John McCain newest video

John McCain on Health Care

From the Foundry:

Sen. John McCain issued a call to action on health care reform
today. Despite what some political pundits and liberal critics in the media
claim, McCain has it exactly right with his policy proposal.
The McCain plan would expand personal, portable private health insurance, not through government mandates or regulations handed down by Washington but by harnessing patient choice and private competition.

McCain would establish an alternative beyond employer-based coverage by making it easier for individuals and families to own and keep their health insurance policies without a tax or regulatory penalty and would enable them to purchase coverage across state lines to create a real national market. These features are largely absent from the health care sector today McCain also sees a powerful role for the states in health care reform. Under his plan, states would continue to regulate health insurance but would have new flexibility. Through his Guaranteed Access Plan, states would benefit from federal assistance and best practice models for insuring the otherwise “uninsureables,” but will ultimately have the ability to continue to experiment with ways of ensuring access to health coverage for high-cost patients.

Heritage has published recent research on patient-centered health care and approaches to covering high-cost patients.

Should the North Carolina GOP run the ad

From Forbes:

Republican John McCain on Wednesday asked the North Carolina GOP not to run a television ad that brings up the controversial former pastor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. North Carolina Republican party officials insisted the ad will run as planned despite McCain's request

From Campaign 2008: NC GOP Right, McCain Wrong

I strongly support John McCain for the presidency of the U.S. I have done a great deal online – and off – to advance the cause of John McCain, and I will do a great deal more.That said, I strongly disagree with McCain’s position that the North Carolina GOP should withdraw an Obama ad, one using Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s anti-American and anti-white comments to criticize two NC Democrats running for governor. Both candidates (Richard Moore and Bev Perdue) have endorsed Barack Obama.

Kevin Tracy disagrees with the ad: North Carolina GOP Snubs McCain, Attacks Obama and NC Democrats

Great post from McCain supporter voting for Hillary

Be careful, the dems are on the lookout for operation chaos members

clipped from votingmccain08.blogspot.com Source: The Liberal Republican It looks like Obama is really losing traction, and Hillary is looking more and more like she has a chance at getting the D spot. I would rather see McCain run against Hillary in the election, so I will be voting for Hillary in the Indiana primary on May 6th. I guess if McCain would lose, which right now it doesn't look like he is going to, I would prefer Hillary over Obama. The Rev. Wright deal has been a much bigger issue than I thought it would be. It is suprising the press didn't down play the story. I was expecting it to be a one or two day story, but I am glad to see everyone is taking it seriously.

John McCain Blogger Call

from Blogs For John McCain's Victory

Senator McCain opened the blogger call talking about his recent tour of areas of the south that have been left behind economically. This included a stop made in Inez, Kentucky where FDR first announced the War on Poverty. Senator McCain stated the lesson learned is that the local government is far more capable of effecting positive economic change than large federal bureaucracies. He went on to say that he still believes in Reagan’s economic principals of keeping taxes low and cutting spending to increase economic growth; also stating that anyone willing to raise taxes when the economy is struggling doesn’t understand fundamental economic principals.

When questioned later about taxes, Senator McCain explained that Senator Obama’s plan to lift the cap on Social Security would affect people making $102,000 and that his plan to increase the capital gains tax would affect 100 million Americans. He repeated his plan to give Americans a summer gas tax holiday, and to temporarily suspend putting oil in the strategic oil reserves in order to provide temporary economic relief. He went on to explain that long-term breaking America’s dependence on foreign oil is the priority.

Several of the blogger’s questions were about Senator Obama and his ties to Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright. The first from Hugh Hewitt asked about Senator Obama comparing Bill Ayers to Senator Coburn. Senator McCain found the comparison offensive as he described Ayers as an unrepentant terrorist and Senator Coburn as well respected doctor who still has an active practice delivering babies. He was also questioned about why he wanted to see the anti-Obama ad featuring Reverend Wright in North Carolina pulled from the air. He explained that it is not the tenor that he wants his campaign to take, and that he voices his opinion as the nominee of the party and sees the ad as offensive to some.

