McCain envisions how first term will go

[onehandle]

Source: AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio - John McCain, looking through a crystal ball to 2013 and the end of a prospective first term, sees "spasmodic" but reduced violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden dead or captured and government spending curbed by his ready veto pen.

The Republican presidential contender also envisions April's annual angst replaced by a simpler flat tax, illegal immigrants living humanely under a temporary worker program, and political partisanship stemmed by weekly news conferences and British-style question periods with joint meetings of Congress.

In a speech being delivered Thursday, McCain concedes he cannot make the changes alone, but he wants to outline a specific governing style to show the accomplishments it can achieve.

"I'm not interested in partisanship that serves no other purpose than to gain a temporary advantage over our opponents. This mindless, paralyzing rancor must come to an end. We belong to different parties, not different countries," McCain says in remarks prepared for delivery in the capital city of Ohio, a general election battleground. "There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I'm elected president, the era of the permanent campaign will end; the era of problem solving will begin."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_governing_style

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Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb!

[Wetzelbill]

1. I could show you exactly how McCain's first term would go, but nobody

wants to see a picture of me going to bathroom, unless you're one sick puppy. :)

[SpiralHawk]

2. Since republicons are involved, I envision lots more corruption

naturally - since that's all they are good at.

[HawkerHurricane]

3. For sale: cheap!

"There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I'm elected president, the era of the permanent campaign will end; the era of problem solving will begin."

"And if you'll buy that, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you!"

John McCain is using the same campaign promises Bush the Lesser did. And why not, they haven't been kept.

[rpannier]

4. His first term??? As what???

Certainly not as US President.

Although in fairness, I've often thought what my first term would be like...

1. scrubya in jail.
2. Fairness doctrine reinstated
3. NCLB act -- left behind
4. Dick Cheney in the stocks on a corner somewhere
5. Tom DeLay making license plates
6. Mega churches and big corporation investigated by the IRS
7. My first signing statement legalizing gay marriage on federal land.
8. My second signing statement -- outlawing any more signing statements
9.Constiutional amendments outlawing: signing statements, providing recall of elected federal officials, mandatory verifiable paper ballots for all federal elections
10. Basking in the 4 new US Supreme Court justices that replaced: Stevens, Ginsburg, Scalia and Thomas

Hey, my dream

The list is just too long

[MikeNearMcChord]

12. You got my vote!

[zbdent]

5. measuring the drapes, eh John?

[Canuckistanian]

6. So he's going to be a "uniter, not a divider", right?

Ooo, look, a shiny object!

[Virginia Dare]

13. He'll be taking counsel from Joe Lieberman..

no doubt that's his idea of bipartisan cooperation...hey, at least Joe can keep him straight on who's who in Iraq...:eyes:

[bluestateguy]

7. McCain presidency means the Iraq War is the longest war in US history

It will surpass Vietnam as the longest in 2012.

[sam sarrha]

8. we'r screwed ..another gOD-damned ReThuglican with Hallucinations

[LiberalFighter]

9. If elected he will die in office. Guaranteed

He will be the oldest President elected. His health is suspect. The office of President does not provide the right environment to age well. He will most likely die of a heart attack with the stress he would have to endure.

[goclark]

18. He doesn't look well now

He was clueless the entire time he was speaking.

Is the oxygen going to his brain or what is happening?

There is no "there" there.

[LiberalFighter]

19. Maybe the start of some brain disease or post partum POW disease finally catching up.

[tomg]

10. He forgot to mention that

because of a revitalized economy, the free market will let us all have a pony.

"McCain concedes he cannot make the changes alone." Hey, isn't that what Blackwater is for.

[EnviroBat]

11. I thought I could detect the faint smell of shit here yesterday.

I had no idea that asshat was in town...

[ToughLuck]

14. Spasmodic John..ha ha ..keep talking like this, you only help Dems that way.

[noonwitch]

15. Has McCain released his medical records yet?

That thing on his neck isn't getting any smaller. I'm not sure he'd make it through a first term-and I don't intend that as a mean statement, because I don't hate him. I just don't want him to be the next president.

[KamaAina]

16. How about Pill-Poppin' Polly's tax returns?

Huh?

