Deciphering McCain.
Deciphering McCain.
In 2005, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) believed in polls:
I’m glad that 58 percent of the American people believe that we should stay the course, as well.
On Wednesday, McCain no longer believed in polls:
The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not the temporary favor of the latest public opinion poll.
By Thursday McCain believed in polls again:
He said that if the Bush administration’s plan had not produced visible signs of progress by the time a McCain presidency began, he might be forced — if only by the will of public opinion — to end American involvement in Iraq. “I do believe that history shows us Americans will not continue to support an overseas engagement involving the loss of American lives for an unlimited period of time unless they see some success,” he added. “And then, when they run out of patience, they will demand that we get out.”
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Flip-flop McCain was for polls before he was against them before he was for them.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:22 pmIt seems that me that we have a perfect candidate for the Iraqi War Czar that President Bush is looking for: John McCain. He said at VMI the other day that winning the war in Iraq is more important to him than winning the Presidency, right? Let’s take him up on that statement.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:28 pmWe get the politicians we deserve. Look in the mirror America. You’re a sick baby.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:28 pmDrats!!! Republicans Are The Fear And Smear Party posted the exact words I was going to. You beat me to the punch.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:32 pm“The judgment of history should be the approval we seek, not the temporary favor of the latest public opinion poll.”
Yeah! Fuck Democracy! Huh? McCain? Just because you trust murderous treason, doesn’t mean people have to like it.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:32 pmUncle Ho…hehehehe. Great minds think alike.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:34 pmMcCain is all over the place lately. He is like a fish out of water, flopping and gasping for air.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:38 pmWHY are we pating attention to this fool??
HE’S OVER THE HILL – SENILE – AND SHOULD JUST GO AWAY!
April 14th, 2007 at 6:50 pmWHY are we paying attention to this fool??
HE’S OVER THE HILL – SENILE – AND SHOULD JUST GO AWAY!
April 14th, 2007 at 6:51 pmI guess I’m not the only deviant here. heh.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:53 pmIs Hillary president yet?
April 14th, 2007 at 7:13 pmDoes he really believe that if the public is anywhere near the “Point” he speaks of (Which I belive we are) that they will elect a pro war canidate? Put down the glass pipe old man, you had your shot.
April 14th, 2007 at 7:14 pmProof then that bush wants to end office with the war still going on
April 14th, 2007 at 7:18 pmA real leader would be able to decide on his own when the time has come to pull the plug. Or, heaven forbid, actually have the foresight to see it coming.
McCain can’t conceive of any set of circumstances that would lead him to wind down the war absent public opinion forcing him.
April 14th, 2007 at 7:43 pmCENSORSHIP CENSORSHIP
my post was deleted
April 14th, 2007 at 7:48 pmThere’s absolutely nothing incoherent or contradictory about saying 1) that you don’t think that polls should be the sole decider of policy, 2) that you are glad that the american people feel the same way you do, and 3) that, in the face of overwhelming opposition, it may be most prudent and expedient for a politican to yeild and adopt a policy that they do not wholeheartedly endorse.
These inane accusations of ‘flip-flopping’ – which suppose any form of changing one’s mind to be a deficit in a leader – were as frivolous when the GOP used them against John Kerry as they are here. I would hope that you would at least have the foresight to recognize that these three positions are not, in point of fact, contradictory before you published them with your accusation of flip-flopping. But, more to the point, why on earth have you decided to adopt the cheap rhetorical devices of Karl Rove?
April 14th, 2007 at 7:58 pm“if the Bush administration’s plan had not produced visible signs of progress by the time a McCain presidency began, he might be forced — if only by the will of public opinion — to end American involvement in Iraq. ”
Why does this have to happen when his presidency begins. The signs are already showing that no progress has been made in 5 years and the public wants us out of there. So, if he really means this, why does he not mean it until he is President (like that will ever happen). What is he saying, make me President and then I’ll get us out of there. What a jerk and who does he think is listening to him much less believing him these days?
April 14th, 2007 at 8:27 pmMcCain sez: “I do believe that history shows us Americans will not continue to support an overseas engagement involving the loss of American lives for an unlimited period of time unless they see some success.†This statement is so ‘out there” that it baffles the mind. Does he even know that what he is saying is that if we see some success that we will continue to support an overseas engagement involving the loss of American lives for an unlimited period of time? It’s crazy statements like this that have driven his own poll numbers down to third place…right behind Fred Thompson who hasn’t even entered the race. Polls show that the majority of Americans do want our troops out of Iraq. Maybe this is why he suddenly doesn’t like polls again.
April 14th, 2007 at 8:48 pmOops! I forgot that he does like polls again. I have never been able to keep up with a flip-flopper.
