Political Punch

I am from Merrill, I went to school with Ryan and my family knows his. My brother-in-law just had a conversation with Ryan's mom about this yesterday and she said (while giving him an Obama sign from the huge pile in her living room), that she was proud of Obama mentioning Ryan, and that Obama had called her to personally apologize if he had offended her, and she told him he had nothing to apologize for and that he had done well.

Yes, Senator Obama is wearing a HeroBracelet in the name of SGT Jopek. The bracelet was presented to him by his mother.

I am with HeroBracelets and Senator McCain and President Bush have both been presented HeroBracelts by the mothers of fallen soldiers. Recently, other members of the Jopek family have ordered HeroBracelets to "read exactly like the bracelet Senator Obama is wearing."

So, from my direct experience, this is a non-issue. In addition, this is from an AP news story:

"Tracy Jopek of Merrill told The Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that Obama remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb. Jopek criticized Internet reports suggesting Obama, D-Ill., exploited her son for political purposes.
"I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet," she said.
Jopek acknowledged e-mailing the Obama campaign in February asking that the presidential candidate not mention her son in speeches or debates. But she said Obama's mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, said a soldier's mother gave him a bracelet."

Thousands are wearing HeroBracelets to honor the memories of soldiers and Marines they have never met and they do so out of respect.

HeroBracelets is a non-political organization that raises money through the bracelet sales for both the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Military Order of The Purple Heart.

Wah! I have a bracelet too, cried Nobama......in the words of his equally unqualified running mate..... "Stand up chuck, let em see ya".

Nobama is a dangerous and thuggish politician.
Nobama made some of the most profit from the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Scandal which has caused the economic disaster that we are paying for today, and apparently will be paying for, for a long time to come.

Democrats Covering up, blaming the regulator and outright lieing, defending their cash cow back in 2004, when McCain and other Republicans warned of this pending crisis.

Nobama,your hero and beneficiary of the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Crisis of today………
Now….How do you NObama supporters and other Democrats defend this?…..You Cant!

To Intelligent Voter:

"Greg,
I'm tired of hearing about McCain's service as a war hero. What kind of hero is he to our veterans now? He votes against any kind of bill which benefits vets, medical, education, you name it-McCain is against it."

I agree he's making too much of an issue of his service, although I still find it to be very important considering the situation we are in with regards to the ongoing war. To be honest as a Vet I have more benefits that I know what to do with, so I'm not sure what bills you are referring to. If you are indeed an intelligent voter (and judging by your previous posts, you seem to be just that), but you know as well as I do that as soon as a major bill comes along everyone in congress attachs nearly limitless add-ons and pork-barrel special appropriations to benefit a small group of their voters. It's sad, but many major bills must be defeated not to stop the main bill, but all the attached pork. I fully admit I'm not well versed in every vote McCain has made, and if you can point me to a non-partisan appraisal of his voting record, I'd like to see it.

"There are just as many people out there who believe that the war in Iraq was unjust."

I'm fully aware of that. America is fairly well divided over this issue. I respect your right to think it unjust, I just don't see much evidence to support your opinion. I'm quite happy that a mass murderer on the scale of Stalin and Hitler is dead, his horrific regime is in ruins, and a formerly oppressed people now have a fighting chance at living a life instead of just surviving in the shadows of an evil regime. If you don't think that's worth fighting for, well then that is your opinion. I personally think it is worth the fight.

You talk about 4,000 casualties in 5 years of war, when we lost more men than that in a day on Tarawa, or in an hour at Shiloh. I don't meant to reduce human lives to mere statistics, but the truth is more people have been murdered in Chicago in the past six months than have been killed in Baghdad.

"More frightening--McCain has anger issues, that may be a result of his war history. I think we should have the right to examine his medical records to see what pyschological affect the war had on McCain."

We all have anger issues. It's just a matter of degree. Not sure what you are referring to, but again if you have a credible source, please share the link.

In closing I'd like to say that none of this is personal, I think it's important that we all talk about these issues and not bottle them up. So please do not take anything I have said as an insult, I just don't agree with you.