On foreign policy Jennifer Rubin questioned Hamas’ apparent endorsement/desire to see Senator Obama elected president. Senator McCain agreed that he would be Hamas’ worst nightmare and knows that he is not who they want to become president. Also, he was questioned about Iraq and President Maliki’s move into Bazra. He was encouraged to see that the Iraqi army was starting to act independently. He admitted there were some problems with desertions, but was pleased overall with the progress of the army and the signs of success in that region.

Other McCain Posts Today:
Nobel Prize Winners Want more Regulation ... and they say Obama most likely to do so
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: John McCain On CBS' "Early Show"
Thank you President Carter ...It sure looks like Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama
Let's Compare The Dems And Their Idiotic Ideas For Tax Hikes
Suspend the gas tax - McCain for families
The Foundry suggests that John McCain is the only candidate really speaking to families and the need to get government off their backs so they can prosper again

Nobel Prize Winners Want more Regulation

Watching CNBC this morning, with interviews of two Nobel Prize winners in economics.

Of course, since CNBC is so protective of their videos I can't quite figure out how to grab and embed if there's even a way. And I'm still searching for access to the transcripts and bios, but here's the boiled down version.

Both Nobel Prize winning economists endorsed Barack Obama. Why?

Both suggested that the government needed to regain a massive regulation philosophy. So ... economists who want massive government command and control (of course since leaving decision to individuals is a lot harder to predict) want Barack Obama as their President.

Economists wanting Big Brother control: Edmund Phelps (his email if you want to send him a note of socialist thanks) and Joseph Stiglitz

Jindal meets McCain

News from McCain

Attention gun owners, Barack Obama is probably trying to mislead you again.

clipped from mccain08olc.blogspot.com Wanted to make sure you saw this op-ed from The Missoulan, which touches on a point of relevance not just to voters in Montana but in much of the West. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/04/23/opinion/guest/guest50.prt When it comes to gun rights, Barack Obama isn’t shooting straight with Montana. I’ll be the first one to admit, Obama is one of the finest political orators I’ve ever heard. But he can’t talk his way out of this simple fact: His views on the Second Amendment are simply out of step with the values of a vast majority of Montanans. Through both his words and his deeds, Obama has shown that if elected president, he will try and take away many of the freedoms we hold dear n freedoms that were bestowed upon us by our nation’s Founding Fathers.

Back to McCain

Like so many writers I found myself drawn to the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania over the last week, with my own heartfelt belief that Hillary needs to stretch this thing out as long as possible. So a 10 point win, when the whisper number was only 5 points seems like a strong positive indicator that this thing may go all the way to their convention. Good!

Back to our next President: Senator John McCain

From JohnMcCain2008

Not only do I think McCain will win, but I don't think it will even be close (at least comparatively speaking). Whether Hillary or Obama win their nomination, both are too flawed for the general ... (read the whole article)

A Hamas problem for Obama?by Mosheh Oinounou
While Sen. Barack Obama sought to improve his relationship with the Jewish community today by meeting with leaders in Philadelphia, comments by a Hamas political adviser this weekend could potentially hurt the Democratic presidential candidate.

Obama may need to push President Carter and his "entire family" away for fear that they become his next problem. Senator Obama really struggles with people in his sphere who say and do things that hurt him.

John McCain speaking to Veterans of Foreign Wars

Suspend the gas tax - McCain for families

The Foundry suggests that John McCain is the only candidate really speaking to families and the need to get government off their backs so they can prosper again:

from: Growth Better Than Redistribution
from The Foundry by Conn Carroll

John McCain continues to explain his economic philosophy and round out his program, and the picture he draws of a serious tax-cutting fiscal conservative contrasts starkly with the high-tax, redistributive, big spending liberals running in the other party.

