Sunday, February 10, 2008

My Final Thoughts On John McCain

In nine more months Americans will be presented with the opportunity to choose a new president to take over. This new president will have the daunting task of repairing the damage done to our country after the eight year reign of the Bush administration. There is much work to be done if America is to change directions and return to a path of limited government and fiscal responsibility.

The field of candidates on the side of the Democrats is down to two contenders and has yet to be decided. However eventually we will have either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama to choose from for the Democratic candidate. Mitt Romney has dropped out, Mike Huckabee is still in it but trailing John McCain, while Ron Paul has systematically been ignored and ridiculed by the media, it appears that John McCain is going to be the Republican candidate. Not much of a choice no matter how you look at it.

It appears for those who call themselves conservatives, or Republicans, Americans will most likely do what of late been forced to do, hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils. Before they do that and cast a vote for John McCain just so Hillary doesn't make it to the Oval Office, I would like for you to consider a few things about John McCain.

First of all, there is some question as to his eligibility to even become president of the United States. John McCain was born on August 29, 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone. Therefore does he or doesn't he meet the qualifications as outlined in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution which states,

"No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States. "

The history of that clause dates back to a letter written to George Washington by John Jay, in which Jay stated,

"Permit me to hint, whether it would be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government; and to declare expressly that the Commander in Chief of the American army shall not be given to nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen."

According to the United States State Department

"Birth Abroad to Two U.S. Citizen Parents in Wedlock: A child born abroad to two U.S. citizen parents acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under section 301(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). One of the parents MUST have resided in the U.S. prior to the child's birth. No specific period of time for such prior residence is required."

http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html

However there is still some doubt as to whether a person born overseas to American citizens is considered naturalized or a citizen by birth. In an article in the International Herald Tribune in June of 2004, there was an article concerning this topic. In it the Tribune stated,

"The constitutional wording has left doubts about whether those born on foreign soil are on an equal footing with those whose birth occurred inside the country's borders, and whether they have the same rights."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/06/02/expats_ed3_.php

I received the following information in an e mail and it leaves the question unanswered as to whether John McCain is eligible, according to U.S. law, to become president of the United States.

"I am the son of a United States serviceman who was born abroad. The documents that I have which pertain to my birth are a “Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America”, as well as a birth certificate issued by the country in which I was born. My Father was very diligent in making sure that all the appropriate steps were taken to ensure that my American citizenship would not be in doubt and had me Naturalized as well. I have always understood that I could claim citizenship in the country where I was born but I have chosen not do so. My parents and I moved from there back to the United States before I was old enough to remember anything and it hasn’t meant too much more to me than a historical footnote. However, it is an important footnote. I mention all of this because it was made clear to me as a young boy growing up that I was ineligible to be President because I was not a “natural born citizen” of the United States. In other words, only people who had actually been born within the boundaries of the United States of America were eligible to run for President. Conversations I had with other people at various times who were also the children of United States servicemen who had been born abroad showed me that they had been given the same information."

I am not stating one way or the other that Senator McCain cannot be president, just proposing that the issue has never been fully settled. With the last two debacles of a presidential election, it would be quite an embarrassment if America was to elect a president and it was later found that he was not eligible to become president in the first place.

Senator McCain is also out of touch with Americans in regards to the war in Iraq. This could play a pivotal role in whether he wins or loses. His steadfast commitment to a continued American presence in Iraq is in opposition to the majority of Americans, and the Democratic candidates as well.

John McCain has made it clear that he supported the troop surge as proposed by General David Petraeus. John McCain has stated that we will stay in Iraq so that terrorists cannot ‘follow us home’. John McCain has stated it is conceivable that we could remain in Iraq for a hundred years. Under four years of a McCain presidency we would see the current cost of the Iraq War go another $368 billion to a total of $831 billion.

