Republican presidential hopeful John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Monday he fears an offensive by Iraqi insurgents similar to the Tet offensive by the Viet Cong that sent U.S. casualties soaring in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago.
McCain, a Vietnam war veteran who spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, said in an interview with The Associated Press that it's not the U.S. presence in Iraq that upsets voters but rather the number of casualties and the possibility those numbers could rise.
No, John, it's the U.S. presence in Iraq. It's the fact that we're destroying a country, killing civilians who had no beef with us, shoveling untold sums of cash down a black hole that we suspect is going into the pockets of Administration cronies, and not only accomplishing nothing in the so-called war on terror, but making terrorism worse. Yes, we're appalled at the U.S. casualties. But we're also appalled at the more than half million dead Iraqis who had nothing to do with 9/11 or anything else, other than just trying to live their lives.
Then we have America's Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. A report from Giuliani's 1993 mayoral campaign shows clearly that Giuliani is going to have some serious problems with the Republican party's sexophobic base:
Giuliani's answers to abortion questions should always be succinct and to the point. Giuliani is pro-choice. He supports public funding for abortion. He will continue funding for abortions at city hospitals. Nothing more, nothing less.
OK, so he can finesse that one by saying he's had a "Come to Jesus" moment, though so far he hasn't been willing to do that. But here's where it gets fun:
CHARGE: GIULIANI'S PERSONAL LIFE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT A "WEIRDNESS FACTOR." GIULIANI WAS MARRIED TO HIS SECOND COUSIN FOR FOURTEEN YEARS. ALTHOUGH THE MARRIAGE LASTED A LONG TIME, GIULIANI HAD THE UNION ANNULLED ON THE GROUNDS THAT HE DID NOT GET PROPER DISPENSATION FROM THE CHURCH FOR THE MARRIAGE. WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS PERSONAL LIFE, GIULIANI GIVES A WIDE ARRAY OF CONFLICTING ANSWERS. ALL OF THIS BRINGS THE SOUNDNESS OF HIS JUDGMENT INTO QUESTION -- AND THE VERACITY OF HIS ANSWERS.
It certainly does, especially when you add to this the tawdry way he treated his SECOND wife, parading his girlfriend around while his wife was still living in Gracie Mansion and announcing his separation in a press conference before even telling his wife about it. But Giuliani's marital conduct throughout its history is highly questionable.
Now, I realize that the IOKIYAR Rule states that while extramarital activity is a sign of moral depravity in a Democrat which should bar said Democrat from public office for life, Unlimited extramarital dalliances are perfectly acceptable for a Republican as long as said Republican gives lip service to family values and moral character. But Giuliani sorely tests even the IOKIYAR rule.
The entire report is worth reading, because it provides a guidebook for dealing with Saint Rudy in a general election campaign, if simply pointing out that elevating a mayor to a saint simply for doing his job on a traumatic day (even if it IS in sharp contrast to the chickenshit actions of the President of the United States) is a tad extreme doesn't quite work.
Of course John McCain's marital history isn't exactly stellar either, with his current wife having been his girlfriend while he was still married to his first wife. But with the Republicans still fanning themselves over Bill Clinton's escapades, it'll be interesting to watch these hypocrites grovel before the Christian right. Watch for lots of mentions of Jesus and being a Christian, which seems the only thing that matters to the Republican base.
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