In addition to his previously announced pro-growth policies of cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent, and phasing out the Alternative Minimum Tax completely, Senator McCain announced a good next step to help families now with rising energy prices: Suspending the federal gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Suspending the federal gas tax would be a most effective measure to help families today, but it’s only a first step. Senator McCain should propose repealing the tax outright and getting the federal government out of the highway construction business altogether. There’s no reason at this point to send highway dollars to Washington just so Members of Congress can have a big kitty to draw from when sending highway dollars back to the states.

In the past, Senator McCain has sometimes erred in opposing tax cuts because they weren’t accompanied by spending cuts. Combining spending cuts with tax cuts is generally the sounder approach, and so it’s not surprising he has significant and credible proposals to slow spending growth such as freezing non-defense appropriations and asking well-off seniors to cover more of the costs of their Medicare drug benefit. And he continues to be the only candidate who would end spending earmarks cold. While this is a good start, Senator McCain should plan to provide more specific targets for spending reform, especially in entitlements.

American Idol - John McCain Video

What should Barack Do Now?

@JohnMcCain 2008 asked the question: Do you think Obama was talking down to voters in Pennsylvania? What should he do to make ammends if anything?

Here are some of the replies by twitterers: (I'll update as I see them, hope I don't miss many, good start)

wiseophelia @JohnMcCain2008: No, I don't think he was, BUT the GOP would do well to point out that "elitism" = Harvard + Yale (Obama + Clinton)

owgriswo @JohnMcCain2008 Do you think supporting Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy is "talking down" to voters in PA? Your amends?

mosqueda @JohnMcCain2008 yes, drop out

joshcvt @JohnMcCain2008 He can't make amends when that was, likely, his honest opinion of rural voters who believe and support 2nd Amendment rights.

mofochickamo @JohnMcCain2008 No, he was just telling it like it is.

joshcvt @JohnMcCain2008 even harder to explain away is the implied equivalence, in Obama's mind, of faith, guns and racism.

The amateur Statesman

Of course your first thought is probably Barack Obama, with his calls for "dialogue" with Iran's President Mahmood Ahmadinejad and other amateur diplomats who want dialogue with Chavez or Cuba's Castro or North Korea. The Hollywood left loves this talk, they've been wanting to chat with dictators and terror leaders for years.

But my thoughts today came from Jimmie Carter, yep same guy that made fools of us with Iran in 1979-80 is now starting a dimplomatic mission to the Middle East. From the Intellectual Conservative ... What Will Carter’s Meeting With Hamas Accomplish?

For the record, I am not surprised that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is traveling to Syria to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. The only thing about Carter’s visit that surprises me is that he didn’t go through with it sooner. (Photo of Carter with Hugo Chavez)

In fact, Carter has wanted to visit Syria for time now. Carter said so in a scene filmed for Jonathan Demme’s documentary Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains. While Carter was en route to Boston’s Logan International Airport after his controversial appearance at Brandeis University in 2007 to promote his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, he expressed anger towards the Bush Administration, singling out National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley in particular. The 39th President was irate the State Department would not grant him permission to visit Syria so he could meet with its dictator, Bashar al-Assad. Carter protested that he had known the junior Assad since he was in college. I am sure Assad would regale Carter with tales of his days at Phi Beta Jihad on the campus of the University of Damascus where he would make pledges dress up as Orthodox Jews and pelt them with eggs. Ah, good
times.

So if Carter has been keen to have an audience with Assad it is hardly a stretch that he would want to have an audience with Meshal. Who knows? Maybe Carter and Meshal will get along so famously that Carter will invite him to sit in the President’s Box at the Democratic National Convention this summer in Denver.

Will Barack Obama go along with this kind of plan? Will he encourage amateur diplomacy as a means to open minded engagement? Has the American public really considered what our foreign policy will look like with these guys back in power?

We may dislike the Clintons, but they weren't in bed with terrorists and dictators like Obama's followers seem to want.

