when Mike Stark asked John McCain point blank if he had ever cheated on his current wife Cindy, McCain refused to answer. If McCain has never cheated on Cindy (say, with Vicki Iseman, for example), as he most certainly did with his first wife, Carol, why wouldn't he just answer with some straight talk? As Stark pointed out, "McCain surrogates furiously denounced the story, but oddly, John McCain never brought it up," and the traditional media collectively gave McCain a pass. Given his history, is a little follow up on that really too much to ask?
And since the McCain camp is calling everything fair game, Jed has a few more questions, in the interest of fairness, that likewise deserve reporting on:
If McCain wants to play this game, he should explain why he asked convicted felon G. Gordon Liddy -- who has advocated killing federal agents and said Adolf Hitler gave him strength -- to host a fundraiser for him in 1998.
McCain should also explain why he repeatedly voted against federal legislation banning domestic terrorism against patients, doctors, and staff of abortion and women's health clinics.
What else should we know more about McCain that we already would if it were about Obama?
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Is that a picture of the family that McCain shit all over?
So Mike Stark says that BOTH Cindy and John fool around????? And NO press about either one????
Wow! That beer-buzz buys a lot of silence!
My wife and I honeymooned in PARIS. We're not merely latte-sipping elitist liberals, but FRANCOPHILES!
Of course, we did this on Student Visas, twenty years ago, for about $1500. NEVERTHELESS!
I feel so, so elitistly dirty!
Could it be? The love affair the MSM had with McBain is ending?
Maybe it's just me, but we hear constantly about the fact that it is McCain's wife who is wealthy, not McCain, and because they had a prenuptial agreement when they got married, they have always maintained separate finances.
Wouldn't a fair question be: "If John McCain's wife doesn't trust him with her money, why should we trust John McCain with our country?"
Lies have a way of catching up with you as seen with John McCain. Dumping his sick wife and kids for a younger rich girl is one small part of how sinful John McCain is. Cindy not only brought the homes she brought John. He lives off his wife and his only income is his salary as Senator and Social Security. John is an example of what's wrong with American values and morals. He is still cheating on Cindy and is a client in Jean Palfrey's list. This man is not the best of America and I know racism is hard to let go off but please. Homer Simpson is better then John McCain and that says alot.
JAFO @ 5:
That is a really good point for comment, why indeed.
McCain really f*cked up on this "house gaffe". This video sums it up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7PfSEtiXPw
Methinks in comparing coverage of Grandpa and Barry O.,
there's a double-standard...
Thank FSM for blogs like this one!
what makes this even worse, is that they have constantly painted his original wife and turning into some obese troll....she wasnt
he is just a pig
7 JAFO@5 That is a good question now will anyone ask him that?
Jacki - McCain also receive $58,000.00 annually in VA disability benefits. He is classified as 100% disabled, regardless of the fact that he has been employed full time as a Senator for all these long years
Aren't wolfe (sycophant) and john king (20 yrs in the business and hasn't learned a thing) going to be going out of their minds and working behind the scenes to muzzle John Cole? I mean their lack of veracity and credibility is really going to show if this type of exposure keeps seeing the light of day.
4:27 - "I lied, huhahahaha."
JAFO @ 5:
Excellent point! And given his track record, Cindy is wise to be so prudent.
Of course, she has first hand knowledge of his character short-comings, since she was his mistress.........
DivaBabe @ 15:
I guess Cindy figured that if he'd cheat with her, he'd also cheat on her.
"I think I was a good mother and a good wife, and that's what I think he wanted in me.."...doh really? Had nothing to do with you being half his age, or you looking like a young model and his wife overweight and handicapped, or maybe even nothing to do with the fact you were f*cking wealthy beyond his wildest dreams???
Either she is just as good lying straight faced as the old fart is, or she is dumber than shit.
What I found interesting about the story is that they mention that McCain was cheating on his wife *before* he even met Cindy. The details on the who/how often would certainly give an insight into the character of St. John of Grabasser.
McCain....
lying sexhound and naughty boy!!!