Concerned in OH, WRONG!!!!!!! the mother asked Obama not to use it in his stump speeches and was honored when he came back at McCain but with a different twist, he told how the mother did not want other mothers to bare the burden of losing their child in the Iraq War.

So Obama was so touched by the fallen
soldier's mother, he had to look down
to read the name of her son during a debate on foreign policy. Since everyone knows McCain wear a bracelet, the topic was bound to arise. His handlers should do a better job of preparing his props because that is exactly how it looked to the voters in the 57 states watching tv during the great depression...

The new President should wear every single day a new bracelet of a fallen soldier so he is reminded every single day that war is the very last option a country should take to settle political differences.

Concerned in Ohio....why don't you read everything before you comment? The Mother of the soldier said she was estatic that Obama brought up the bracelet during the debate. And, there are two sides to every war, and Obama was pointing that out, after McCain played the "hero" card again.

Greg,
I'm tired of hearing about McCain's service as a war hero. What kind of hero is he to our veterans now? He votes against any kind of bill which benefits vets, medical, education, you name it-McCain is against it. There are just as many people out there who believe that the war in Iraq was unjust..it started with a lie and has killed over 4000 Americans, hundreds of thousands of Iraq citizens, and cost this counrty billions. It's not honorable, it's not just, it's tragic. McCain pulls the "war hero" jargon out when he doesn't have anything else to say---it's a political talking point with him. More frightening--McCain has anger issues, that may be a result of his war history. I think we should have the right to examine his medical records to see what pyschological affect the war had on McCain.

To be honest, I feel that there is information missing from this article that is not depicting a true picture of the whole event. Ex-husband, of course he is going to say she didn't want this especially if they are two different sides of the fence. We as a country are now about information not who looks good. That was the old way, let's continue on in the 20th Century.

Sandra

The war in Iraq IS and always has been an unjust war. Saddam Hussein was accused of having weapons of mass destruction - which he did not have and SAID he did not have. He was accused of being allied with Osama Bin Laden and participating in some never mentioned way in the attack on 9/11, but he did not. Al Quaida wasn't even IN Iraq before we shoved our unwanted guns and troops down Iraq's throat. The 1991 war against Iraq - Desert Storm - WAS justified, because Iraq had invaded Kuwait and didn't think we'd do anything about it. He was wrong, but then-president Bush was right in not going all the way to Baghdad and trying to depose him. We shouldn't have done that; there's no excuse for us to have done that; and President Bush lied to us about it. He lied again and got Congress to enact the Patriot Act. Now he's trying to shove another "crisis" down our throats, and I hope Congress has enough sense to say "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, try to fool me a third time, and you'll get knocked back on your .... haunches.

to chattyway...

Sorry to disappoint you, but you need to re-read my comments. I am CONDEMNING as absurd the implication that this is an unjust war. Quite the contrary, it is equally as justified as any war the US has fought since its inception as a nation.

The real question is why didn't we start "regime change" on this continent, ie Mexico. It has an equally horrid record with regards to human rights as did the former regime in Iraq, and has a much more significant impact on the US economy.

The world is a better place for having removed Saddam and his sadistic offspring from the gene pool, so please tell me why this war was "unjust" compared to any other in recent history. Was it more "just" to allow the genocide in Rwanda with no action? Is it more "just" to allow FARC rebels in Columbia to kidnap Americans at will?

I'm really just dying to hear what you call a just war vs. an unjust one. By all means, please enlighten me.

Anybody who has intelligence can really afford Palin as VP or Potential POTUS?

How About the judgment of Maccain who pick this woman without serious consideration of this country?

I really don't believe his slogan.
It should be changed into this.

Maccain First, Country Last.

Are you still having your bracelets war? Can't believe it, the country is going down with a big bang, and you are still in this? Well, I guess similar discussions were held on the Titanic...we'll never know because these folks are dead....

To Haley:

"Greg, just because McCain faught in the war back in the 1600's does not mean that he will make a good president."

You are right, but it will make him qualified to be commander in chief, which is really what the office is about in the first place. Also this ancient war of which you speak is similar to our current situation in many respects, so his experience is highly relevant. The office of the president is an executive position. It is up to the congress to pass statutory law and present the president with a budget. He does not have the powers of emperator as you seem to indicate.