Obama talks down to "small town" voters

By Perry Bacon Jr.and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers

Obama talks down to Pennsylvania small town residents, who he says are bitter and gun toting church goers.

Here's my thought. I don't think he will apologize. He'll try to spin his comments to reflect that he's the instrument of change and hope for these otherwise bitter people.

A bit of a gift horse right now for Hillary.

Steve Schmidt:"It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."
from Politico’s Smith Blog H/T to Barack Obama "Out of touch" with PA Voters!

Sen. Obama’s original remarks:

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter,they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them oranti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain theirfrustrations. "

McCain and Character

H/T to McCain Victory 08:

In a great piece from Slate.com, Michael Lewis reminds us of why so many people admire and support John McCain.

The Great McCain Story You've Probably Forgotten. What an old anecdote about Mo Udall in the hospital reveals about McCain's character.By Michael Lewis(Excerpt)

And then, for maybe the third time that morning, McCain spoke of how it affected him when Udall took him in hand. It was a simple act of affection and admiration,
and or that reason it meant all the more to McCain. It was one man saying to
another, We disagree in politics but not in life. It was one man saying to
another, party political differences cut only so deep. Having made that step,
they found much to agree upon and many useful ways to work together.

This is the reason McCain keeps coming to see Udall even after Udall has lost his last shred of political influence. The politics were never all that important.

Read the rest of this great piece HERE.

Obama just can't get his answers straight

H/T to MadIrishman
Another big “oops” for Sen. Barack Obama.

This morning on the “Today” Show, Barack Obama continued his dishonest attacks by actually claiming he never leveled the dishonest attack that John McCain supports a 100-year war in Iraq. He actually said “we can pull up the quotes on Youtube.” Well, we did pull those quotes up, and in his own words, they clearly show Barack Obama’s dishonest attacks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts3U939CD3g

In his book The Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that voters are “tired of distortion, name-calling, and sound bite solutions to complicated problems.” This is exactly the opposite of what Obama offered this morning. Note that yesterday morning, Obama chief strategist David Axelrod falsely argued that Obama had never charged that McCain supported 100-year war in Iraq: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-cXV4Z2Hrg

I guess all that “new kind of politics” stuff was just a slogan.

Hoosiers for McCain Position - Barack's easy days are over, he's going to actually have to take some positions, and in doing so lose the mass appeal that came from being a great guy who didn't stand for anything.

McCain Google Groups Kicked Off

WWW.MCCAINGOOGLEGROUPS.COM IS UP AND RUNNING
from McCainVictory08 by Mad

McCain Google Groups is committed to improving the lives of every citizen of the United States of America. Through outreach and advocacy, we can make a difference! We support John McCain the candidate with a true vision of hope. John McCain has been successful in advocating for improvements in our country so we can build a better world for our children, with your help we can be successful in electing John McCain President of The United States of America.

Go to McCain Google Groups now and find your state

Of course, here's Indiana McCain group direct link.

Indiana is all about the election right now

In just five minutes of poking around my favorite sites, Indiana is all the rage!

It looks like Hillary will win Pennsylvania, probably convincingly, and Barack then wins No. Carolina. That leaves Indiana as the swing vote this month. Will Hillary win it and gain the momentum she needs to convince delegates to swing her direction? I heard her live a few minutes ago explaining that delegates are really not "pledged" ... they can vote for whomever they want. Sounds like a new strategy brewing.

He cannot become our President - with video of Obama saying we should slow down the rate of defense

Obama Talks National Security: Slow the Development of Combat Systems

Indiana Primary getting national attention

Frugal Hoosiers: Plan on voting for a democrat? Don't even think about it.

American Values Alliance: Who Will Win in Indiana?


So, what do you think? Leave a comment, we comment back.

New Webmaster for Mccain

BREAKING: Matt Lira To John McCain
Posted by David All

You heard it here (second): According to a trusted source, Congressman Eric Cantor's top online eGuru, Matt Lira, is moving to John McCain's campaign to serve as the "Webmaster." He'll reside atop the property at JohnMcCain.com, devising and implementing online strategies to better promote McCain online. Nice.

