Does McCain look petty?

[MedicineBow]

So BOTH Bush and Cheney were tied up with crucial duties this week that needed to be taken care of.

How convenient for the GOP!

 

[LanceOregon]

If you can provide a verifiable quote from a presumably knowledgeable insider that McCain personally and directly nixed Cheney from speaking, then it would be appropriate to discuss whether McCain acted out of pettiness or some other motivation.

That is the only circumstance under which I would discuss this as well.

The fact is that both Bush and Cheney had very compelling reasons to not attend the convention this week. It was much more appropriate for them to instead attend to their official duties as President and Vice President.

Of course, I really don't see anyone in the media giving either man any credit at all for doing that, either. Instead, the media comes up with unsourced garbage like this, to try to make McCain look bad.

.

 

[LanceOregon]

How convenient for the GOP!

While some Democrats initially rejoiced at Gustav interfering with the convention, I think that after some reflection, some may have instead become mad that Bush and Cheney did not attend.

For the entire strategy of the Democrats seems to be running against the record of Bush and Cheney. Without them at the convention, it really makes that strategy a little bit more difficult. For in reality, Bush and Cheney are not up for re-election. And having them not even show up at the convention only served to highlight that plain and simple fact.

.

 

[Playboypenguin]

Even Tony Snow, before his passing, was alluding that McCain would not want Cheney speaking on his behalf. When asked if McCain would distance himself from Bush/Cheney and if he would want Cheney speaking on his behalf on Blitzer's show he said...

You've got somebody who's running for a nomination. The president's popularity ratings are low. He's going to put a distance between himself and the president.

The fact is, you've got a lot of Republicans out there who now have a vested interest in getting a Republican president. McCain will have to sort through the folks who he wants to have speaking on his behalf.

Lanceoregon, You are going to a lot of trouble to try and justify the fact that you first accused me of making up the whole story and then changed your tune when proven wrong.

You are so completely wrong about someone not being able to discuss perceptions in politics. If people followed your ridiculous line of thinking we would never be able to ask any politician anything or speculate on anything unless they gave us permission to first. You would never be able to find out about things like officials violating civil rights unless they first came out and said they did it. Your position makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever.

How convenient for the GOP!

Yes, isn't it...luckily for them some people don't feel that they are allowed to think anything they are not told to think so they will not even question how absurd it is that the top oficials of the party would be the ones cut if time was short. On Letterman they always let the dog trainer go on and cut Brad Pitt when the show runs long. As for Gustov being the reason, are we supposed to believe Bush and Cheney will be out filling sandbags? If not, what could they not do from the convention if the need arose.

 

[FireMax]

Erik
"Do you think McCain is being petty or do you simply think he is doing what is best for the party?"

I can't recall too many times when McCain did something that was good for "the party". IMO, the republican party is just a tool he is using to further his political ambition. He could have also used the democrat party to do the same thing which is why he flirted with Kerry with the idea of being his VP in 2004 and why McCain flirted with the idea of leaving the GOP in 2000.

McCain is not a conservative and he is a republican in name only.

 

[gc70]

As for Gustov being the reason, are we supposed to believe Bush and Cheney will be out filling sandbags? If not, what could they not do from the convention if the need arose.

Glad you asked; from the Washington bureau of the Chicago Tribune:

Posted September 1, 2008 7:00 AM

by Mark Silva

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- President George W. Bush, standing in shirtsleeves beneath the fluorescent lighting of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's command center in Washington, pledged Sunday that Hurricane Gustav's onslaught would be met with the full and swift resources of the government.

Bush prepared to fly at dawn Monday to a hurricane-staging area.
This was a starkly different tableau from the picture Bush presented three years ago, after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, a natural disaster that became a political catastrophe.

Back then, Bush, flying to Washington from a speech in San Diego following a vacation at his Texas ranch, made a low-flying arc over the flooded Crescent City. A photograph of the president peering through the window of Air Force One suggested to many his remoteness from a recovery effort that quickly turned into a disaster of its own.

This time, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney canceled plans to appear at Monday's opening of the Republican National Convention, an event that rapidly shifted from a celebration of John McCain to a call for community service for Gustav victims.

"We'll face this emergency together,'' Bush vowed at the FEMA command center, encouraging coastal residents to heed evacuation orders. "The message to the people of the Gulf Coast is, this storm is dangerous,'' he said.

Bush, who had intended to rest at Camp David after his convention address, now plans to monitor events from the White House.

The president said he did not plan to travel immediately to Louisiana "because I do not want my visit to impede in any way the response of our emergency personnel.''

If the White House's urgency surrounding Gustav's arrival appeared all-consuming, that's because the legacy of Katrina has become a liability still confronting the president's party.

A few days after Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans Bush landed at a regional airport for a briefing with then-FEMA Director Michael Brown. Bush's commendation -- "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" -- became an emblem of the flawed response.

