McCain has had no character to blow since he lost to GWB. McCain turned into a snivilling, whining, backstabbing child. To think that I would have voted for him in 2000.

Do any of you guys think that Republicans are going to win the election by focusing on Obama's middle name? If you do, it proves that conservatives are stupider than you are given credit for. The rest of the country is trying to deal with the economy, terrorism, Iraq, health care, and you think we can win by highlighting his middle name. Get a clue.

Obama would be happy if conservatives keep talking about his middle name, while he talks about on jobs in Ohio. Then you wonder how he can generate any enthusiasm.

So McCain is classier than the Democrats are.

That is a feature, not a bug.

Compromise principles is McCain's primary principle.

(This isn't about BHO's middle name - it is about firing up an Ohio crowd, sam)
McCain's focus on crossovers is an acknowledgement that he has lost his base. The bad news is there are more democrats than republicans, and he needs all republicans to vote for him in order to win. We lost party parity in 2006.

If he wants to run as a democrat, he should have run in their primary.

BTW, sam, McCain's platform is "more wars, less jobs", didn't you hear him in MI?

DJ, I accidentally hit the one star when I meant to hit the five star rating on this post. Hope you can change it for me. Sorry! Great post!

Get a clue is right. The global warming bashing and 10 things I hate about Obama posts here lately clearly demonstrate how clueless and detached the Bush apologist right wing fringe has become. McCain did the correct thing in distancing himself from the cheap character shots taken by the nutjob Cunningham. Do you think that's maybe why Republicans voted overwhelmingly for him and not favorites of "true" conservatives?

As for Bush, he deserves every bit of trashing he gets. He's earned it. There's a big difference between criticism of actions, words etc that have already taken place and hysterical frothing speculation about what might take place once Obama becomes president.

McCain has to win a general election, not stand on the sides and throw brickbats like the so-called mainstream conservatives. He ran a campaign to win the primaries, and he won. You guys brought up your own favorite candidates, and lost. The majority in the Republican party do not agree with your choices. Face reality like adults, not become a right-wing mirror of the Kos kids.

In the general election, if you think you can win by highlighting Obama's middle name, you are sadly deluded. Here's the scenario during the campaign:

DEM: Ohio is losing jobs, we need to do something.

REP: Look, his middle name is Obama!!

Let's see who wins that election.

The right-wing media likes nothing better than throwing mud, it is better for their ratings. Do you think Bill Cunningham (or Ann Coulter, Rush, Hannity et al care about Republicans winning or not?) As long as they can rail against liberals and Democrats, their ratings go up, their books sell, their lives are fulfilled.

So..Cunningham is a "nutjob" because He spoke the truth?

McCain is a toasted dunce who has no chance in hell of being President. Im voting none of the above.

Contrast McCain rejecting the speaker of what he thought of as disparaging remarks (whether it was or was not is beside the point, McCain felt they were) and Obama refusing to reject Farrakahn.

While it may drive the right nuts, the real instrument of a changed American politic seems to be McCain.

This is why he and the GOP will lose, they will not fight the left. They won't even use the truth to fight the left. Obama's heritage is mostly caucasian and arabic, and his names represent that fact. He is technically not even "black" by census standards. Amazingly, there are many "americans" who knowingly or unknowingly want to elect the first arab-american as president of the USA, and those in power do not want them educated. He is the ultimate suicide bomber, and will do every thing in his power to destroy this country.

Why is Barrack ashamed of his middle name? Why is he ashamed of the picture he took in the Somalia war lord outfit? What does he stand for? What are his credentials? What experience does he have? Who are his past associates? So many questions. So much time. ww

He is the ultimate suicide bomber...

I was with you CD, up until you said that. There is no use for that kind of rhetoric. The real Obama is bad enough.

WW:

Apart from your first two questions, the others are right in line. Those are the issues to focus on when running against Obama. If we successfully contrast our credentials against Obama's liberal positions, we win. Since Hillary could not, you see the position she is in.