"If this is the case then are you saying anybody that soldier could make it as President?"

No, it does not mean that at all. There are many that spent a couple of yearas in the service that turned out to be dirtbags. But McCain spent over 20 years in the military rising to the rank of Captain (equivalent to a Colonel in the Army), and was a squadron commander which gave him valuable executive experience, something which Obama doesn't have in any form.

"The war is just a small issue in this campaign." Not really. It centers around the region from which we get most of our imported energy, which is crucial to the economy and world stability. Secondly, the entire muslim world is watching how we play our end-game in Iraq. If we don't do it just right, we condemn the world to another generation of religiously fueled terror.

"The biggest issue is the economy which McCain knows absolutely nothing about."

Really? So when he introduced legislation to institute regulations on an out of control lending market, and was blocked by none other than Barney Franks, he showed no knowledge of the coming economic doom? The real truth this current economic situation was created in the 1990's by the Clinton administration and it's policy to force lending institutions to "abandon" such criteria as credit history, income, and ability to repay loans when considering the mortgage applications of minority and low-income applicants. This policy continued into the new century and John McCain, as stated above, had attempted to rein in the dangerously overextended market but was defeated by Senate democrats.

"And congress supported the war because the reason they were told they were going to war, which later turned out to be a lie."

Really? A bi-partisan committee report exonerated Bush and found no evidence that he in any way influenced the content of the intelligence reports, and even Hillary Clinton claimed to have seen the same intelligence at the time and fully supported President Bush. Furthermore this issue predates the Bush presidency. In 1998 numerous politicians, including Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, and several other high ranking democrats declared Saddam Hussein a threat, that he had WMD and had used them on numerous occasions, and that there was a legitimate concern that he might allow those weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists. This was all stated by then President, Bill Clinton.

Back to the bracelet issue, I don't think McCain should have brought it up, but since he has seen war, been injured, tortured and seen his friends die, I'd say he has the right to speak about our fallen if he chooses. Obama just looked silly, just like he always does when he has to deviate from his script.

Of course he should wear it. Gotcha John, I too have a bracelet. So don't use that "sentimental" gimmick again!

Mother is estatic. So, why the queation?

Greg - I totally agree with you. The Iraq war is an unjust war and McCain needs to shut up about his stupid bracelet.

I heard a lot of stuttering and stammering from Obama, and a whole lot of irritated facial switches. Why can't he answer a question directly? He talks in circles. I never heard him say anything but he plans to raise taxes.

READ....... S L O W L Y
however, the notion that Obama is wearing the hero bracelet against the wishes of the family -- or more specifically, the mother, who gave him the bracelet -- is more complicated that it first seemed. She did ask Obama to stop mentioning her son on the stump, ************************ but she approved of the way Obama invoked her son in the debate **********

First off, I know the Jopek's, and have many friends that still have and wear the bracelet with Ryan's name on it. Tracy gave Obama the bracelet for a reason. She wanted him to wear it. She never asked him not to. Why would she have givin it to him just to later tell him not to wear it? She asked him not to use it in the campaign to make an issue out of it, and he hasn't. He used it as a response, to show McCain that not every family that has lost somebody in the war supports it and wants them to stay there. She supported him in his response, and was happy that he did it in this way. It was not just because he remembered him that she was happy, it was the way he handled it. It was Brian, a McCain supporter, that did not want Obama to wear the bracelet so he is making it look like Obama disrespected her wishes, which he did not. Just because he doesn't want Obama to wear it because he is a McCain supporter, is he not supposed to?

Greg, just because McCain faught in the war back in the 1600's does not mean that he will make a good president. If this is the case then are you saying anybody that soldier could make it as President? I don't think so. The war is just a small issue in this campaign. The biggest issue is the economy which McCain knows absolutely nothing about. And congress supported the war because the reason they were told they were going to war, which later turned out to be a lie. Bush wanted a war, and he got it. He invaded a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, and now the issue is how to get out of it.

John McCain has missed 420 votes (64.5%) during the current Congress.

