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An odd example of ‘putting country first’

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In late June, the McCain campaign was aggressively pushing the line that John McCain has taken political risks by working with Dems on important issues. Pressed for a recent example to bolster the claim, a campaign spokesperson said, “It’s fairly significant that Senator McCain worked on the immigration reform legislation while he was pursing the nomination of his party,” adding that he “reached across the aisle despite a heated primary campaign.”

And this week, as the McCain campaign began to push the line that Barack Obama doesn’t put “country first,” the same team relied on the same example. Newsweek’s Howard Fineman reported:

I asked McCain’s closest advisor and friend, Mark Salter, for an example of a time when Obama did not “put the country first.” His answer: the Senate maneuvering of immigration legislation.

In his view, Obama did big labor’s bidding by helping to kill the chances for a grand compromise on immigration reform.

“His campaign came before his country,” Salter told me in an e-mail.

In other words, if you weren’t for McCain’s deal, you didn’t put the country first.

Fineman’s right to find Salter’s argument foolish, but the argument is actually even worse than Fineman suggests: McCain wasn’t for McCain’s deal, which suggests McCain didn’t put country first, either.

To follow Salter’s logic, “putting country first” means supporting the compromise immigration package. As it happens, Obama did support the legislation, but disagreed with McCain on a vote on a specific amendment, which apparently means Obama doesn’t really love America. Or something. It’s hard to tell with these guys.

But let’s not lose sight of what McCain did here. To his credit, McCain took a risk working with Dems on a comprehensive immigration reform measure during the Republican primaries. His efforts failed — McCain couldn’t get his bill through the Senate, and his poll numbers tanked when GOP voters learned of his efforts.

But what happened next? McCain said, over and over again, that he disapproves of his own legislation. He conceded in a nationally televised debate that he wouldn’t even vote for his own bill. McCain has reiterated his opposition to the compromise he personally struck throughout the presidential campaign.

So what on earth is the McCain campaign talking about? If Obama failed to “put the country first” on immigration

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, doesn’t this mean McCain has completely given up on “putting the country first”?

Comments

  • Dennis-SGMM

    says:

    Because McCain is a War Hero™ he puts his country first in everything he does. As a member of the Keating Five, he was putting his country first. Voting against veterans benefits? Putting his country first. Conducting extra-governmental diplomacy in Georgia? Putting his country first. You just need to understand that some parts of his country are put first more than others.

  • Algernon

    says:

    The rhetorical underpinning here is that to disagree with McCain is to hate the country. After what we have seen in the last eight years, we really can’t be tolerant of that, even in campaign silly season. It has to be identified, called out, and rejected.

  • Aeolus

    says:

    McCain, McCain’t, McSame, McLame.

    Maybe instead of calling him Multiple Choice John, we should just start calling him Multiple Personality John. Then we can excuse the creepy smile and the lack of any integrity and the anger,

    There are just a bunch of different mavericks struggling for control of one old, old, tired body.

  • SaintZak

    says:

    Posts #3 &4 are dead on correct. John McCain is a War Hero, so John McCain IS America. He can’t be questioned or critisized or held accountable. To question him in any way is unpatriotic, perhaps treasonous. Putting America first means putting John McCain first.

  • ROTFLMLiberalAO

    says:

    Maybe we should start of odd examples of putting your country first?
    Here is my contribution:

    $200 K + $800 K = “We are all Georgians now.”

    As the Associated Press summed it up: “On April 17, a month and a half after Scheunemann stopped working for Georgia, his partner signed a $200,000 agreement with the Georgian government. The deal added to an arrangement that brought in more than $800,000 to the two-man firm from 2004 to mid-2007. For the duration of the campaign, Scheunemann is taking a leave of absence from the firm.”


    McCain, of course, has warned Russia that its actions in Georgia could cost it “the benefits they enjoy from being part of the civilized world,” and has called for the deployment of international peacekeepers in the region. His staunch defense of Georgia — regardless of how the showdown came about — raises questions about the possible conflict of interest of Scheunemann, one of McCain’s top foreign policy advisors.

