How to Beat a Rock Star: ‘Substance.’

I have a lot of respect for Senator John McCain, but I don't think he can stop the movement. I think that John McCain is playing catch up now, starting with his imitation of Senator Obama rhetoric, "A leadership we can believe in". At the end of the day I hope that McCain go back in the senate and continue to work with Democrates and Republicans on that level. For I know President Obama will need him to work on bipartisan bills to deliver his promise of change.

An Antiquated World View - Besides the age of McCains body -- it's also the age of his ideas which are antiquated. Like George W. Bush, he operates from a belief that America is infallible, that might makes right, and that anyone who doesn't agree with us is not only wrong - but our enemy. Here at home, he believes in the same trickle down economic policies that have been failing the middle class and escalating our national debt since the early 1980's.

Coziness with Lobbyists - We all know that McCain likes to tout himself as a "maverick." But the truth is, McCain was forced to reinvent himself as a "maverick" because he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He was one of five Senators investigated for corruption in the Keating scandal of 1989, in which it was alleged that (in return for money and other favors) McCain sought to have the government ease off its investigation of savings and loan chairman Charles Keating. You'd think he would've learned from this political near-death experience, but as we saw in his snuggly friendship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman, and the recent purging of lobbyists from his campaign (there are still over 100 of them running it), he's learned nothing.

Lack of Support for Our Troops - McCain knows firsthand the sacrifices made by our troops and their families, yet he won't he support the G.I. Bill -- which was co-sponsored by his Republican ally, John Warner, and which would dramatically expand educational benefits for our soldiers. And why doesn't he support it? Because the benefits are so good, the military is worried that too many soldiers will leave active duty to get their degrees. So there you have it -- John McCain's policy on supporting our men and women in uniform: "They deserve the very best, just as long as it's not TOO good -- and assuming we don't have to raise taxes to pay for it.

Excruciating Hypocrisy - McCain delivered the green speech near New Orleans, and in it, he took the Bush administration to task for their failure to respond to Katrina. Do you know where John McCain was when Katrina made landfall? He was standing on a tarmac in Arizona, receiving a birthday cake from his friend George W. Bush.

Does substance mean voting 95% of the time with the Bush Administration?

Substance, what substance?

In the first session of the 110th Congress (2007), McCain holds the dubious honor of missing, by a wide margin, more votes than any other Senator save one. The only one who missed more? That would be Senator Tim Johnson, who was recovering from a brain hemorrhage.

The Washington Post has a database that tracks vote missed in the Senate. McCain missed a whopping 261 of 468 votes, about 56%. And it not because he wasn't there in the building. He refuses to vote on any bill that is controversial or that he might be criticized for. Consequently, he votes on almost all of the silly votes (like "Name a Daisy Day") but fails to be in the room when really important stuff is going down, like votes concerning the war in Iraq. Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader became so angry with McCain about this that he took him task for it right on the Senate floor, saying "Senator McCain has spent considerable time defending the President on Iraq, but has only managed to show up for four of the last fourteen Iraq votes."

In case you think I made that up, I will give you a reference: "McCain Missed Votes on Iraq Triggers Reid Rebuke" published in The Hill, May 17, 2007.

You may be asking why would McCain not want to vote on Iraq? Because he already knew then that he would be running for President, and he knew the war was increasingly unpopular, and he didn't want the Democrats to be able to point to his record and say "Look how he votes on Iraq."

McCain has also missed important votes on national security, funding of law enforcement, equipment for firefighters, and of course, his most recent no-show, on giving veterans the GI Bill. In fact, McCain misses more than half of his votes.

There are probably lots of voters who don't think rock stardom qualifies one to be president.