Union Leader: "John McCain is the man to lead America"

By: Lowell
Published On: 12/2/2007 7:59:14 AM

Usually, I don't think newspaper endorsements matter particularly much, but this one could:

Competence, courage, and conviction are enormously important for our next President to possess. No one has a better understanding of U.S. interests and dangers right now than does McCain. He was right on the mistakes made by the Bush administration in prosecuting the Islamic terrorist war in Iraq and he is being proved right on the way forward both there and worldwide.

[...]

John McCain is the man to lead America.

This comes from the conservative Manchester Union Leader, which has clout among New Hampshire conservatives.  We'll see if it does the trick for John McCain or not.

By the way, I'm obviously not a conservative, but I do have great respect for John McCain.  Heck, I even gave money to John McCain back in 2000 (I loved his "straight talk" and reform agenda), but since then, I have been very disappointed as McCain has (literally and figuratively) embraced George W. Bush.  That's inexcusable.  Having said that, John McCain is the only one of the Republican candidates right with whom I'd feel even semi-comfortable in the White House.  

Other Republicans?  Ugh.  Mitt Romney is the slipperiest of slippery politicians with no fixed principles. The guy will say anything at all to get elected, even if it contradicts everything he stood for just a few years earlier.  Rudy Giuliani is a corrupt, authoritarian, torture-loving thug.  As if that's not bad enough, Giuliani profited handsomely off of 9/11, despite the fact that NY City's first responders hate him.  Case closed.  Fred Thompson is lazy and half asleep.  Go back to acting!  Lastly, I admit I'm intrigued by Mike Huckabee.  Unfortunately, Huckabee doesn't believe in evolution, is far too willing to cross the church-state separation line, and has some ethical questions hanging over him as well. Which leaves, of the candidates with any chance, John McCain.  We'll see if he can pull off an upset in New Hampshire.

{UPDATE:  Read more on the Union Leader endorsement here.}

Comments



McCain (Gordie - 12/2/2007 9:13:44 AM)
lost all credibility when he endorsed Bush.
Nothing surprises me after seeing him nearly cry in 2000 in a debate in SC after the attacks by the Bush campaign.


I guess what I'm saying is that McCain is the (Lowell - 12/2/2007 9:28:56 AM)
least bad of the Republican candidates.  Not saying much, I know, but people like Giuliani and Romney make me ill.


I don't know... (Hugo Estrada - 12/2/2007 11:25:02 AM)
His straight talk express became the train wreck express, and what has been been wrecked is his character. It almost looks like his campaign purposefully went out of their way to destroy it. McCain got his legitimacy by being a Bush critic. When he began to openly endorse practically everything that Bush stands for, he lost the millions who admired him.

He lost me, and I voted for him in the California primaries.



I was a McCain fan, too, in 1999-2000 (PM - 12/2/2007 6:42:09 PM)
Hanging around in the public arena is not good for some people -- their true colors show.  I felt betrayed by McCain.

Incidentally, one person who isn't helping Giuliani now -- Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend.  http://www.nydailynews.com/new...

Unlike her predecessor as mayoral girlfriend, Mike Bloomberg's gal pal, investment banker Diana Taylor, has never had a separate police protection detail.

Taylor, 52, takes the bus every day to her midtown office and rides the subway to business appointments. In the six years Taylor and Bloomberg have lived together, she said she has never had reason to want or need personal NYPD security.  "I don't have security in Bogota or Nairobi or Moscow when I travel there on business, why would I need security in the safest city in the world?"

Anyone think the GOP convention will be deadlocked, and someone like Bloomberg will get the call?  And his friend, Ms. Taylor, looks like a First Lady.  Actually, she looks presidential.



Campaign Finance Reform (oldsoldier - 12/2/2007 8:33:41 PM)
I crossed over in the 2000 republican primary to vote for McCain on this single issue.  I still think it is the most important issue facing Americans today because solutions to all other issues are being bought and paid for by special interests against the general interest. Whatever happens on the Economy, the wars, social security, human rights, etc.  will be determined by politicians who owe people who want them to vote against the general interest, else why have we seen the Democratic controlled Senate moan they won't dare the republicans to filibuster and allow the chickenhawk-in-chief to "DEMAND" money "for the troops" without making their own demand to get Jim Webb's Truman style commission underway to find out WHO actually GOT the money that has previously been borrowed from Communist China "for the troops."
Major point on that:  didn't our impotent democrats deny the commission subpoena power and require all subpoena's to be approved by democratic committee fiefdoms?  Unless you rode into supporting our democratic party on a turnip truck, don't you want to know why?

My guess is, just like the media doesn't want to offend its owners and advertisers, even democrats in Congress are not going to give subpoena power to a commission that may offend major contributors who may be served with a subpoena should the commission deem it necessary.

Campaign Finance Reform, folks.  Ain't nothin' more important in America today and ain't nobody who CAN get it passed into law wanting to pass it into law.



Poor McCain (tx2vadem - 12/3/2007 1:59:20 AM)
This used to be his nomination to lose.  And then it all went South.  He'll never make it back now.  Romney and Giuliani have too much money.  And despite his cozying up to the religious right that still has not managed to gain their favor.  Republicans have never seemed to like him that much (outside his home state anyway).

I can't even remember what was even said on the "Straight Talk" Express.  The media was too busy fawning over George W. Bush.  Much to my surprise, the job of governor in the state of Texas is an addition to your political resume.  I had always been under the impression that Texas's constitution gives the governor only the power to cut ribbons and suggest a budget (which in reality the Lt. Governor drafts the real one).  But apparently all that time looking pretty, cutting ribbons, and laughing at appeals for commuting the death sentence counted as "executive" experience.  Who knew?  It's odd that some of the same people think that Obama's resume is not long enough.