Wow, now that's straight-talk. Politically dumb, I'm guessing, but McCain really put his cards on the table.

In short, he doesn't want to give veterans any benefits that might get them thinking about leaving military service to collect. If we keep sticking it to these guys, the ones that don't have better options will have to stay and fight our dumb Bush wars.

The more I think about this, the more amazed I am. This one could turn into a campaign landscape changer.

And seeing how McCain already signaled his willingness to keep these so-called wars going as long as a hundred years, he's clearly willing to use this argument for short-shifting veteran benefits for the next eight.

According to Obama backed John Kerry people in the military are too uneducated to attend college

Geevill - Obama is a co-sponsor of this new GI Bill, so that line of attack sounds pretty feeble. I suggest you stick to things his pastor said.

Don't learn, die.

Missing the point Obama supporters. This is nothing but a recruitment tool .Doesn't help those already in Iraq.

great article Bill

great article Bill

Did I read Paul's comment correctly? According to Kerry, people in the military are too uneducated to go to College? Whoa.

People go to school to get an education. If they were already educationed, they wouldn't need to go to school.

The Webb bill will return America to its moral heights. Rather than having a mercenary force that fights solely for the money, we'll again have 'citizen soldiers' who fight for love of freedom and the opportunity to build a better America. Rather than just a paycheck for the work, they'll be offered opportunity to become educated, get a good job, raise a family, and earn a decent wage.

The neo-cons despise a non-indentured fighting force. They gnash their teeth at the idea soldiers becoming middle class and possibly taking money from the wealthy. This bill will begin to restore the middle class that is so hated by the authoritarian conservative Republicans.

Kees - that wasn't my comment.

Geevil - the new GI Bill absolutely does something for servicemembers in Iraq now. Despite whatever McCain is thinking, these kids aren't planning on being in Iraq forever. When they get back to the States, I'm sure many would like some assistance going to college.

Remember the original GI Bill was for guys coming back from World War II.

Well....the first mistake in this article is not representing the current GI Bill correctly. I am currently using the GI Bill and I get $1,101 per month if I go to school full time. This amount goes up each year. This more than covers the cost of going to the University of Mary Washington.

So do you think that just because you are in the military you are uneducated?

This bill should be passed - and having Sen. Warner supporting it as well as Sen. Webb is good.

Who really supports the troops? A lot talk to the talk - but not as many are walking the walk. Except the soldiers, Marines and a few good Senators.

Why does nobody notice? McCain's solution for jobs and also for women who get paid less is "more education." Here's a bill to provide that "more education" to a particular class of US citizen and McCain is strongly against it.

(And, of course, many do notice that McCain sees "more education" as impeding the Cheney/Bush/McCain plans for protracted war because it provides exactly what McCain says is needed to attain a better, more competitive job. He doesn't say it outright but he implies it strongly: jobs that require a college degree have advantages over jobs in the military.)

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," Kerry said."

I have worked with former GI's of all the military branches and have the highest respect for the kind of education the military gives them. It doesn't matter what veteran of what war although the veterans of the Gulf war seemed to have more pride in their workmanship and discipline in the workplace than my contemporaries.

Simple enough. Vote against increasing benefits, but make sure you always wear a flag pin. That way, no one can ever accuse you of failing to support the troops.

Problem with this is that Obama's liberal student and professor kick the ROTC off of campuses.

McCain better thoroughly analyze this one and support the troops in every effort possible. With the emphasis on a college degree, the US will not be able to continue to recruit soldiers without increasing this benefit. This is the kind of issue many Hillary supporters are watching you closely about, Senator McCain. Your decision on these matters can help sway your average white female mothers.

Gill - Bill Moyers continues to miss the point, as apparently do you. All three candidates have sought the support of religious leaders, some of whom are idiots part or all of the time, because all three understand that those religious leaders can move people to vote for them. What candidate Obama did by (a) sitting in Rev. Wright's church for all those years, and then exacerbated by (b) lying about 'what he heard when he heard it' was demonstrate his poor understanding of the opinions and beliefs of others. Competant politicians realize they can and will be judged on their behavior, and that they will face a higher bar than the average American thereby - so the circumscribe their actions to win the prize of office. Bad politicians (and other celebrities) complain that the public that watches them is mean and (gasp!)judgemental, claims we never hear when the public is adulatory instead.

If I heard that McCain had been a member of Rev. Hagee's church as long as Obama was a member of Rev. Wright's, I'd be just as mad at him as I am at Obama. Since he wasn't, I am only mildly displeased that he would associate himself with the Rev. Hagee for the sake of those votes.

Paul - I think you may want to pull back on the vitriol towards "neo-cons" - your hypothesizing about their inner thoughts and desires is at best unseemly. I'm a Republican, a veteran of the authoritarian US Marine Corps, and a conservative since I was a teenager - and I assure you that I don't despise anybody willing to serve. Did you do so, or are you hypothesizing there too?