5:43
"His reasons are his reason. You know I think I've been a good wife and I think I'm a good mother, and I think that is what he want wanted uh ah, I think that is what he saw in me." -Cindy
Wow, talk about throwing salt in a wound. Cindy is basically saying that Carol was a bad wife and mother and that is why John left her. Wow. This quote really gets to the character of John McCain and his Jezebel wife.
Monday, August 18, 2008
TWO FORMER GOP CONGRESSMEN TO U.S. COMBAT FORCES WORLDWIDE: MCCAIN UNFIT TO SERVE AS YOUR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF
Ex-Reps. Warn Troops: As Senator He Abandoned American POWs Trapped in Indochina; as President He'll Abandon You
By
Bill Hendon & John LeBoutillier
Ed. note: This message from former U.S. Congressmen Bill Hendon (R-NC) and John LeBoutillier (R-NY) is being posted today on numerous military blogs and websites.
~~~~~~~~~~
He has told me several times over the years that the myth of live POWs was a cruel hoax on the families. He chaired hearings into the issue in the 1990s and found nothing. “The committee … pored over thousands of records and every claim of a sighting, no matter how outlandish,” says Salter. “It was all untrue.”
Jonathan Alter, When Ross Perot Calls..., Newsweek.com January 16, 2008
Senator John McCain's heroic and inspiring wartime service in Vietnam notwithstanding, we know from personal experience he is not fit to serve as Commander-in-Chief of America's armed forces. Here is how we know this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...
I realize he is a politician, and they will say anything to put themselves in a positive frame, but I really get the creeps listening to this old man lie....he comes across as a real two-faced snake.
I don't get this. This dude (McCain) had so many affairs, and the "moral" right wingers don't have a problem with that.
Amazing.
...Ever since John McCain apparently ran out of ‘get out of gaffe free’ cards and was actually held to account for having more homes than he could keep track of...
John Kerry, five homes with assessed value totalling in excess of $29mm.
Democrats: For Multimillionaire Nominees Before They Were Against Them.
“I think I was a good mother and a good wife, and that’s what I think he wanted in me"
Oh, so his wife who was faithful and waited all those years for him when he was a POW was a shitty Mom and wife? And that's why he left her for you? Oh....thanks for clearing that up for us. Just goes to show there's some things money can't buy...... class, honor, dignity, grace, humility. What a bitch.
goddamit dennis, when the hell are you going to enlist?
dennis @ 24:
The point is "my friend" that he can't recall how many ... he also seems to not recall many other things.
dennis, when the fuck are you going to enlist?
I had to share this one. Made me laugh out loud:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/21/16410/0565/504/572077
I think it's great when rich people get to feed off the gov't tit. I mean, if he picks Mittens here's the math:
McHouse + Romney = about 10 or 11 houses.
And here's the gutbuster, the kneeslapper, the most hilarious punchline in the world, right now. They will live in houses WE THE PEOPLE own, rent free, for 4 or (Shudder) 8 years. With staff of course.
10 or 11 houses + 2 more! I
OKFucking FABULOUS IYAR!once again we hear a repube say "i take full responsibility" and that seems to magically put the issue to rest in the eyes of the media. just like McCain did in this interview when asked about his marriage failure.
wouldnt it be a wonderful world if we could all get that free pass from simple words.
redcat @ 28:
He's not old enough, just a kid in the basement trying to make noise to be noticed.
I love McCain's face when the interviewer points out that McCain's description of the breakup of his first marriage doesn't match the facts. He was cheating on his wife. He started dating Cindy while he was still married. And cheated with other women, apparently.
McCain looks taken aback that anyone would mention that. Like he just assumes that his own VERY OBVIOUS dirty laundry is off limits.
Then he tries to blow it off by saying it was a long time ago. As if he's forgotten. Give me a break. The fact that he'd so casually lie about it suggests that he hasn't progressed morally one single inch since that time.
man am sick of the personal life, soap opera bullshit and the way the MSM frames everthing like it´s the E! channel... is this the only way americans get interested in politics? by spoonfeeding useless information... what are his policy ideas and who is working with him and which industry gives him the most money, and has his votes reflected that... etc... don´t pretend this cleché bullshit is for real... it´s an infomercial... that´s all it is...
