Bob Dole v. Naomi Wolf

statement 1: McCain underwent torture statement 2: Torture is right/wrong.

statement 2 should be made independent of 1. Anyone thinking that 2 follows 1 in someway have forgotten to think for themsevles.

As a McCain supporter, I say, when Rev. Jeremiah Wright's unavailable for comment, MORE Naomi Wolf!

Is it easier for the media to sit back and watch two people engage in shouting matches, or report on actual analysis of the issues? Hmmm.

I like John McCain in many respects and think it's terrible the way radio hosts have assailed him. I don't think he would make a terrible president, but I do prefer Obama. Ms. Wolfe's comments were provocative, and Dole gave no direct response to the issues she raised. I have no clue, but McCain should not be beat up on, nor should Clinton or Obama.

The point in question, aside from McCain, was the police state issue and how easy it is to slip into one. The media covers the tabloid aspects of campaigns and candidates, but has a hard time reporting on (and framing the importance of) profound issues.

No, America is not a police state. No, we do not want it to become one.

Look, no one has been more outspoken against the use or torture than McCain. But I'm more struck by his first hand experience with a real police state and Wolf's clear ignorance of what the term even means. In a real police state, Wolf would have "disappeared" long ago. But does even she consider this a real possibility in the US? Of course not.

I love John McCain - and Robert Dole and I think anyone who doesn't think that they are American heros is nuts. Dole's been carrying his wounds for his entire life - and was an admirable Senator who worked across party lines again and again. McCain has a chance to leave captivity, based on his family's priviledge and turned it down.

But does McCain deserve a free ride to the Presidency, which he's getting from the press? No. He deserves the same treatment every other candidiate gets. Count the number of negative/investigative pieces on John McCain on this site in the last four months. Good luck finding two. There is one - on autism - and with the state of the economy, health care and foreign relations, I don't think that requires additional comment. Start reporting. On all of the candidates.

Check out "Vietnam Veterans Against McCain" and ask yourself why the families of Vietnam era POW's were not allowed to search for their husbands, fathers, and sons. John McCain and John Kerry stood in the way of finding out what happened to these men. Look into it for yourself, and tell those families it's a lie. What right does McCain or Kerry have to cover up what happened to these men? He was a pilot, not a general. What are he and Kerry trying to keep America from looking into? At the very least it is worthy of an investigation. Anybody who thinks otherwise, is blindly supporting two politicans over the will and the right of those families to know what happened to these men. How can any political aspiration be worth leaving your fellow men in battle behind? Both McCain and Kerry's actions in this matter are dishonorable. Just ask anyone who has lost a family member in combat. Don't be afraid of the truth, just look into it for yourself.

Wheather he's a hero or not has nothing to do with it. He's experienced torture first hand, he was against it and now is for it. He's running for president, of copurse it's a valid question, or is he another republican that we're never to question, you know, like Bush. We sure know now what not asking him the right questions got us, don't we?

Ms. Wolf's comment, right or wrong, was not a "shameful attack" on John McCain, but rather a valid question. McCain has more credibility on torture than any politician today, and his refusal to back down to the White House in 2006 during the deliberations over the Military Commissions Act showed his courage in the face of political adversity. That being said, he has flip-flopped on torture, in light of his most recent support of President Bush and keeping the torture exception open, and for McCain to answer questions about this is fair game. I'm not sure why Senator Dole reacted the way he did.

Sen. McCain doesn't have to answer that question. If anyone thinks being tortured for almost six years is a joke, then something is wrong. John McCain is a real American hero, no questions asked.