What is funny is McSame used that Bracelet as a back drop. He will use his Ammo to promote how he knows more about war, but when the Camera is off he votes no on all thing pertaining to our veterans.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - Since everyone is at least a bit familiar with John McCain’s record when it comes to strolling through a market in Baghdad with hundreds of his closest guards, or how he wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years (except when he flip flops on that).
But not that many really, truly know just how horrific his voting record is when it comes to the troops. And it is pretty consistent – whether it is for armor and equipment, for veteran’s health care, for adequate troop rest or anything that actually, you know, supports our troops.
This is chock full of links to the roll call votes, and the roll call votes have links to the actual underlying bills and amendments. I present this so that there is support and things that can be rattled off when saying that McCain is not a friend of the military. Feel free to use it as you want, but this can be tied into the "Double Talk Express". But here is a very quick statement - John McCain skipped close to a dozen votes on Iraq, and on at least another 10 occasions, he voted against arming and equipping the troops, providing adequate rest for the troops between deployments and for health care or other benefits for veterans.
In mid 2007, Senator Reid noted that McCain missed 10 of the past 14 votes on Iraq. However, here is a summary of a dozen votes (two that he missed and ten that he voted against) with respect to Iraq, funding for veterans or for troops, including equipment and armor. I have also included other snippets related to the time period when the vote occurred.
September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments. At the time, nearly 65% of people polled in a CNN poll indicted that "things are going either moderately badly or very badly in Iraq.
July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq. At the time, an ABC poll found that 63% thought the invasion was not worth it, and a CBS News poll found that 72% of respondents wanted troops out within 2 years.
March 2007: McCain was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all combat troops within one year. Around this time, an NBC News poll found that 55% of respondents indicated that the US goal of achieving victory in Iraq is not possible. This number has not moved significantly since then.
February 2007: For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a resolution condemning it. However, at the time a CNN poll found that only 16% of respondents wanted to send more troops to Iraq (that number has since declined to around 10%), while 60% said that some or all should be withdrawn. This number has since gone up to around 70%.
June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.
May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.
April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.
March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
March 2004: McCain once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans' needs.
October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.
April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.
August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000. To his credit, he also voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which he now supports making permanent, despite the dire financial condition this country is in, and despite the fact that he indicated in 2001 that these tax cuts unfairly benefited the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
So there it is. John McCain is yet another republican former military veteran who likes to talk a big game when it comes to having the support of the military. Yet, time and time again, he has gone out of his way to vote against the needs of those who are serving in our military. If he can’t even see his way to actually doing what the troops want, or what the veterans need, and he doesn’t have the support of veterans, then how can he be a credible commander in chief?

Someone said Obama would do anything for a vote? Wait a minute wasn't McShame the one who brought up the fallen soldier 1st?

Concerned in OH, slow down and re-read the story. It seems that mom did ask Obama not to use it for his stumps, which he did. But then you have McSame using it during the debates, when Obama used his to counter McSame's, the Mom was very proud, as this mom did not want other mothers to feel the pain she has at the loss of her child.

You know conservatism is to conserve the goods in each and every one of us. Thinks most of these poor souls that had given their souls to devil have to get it back. I used to believe in a conservative idea but lately I started to wonder what are these airhead are trying to conserve. They against anything that has anything to do with common people. On deceiving yourselves

Someone asked how to find the bill McCain co-sponsored in 2005 - I googled it.

S. 190 [109th]: Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005

It's amazing to me how many people on here glibly throw around the phrase "unjust war" as if it were an established or generally accepted fact. I have news for you, at least half of America doesn't agree with you. Stop going around assuming everyone agrees with you and Code Pink.

It just shows your ignorance and hubris.

Go back to the voting records of congress and see just how many of them voted to support the war in Iraq, and how many of them that now say they are against the war started by Bush, considered Saddam a real threat when Clinton was in office and were supportive of Clintons belligerent stance towards the regime of Saddam. Talk about hypocracy.