Now, Bush has dispatched a FEMA administrator, David Paulison who is a hurricane-seasoned fire chief from Miami. This time, the FEMA chief lamented, there was only one thing this government couldn't promise: "I can't stop the storm from happening.''

 

[Playboypenguin]

None of that actually happened. You are putting a lot of faith in "what if" stories and fairy tales. Hardly reason to avoid the most important party meeting of the year.

Maybe planes cannot fly out of Minnesota. I guess he could only book a flight from DC on such short notice without having to fly coach.

I guess you are just very easily convinced when you are hearing what you want to hear.

 

[MedicineBow]

Bush and Cheney would have skipped the convention if there had been 3-car accident on the Dan Ryan in Chicago...so that they could "monitor the situation" from anywhere but Minnesota.

 

[gc70]

None of that actually happened.

Here is a picture from "none of that actually happened" as reported by a New Zealand news group.

And a few more news reports about "none of that actually happened" from the AP and a CBS affiliate.

Some Democrats must be pretty disappointed that they could not criticize Bush for whooping it up at the convention while another hurricane threatened New Orleans. Too bad that Bush focused on his job and denied them an opportunity to whine.

 

[LightningJoe]

McCain is not even a little bit pretty. I think you're confusing him with the other one.

 

[Playboypenguin]

Here is a picture from "none of that actually happened" as reported by a New Zealand news group.

He never flew anywhere or visited anybody. He does not even take a role much beyond saying "go" in the crisis management team. He could have easily done all of that from the convention. All of those big travel plans and visits that kept him from attending never took place.

But by all means, they presented a staged pic of him working so hard that he could not attend the convention so it must be true. They would never make up a story...would they Jessica Lynch, Patrick Tillman, etc. I am glad to see you are so easily convinced. You should make a good subject for whoever wants to rule.

PS: I assume Cheney is out getting everyone coffee when that pic was taken.

 

[LightningJoe]

PBP:


Are you going for the Andrew Sullivan award or what?

 

[Playboypenguin]

Nope just pointing out the obvious to the blind.

You ask a single question and the rabid right wing attack dogs come in mouth foaming and hoping if they keep barking loud enough it will somehow work out for them. They can't even big to allow themselves to think outside of the narrow little mindset that has been fed to them by the right wing leaders. It frightens them so badly that they go immediatly into attack mode when iti s not even warranted. I think most people are tired of that and it is going to cost them big. The backlash began in 2006 and I think it is just getting started.

 

[NickySantoro]

I was just watching Wolf Blitzer's show and they repeatedly made the statement of how some people are saying McCain looks petty for not having Cheney speak at the convention.

Fortunately for the Dems, some people will believe anything.

 

[Playboypenguin]

Fortunately for the Dems, some people will believe anything.

Yes, they sure will. Look at how many people believed Bush when he said he was not wiretapping without a warrant.

The reality is that it is up to each person to decide what they believe and what they do not. The reality is also that it was being said on the TV program. Discussing it and whether or not you believe it is what this thread is about. Unfortunately some people are way too threatened by anything that might be contrary to their own beliefs that they do not even want people to discuss it. They would rather shout down a discussion or turn the attack on the messenger.

 

[gc70]

PBP:
He never flew anywhere or visited anybody.
All of those big travel plans and visits that kept him from attending never took place.

Associated Press:
SAN ANTONIO (AP)
Eager to show that officials had learned the tragic lessons of Katrina, Bush scrapped an opening-night speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., and flew instead to emergency command centers in Texas.

PBP, your credibility is nill when you clearly ignore facts. Now that you have made it so transparent to everyone, I'm done with this thread.

 

[Intune]

Great. Now you're gonna try and tell Pbp that we really landed on the moon as well, eh?

 

[danweasel]

Does Cheney look evil?

 

[LightningJoe]

You ask a single question and the rabid right wing attack dogs come in mouth foaming and hoping if they keep barking loud enough it will somehow work out for them.

Ah, you're dealing with people who've been living with Liberal propaganda their whole lives. They've developed a combative mindset due to the constant attacks on reason and truth from the MSM. Not for a day or a month or a year but for decades on end. They've been lied to and manipulated by people touted as such things as "the most trusted man in America" and many other similar people since their parents' generation.


And when you make yourself sound like the voice of Saruman they've learned to recognize and to hate, they'll react to you, too.

 

[Playboypenguin]

Ah, you're dealing with people who've been living with Liberal propaganda their whole lives. They've developed a combative mindset due to the constant attacks on reason and truth from the MSM.

More like I am dealing with people that have been indoctrinated by Karl Rove and his ilk into seeing a bias that does not exist and who cannot overcome the fact that they are so far right that the middle looks biased to them. The far left screams about the same bias as the far right does.