Lira has been a humble leader in the politics + technology circle yielding praise and notice for Congressman Cantor in the form scoop after scoop of delicious porridge.

Cantor's operation will doubtless miss Lira's creative and execution genius, but Cantor is known for being quite the team player for the Republican Party, so I'm sure he realized how important this move would be for both Matt and McCain.

Prior to his service with Cantor, Lira served under Patrick Ruffini at the RNC as the Deputy Director of eCampaign for eCommunication. Given the good work Lira has done for Cantor, it's clear that Ruffini trained his team well.

Congratulations Matt and best of luck.

John McCain Service to America Tour

Biography as Character Witness - John McCain

MERIDIAN, MS—Sen. McCain today began the first leg of his "Service to America Tour" early on Monday morning as part of a strategic effort to bring to life the places and fabled stories that contributed to the development of an American hero.Anyone who has read Sen. McCain's books, especially Faith of My Fathers, will recognize the place names on the tour, starting, as he has this morning, in Meridian, MS where a Navy Airfield is named after his grandfather and where Sen. McCain himself served as a still-rebellious, but starting-to-grow-up flight instructor.

During his remarks this morning at the old Grand Opera House now branded the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, Sen. McCain bridged his own upbringing with some general principles and public policies that indicate what kind of president he proposes to be.

William Kristol argues in his New York Times column today, "here's something for the McCain campaign to remember: Democracies don't always elect the man who has done the most for his country."

He’s right. People don't always vote for candidates because of their resume. But that's not the proposition Sen. McCain is making to the American people. The key in any campaign is to build a connection with people that instills in them an abiding trust, a sense that while you may not always agree with him, you trust his intentions and his judgment. Frankly, there may never have been a candidate for president whose biography itself so fills people with the confidence they need to feel in a leader.Well, okay—George Washington's biography was pretty compelling. But he didn't really run for the presidency so much as he had the presidency bestowed on him. Any anyway, you get my point.

The fact is, people have a high level of confidence that a man such as John McCain because they know that someone who has faced the fire in as many ways as he has is prepared to lead the free world on day one.ServiceTo illustrate the kind of service Sen. McCain is talking about during his "Service to America" tour, the senator visited Hope Village for Children in Meridian, which was founded in 2000 by actress Sela Ward. The home is a place for kids who have been removed from their primary caregiver's custody to grow and learn. Here are some snaps of Sen. McCain’s stop at Hope Village.

Lex!Meet Lex, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret). Lex was Marine Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee's loyal companion until Cpl. Lee was killed by an IED in Iraq. Lex then went to live with Cpl. Lee’s family, who lives in Mississippi. Cpl. Lee's mother Rachel Lee brought Lex to meet Sen. McCain today in Meridian.They even rode on the Straight Talk Express (sorry, no snaps of the pooch on the bus).

Read more about Lex and Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee here, but get a tissue because it's pretty moving.

Patrick Hynes is the founder and proprietor of Ankle Biting Pundits, which was formerly known as Crush Kerry. Patrick lives in New Hampshire with his wife Michelle, daughter Rose, and their unborn daughter Grace.A long time Republican operative and consultant, Patrick has helped hundreds of Republicans win public office. National Journal described Patrick as “a hack with a pretty good record of electing Republicans.”

The American Conservative called Patrick, “an expert on evangelical voting patterns.” And Campaigns & Elections named Patrick a “Rising Star in American Politics.”Patrick is the author of the book In Defense of the Religious Right (Nelson Current). He is a regular contributor to the American Spectator, Town Hall, TCS Daily, and others. Patrick also blogs at the Channel Changer.Patrick is a regular guest on several talk radio shows, including Allman & Smash in the Morning in St. Louis. He has been a guest on Fox News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes, ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, CNN Talk Back Live, and even E!.