I Refuse To Let It Stand Anymore
So said John McCain on David Letterman. Johnathan Martin reports that,
As Bob Schieffer asked of the two candidates, "Are each of you tonight willing to sit at this table and say to each other's face what your campaigns and the people in your campaigns have said about each other?"
I would like to see John McCain say that to Obama's face. I would like him to look Senator Obama in the eye and say, "Senator, you have palled around with terrorists, and you must answer for it." If he can't do that, he cannot make such statements in any other situation, circumstance, or venue.
John McCain is not a hero. He's a lowly coward, and frankly, I am sick and tired of the excuses, of any kind, for the man. He is slime. I know many people may feel this way, and I know many have expressed as much. But I have not. I have felt a reservation to do so. I did not, and still want not, to lower myself to the level of name-calling and hate mongering. And I refuse to do it now. But enough is enough. It has to stop.
I'm here in Missouri, volunteering full-time in order to see that Obama wins the state. Because here's the thing: I don't just want Obama to win. If that was the case, I would feel OK right now. Many out there are seeing the numbers and feeling more reassured. But I don't. This isn't just about winning anymore. It's about sending a message. A message that the kinds of slime and sleaze that John McCain has elicited cannot be accepted in our political discourse. No more. No more.
The only way that we can get that message across is if Barack Hussein Obama, Junior Senator from Illinois, completely destroys John Sidney McCain in a landslide on November Fourth. The only way that's going to happen is if the underdog from day one, the guy no one thought would make it this far, the black guy with a funny name and big ears, crushes the old white Washington insider in a defeat so massive that not a single person can question its authenticity and validity. I refuse to let Barack Obama crawl by with a win. He needs to pass that finish line with enough energy to run another mile.
I refuse to let it stand anymore. I'm asking every one of you, every single one of you, to get out there in these last two weeks of the election, to volunteer whenever you can. Knock on doors, make phone calls, talk to your friends and neighbors. Spread information, education the undecideds. If you do... If we do... Together, we can vindicate ourselves, our choice, our candidate, our country and our future. This is our last chance. And I know that I may be preaching to the choir, but it needs to be said. Help me. Help Barack Obama. Help the United States. This is not a question of whether we can or not. Because all we have to do is listen to Barack Obama, and remember that it's true, as it always has been... Yes we can.
"Letterman also asked McCain whether Palin said that Obama 'pals around with terrorists.'"Though it is not surprising, one must wonder, "why?" Simply, "why?" It is not as simple as, "it's John McCain." It's not as simple as, "we should expect this." It's not as simple as, "McCain's been doing it all along."
After hesitating for a moment, McCain answered, 'Yes. And he did.'"
As Bob Schieffer asked of the two candidates, "Are each of you tonight willing to sit at this table and say to each other's face what your campaigns and the people in your campaigns have said about each other?"
I would like to see John McCain say that to Obama's face. I would like him to look Senator Obama in the eye and say, "Senator, you have palled around with terrorists, and you must answer for it." If he can't do that, he cannot make such statements in any other situation, circumstance, or venue.
John McCain is not a hero. He's a lowly coward, and frankly, I am sick and tired of the excuses, of any kind, for the man. He is slime. I know many people may feel this way, and I know many have expressed as much. But I have not. I have felt a reservation to do so. I did not, and still want not, to lower myself to the level of name-calling and hate mongering. And I refuse to do it now. But enough is enough. It has to stop.
I'm here in Missouri, volunteering full-time in order to see that Obama wins the state. Because here's the thing: I don't just want Obama to win. If that was the case, I would feel OK right now. Many out there are seeing the numbers and feeling more reassured. But I don't. This isn't just about winning anymore. It's about sending a message. A message that the kinds of slime and sleaze that John McCain has elicited cannot be accepted in our political discourse. No more. No more.
The only way that we can get that message across is if Barack Hussein Obama, Junior Senator from Illinois, completely destroys John Sidney McCain in a landslide on November Fourth. The only way that's going to happen is if the underdog from day one, the guy no one thought would make it this far, the black guy with a funny name and big ears, crushes the old white Washington insider in a defeat so massive that not a single person can question its authenticity and validity. I refuse to let Barack Obama crawl by with a win. He needs to pass that finish line with enough energy to run another mile.
I refuse to let it stand anymore. I'm asking every one of you, every single one of you, to get out there in these last two weeks of the election, to volunteer whenever you can. Knock on doors, make phone calls, talk to your friends and neighbors. Spread information, education the undecideds. If you do... If we do... Together, we can vindicate ourselves, our choice, our candidate, our country and our future. This is our last chance. And I know that I may be preaching to the choir, but it needs to be said. Help me. Help Barack Obama. Help the United States. This is not a question of whether we can or not. Because all we have to do is listen to Barack Obama, and remember that it's true, as it always has been... Yes we can.
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I'm with you! I've been doing a little bit of phone calling from my house and it does make you feel better. Obama's website has an incredibly well-organized system for doing the calling. I'm working on one right now called Woman to Woman and making calls in North Carolina because it's in such a tight race right now, it would feel awesome to have even a tiny role in pushing it over the top.
Dear Nathan, remember our conversation? There is NOTHING TOO LOW for McCain to do. He sold out his country to save his miserable life when he was captured and he's been lying about that for years to shame people into voting for him. He is a fraud and he is consumed with rage at having to run against a far superior human being. Too bad for YOU, Senator McCain. In the immortal words of Longfellow:
THOUGH the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all
October 17, 2008 12:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just like when McCain was being interviewed by the DesMoines Register and was asked if his ad "Obama taught sex ed to kindergarteners" was a lie.