I hate to cover old ground, but for those who would do the research, we have been lied to about the War in Iraq from the beginning. Iraq posed not serious threat to the United States. They were not capable of launching an attack upon us, they had nothing to do with the attacks of 9/11, irregardless of whether Saddam Hussein’s government had been in touch with members of Al Qaeda or not.

As Ron Paul stated in every debate, George Bush campaigned on a platform of no nation building, after the continued war efforts of the Clinton administration in Yugoslavia. As soon as Bush took office his Vice President brought in eight neocons who had been in favor of regime change in Iraq since 1996.

Vice President Cheney had surrounded himself, and therefore President Bush as well, with members of the PNAC, the Project for the New American Century. The PNAC “is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; and that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle.”

The PNAC “intends, through issue briefs, research papers, advocacy journalism, conferences, and seminars, to explain what American world leadership entails. It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world.”

The Chairman of the PNAC is none other than William Kristol, the current editor of the Weekly Standard. Kristol has also often attended Bilderberg group conferences.

In 1996 members of the PNAC wrote a report entitled Clean Break, delivered to the Prime Minister of Israel by Richard Perle, which outlined reasons why the PNAC thought it was in Israel’s best interests to have Saddam Hussein removed from power.

http://zfacts.com/p/89.html

In 1997 the PNAC submitted a letter to the Clinton administration stating,

“Turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. ... including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf."

http://zfacts.com/p/775.html

The War in Iraq never had anything to do with 9/11, it had been fought for and planned for years by the proponents of regime change in Iraq. And John McCain wishes to continue this war, which the American people have been lied to about and now want ended.

Senator McCain also claims to be a war hero. The same group who rallied together to shatter the candidacy of John Kerry and his war record are now gearing up to do the same to John McCain. A group entitled Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain has a webpage full of information that sheds light upon Senator McCain’s time in the service and time served as POW.

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/

From a previous article I wrote on John McCain I would like to provide the following for you to consider regarding missing POW‘s who may still be alive and held in captivity in Vietnam.

In 1973 the State Department stated that data showed the prisoner list to be starkly incomplete. Only nine of the 591 returnees came out of Laos although experts in military intelligence listed 311 men as missing in that country. Yet on March 29, 1973 President Nixon proclaimed that ‘all our American POW’s are on their way home.’ That discrepancy has never been explained.

As a former POW, you would think that Senator McCain would want to do all that he could to settle this dispute once and for all. In 1989 the House of Representatives introduced a measure entitled ‘The Truth Bill’. This simple legislation stated, “[The] head of each department or agency which holds or receives any records and information, including live-sighting reports, which have been correlated or possibly correlated to United States personnel listed as prisoner of war or missing in action from World War II, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam conflict shall make available to the public all such records and information held or received by that department or agency. In addition, the Department of Defense shall make available to the public with its records and information a complete listing of United States personnel classified as prisoner of war, missing in action, or killed in action (body not returned) from World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam conflict.”

Opposed by the Pentagon, The Truth Bill got nowhere. In 1991 it was reintroduced again, and once again was stymied. Then out of the blue, in the Senate comes a bill written by Senator John McCain came a new piece of legislation bearing his name alone, ‘The McCain Bill’. This legislation created a bureaucratic nightmare that made sure only a handful of the available documents would ever see the light of day. It miraculously passed and became law. Now the Pentagon is not required to inform the public when it receives intelligence stating that Americans are still alive and held in captivity.

You would think that a man who spent 5-1/2 years as a POW would do all that was within his power to ensure that any and all remaining POW’s were brought home, not abandoned by their country, especially by an elected official who at one time was among their ranks.

Also John McCain has a history of being a hothead with a violent temper. We all know about his F--- You escapades in the halls of the Senate. But is everyone aware of how far back and how extensive his temper was?

From early in his life John McCain had a nasty temper. As a toddler if he didn’t get what he wanted he would hold his breath until he passed out. While in military school his academic scores and his disciplinary problems led to his graduating 5th from the bottom of his class. As a naval aviator he was reckless and irresponsible. While stationed in Spain he was flying so low to the ground that he became entangled in power lines that caused a power outage for part of Spain and causing the loss of one out of five planes he was responsible for losing.