"Just so we are clear- visiting your grandmother while vacationing in Hawaii, the state where you were you were born- elitist.
Meeting the millionaire heiress daughter (who you will soon begin an affair with and divorce your first wife and then go on and buy a ton of houses) in Hawaii and then going on and honeymooning in Hawaii – not elitist."
Attacking your opponent for having the flaws you yourself possess -- pure Rove.
Yeah Cindy, drug addicts are super wives and mothers! She is a failure and if her father didn't leave her all that wealth she would probably be whoring for her next fix. She is a lying immoral bitch. Who the hell would want that thing representing our country? The both of them are empty shells with a lot of money.
Albatross @ 3:
I'll one-up-elitist on you. My husband and I met in France and went to Paris for our first date. Of course we were working in the same orchestra that was on tour there for three weeks and it was 20 years ago and we were poor grad students eating ramen, but still.
Feeling elitistly dirty is soooooo good!
that " I lied" quote will come back to haunt him... soon...
dennis @ 24:
Republicans: Against Nominees with Multimillionaire Sugar-Momma Second Wives Before They Were For Them.
JimboSlice @ 14:
I think it's "My friends, I lied."
Liberal AND Proud @ 40:
The full quote is..."My friends, I liked and I remember the date...it was Sept. 11, some years before 9/11...and we must never forget that date and I will hunt down Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell, because as a POW I know how important it is to stand up to evil and defeat it."
shit....should be.."My friends, I like and..."
I saw part of that special. I am so glad that America is being exposed to the real candidates at last. My contribution to that effort is a kind of family album showing Obama's History in scrapbook form. You can see it and share it at http://obamascrapbook.com. I created this to show others how uniquely American our candidate is! I hope it works! See for yourself . . .
http://obamascrapbook.com
JAFO @ 39:
Most excellent point, JAFO. But not John McCain. He didn't make that claim about Kerry. Nor did he go anywhere near suggesting Kerry's military service should be devalued or that it didn't necessarily qualify him for the Presidency.
That favor is hardly being returned.
Wow, he really ballooned there, sometime mid-70s.
Doesn't seem like the older, puffier, McCain came around gradually.
dennis @ 44:
It hurts when the purple band-aid is on the other finger, doesn't it?
pennis @ 24:
Uhh...it was the Repukes who brought up the "elitist" business in the first place; must hurt to be caught in your own trap. And you STILL haven't answered me regarding how McSame is a maverick...but I digress.
Here in AZ I see more "McCain" stickers on out of state cars than on AZ cars. People here are fed up with Johnny Boy's shenannigans.
So, Clinton has affair(s) and lies/distorts truth on such - impeach and demand "credibility" be returned to the Oval Office. McCain has affairs and lies/distorts truth on such, support and elect to Oval Office. Can you imagine if this had been the Clinton or Kerry biography?
JAFO @ 39:
Democrats: We don't actually care how many homes he has. It's all about the Republican hypocrisy. They made it an issue about Kerry, but suddenly it doesn't count against McCain.
dennis @ 44:
Wait a sec... Obama suggested that McCain's military service should be devalued, or that it doesn't necessarily qualify him for the presidency?
Link please?
Well said, rj.
I'm just tired of McCain's non-answers about a lot of stuff. When confronted at the end there about it, his response is "that was 30 years ago and I'm happily married." Well, that doesn't really answer the question, does it John?
And another thing, it also sounds good to say "I take full responsibility for the break-up of our marriage," but you never see him admit to cheating several times on his wife and actually take responsibility for it. Instead all he says is "that was 30 years ago."
Gretchen @ 37:
Oh I can beat all that easy. I speak French and several other languages. I've lived in Europe.
.. and just to top it off, my family is old nobility and I write my name with the French preposition 'de' in front of it! (although grandpa occasionaly used 'von')
rj @ 49:
And my point is Democrats never think they're being hypocrites. You were so offended by the attacks on Kerry but now suddenly they are ok. And they're being carried out on the very guy that went out on a limb and denounced them. Please tell me how that's not hypocrisy.