As far as the bracelet issue goes, that is and should be a private matter for the person that wears it. I spent 12 years in the Marines and have lost more friends in training mishaps than I have in combat. I know a lot of Marines that wear memory bracelets, and it is a personal choice, just like having a lapel pin with an American flag, or wearing a cross or other religious symbol around your neck. It doesn't make you more or less patriotic, or more or less supportive of the troops, it merely means you choose to display those symbols. What that symbol means to you is a personal matter, and you should never try and use it to justify your actions or prove you are "holier than thou" to an opponent. It cheapens the meaning of the symbol and the sacrifices made to give it that meaning.

The only relevance that any of this has in the campaign should be that we are in a state of war, and that we need a leader with both executive and military experience to guide us through this conflict. Obama has neither. McCain has both, it's as simple as that.

jdub297 - is this the best that right-wing extremists can do? Spread unsubstantianted lies? Stop spreading blog BS, nitwit

I think most people are missing the point of the bracelet story. You will have family who think that their child/husband/wife died for the country and it is a great honor. You will have other people who think that their child/husband/wife, while server their country bravely died for an unjust war. The fact that McCain is pushing that this mother and other mothers are right about their kids dying and that they are proud to keep the fight going (by they are not wrong for feeling that way), it doesn't negate the fact that other military family are outrage and against the fact that kids are dying for an unjust war. Sound bites are good, but neither John or Obama can fully care about the issues of the soilders, because they are not picking them up in a body bag or taking them for rehab. I am not saying that both men are without feelings, I am saying that it hit home harder than it does the general public. So, for the mom who wants all the troops our that is fine and for the mom who want us to stay the course that is fine, as long as you don't make it a platform, because I am "right" for my views and you are wrong for your views and vice versa.
BTW: has anyone seen the stock market today? *nod nod wink wink* Let's get back to serious stuff and leave the bracelets on your wrists.

So the father lacks the guts and stones to stay married to the mother, but wants to disavow the mother's wishes? Typical Republican crap. This guy walks out on his family, but wants to stand up and refute Obama. Put a dress on this guy and send him to Iraq - gutless coward. We need more men in this country willing to stay married and less cowards wanting to take political shots at Godly men like Obama. Is this what the Republican party has become? The party of adulterers and divorcees? The party that can't keep commitments and sends our citizens to die without any forethought or commitment?

Posted by: Dave
=====================================
Boy, talk about judgemental! I am a woman and I was the one that ended my marriage and left. What right does anyone have to make such a statement? Blows my mind how evil and small minded some people are. The only comfort is... what goes around comes around! This guys wife (if he even has one) has every reason to walk out on him. He is purely hateful.

i wonder where was macain bracelet? this moron macain brought up the subject and he was not wearing a bracelet. obama should have ask to see the bracelet

"If McCain cared about soldiers killed in Iraq, why hasn't he fought Bush's policy of hiding the return of their coffins to America? Where has McCain been? He plays politics with a bracelet and stands silent as the cameras are barred from covering the dead.
Posted by: JTS | Sep"

Uh, this isn't a "Bush" policy but one of the military and the UCMJ. the military respects their dead and doesn't like to see them exploited. Early on in the war, a news photographer snuck a photo of some coffins being unloaded, against the express wishes and orders of the people responsible for them. THEY DON'T LIKE TO SEE THEIR SOLDIERS EXPLOITED, dead or alive. For you to ask to see every coffin departing every plane in order to make a point, well, you're wishing to exploit them as well. This is also why the military prefers to not have embedded reporters, not because they have something to hide but because it is counter to a. their mission and b. respect for a dead soldier and his/her family.

Obama has little business making any comments about any fallen soldier, since he's never spent a day in uniform McCain has given a great deal of his life to the service of our nation, and has fought and survived one of the most brutal wars of the past century. He is the only one qualified to speak on behalf of anyone that has served and seen combat and sacrificed their health, limbs or their life. McCain is not my first choice for president (Fred Thompson would have been a better alternative), but compared to Obama, he's the only choice we have if we want to save America.

If McCain cared about soldiers killed in Iraq, why hasn't he fought Bush's policy of hiding the return of their coffins to America? Where has McCain been? He plays politics with a bracelet and stands silent as the cameras are barred from covering the dead.

Tim "The problem is that he didn't know the man's name."

