Why John McCain can't be forgiven

John McCain, (R-AZ) is still out there, representing the GOP. The 74 year old Senator attempts to put forth the image of being a 'maverick' and standing for 'family values.' His persona also include the traits of fiscal responsibility, honesty and reliability.

An hour's worth of research begins to indicate the measure of the man.

Why focus on McCain? Go forth and read to the end... (or simply scroll down to the last 3 paragraphs).

McCain as the 'family man.' While McCain was a P.O.W., his first wife was badly disfigured in an auto accident. In addition, she was severely crippled. Courageously, she demanded that McCain not be told while he was imprisoned.

The hero returned home. Ostensibly, he was supportive and helpful to his wife. None-the-less, they divorced. While she has remained mum about their divorce, close friends indicate McCain liked young women. One month after divorce from Wife #1 was finalized, McCain married his current (and multi-millionaire) wife, Cindy.

Clearly, the 'war hero' had pursued this young beauty while he was still married, with children to consider. What man wouldn't be attracted to a statuesque blonde with a beer fortune?

How 'bout one who didn't have a wife who was re-learning to walk and with 3 kids at home?

Fast forward to December, 2009 and jump to a political setting:

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), acting on the orders of the Senate leadership, refused to grant Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “an additional moment” to continue speaking on the Senate floor after his 10 minutes expired.

Franken’s objection caused Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to groan about how Franken’s move was unprofessional, unprecedented, and disrespectful:

McCAIN: I’ve been around here 20-some years. First time I’ve ever seen a member denied an extra minute or two to finish his remarks. … I just haven’t seen it before myself. And I don’t like it. And I think it harms the community of the Senate not to allow one of our members at least a minute. I’m sure that time is urgent here, but I doubt that it would be that urgent.

Clearly, McCain’s memory has failed.

On October 10, 2002 the Senate rushed a debate on a war authorization giving President Bush the power to use force against Iraq. The resolution ultimately passed the Senate after midnight on an early Friday morning by a vote of 77-23.

During the course of the frenzied floor debate, then-Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN) spoke in favor of an amendment offered by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) that would have restricted Bush’s constitutional powers to wage war against Iraq. After a minute and a half, Dayton ran out of time, prompting this exchange:

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator’s time has expired.

Mr. DAYTON. I ask for unanimous consent that I have 30 seconds more to finish my remarks.

Mr. McCAIN. I object.

Byrd stepped in to grant Dayton time to finish his remarks. But just moments later, Byrd asked for more time to speak for himself.

Again, McCain objected, prompting Byrd to chide him for doing so. “This shows the patience of a Senator,” Byrd said. “This clearly demonstrates that the train is coming down on us like a Mack truck, and we are not even going to consider a few extra minutes for this Senator.”

After being publicly shamed, McCain acquiesced to Byrd’s request. But moments later, McCain added this disclaimer: “I wish to say very briefly that I understand people have a desire to speak. We have a number of Senators who have not spoken on this issue. It is already looking as if we may be here well into this evening. From now on, I will be adhering strictly to the rules.” In other words, he acted just like Franken did.

More McCain hypocrisy

During his campaign, McCain failed to talk about his record of voting with Bush 90% of the time, his behavior on behalf of one of the biggest criminals (Keating) in the Savings & Loan rip-off scam during the Reagan years, his family's vast wealth from an inheritance (alcohol business).

Additional campaign hypocrisy:
**McCain loudly and frequently condemned how campaign money completely corrupted our system of government, yet he campaigned heavily for Bush, one of the worst violators of the system of ‘money for legislation.’

** McCain loudly & frequently condemned (and still does) pork barrel projects that are stuffed into legislation. Yet, he campaigned for Bush, who vetoed NONE of the bloated, pork-filled spending bills. He also selected the woman who, at least initially, OK’ed the ‘Bridge to Nowhere."

** Mr. McCain constantly complains about huge budget deficits that make him ‘sick.’ Yet, he voted ‘yes’ for the invasion of Iraq, and campaigned for Bush, who took the federal budget from the biggest surplus in U.S. history. Further, he selected ‘hard core fiscal conservative’ Sarah Palin for his running mate. As mayor of Wasilla, AK, she ran the town into $20 million in debt.

**McCain once believed that military leaders should be the ones to make the final call on repealing the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military. As recently as summer ’09, McCain said that the only reason he supported the policy was because his military contacts hadn’t told him not to.

Flip-flop: As soon as several military experts stated DADT should be repealed, McCain reversed his position. At a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, he insisted that military leaders don't get to tell Congress what to do about military policy.

McCAIN’S WORST FAILURE, however, is having unleashed Sarah Palin on the American voter. He idiotically selected her as his running mate in the last presidential election. The magnitude of Ms. Palin’s stupidity, incompetence and lack of experience is stunning. Tackling her ignorance, absurdity and hypocrisy is fodder for another post.

Suffice to say, McCain claims he selected Palin after much thought and strategizing. Insiders state the opposite.

But then, what do you expect from a guy who can't even remember how many cars and homes he owns?