I think Cindy is still high anyway. I expect her to go back to rehab right after the campaign is over, ala Kitty Dukakis.
Unless McCain wins, and then it will be one of those 'vacations in Switzerland' right out of VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.
It's not about the number of homes. It's about the Senior Moment. He didn't know how many. Couldn't think on his feet.
dennis @ 54:
It is called "Turnabout is fair play." If you Repugs don't like it, you might try STFU in the first place. Yeah, yeah; I know: You aren't a repuke. You're a moderate - like Bill O'Reilly.
Would the real Manchurian Candidate please stand up.
I'm not saying I necessarily buy this, but these guys are far from pro-Obama, and they argue that McCain's military service not only doesn't qualify him to be President, but makes him unfit for the office.
McCain - "Ready, Willing, Unstable"
The man even lied in his fucking memoirs! Wow!
John McCain obviously has never had a problem lying to others; now it is obvious he has no problem lying to himself. And the fact that moral high ground-loving Republicans approve a lying, cheating, successfully self-deluded person such as John McCain speaks volumes for the ability of the average Republican to successfully self-delude himself even more.
What a sad, pathetic world of self-delusion Republicans live in - too bad they're making our world more and more difficult to live in in the process.
dennis @ 24:
John McCain: ~$100 million
George W. Bush ~$20 million
Bob Dole: $13.5 - $49.8 million
George H.W. Bush: ~$25 million
Ronald Reagen: worth ~ $3 million in 1979 which is ~ $10 million in 2008 dollars.
So the last repug to be nominated who was worth less then $10 million was Gerald Ford. hmmm..
And my point is Democrats never think they’re being hypocrites. You were so offended by the attacks on Kerry but now suddenly they are ok. And they’re being carried out on the very guy that went out on a limb and denounced them. Please tell me how that’s not hypocrisy.
You are absolutely correct! That is most certainly hypocrisy... from the very "guy" that denounced them... My... that was too easy.
In 2000 the Bush campaign slimed John McCain and his family. I think it says something about McCain's ambition that he can swallow his pride and put his arms around George Bush after what they did to him. It says even more that he hired some of those same political operatives to work in his campaign to spread lies about Obama. McCain's promise of a clean campaign was a lie. He is lying about obama's plan, his positions, about everything.
dennis @ 44:
I haven't heard John Kerry making any comments about this multiple homes matter, dennis - so what's your obviously unsuccessful point here?
JimboSlice @ 60:
Using the McCain Measurement. That makes them all rich.
dennis @ 24:
Yes, we are flip-floppers.
now, what are you gonna do about it ?
rj @ 62:
He figuratively swallowed more than his pride.
dennis @ 54:
It's not hypocrisy because McCain and his campaign has been smearing Obama for months now, calling him an "elitist" and whatnot.
It was unfair to paint Kerry as an elitist, and McCain was right and good to denounce that.
Then he went out and tried to use the same tactic against Obama - in which case I think it's perfectly fair to point out that he's a multi-millionaire.
If you're a McCain supporter, then you tell me - what happened to the old McCain? It's not just Democrats who've noticed that he's not acting like the guy he was as late as last January, when he was denouncing smear-politics.
Hard to believe CNN uttered the words "McCain cheated on his first wife" and it wasn't mentioned once by a major news outlet during the Edwards coverage.
rj @ 62:
He basically slapped his adopted daughter in the face in exchange for a shot at the presidency.
Unfortunately, to save the country we will now have to politically bludgeon the old guy.
Oh well. His ambition for the Presidency and his total lack of concern for the country has brought him here.
We will learn that McCain's half brother is the Traveling Gnome.
evie @ 12:
How many American families would be happy making $58K annually - MOST!
thepoetryman @ 61:
Kerry did not attack Shrub as an elitst. The right attacked Kerry for having a rich wife who owns lots of homes because somehow having a rich wife is bad and possibly un-presidential.