Anyone who watched it could see he was stumbling over the phrasing, having started out by saying the soldier gave it to him (obviously the mother, not the dead soldier, gave it to him). If had had rehearsed it and expected to use it as as a set piece pander like McCain, I'm sure his delivery would have been more to your liking.

Two years ago, McCain never used to talk about his service believing it to be too sacred for political gain. But for most of this campaign, McCain has cheapened his own war sacrifice and those of others just get sympathy for his candidacy. Finally, Obama called him on it.

The problem is that he didn't know the man's name. He had to look down at the bracelet. He's an idiot, and should quite pandering.

GoUSA247 do you live in the past? Have you forgotten that you had 6 years of Republican rule? So if this was all Bill's fault why have the Republicans not cleaned it up and just sat at the war drums, (Crap they even got that one wrong, can you say Afghanistan or Al Qaeda and Bin Laden?) Always good at pointing fingers, but not good at pointing out solutions. If you are at work (that is if your job has not been given to someone over seas or not hit under the growing unemployment rolls) and you see a problem do you just leave it? Or do you doing something proactive to correct the problem? This is GW Bush's presidency,. and the deregulation was all done way back when, but Bush had to undo Clinton's work. God forbid if the other guy was making a surplus for America and paying our national debit off so our children would not have to. Try living in the here now, and look at the future not the past. You need to watch the Lion king again, most kids under the age of 10 know you can not change the past, but you can change the future.

Park writes. "A 2005 legislation doesn't make up for 26 years of deregulation by McCain." Yes, it all McCains fault. He alone among all the Senators and Representatives causes deregulation which causes this mess. Not! It is Democrats failed policies of pushing easy credit for those who should not own homes to own homes. If you are not able to pay for something you should not buy it. Deregulation is a good thing except when you have Washington liberals try to make the free market bend to their will messing with the how the free market works. McCain tried to do something about it but again he was only one man. At least he had the foresight to try to make real change, as he pushed for in Iraq. McCain has proven he is the candidate of real change as he has pushed for it and has caused it unlike the empty suit who is his opponent whose only real change is trying to change his job once he gets a new one.

Park, I actually enjoyed commenting with you. You are the only one on here that could state any valid arguments for your candidate, and I respect that. Haven't changed my opinion of him, and I still feel McCain is the better candidate. I need to gat out of here. The Loons are coming out of the wood work and I have some tings to do.

Later.

"Yes, Obama knew the name of the guy on his bracelet, and McCain's gave the wrong first name on his, but more importantly, do you think John McCain knows the name of a single one of the hundreds of thousands of civilians we killed over in Iraq?" Posted by: Voter in America

Here is an example of what we can expect if we put a liberal in the White House. They are all about calling our soldiers murderers, and of course forgetting that the people with bombs tied to their backs and wearing plain clothes never hurt civilians. This is the pathetic argument of some on the left. I also wouldn't doubt if this "Voter in America" is not an American at all.

I have a bracelet too! I bought it on eBay!

The Russians, who I can see from my backyard, are sending troops disguised as polar bears to take my bracelet!

God created the polar bears and dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago, and if he wanted them to live he would have given them bracelets to waive in your face as well!

Yes, Obama knew the name of the guy on his bracelet, and McCain's gave the wrong first name on his, but more importantly, do you think John McCain knows the name of a single one of the hundreds of thousands of civilians we killed over in Iraq?

B. Hussein Obama couldn't even remember the name on his prop... er, bracelet. Missing those teleprompters much, Barry?

McSame was trying to make "hay" out of the death of one soldier in an unwarranted war by pointing out his bracelet! So what? Obama is correct in pointing out that he too, in owning a bracelet, knows the pain of families who have suffered because of the war. McSame does not own the "war" but he should hold responsibility for the deaths because it is an unjustified war, not just for the families here in the US, but also for the families of all the people, whether from Iraq or the coalition forces. McSame, if he is honorable, should shoulder the burden of responsibility especially since he declared that he will stay for another 100 years.

Mrs. Ramsey, yes I saw the S109 and think it interesting a little...no doubt Bush squashed it. I dunno.

As for lucifer, lucifer who? Bush?, Cheney? Rove? Please...lucifer was at the UN...didn't you smell the sulpher? You are too funny bringing up lucifer...go back and read your good book...there you will find lucifer.