If we can't paint a picture of Obama as an extremely left wing communist, he will win. That is why this focus on his name is misplaced. It is a charge that he can so easily dodge. Ask Hillary how her focus on his Somali garb is working for her. Obama would like nothing better for us to talk about his middle name, while he talks about the economy and jobs. It is a winning strategy for him.

"Apart from Your first two questions,the others are right in line."

These questions are at the root of everything He portends to stand for.

McCain is going to smoke Obama, and he doesn't need to resort to subliminal messages to do it. Score one for McCain for distancing himself from the pettiness.

Barack Obama didn't plan for his middle name to coincide with that of one of our nation's enemies. I wonder how many upstanding citizens of this country had Adolf or Hitler in their name before World War II. The only purpose Bill Cunningham had for using his middle name was to link Barack to Saddam. It's passive aggressive and stupid.

It is much better, frankly, to hammer home that Obama has promised to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq if he is elected---oh, wait, he's even waffling on that now!

Those who WILL elect Obama president will do so knowing full well that he is not arab-american. But keep up with the blistering, reasoned criticisms, they're only helpful to BO.

The first two questions for Barrack that I said in my comment up above is: Why didn't Obama just say," I am proud of my middle name", "I am proud of visiting a country and respecting them enough to wear their garb", instead OBAMA says it is a cheap shot. Why? Why back away from it? Face it head on. This guy wants to get elected to fight the terrorists, so don't shrink from who you are? ww

This is a Presidential election campaign. Maybe he doesn't feel the need to dignify or recognize this kind of cheap shot bullshit.

If you think making an issue of Obama's name is a valid avenue for McCain to pursue you are an idiot. It isn't going to play well and McCain knows it. This was a small "Sista Soulja" moment for him. While I'm no fan of McCain on many issues I'm sure as hell not going to vote for the Communists running in the other party--and I didn't spend years serving my country to sit at home and not exercise my right to vote--that's just idiotic and an insult to those of us who have sacrificed much to give people the right to vote.

Yeah, I may have to hold my nose to vote for McCain but the alternative is sheer disaster for this country.

McCain has to win the national election. He can't do it being a childish name caller. Look how far it got Hillary--from heir apparent to object of mockery by her own party.

If you can't see that trying to push the meme of Obama being a "closet Muslim" is simply a path to handing him the election then you should consider not being out in public without adult supervision.

CD,
Since when does being the child of a Kenyan father and an American mother make you Arabic? Your point would be better taken if it were factual.

As far as John McCain not fighting the left, I feel one of the reasons Barack Obama's messages are resonating with the American people is he is talking about solutions to issues that touch their lives every day. Americans are tired of the political fighting and want to move forward. The politics of "Guns, God and Gays" is just not going to cut it this time around and John McCain is smart enough to have figured that out.

Juan McCain couldn't care less about showing "respect" to liberal socialists, he's merely trying to keep them from exposing his record as much as possible.

Find out why we're looking at a McCain candidacy in the first place;

How the Republican Party Committed National Suicide By JB Williams
http://www.michnews.com/artman/publish/article_19227.shtml

Who Hijacked the Primaries? by Brett Winterble
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24726

The Death of Conservatism? 43 Mistakes and the GOP's Dobson's Choice
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961546/posts

GOP Leads Astray
http://gopleadsastray.blogspot.com/

Thank goodness the pro-life movement doesn't act the way whiney anti-McCain conservatives do these days. "Rape & incest exceptions? Are you kidding? The unborn baby didn't cause the violence, so why should it be killed in response to it? You're not a true pro-lifer. Screw you and the horse rode in on. I'd rather vote for a NARAL supporter than reward a traitor to the cause like that with my vote."

A clarity effort:

No one is saying that Senator McCain should say or emphasize the things said by Cunningham.. Cunningham was working a Republican crowd at a rally, and as such would say things aimed to provoke support for McCain by contrasting his values from Obama's. Many times before, candidates have had others in their party say things with which they did not agree. In those situations, a leader would make a statement which advanced his position without attacking his own supporters. That is, McCain could have simply ignored Cunningham's comments - that is the normal course, when someone in your party says something different from you and you see things differently. McCain also could have waited to see if he was asked, and if so he could have assured the press that he respects his opponents and that Cunningham's opinion was not McCain's opinion.