According to an interview with Esquire’s Charles Pierce, McCain said, "I enjoyed shooting rockets and dropping bombs and shooting off guns," "Nobody in their right mind wouldn't enjoy that. . . . You're a young, single guy, and you go out and you fly for a couple of weeks, then you come in for a week and carouse . . . Nobody deserves to get paid for that."

Do you really want to elect a reckless hothead who enjoys shooting rockets and dropping bombs to the White House? How much would it take to light his fuse to the point where he would order military strikes on Iran?

Finally, John McCain has a history of disregarding our nations laws as to illegal immigration. He claims to be a changed man, stating in a recent debate that he knows what the American people want. He also stated, “We will secure the borders first when I am president of the United States. I know how to do that. I come from a border state, where we know about building walls, and vehicle barriers, and sensors, and all of the things necessary.”

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/30/se.01.html

As being a Senator from a border state since 1987 John McCain has had ample time to hear the voices of the his constituents, American people. Do you honestly think he is going to do what needs to be done to address the issue of illegal immigration?

Senator McCain may be listed as being a Republican and many Republicans may be willing to hold their noses and vote for him just so that Hillary or Barack do not get elected. They would be choosing from two equal forms of evil. I intend to vote for Ron Paul whether he gets the GOP nomination or not. I will write in his name come the general election if I have to. I will carve it in the screen of the Diebold voting machine if I have to, but Ron Paul is going to get my vote in November. If enough people finally decided that the lesser of two evils just isn’t good enough anymore and wrote in Ron Paul’s name, Ron Paul WOULD BE our next president. It is only a matter of the people of this country having the courage to stand for true change or to stand behind their party no matter how rotten the stench of their deceit is.

4 comments:

The Zombieslayer said...

Neal - I'm glad you posted this. I won't vote for McCain. I posted why on my blog. I don't trust him. I can't stand him. He wiff-waffs issues as much as Al Gore. Anywhere the wind blows (or I should say polls go).

He is not a conservative. He will not protect our borders, and he cannot be trusted.

neal said...

It is not just his waffling on the issues that bothers me. I can't stand the hypocrisy of his claiming to be this big war hero and then slamming the door on the chance of any POW's who might still be over there. I don't like the fact that there is a possibility of his collaberation with the enemy during the Vietnam War. And I particularly don't like the fact that he has been a U.S. Senator for 20 something years and now suddenly realizes what the people want in regards to immigration.

He just pisses me off. Too bad he wasn't one of the few that got left behind in Nam.

There are even conspiracy theories of his being a so called Manchurian Candidate, but I don't want to go into speculation. I just stuck with facts.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating article! McCain looks like a mental giant and a saint next to Bush. Unlike most republicans, he understands there is a serious problem with global warming. He is not hate motivated like most in his party. Having said that if he, Clinton or Obama are elected nothing will be done about manufacturing and our wealth being transfered to China so all three would continue the rapid demise of our nation. McCain will try to protect our borders not because he believes in it but because public opinion has pushed him to do so. Clinton and Obama will do nothing about this problem. For illegals now here, he would push amnesty against the will of the American people.
A third party is the only solution .

neal said...

McCain may appear to be a mental giant compared to Bush, but Bush had Rove and Cheney telling him what to do. Rove is gone, but Cheney is still around pulling Bushes strings.

As for McCain, while only he and his captors truly know what happened while he was in captivity, I have too many unanswered questions to get a warm fuzzy feeling about his patriotism while a POW. Besides, he slammed the door shut on us ever finding out if there are any POW's left, so that really pissed me off.

Plus the bastard had all those years as a Senator to hear the voices of the American people in regards to illegal immigration. Why did he suddenly hear them? Ear wax problem maybe?

I don't trust him as far as I could throw him.