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/08/another-john-mc.html

  • John R

    says:

    I was musing on the “War Hero” moniker. When I think of a war hero, I think of some bravery associated with falling on a grenade or saving the lives of your fellow soldiers. Not to disparage his POW time, but does getting your ass shot down elevate you to “hero ” status. jus’ askin

  • RepublicanPointOfView

    says:

    John R said:
    “I was musing on the “War Hero” moniker. When I think of a war hero, I think of some bravery associated with falling on a grenade or saving the lives of your fellow soldiers. Not to disparage his POW time, but does getting your ass shot down elevate you to “hero ” status. jus’ askin”

    As Senator McCain is a republican, just participating in a war makes him a hero. His tremendous skills as a naval leader and pilot did not keep him from getting shot down, but his actions as a POW were heroic. Eight years ago, he was not sufficiently republican enough to be a hero, but now he is and thus he is an ‘authentic hero’.

    On the other hand, four years ago the person running as the democrat candidate was not an authentic hero. Everyone knows that Kerry went to Viet Nam as part of a plot to become president. Everyone knows that Kerry’s ‘supposed’ bravery was only an act calculated to meet his presidential ambitions. Everyone knows that Kerry did not deserve his Purple Hearts, as being shot multiple times only counts for democrats if it kills them.

    As long as we continue to control the media and the dialogs relating to presidential candidates, Senator McCain will be a hero and ‘His Arrogance’ will be an elitist. Our message to you liberal wimps is that disagreeing with Senator McCain is to question his patriotism and we will make sure that the media does not allow that.

  • John R

    says:

    @ RepublicanPointOfView Perfect. Thank you for clarifying that point for me. I’m sure the shrapnel in Kerry’s ass was a ..a…a how would Gramm put it “mental recession or a figment of his imagination ” 🙂

  • William

    says:

    Anyone who buys into the “country first” crap is as dumb as stucco. John McCain’s head will pop in the debates, just wait and see! Of course like RPOV says above, the MSM will find some dumb-assed, hick feed sound bite in the laugh matter that will raise the “sensitivities” of barely civilized misfits who believe that they themselves are heroic (possibly because mastering the use of indoor plumbing and remembering to watch NASCAR) and that Senator John McTrollop’s American Heroism has somehow been maligned; again, just wait and see.. Is it f*cking November yet?! I’m so tired of this show.

  • Lance

    says:

    William said: “John McCain’s head will pop in the debates, just wait and see!”

    Wouldn’t egging JSMcC*nt into a fit be inappropriate agism?

    This is just another case of Republican’ts creating their own ‘reality’. You ask them in what reality did Obama not put his country first, and the Republican’t says in the ‘reality’ where he voted against me.

    Somehow the Republican’t can’t just say “We voted differently on an Amendment to a bill that I sponsored but no longer support”.

    It’s Rovian, and it’a a f**king lie.

  • Dale

    says:

    burro said:
    11.
    On August 15th, 2008 at 10:06 am, Dale said:

    Crude, pointless, offensive, unfunny and dumb.

    You do realize that McCain called his wife a cunt, right?

  • Chad

    says:

    Oooh, oooh, I want to get in on this. Here I go.

    McCain McLame is old and confused. He has alzheimers disease. He wears depends. He needs to check himself into an old folks home. His purpose for living is pretty much over. Why doesn’t he just go ahead and die? He’s useless like all old people are useless. Somebody wipe the drool from his mouth please.

    Oh Boy, this is fun and makes me feel so much better about my unqualified, unexperience choice for President.

    Here’s more: Old McC*nt is a senile old coot, somebody get him a walker. Someone needs to change his depends. He smells like vitamins. He needs his bedpan changed. We need to put him into the VA home because he is a veteren you know.

    Now imagine all these statements were made racially towards Obama. Ageism is just as bad as racism, so I guess that makes you all a bunch of hypocrites.

  • burro

    says:

    Dale, so much of what you write is funny, witty and informative. What idiot McBush said about his own wife was crass, lame and very telling as to who he is and the level of abusive, insulting behavior Cindy would accept from her husband.

    The whole episode was sad and stupid and there doesn’t seem to be much gained by highlighting it. The jerk is ugly on the inside and ugly on the outside. We’re already there.

  • burro

    says:

    I wouldn’t want to have to be on the other side of the line when you do. They don’t make pads and helmets that tough. Have a great weekend.

  • joey

    says:

    He’s got that sniveling mealy mouthed whining Joe Lieberman out there making that claim for him unsubstantiated and by comparison to McCain…who would rather START A WAR THAN LOSE A CAMPAIGN…has the audacity to say Obama doesn’t put his country first.

    Which McCain is it that puts his country first anyway and which country since he claims “We are all Georgians”. CONFUSED is the McCain campaign most recognized description.

    Just pathetic.