Can we say it now?

[busymom]

John McCain is not the devil...he was/is an American hero.

I might not have agreed with his politics, but I hated hearing the smears against him.

[Left Is Write]

1. I hated hearing the smears against Obama.

John McCain made his own bed.

[hisownpetard]

7. I'm with you!

[sandnsea]

2. He ran an evil campaign

That had absolutely nothing to do with his politics. That remains a fact - not a smear.

[Deep13]

3. I agree.

He does not deserve his cesspool of a party.

[chimpymustgo]

4. Sorry. He ran a vicious, scurrilous, lying campaign. No can do.

[SoonerPride]

5. He is a fraud.

Read the Rolling Stone expose.

His persona is a lie.

The real McSlime was exposed during this campaign.

He is not an honorable man.

Never was.

And he was a bad pilot wo crashed another plane last night.

[Renew Deal]

6. How much did you hate it? Did you hate it more than his smears against Obama?

[Avalux]

8. John McCain is a very selfish man. He is responsible for the smears against Obama.

An American hero?

Picked a freak as his VP and allowed her and others to commit character assassination against Obama.

He did this to become president, perhaps knowing it was wrong, certainly knowing it was devisive (even dangerous) and not good for the country.

He didn't put the country first as he always claims to do.

[StreetKnowledge]

37. This is true.

But how many of those smears were his idea? I'd wager none. The Republican base proved many times there are way too many psychotic fuckups in their midst. McCain never had any sway with the religious righties, which is why we got Sarah Palin. He probably did know it was wrong, but do you really think that he could stop the Caribou Barbie? When did she ever listen to him?

McCain is not really our type of man, but he's a far better one than most of the Karl Rove era GOP, who much of America and indeed much of the world thinks are a bunch of fear-homgering, hate-mongering, lying, hypocritical, corrupt morons who have no business running a lemonade stand, let alone the world's most powerful nation. But now, I think that the GOP's rational people - and McCain is one of these - will force changes inside the GOP, force them to take a real conservative agenda, not a neocon one.

[Avalux]

47. He was not in control of his campaign or his VP and I fault him for that.

I fault him for allowing those in his campaign to do and say horrible things. What if he had become president? Imagine the WH?

I doubt McCain can force changes in the GOP at this point; they will not listen to him anymore.

I may change my mind about my feelings for the man given some time but for now, I am not yet ready to forgive.

[blondeatlast]

What part of "I'm John Mccain and I approved this message" do you need explained? nt

[blondeatlast]

53. What part of "I'm John Mccain and I approved this message" do you need explained? nt

[frogcycle]

9. I'd have hated them too, if he had not started the shitfest

and NO smear against him came anywhere close to the stuff thrown out by his people.

[leftofcool]

10. Probably not. All leaders who served in Vietnam have

been disparaged by one party or the other, Cleland, Kerry, McCain. We did to McCain exactly what the repukes did to Kerry.

[busymom]

And that was wrong too. Two wrongs don't make a right, btw.

[leftofcool]

20. Too bad we have become what we most hate

[TornadoTN]

25. What did we do to him that had anything to do with his Vietnam service?

Sure, there were cracks against him for crashing five planes, but I don't recall many - if any - lambasting him for what happened in Vietnam. There were a lot of people in his same position in Vietnam and they have been largely forgotten, some endured worse fates than McCain.

No one questioned his service in the military when it came down to it. He served.

[leftofcool]

40. You really ought to go back and re-read some of those posts

My favorite was the one where one DUer said "maybe he should have been killed by the Vietnamese instead of just being tortured."

[TornadoTN]

42. Well, that's sickening - but a very small minority of the people here

Don't let a few people skew your entire perspective of the community at large.

[hisownpetard]

11. With Obama as President, you'll have the right to voice your dissenting opinion.

Even if you're wrong, like on this one.

[Maven]

12. No, not really.

[busymom]

13. Oh, please...there was enough mudslinging to go around from

both sides. We all know that! :shrug: In case you missed the last several elections, it is par for the political course.

[Lars39]

18. You're honestly saying that Obama's campaign was as sleazy as McCain's?

[SoonerPride]

19. He is a fraud.

Period.

[CatBO]

23. OK I call BS with this one.

If you want to support and honor a hateful racist, and you can live with such moral bankruptcy, then that is for you to live with. As for me, I will not join you in honoring and appreciating hate.

[stillcool]

43. Mudslinging from both sides?

I guess trying to tear a country apart to win an election doesn't really matter. What does?