But John McCain went out of his way to prop up his political enemies, and to deliberately and specifically attack and degrade figures in his own party. It's not nearly the first time he has trashed other Republicans in order to show off his hubris, and it was totally uncalled for.

It was classless, it was stupid, and it will cost McCain.

McCain is just like Dole. DOle looked real good this early in 1996.

No, this blog post is stupid. McCain's response was smart and classy, and it will serve him well. It may cost him with a few whiney conservatives---but only a few who already hated him anyway.

Speaking of stupid, Mr. Christopher now says he is throwing his support to Hillary. With conservatives like this around, who needs liberals?

Here is the proper way to mock Barack Obama.

TYLER, Texas (AP) _ Republican presidential hopeful John McCain mocked Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday for he saying he would take action as president ''if al-Qaida is forming a base in Iraq.''

''When you examine that statement, it's pretty remarkable,'' McCain told a crowd in Tyler, Texas.

''I have some news. Al-Qaida is in Iraq. It's called 'al-Qaida in Iraq,''' McCain said, drawing laughter at Obama's expense.

So, McCain refuses to be associated with people who are engaging in classless, juvenile attacks on Obama, and that's somehow wrong?

Breaking News!

"Apparently, Politics Is Beanbag After All!"

Here's some advice, Senator McCain: Grow a pair you can use between now and November.

DJ,

Help me get this straight.

Are you saying John McCain should not be more hateful in his speeches but let his supporters do the hate speech for him and then not repudiate them? Is that the point you're trying to make?

No NC, I am saying that McCain should not be so worried about offending political opponents, and he should be quite a bit more thoughtful about support he needs from all Republicans.

How long before supporters of Obama start saying McCain is too old? Do you think Obama will distance himself from those people? How soon before Obama's people inform us about the Keating 5? Will Obama distance himself from these attacks? Just a matter of time before the lefties go after McCain and I bet Obama will either half heatedly distance himself or not at all. Lefties are classless. ww

Bottom line is Mr. Obama will win the Democratic nomination. The Middle of road Democrats that we're for Hillary, along with a plethora of Reagan Democrats, will see McCain as middle of the road, thereby insuring a Republican (Rino) succeeds to the highest office in this country.

God save us all!

It's not a matter of offending political opponents. It is about offending members of the squishy center who, like it or not, must vote in reasonable numbers for McCain for him to win.

Did he go back in time and wipe out those comments? Didn't think so. Ever heard the phrase "I withdraw the question" on Law & Order or in real life? This is the way this election will play out: Bam Bam will get gutted by some anonymous 527 and McCain will come out and denounce them for it. The gutting will a long and happy life on YouTube and in emails and in whsiper campaigns and robo-calls, all of which will be denounced by McCain. He comes across and principled for standing up to the bullies, wins more votes from the center. If the right doesn't desert him like a bunch of whiny little shites who complain that the free beer they've been given isn't completely full he'll win with 60% of the vote and the Democrats will tear themselves apart as the adults in the party lash out at the Obamanacs. if we're lucky the party splits between those who feel Bam Bam wasn't far enough to the left, the conspiracy theorists who will go their graves swearing that McCain personally re-programmed hundreds of thousands of voting machines and the adults who realize what a chance they blew by nominating a dirty Chicago politician without a single cradit to his name save his hatred of America.

Yes, you can call me run-on if you like.

That's not the name which fits, actually. 'Swanny' seems to be a name used to describe someone suffering from Stage IV Oral Cholera.

This is John McCain's presidential campaign, not anyone else's. He has the right to run it as he sees fit. If he wants to elevate the sickening process of running for president to a more dignified level, I loudly applaud him.

Obama is a socialist tool but he didn't pick his middle name.

I don't always agree with John McCain but I sure do on this one.