Now: McSame attacks Obama as an elitist when its McSame and his wife who have 100million$ 7-10 homes etc . . .In this case, the problem is not the attack itself, its the hypocrisy of attacking BHO for being what McSame actually is. A rich wife has never been the problem, but to attack another for being a wealthy elitist WHEN YOU ARE WEALTHIER AND ELITISTIER is the problem.
No hypocrisy on the left (in this instance) just typical right-wing hackery.
Really weird smile after he admits the breakup is all his fault.
Best quote about McCain..."he looks like the guy on the Quaker Oats box".
I think it was Robert Klein that said it, but I'm not sure.
jo @ 72:
He draws more in disability payments than the average annual family income in the U.S.
How many handicap ramps do his homes have?
MATTF@CKINGHUGHEN @ 73:
I really enjoy right wing hackery with some fundamentalist wingnuttery on the side.
dennis @ 44:
did kerry fail to remember how many homes he has? did kerry attack bush for being an elitist? this is just payback for the "out of touch" attacks against obama mccain bought into when he signed in schmidt/rove. mccain brought this one on to himself. 7-11 homes owned against a mortgagee, who's the elitist? changing the topic/points of argument does nothing but make you a purveyor of non sequiturs.
Don't expect Dennis or any other REPUG to understand the hyprocisy or projection points...they just don't get it! The last person that wants a positive campaign centered on the issues is McShame...unless, of course, he can (as do all Repugs) spin and misrepresent facts to suit their position. For 12 years or more, now, they've been able to count on our media to lie down for them...those must be some DAMN FINE BAR-B-QUES!!!
Neville @ 74:
yes, a weird smile but pales in comparison to " i will hunt osama to the gates of hell" smile during the debates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_-rnJxo0Fo
You know that all the criticism is having an effect on the campaign, when they start bitching and moaning about the media picking on a veteran.
what's becoming apparent is that cindy mccain is turning out to be such a huge liar:
1. recipe-gate
2. mother teresa-gate
3. only child-gate
4. my husband was separated-gate
----
i always had the impression that mccain hooked up with linda ronstadt in the 80's. hmmm.
jo @ 72:
he also gets ss benefits, right? these are what he probably uses to pay for his first wife's medical expenses. so he wont let that go.
Can we please see a picture of the entire McCain family? Can we see his adopted daughter in a photo with mommy and daddy? Will she appear on stage at the Republican convention when John accepts the nomination and typically wife and children all give big old daddy a well deserved hug for his achievement? If not, then this man and his wife utterly disgust me. Don't loose sleep over it John, I wasn't going to vote for you anyway.
Here's the real McCain.......
The DoD is re-issueing the multi-billion dollar proposal for an air refueling tanker for the US Air Force. The original proposal was awarded to Northrop and EADS to build a French aircraft. The GAO found many deficiencies in the award process so now it has to be re-done.
John McCain has/had several campaign staff members with a history of Lobbyist activity for EADS, parent of Airbus, the mostly French aircraft maker. During the original proposal, McCain sent at least two letters to the Air Force telling them to keep Airbus in the process, even though the plane they proposed did NOT meet the specification. As a result, the AF "changed" the process in the middle and eventually awarded the contract for the French airplane.
Now, the DoD is running the proposal and have "changed" the requirements to favor the Airbus plane and disqualify the Boeing plane. It is smaller and does not have the fuel, based on a 767 aircraft. Boeing would like to bid using a 777 platform, that does have the capacity and meets requirements. However, the DoD, is cutting the time to do the propasal to the end of the year. That is not enough time to re-do a proposal with all the technical and cost details required.
Now, the question is, will John McCain send a letter to DoD asking them to extend the time and "keep all proposal efforts in the process" as he did before, or will he just let the French have the USAF contract.
Additional facts. Boeing has built four major tanker aircraft (KC97, KC135,KC10 for USAF, and KC767 for Japan) EADS/Airbus/Northrop has never built any. In the original proposal, program risk was judged "equal." The fix was in.
And there is so much more.
de