[Doityourself]

14. Fail! He's a fraud!

[CatBO]

15. Sorry, I disagree.

He is no hero. He brought shame and dishonor to himself and to America. He has no reputation left to tarnish and he will go down as the guy who incompetently ran the ugliest, meanest, nastiest, most racist, vile, bitter, divisive campaign in America. I cannot wait for the day when I never hear his name or think of him again.

[No Elephants]

16. Smear? You mean telling the truth about what he himself said, did and allowed? How is that a smear

[Shakespeare]

21. Seconded. He's no hero, and he ran a completely dishonorable campaign. n/t

[TornadoTN]

17. How is he an American hero?

That's what I don't get. We've watered down the meaning and significance of the word "hero" by giving it to anyone and everyone, while the real heroes of the world get overlooked or taken for granted.

Besides, anything noteworthy the man ever did is overshadowed by what he has done during this campaign. The hate, the negativity, the vile and hateful rhetoric - "That One". Too much for me to forgive right away, but one day I might. But calling him a hero? No way.

[marylanddem]

22. I don't believe in the devil, but McCain is a slimeball who

conducted a reprehensible smear campaign. He picked a vice-presidential candidate who was totally unqualified, jeopardizing the future of the nation he professes to love. He is a sorry piece of work & it is gratifying as hell to see him squashed like the bloated tick he is.

[lonestarnot]

24. Ack sucking up already. hugh ugh not me!

[ipfilter]

26. Every time someone called him on

his bullshit campaign he would say "it's been a tough campaign". He knew he was full of shit and used that line. He is a sellout to the ultra right wing and deserves to be remembered for his hate filled campaign.

[lumberjack_jeff]

His campaign was anything but heroic.

His campaign damaged my country.

My new president wants me to take the high road, so I'll do what I can, but if any harm comes to him because of the evil campaign the RNC ran, all bets are off.

[arcadian]

27. I don't consider bombing innocent civilians to be "war heroing"

sorry charlie

[bunnies]

28. You can call him a hero if you want to.

But he's sure as hell not a hero in my book.

[4_Legs_Good]

29. Agreed, he just played himself as the Devil for the last year

His own fault that he looked that way to us.

David

[NatBurner]

30. computer says 'noooo'

[SalviaBlue]

31. I don't consider him a hero. nt

[Arrowhead2k1]

32. Give me a break. I ain't about to get lubby dubby with that Rethug fear monger.

He and Palin ran a most dishonorable campaign which has stirred up an enormous amount of ignorant hate towards the next president of the United States. We might still be seeing the consequences of his racial insinuations for years to come.

Bottom line, FUCK MCCAIN!

[grantcart]

33. Yours is a generous post but John McCain is a lot more complex than that

John McCain became a POW because of nepotism. He didn't deserve to go to the academy and he didn't desrve to graduate. He didn't deserve to continue to be cleared for flying after crashing 3 planes. No other pilot without his last name has ever done so.

It was his interest on banking on his father and grandfather's history and taking the path of least resistance that got him in the cockpit that fatal day that ended up in a Hanoi POW camp.

Having said that, his suffering for his country was substantial and real. He was beaten and he did suffer an extended time (not 5 years) of excruciating rope torture by experts.

Whether or not he is a hero will be now held in the balance. Was his earlier principled stands the real McCain or was he simply being a gadfly. If he now stands up and fights aggressively for immigration reform that would be a good sign.

Now if he really wants to be a hero stand up on a truely unpopular issue like equality in marriage (like Goldwater did), or for equality in the military and he will have earned the term 'maverick' and he will indeed be a hero.

Having said that the reflexive smears against him and 'all Republicans' are silly and offensive and you deserve credit for this OP which I am guessing will be met with a lot of contrary opinions.

[Lerkfish]

34. um...no, he ran the most slanderous and hatefilled campaign ever

if he claims others made those decisions, then he's admitting he was not in control of his own campaign.
either way, he dangerously stoked up the heat on bigotry and hatred and violence to just get more votes.


I have no good feelings towards him after all this. One speech will not undo all that damage.

[demokatgurrl]

35. He was, arguably, a WAR hero

he enjoyed a long tenure in the Senate. He even worked on some good things.

But when he began this campaign, he did turn into a devil-like person. His ambition got the best of him and he set aside his principles (whatever they were), his code of honor, his class.... and got down into the gutter with Rove and his ilk.

No tears, not one, no sympathy and I HOPE AND PRAY he loses his Senate seat.

Fuck John McCain and the pit bull he rode in on.

[stillcool]

36. I don't know what he was...

but he had no problem trying to divide a nation to win an election. I emailed him several times asking him to stop. I have not heard any 'smears' against him, unless you are referring to the truth as a smear.