Jopek, in her own words, claimed she was "ecstatic" to hear Obama stay true to her son's memory.

This is another example of conservatives trying to use the military to score political points.

Shame!

Republicans always think they own the troops - of course, they treat them like ammo and vote against their care. Obama was right to point out that many veterans mothers' have approached him to ask him not let other peoples' children die in a senseless war. McCain is a particular hypocrite on this, considering that he has the supremely low 20% voting rating from the Disabled Veterans' of America. He supports the troops as ammo, but not as humans. Gross.

Republicans always think they own the troops - of course, they treat them like ammo and vote against their care. Obama was right to point out that many veterans mothers' have approached him to ask him not let other peoples' children die in a senseless war. McCain is a particular hypocrite on this, considering that he has the supremely low 20% voting rating from the Disabled Veterans' of America. He supports the troops as ammo, but not as humans. Gross.

Al,

Both candidates have their misgivings and really, neither are the best of either party. I would have voted in a heartbeat for McCain in 2000, however in this election he seems to have been hijacked by the evangelical right. Most likely because he was too moderate in 2000 and needed to appeal to the Repub. base if he wanted to win.

But I think someone who OK's suspending the Constitution is dangerous. Someone with a known and noted temper shouldn't be placed in a position of power. And someone who feels the need to constantly attack his opponent with not just malicious - but false - ads is dishonorable. The only pro-McCain ad McCain has put out is calling himself a maverick.

Silly me, I thought that the idea of doing these posts was to aay something, ANYTHING about the article.

Mc Bush is a disaster and the poll numbers reflect this. He mentions that bracelet and POW POW POW all of the time.

Thank goodness for a freah face and the turning of the page on this type of governing.

OUT WITH OLD (really really old white haired wrinkly dud (ah dude or both) and in with OBAMA/BIDEN

"You seem to think Obama's forthright admissions of his thoughts and behaviors before he was 21 years old are important, maybe you should heed your own advice and do some research into McCains thoughts and behaviors. he was just as bizaare and wacked out as he is today. (along with his boozing and drug use)" Posted by: Truth Matters

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Not just his admissions. Combine his books "admissions" with his voting record and what his former constituents have to say about him and you get a complete picture of Mr. Obama. Why is it you feel the need to make excuses? I think it's because you have too much emotionally invested in him. Now, I know McCain has his issues too. I hated McCain-Fiengold, McCain-Leiberman, McCain-Kennedy and the countless other bipartisan crap he's done. Oh, wait, McCain couldn't possibly be bipartisan? I also understand his record during his early military years wars that of a trouble maker. Everytime I look at the two candidates I have to go back to life experience, McCain beats Obama every time, and the three thing all voters should check:
1. Check voting records.
2. Read anything written by the candidate.
3. What are his former consituents saying.

BO has failed every one of my litmus tests. Sorry I can't vote for BO and will recommend to anyone willing to listen that they do some research.

Mrs. Ramsey,

You're so cute. A 2005 legislation doesn't make up for 26 years of deregulation by McCain. That and you know, a little thing called the Keating 5. I like free markets too, but if you don't have some regulation, Wall St. will do as they please. You can't assume everyone is honest or will act with the best business sense.

Also, do you have the full bill name? S109 doesn't seem to come up.

All of you need to read S109, you'll see that McCain in 2005 drafted a legislation to regulate the financial institutions and it got shot down by Mr. Franks. The Democrats are the party of thiefs... Mr. Obama is an amoral individual with the soul of lucifer.

Al,

I have done research and have my man. I like his stance on vets and that women don't need government intervention on how to act. I don't trust someone who thinks Big Government should keep their hands off my guns, but go ahead and involve yourselves in our women.

However, when you throw up quotes taken out of context without referencing the entirety of the book, you look silly. Who hasn't been rebellious during their youth? And you've missed the point on being biracial and having struggled with the question of "where do I fit".

Last time I checked, Obama's books or personal feelings weren't government staples on any gov site.

