No Ordinary Joe

I am a Viet Nam Vet. My sons are and have served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Korea. I am tired of people confusing patriotism for political blunders. The Bush/Cheney regime know that Americans would do that. They were banking on it as the scammed this great nation out of billions in contract on the blood of our brave fighting forces. WAKE UP! We need people at the helm who are not beholden to the money mill called Washington, DC. John McCain's war record is no more honorable or notable than the thousands of fighting men and women whose live are lost because of the lies concerning Iraq's intentions and capacity to threated the United States.

No one person can change everything in a nation as diverse and complex as ours, but at least we are sincerely being offered a seat at the table. A table that regular Americans have been banned from for eight years. So John McCain and his so-called "straight talk express" can rush itself out of my face. I have heard enough about who has inherited the "right" to be president because of some limited and convenient interpretation of patriotism. Let's, in this land of oppotunity, give Obama and opportunity to offer a more inclusive, open, globally savvy and peace leaning government. After 8 years, anybody trumpeting the Bush plan has got to be on some really bad drugs, Like Oxicoton [sic]. Are we going to let racial bias, party blinders and fear of change stop us from having any kind of a shift toward progress in this country?

Forget about the John Wayne images that McCain rhetoric evoke. That was a time when we were told that Native Americans were blood thirsty savages, blacks were only good to shine our shoes and woman were only show pieces for a man's lust. Who's still there?

Picking Biden proves the point the Obama needs all the help he can get. I am no fan of McCain, but Obama needs to gain experience on his own, not use the knowledge base of a VP. I wish him luck but I believe it's goint to backfire on the Democrats.

Sealteamo,

Thanks for you post at 11:59.

I hope more and more vets, especially from Vietnam, speak out to expose McCain for the fraud that he is.

I respect that McCain showed integrity when he was a POW..but the fact is that he would never have been a POW if his father and grandfather hadn't both been admirals because no one with his grades would have gotten into the US Naval Academy much less graduated at the very bottom of the class and still got into flight training.

What you said was especially profound because McCain clocked a total of 20 hours of combat flight time up to and including the flight were he was shot down. He was awarded 28 medals for his service. That adds up to about 1 1/2 medals for every hour of time he actually spent in combat.

Then there are people like you and my brother who spent months and even years on the ground in conditions that were just, if not more hellish, than the Hanoi Hilton...who probably have little more than their veterans health benefits as a reward for their sacrifices.

Anyone who has been a veterans hospital knows how understaffed and underfunded they are, .especially now that Bush had caused tens of thousands more casualties who will need some type of care for their entire lives.

And McCain hasn't been the champion of vets that most people would expect of someone who wears his POW status on his sleeve.

McCain is another Bush..he's skated through life on the connections, handouts and favors of others. He's never had to go out and really earn his own way in the world.

It's time to elect some people who have shown that they know how to work to get what they want.

I agree with Texasjack. I think there is less damage possible with McCain.

It's really sad to read some of these comments. Some still defending the Iraq war. Some ultra conservatives that actually believe that Iran poses a threat. It's obvious that many of you really don't research these topics very well. You just have a opinion based on superficial exposure to the topic. How many of you know that McCain wants to give corporations a blanket 10% reduce in taxes and hope that it will stimulate the economy. Where Obama says he'll consider corporate taxes if they bring the jobs back from overseas, provide health care for their workers and stop paying their CEO's like rock stars. Which plan makes more sense to you? McCain is the one who is saying Obama will tax everyone. I'm going to let you research that one. McCain is also the one telling you that off shore drilling will bring down gas prices (maybe in 5 to 7 years), but the fact is oil companies aren't doing enough drilling on leases they already hold. And it's the Speculators that are driving the price of oil up. There's no shortage of oil. There isn't a line of tankers outside Saudi dying to fill up with oil. There isn't one gas station on the planet that doesn't have plenty of gas to sell you. The Saudi's offered to increase production and no one wanted it.

FINALLY!!! Someone states the fact that Hillary didn't want the VP position. I knew that from day one. But there are some idiots out there that say that if he didn't pick Hillary, he won't get their vote. I know people would like to see a woman in office, but study the facts. People are more blinded by the notion that it would've been historical, instead of thinking what was best for the campaign. It's a great pick for Obama. If you're a TRUE Democrat or someone looking for a shift in politics, you'd make the right choice. There's a lot of "spiteful" voters out there. Grow up.

OBAMA BIn laDEN.

Speaks volumes.

@ Softball mom:

Your ignorance bewilders me. I guess you don't know or perhaps understand what's been happening for the last 5 years; let me fill you in. We were led into a war under false pretenses (LIES to put it simply) by a bunch of rich Republicans with only their own best interests at heart. They've led a war that has spent billions upon billions upon billions upon billions of dollars, and there was absolutely NO relation between Iraq and terrorism (well, when the war started... of course now that we've raped their country for 5 years they probably want to kill us all now). Maybe we should've sent our troops to Afghanistan instead... Oh wait, I forgot, there's no oil there. And all the while they were doing this they were giving tax breaks to the RICH and doing nothing for the middle class. And you talk about tax increases? Maybe the half a trillion dollars we spent on a completely unnecessary war should be more to blame for that necessity. Bush has flushed this nation's economy and respect around the world down the toilet and he's wiping his *** with the middle class. Vote McCain if you want this to continue. Vote Obama if you want any hope of moving forward and recovering from this disgraceful Presidency.

I'm not undecided anymore, this Independent is going McCain.

John McCain was in the Hanoi Hilton largely due to the fact that he wasn't the most competent pilot. He crashed 5 planes during his short active duty career - 4 in accidents that he was responsible for in one way or another and the one he was shot down in.

But then what do you expect from someone who graduated 894th out of 899 students in his class at the US Naval Academy?

Geez...even Bush applied himself more than that and he's a moron.

nurse ratchet
That's just what this economy needs right now ...more taxes. That way we can chase more companies out of the US. Why do we think they will raise taxes... oh I don't know, maybe it's because they say they're going to. Dems never met a tax they wouldn't raise.

We do not have a good choice for president. Neither of the candidates is fully qualified to lead this nation into the future. Their are valid arguments against both candidates. America is in big trouble. The question is: Which one will cause the least irreparable damage? A careful study of their entire lives will be necessary to satisfy that question, and still the question looms; What is each of their true agendas? Is it the betterment of America as a nation or ??

Fox News is re-airing the Saddleback Church forum today. I recommend that if you did not see it live last Saturday, you catch it today in it's entirety (avoid soundbites). I was not sold on either candidate, and after voting for Bush in the last election, I was leaning toward Obama this time. However, after seeing how the two candidates answered that Pastor Rick's questions, I'm definitely voting McCain! See it for yourself...experience and leadership, versus waffling. That's what I saw, you will too!