[goclark]

20. LOL PPPMCCAIN

[KamaAina]

17. So McSatan believes we can win* the war in Iraq by 2013

Does he also believe that the moon is made of green cheese? How about the Easter bunny? The tooth fairy? :shrug:

[Jefferson23]

21. 2013, how convenient, so he doesn't need to do shit for 4 more years

Hows the torture ban going McCain? Creepy old man!

[elpresidenteAlex]

22. McCain Sees U.S. Troops Leaving Iraq by 2013

Source: Washington Post

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 15 -- Sen. John McCain on Thursday offered for the first time what he hopes will be an end date for the war in Iraq, part of a vision he presented in which his policies lead to peace and prosperity at home and abroad by 2013, the end of what would be his first term as president.

McCain's goal of a large-scale troop withdrawal within four years was the highlight of a wide-ranging speech that sketched a world in which Democrats would join with him to approve his domestic and foreign policy agendas.

The Iraq comments appeared designed to blunt the political toll of the presumptive GOP nominee's unwavering support for the unpopular war. Democrats have spent months pillorying McCain for saying that U.S. troops could remain in Iraq for as long as 100 years -- a reference the candidate later said was intended to describe an American presence like those in Germany or South Korea.

But he quickly dismissed the suggestion that he was abandoning his criticism of Democrats and their plans for a precipitous departure.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051500005.html?hpid=topnews

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Who would have thought a few months ago that the Republican nominee would ask for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. That is how pessimistic Americans are about this fiasco.

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. Tomorow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow! It's only a dream away!

As the sign says "Free Beer Tomorrow"

The beginning of the end was always 6 months away, now it's 5 years. Might as well be "100 years"

[Cobalt-60]

32. Drink Not with Republicans!

All they serve is 3.2 pisswater!

[grytpype]

24. But that's only if the war gets won!

If we haven't won the war yet, we'll have to stay there in full force through 2013 and beyond!

Guess what will happen!

!!!!

[PSPS]

25. Yeah, right. Not long ago, he was calling any such statements "irresponsible."

McSame is a Pander Bear.

[Rolandosoto]

29. Yup

he's a hypocrite.

[Wizard777]

26. Bid rejected: Not soon enough.

[rpannier]

27. Must be a typo. Cuz the straight-talk express always says what he means...

He said 100 years and by God...It's gonna be 100 years.
So he probably said 2113

Unless...mcbush is a flip-flopping, liar

[sutz12]

28. Nice to know that 'a few months' will be over in 5 years or so.

:shrug:

[azurnoir]

30. Gee whiz that soon?

wow they'll only have been there for a decade,my how time flies....:sarcasm:

[bluesbassman]

31. My what a coincidence.

Call me a cynic, but isn't it just too convenient that he plans to end the war at the end of his first term?

Guess he doesn't want to piss off all of his war profiteer buddies by pulling the troops too soon and yanking the wheels off the Iraq gravy train. What a worthless POS!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

33. what a tag team! McCain plans to serve 4 years and beat the hell out of Dodge by then.

[truthisfreedom]

34. Setting a date for the terraists to come rushing in and row across the ocean?

Tsk tsk tsk, john. If you set a date, they'll know when to attack!

[northernlights]

35. Personally my fave part

is how he thinks congress will roll over and die after he vetos a few times. Guess he didn't dream the part about a veto-proof majority.

[Doug.Goodall]

36. McCain is backpedaling on his commitment of a 100 year war

I am glad to see the Washington Post point out this change in his position.

It is clear that McCain will say anything to get elected.

[auburngrad82]

37. Did you ever notice it always takes five years to get anything done?

The same thing with Nixon and Vietnam. Five years gets the President into his second term before anyone expects him to do anything about the situation. After all, he said it would take five years when we elected him. At that point if he doesn't get it done it's too late to do anything about it. Then the next guy just says "I'll have the troops home by 2023."

Someone needs to cry "Bullshit" and ask him why he can't do it in 3 years rather than 5.

[moondust]

38. He's a real nowhere man

Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans
For nobody.

[FVZA_Colonel]

39. So, a bunch of pie in the sky dreams without any strategies for how to achieve them.

I'm sure he has top men working on the specifics.

[tabasco]

40. First term in the loony bin?

Or jail term?