[azmouse]

38. A decent human being wouldn't have said and done the things he did.

[Overseas]

39. No we cannot say it now. A hero's image is tarnished when he condones vicious slander

such as that his campaign engaged in.

A hero's image is tarnished when he tosses out the country's interests to have a competent VP and puts in an unqualified candidate just to help his own numbers.

I could do a whole series of "a hero's image is tarnished when..." such as McShame's votes on veterans' benefits.

[Overseas]

45. And the Obama team never used LIES in their ads. They hit McShame POLICIES and PLANS

The Obama team ads attacked McShame POLICIES and PLANS, like McShame's plan to tax medical benefits, but they did not use personal smears.

Even if I would have been tempted to go eye-for-an-eye, the Obama team restrained themselves.

They did not call McShame a hypocritical adulterer who was born in Panama

they didn't tell the public that Johnny dumped his first wife after she got fat from her auto accident in order to marry the pretty heiress with whom he had been having an affair for several months

they didn't tell the public about Johnny's efforts to cover up poor Cindy's prescription drug stealing

============

No, Senator Obama's campaign team didn't use that kind of slime and tried actively to discourage such activities.

BUT JOHNNY SAID HE WAS PROUD OF ALL HIS FOLLOWERS-- even after elder statesman of the Civil Rights Movement, John Lewis, warned him about the danger of stirring up hatred as a campaign tool.

[Skittles]

41. he destroyed himself by hitching his star on bush

he can rot in hell

[hedgehog]

44. Uh-uh - he risked making Sarah Palin President just to advance

his own ambitions. Country first? Absolutely not!

[codjh9]

46. NO. He gave a great speech last night, but his campaign, and VP choice, were the lowest of the low.

[Two Americas]

48. I am OK with that

McCain, unlike Palin, seemed genuinely surprised and uncomfortable with the ugliness and hatred that was unleashed among his supporters. I can't be certain about that, but that is my sense.

The relentless attacks on him for his age were disturbing.

[busymom]

50. The attacks against McCain here and in the media were disturbing

and they went well beyond what was said against Obama.

And fwiw, I would never have made Obama responsible for all of the one foot in the grave nastiness that came out.

Just because I don't support a candidate does not mean that I can't have respect for them in their own right. The world is not black and white (and I'm not referring to race).

[Lerkfish]

52. in all politeness, are you insane?

what was said against MCCain went well beyond what was said against Obama?

are you FRICKIN SERIOUS?

you are delusional. Or a liar. No middle ground.

[PresidentObama]

49. He ran a horribly desperate campaign. With that said, he has a chance to be a part of history.

If his "Country First" line was correct, he'll put his differences aside and get to work with President Obama.

Time will tell. His speech was very gracious.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

51. John McCain is human scum.

Stop putting lipstick on a pig.

[jonnyblitz]

54. hey busymom! read the rolling stone article, "make believe

maverick" about McCain. I am a military vet who is NOT impressed with the myth of "american hero" McCain. check this out :hi::

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print

[JetCityLiberal]

55. McCain is pure slime

You diss Jesse Jackson and praise this lying miserable adultering scumbag?

There is nothing heroic about him...jesus this is sickening.

What is with YOU????

[Generator]

56. You despise Jesse Jackson and love John McCain

I see a pattern. McCain forgiven, Jackson reviled. No logic there.

[happychatter]

58. good catch

[TheKentuckian]

57. What smears? Be very specific

The truth is not smears and a 72 year old with dicey health has to be accountable for risking the entire future of the country by putting forward an extremist, shady, and intellectually bankrupt VP for no other reason than an effort to win.

Get real. The reason you think some of the attacks were tough because they happen to be a sensitive area because Communist, terrorist, anti-American, assigning religion, not a citizen, baby killer, and all the garbage coming from the Reich went beyond the bounds.

I'd also remind you that the number one group of people concerned with McCain's age had that in common with him.

If you think McCain's a hero...FINE but I think you have a low bar for such designations and have elected to use that low bar to bash people for not rolling over and letting the criminals run the country into the ground, maybe forever.

[bushisanidiot]

59. Bullshit! He is a hate-monger who encouraged lies to spread far and wide about

Obama. He did NOTHING to stop the ayers or wright ads!!

He said NOTHING about Ashley Todd or the white supremists who threatened President Obama's life.

He encouraged boo'ing and hatred at every rally.

His negativity is what brought him down. If was a decent, christian man, he would not have run the campaign that he chose to run!!