Hillary believes she knows best and is best. She subsumed her ambitions while Bill had his days in the sun, but there was obviously an understanding with him that when her turn came, he would make sure she got what she wanted. Trouble with arrangements like that is you have 300 million other people who aren’t in on the deal. I distrust her because she is clearly an ‘ends justify means’ operator - lies, exaggerations, smears are all part of the game.

Obama has clearly had his eyes on the prize for a long time, and has made some pretty serious mistakes along the way. Money is so important in American politics I guess all politicians look at contributors through rose-coloured glasses. He should have distanced himself from Rezko way earlier and more clearly, but then, they all have problems in that department!

The real agenda behind Obama’s membership of that church is fairly straightforward in my view. Although his ambition was to go all the way as a black-but-not-too-black liberal politician, he knew having black credentials was still crucial as he built a base. So… join and be seen in a radical-end church, but as an observer rather than a driving force. Oops - seems that that one came back to bite him on the bum!

McCain is like Hillary in that he thinks it is his turn and has made some uncomfortable compromises to make it happen. Even though he was let off the hook over the Keating business, it’s obvious he was pulling strings and doing favours for shady money and it went over the line, more so than in Obama’s case. And even though he said he had learnt his lesson, he repeated the pattern 10 years later with the lobbyist and her broadcasting client. He can’t have been so stupid as to accept the use of the guy’s private jet without suspecting a quid pro quo was expected. Recently, the Straight Talk Express has gone off the rails in ways that will really haunt him later in the year:-

Sucking up to the loony rightist churches. He is on record talking about the extreme preachers, Falwell and co, in very dismissive terms - “Dangerous to society” etc. Now, to try and buy the fundamentalist whites, he is accepting the backing of such haters as Hagee and Parsley. How good would it be if you elected someone as President that has recently embraced and called ‘a spritual guide’ a man who states that America’s mission must be to ‘destroy Islam’.

Sucking up to the Bush cabal. In his heart of hearts, he must loath and despise the people who assassinated him back in 2000. That was vicious and totally amoral. I suspect that after Bush junior got the nomination, McCain was quietened and sweetened by a promise that the Bush machine would ensure he got the next turn. That has led to some strange twists and turns over the last eight years, including the recent step-down by McCain on the use of torture. Boy, that one must have been hard to swallow, but if he wants the benefit of Bush’s support (for whatever that is worth!) and more importantly Rove’s Machiavellian scheming, he is still being expected to toe the line.

They are all ambitious, they are all flawed, but ultimately, I believe they are all intelligent and have the country’s best interests at heart, from their various viewpoints. I don’t think any of them is likely to spring a whole secret agenda on the US as Bush did with his neocon clique waiting in the wings. Certainly, they are all light years ahead of what you brought upon youselves over the last eight years!

Yep, I’m a liberal at heart. But I do try to absorb all the information out there, not just the stuff that backs up my set-in-concrete view of the world. How about we debate things as if we are adults who think and care, rather than some kind of ‘gotcha’ courtroom prosecutors who can only ever minimise the other side of any argument and blow our preferred side out of all proportion.

McCain is the best of what’s left, there’s no doubt about that.

I remember seeing John on the Forrestall the morning of the flight deck fire, he was really beat up, but after some medical treatment he was transferred to the Enterprize and joined up with an attack squadron and that same day launched off in a A6A attack aircraft to provide close ground air support for our troops in Viet Nam. That same day his aircraft was shot down and he was taken prisoner.

Most Americans are aware of the courageous service John provided as a naval aviator and POW . But few can fully appreciate how bad the egregious hospitality of the Hanoi Hilton really was .His main concerns were for other POWs’ life threatening conditions and how he could help them is spite of the injuries he had received prior to and during his confinement.
Our convictions about John’s character were born in the crucible of adversity. We have witnessed his courage, integrity, character and intellect. We know and greatly respect his sense of honor and his tenacity in the face of grave danger and prolonged hardship(s). These qualities, combined with his life experiences, make John ready for the enormous challenges facing the leader of our country. No one — no one – has a greater knowledge of what war is really like or more qualified to be president, to lead our country and protect our nation. Some pretend to know him or deride his physical short comings but do nor know his physical strengths, his love of country and his commitment to serve it. He has been severely tested, and we have witnessed him under pressure. We trust his judgment and his ability to surround himself with our countries best advisors to lead our country without the BS to lead his beloved country and countrymen.
.We could do a whole lot worse than vote for John Mc Cain as our next president of the United States for every man, woman and child in our country regardless of their political affiliation. In John’s administration there are no Democrats or Republicans only Americans.

God Speed John Mc Cain