April 14th, 2007 at 8:52 pmI’m wondering why the American people are stuck with footing the bill for a McCain Campaign photo op in some Baghdad Marketplace. What was the purpose of McCain’s visit to Baghdad other than to prove that, yes, you could actually walk the streets of Baghdad (with a 100 troop escort plus 3 Apache helicopters and 2 Gunships. Oh, and snipers). I’m trying to picture Pelosi doing the same thing, but no one is that stupid. Well, except for a Republican Presidential Candidate, that is. Oh yea, isn’t it about time Bush paid a visit over there?
April 14th, 2007 at 10:31 pm15. “There’s absolutely nothing incoherent or contradictory about saying 1) that you don’t think that polls should be the sole decider of policy”
Are you joking? USA is a democracy. Please go hide in a hole and don’t come out, you second-class thinker.
April 14th, 2007 at 10:53 pm#21 Well, in some cases not looking at polls is a good thing. Like in the 60’s on civil rights. The minority should be protected. There is nothing to protect them from in this case, however. The polls are clear the American people are sick to death of this pathetic attempt to force another people to adopt our political system and it is only going to get more lopsided the longer it goes on.
April 14th, 2007 at 11:47 pm20 – “USA is a democracy. Please go hide in a hole and don’t come out, you second-class thinker.”
The article claims that McCain was changing his opinion. That means that he held one opinion on wednesday and another inconsistent opinion on thursday. When I say that there is nothing incoherent or contradictory about these three positions, I was simply stating that they can all be embraced together without contradiction. I was not thereby endorsing those opinions myself.
I’m not sure what you mean by the ’second-class thinker’ comment, but since you bring it up, we do not live in a pure democracy, we live in a constitutional republic, with elected representatives. And these representatives are absolutely permitted to diverge from public opinion polls.
Since your previous comment leads me to think you might miss this: none of this means that I support McCain or the Iraq war. I’m only objecting to the insinuation that McCain was being inconsistent with these three quotes, because, as a matter of pure logic, he was not. This is not a statement of opinion, or something that can really be debated. The three statements are logically cotenable.
April 15th, 2007 at 2:51 amFurther, I’m very interested to know what ThinkProgress or any of its readers think ‘belief in polls’ consists in.
If you ‘believe in polls,’ does this means that you think you ought to always vote according to the latest public opinion poll? Does this mean that legislators in Va ought to pass an ammendment to their constitution banning gay marriage (supported to 53 percent of their electorate)? Ought we similarly outlaw flagburning (73 percent of the American electorate)? Ought we have invaded Iraq (77 percent support at the time of the invasion)? Ought we teach intelligent design in the classroom (55 percent support)?
I would hope that no legislator would ever hold such a ‘belief in polls,’ and I’m fairly certain that John McCain does not nor has ever held such a ‘belief.’ There is a vast difference between being ‘glad‘ that the electorate agrees with you and yeilding the authority of governance to the electorate. There is, again, a vast difference between acknowledging that a politician must be attentive to civil unrest and assuming that the reigns of the military be placed in the hands of the citizenry.
I have been a fan of this website for a while, but frivolous stories like these have been waring my patience a bit thin. This is not a political matter. Liberals and conservatives do not each have their own forms of logic. On no account are the above quotes inconsistent, and none of them entail ‘belief in polls’ in any obvious interpretation of that phrase.
April 15th, 2007 at 3:21 amMCCAIN IS A COMPLETE CORRUPT THING………
AND I AM SURE HE MOST LIKELY IS RELATED TO A VERY
SERIOUS SCANDAL WITHIN THE WHITE HOUSE ACCORDING
TO CREW, SO HERE’S THE LINK TO UNDERCOVER THESE
PARASITES, THUGS, HOODLUMS, AND LEECHES OF THE
VERY LATEST SCANDAL. OF COURSE MCCAIN IS MOST
LIKELY WITHIN THIS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND THAT IS
EXACTLY WHAT CREW CALLS IT — CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AT
THE HIGHEST LEVEL — CREW’S LINK
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/27637
April 15th, 2007 at 3:49 amPls stay in Iraq, pleassse stay in Iraq, pleassssee stay in Iraq.
Pls don’t build new schools or roads or rebuild New Orleans or improve health care.
Pls just stay in Iraq and become a failed state back home. Better still fight Iran!
hahaahahahahahahaah
April 16th, 2007 at 5:49 amWith enemies like this (i.e. Bush), who needs friends!!!
Hahahaahahahaahah
April 16th, 2007 at 6:10 amIn 2005, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) believed in polls:
Is this hypocrisy is it ?
Via Pew polling who you recently cited on another matter, for the first 3 years of his Presidency, Bush had positive approval ratings.
For the first two years of the war the majority of the public thought military action in Iraq was the right decision.
Wanna check your own archives for evidence that polls only matter when they support your own postions ?
Ever posted a single one that shows your own positions were a minority opinion ?
Yeah. You know the answer to those questions.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:13 am