And doesn't McCain reference his affairs in leaving his disabled wife for the young filly Cindy Lou and then pressing said wife for a divorce so he could marry Cindy and her $? That looks like a pretty juicy quote taken out of context also.

Come on people. It is your responsibility to research your candidates!

Posted by: Al-in-Indy |
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You seem to think Obama's forthright admissions of his thoughts and behaviors before he was 21 years old are important, maybe you should heed your own advice and do some research into McCains thoughts and behaviors. he was just as bizaare and wacked out as he is today. (along with his boozing and drug use)

Park,
What a waste of time that snopes site was. That isn't what you call research, is it? Anyone could have thrown that site up. You need to hit more .gov sites if your serious about research.

Some helpful hints:
1. Check voting records.
2. Read anything written by the candidate.
3. Ask his former consituents.

If you still want to vote for Obama after doing these three simple things, then go ahead. You will have to live with it.

"jdub297, no I have not read his books and will not. I have a right to my opinion just as you do. I will not be swayed by your pontifications and I do believe Obama is the right choice for America. You smell of swiftboatness...right?" Posted by: CrawDaddy_in_DC

It amazes me that some people will blindly follow someone like this. What would it hurt you to read his book. He wrote it so it can't be some swift boat ad. Are afraid of what you will find?

Here let me quopte some of it.

"I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets." Barrack Obama

"Junkie. Pothead. That's where I'd been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man. Except the highs hadn't been about that, me trying to prove what a down brother I was. Not by then, anyway. I got high for just the opposite effect, something that could push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory. I had discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van, or in the dorm room of some brother you'd met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl. ...You might just be bored, or alone. Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection." -- Barack Obama

Come on people. It is your responsibility to research your candidates!

Jeez,

Honestly, can McCain EVER go a day without a reference to his POW days or being tortured by the Viet Cong or anything to do with the Vietnam War?!

Regarding bailout: "I'm an old Navy pilot, and I know that in times of crises, you need all hands on the deck."

Regarding Biden's remark on his being out of touch and having to decide which kitchen table to tabulate his bills on:"I spent five and a half years in a prison cell, I didn’t have a house, I didn’t have a kitchen table, I didn’t have a table, I didn’t have a chair"

WE KNOW THAT MCCAIN! SO DID DOZENS OF OTHER SOLDIERS!

And not all of them are living as good a life as you are. Many had missing limbs. Many were blinded or paralysed. Many did not even return.

I am not disrespecting McCain's service, but could he please run on something else more then his POW thing? He's the one who slammed Obama for running his campaign on an "Autobiography" and well...

Just because he faced down the Viet Cong and was in the military doesn't neccessarily qualify him to be Commander-in-Chief.

Everyone, I think it is important to remember, why in the first place, the major decisions of the military ultimately is controlled by civilians.

jdub297, no I have not read his books and will not. I have a right to my opinion just as you do. I will not be swayed by your pontifications and I do believe Obama is the right choice for America.

Obama's appears to think McCains bracelet a clever political ploy....one that he tried to phony up. After forgetting the names of those who he wears the bracelet for, he clumsily had to look down and read the name off the bracelet. Didn't appear authentic. Guess, you first need to fake sincerity.

Craw-Daddy, have you read either of Barack's books?

He taught as part of "political activism" all blacks' problems were caused by white Americans.

He sponsored and supported legislation to let unwanted babies die after birth or to authorize their killing.

He bragged how he partied with a white friend while thinking to himself how much he wanted "to punch him out."

He mentions several times how proud he is of hisd "Muslim Heritage." (Of course his suppporters and handlers cued him to retract those statements. Even so, he said it to Stephanopolous just a week ago on TV.)

While you're at the Daly Library, check out one of his books, but it's pretty wqell known that his operatives are checking the books out to remove them from circulation.

He is no friend of our soldiers. That bracelet is a talisman he cann pull out and use as a political tool.

Park,
He had every right to bring it up. It was the way he stammered, and the tone of arrogance in his voice that I found funny. He sounded disingenuous. The funny thing is, I don't recall seeing a bracelet on his wrist. He may have wore it while campaigning, but I didn't see it on his wrist during the debate.

Enough things stink in Washington! The last thing we need is BO!