With a straight face McCain said "He did".
So much for straight talk - yeah right like he ever did. We were all snowed, including and especially those reporters who could make a cell call from the tire swing at McCain's ranch. (thanks to new cell towers built right next to it)
October 17, 2008 2:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
You notice the McCain started all this crap in earnest right AFTER the last debate, so he couldn't be asked about it, even by the enfeebled moderator.
I'd like to see the MSM piling on his case over these slimy tactics.
October 17, 2008 12:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am with you. After all of the robocalls and mailers I heard about today I decided to clear Sunday and conveniently the local Obama camp will be canvassing that day in Colorado where I live!
As Senator Obama has said 'I have you.' i.e. in the face of all of the sick lies and bs... he has us.
October 17, 2008 3:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
But Letterman, unlike every msm robot we watch, had the balls to then confront McCain with the fact that HE hung out with G Gordon Liddy, unquestionably an American terrorist during McCain's adulthood. McCain's answer: He served his time.
Letterman didn't follow up with the fact that Liddy is unrepentent, and that he gave out information about how to kill Federal agents (aim for their heads), for which he never served his "time."
Anyway, good for Letterman, bad for the msm
October 17, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
And for all those who have a hard time calling strangers - where an Obama T-Shirt. It is a guaranteed conversation starter. Many people smile and give me a thumbs up. Those who don't cautiously approach me and say "Wow you are voting for Obama isn't he [fill in your smear here]?" which is a great conversation starter. Most of the undecided people are not partisan at all. They are just normal everyday people that are too busy just trying to get by than pay attention to politics. But now that it is getting close, and they know it is their duty to vote, they are trying to get at the truth. Nothing says that like normal everyday people talking to them.
Get a T-Shirt, hat, button - then go walking where there are a lot of people (malls are good, parks, grocery stores) it really works!
October 17, 2008 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
oops this was reply for downthread....but I just have to say CVille, Awesome Avatar! :)
October 17, 2008 4:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree totally.
Let us not slow down, let us not coast to the finish line. We must sprint these last days and burst through the vistory tape with a new message of Hope.
October 17, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've already pretty much committed myself to the max from here on in. I'll go wherever they need me.
I've already pretty much decided the work of writing is mostly done. Now it's time to put our actions where our words have been.
We need to send a powerful message. Out in our communities!
Let's bring this landslide home!
October 17, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
You have decided that Obama's extent of relationship with Ayers is he happened to live in the same neighborhood and with ACORNS, a group he lawyered for before.
To many of us, Obama needs to come clean and lay out the full extent of his relationships with Ayers, ACORN and Rev. Wright. Then it's up to us voters to decide whether they matter in our choice of leaders.
McCain gave Obama the opportunity to come out clean and be truthful in the debate and he didn't.
Candidates for the Presidency don't get the benefit of a doubt. If they don't clear their names, they're assumed guilty as hell.
This should clue you in how Obama is going to govern. He'll be dismissive and slick when confronted to divulge matters he wants to hide from us. Typically, that would be matters that would be damaging to his political career. This is a man who has put his political ambition first before anything else. His records show it. And I bet his associations would only reaffirm that.
October 17, 2008 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
... ... ...
You can tell who's a troll when someone ignores the entire subject of the post in order to simply smear someone else. The other part of such action consists of strawman arguments that are almost if not completely unrelated from that which is presented and/or discussed. One example of this would be the following, in the third Presidential Debate:
The question posed was, "Are each of you tonight willing to sit at this table and say to each other's face what your campaigns and the people in your campaigns have said about each other?"
The following exchange took place,
Despite not having been prompted to discuss Ayers, McCain decided to bring up the subject, rather than give a direct answer to a "direct question".
October 17, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
And YOU have decided that no amount of information will be enough to persuade you that Obama has come clean. Isn't that a little like having to prove that you're sane? The more you try to do it, the more unhinged you may appear.
I am accusing you right now, with no evidence either way, of having eaten a baby. And if you deny it and say, "Oh, no, I merely licked the baby out of affection," I am going to continue to believe that you are not coming clean about the full extent to which you are a baby-eater. The baby-eating ball, sir, is in YOUR court. Clear your besmirched name, if you can.
October 17, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since 1/3 of eligible voters are not registered to vote in the US, registration itself and the lack of a national standard to make it easier is the real threat to democracy. ACORN pays people to register folks and some workers fake forms to get paid more, there has never been one verified case of ACORN fomenting fraudulent casting of a single vote in an actual election.
The Republican bullshit on ACORN is just their usual voter suppression tactic dating back to Justice Rehnquists days of challenging black voters in Phoenix in the 1960's and poll taxes in southern states.
October 17, 2008 7:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
You inspired me, ChronoSpark.
I was out canvassing the last two weekends in Ohio and New Hampshire, but I just clicked on Obama's site to get some names to call from home while I work.
Yes we can!
October 17, 2008 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gregory, it's people like you that are going to win this election for us. And by us, I mean the whole country and the American people. Thank you deeply.
October 17, 2008 10:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am with you as well. The lazy MSM and its press corp are allowing Mrs Mooseburger and the Hate Train Express to get away with just about everything. I need some great slogans for a tee shirt to return a favor to the Hate train express, and the RNC to show are displeasure for the way they are conducting their campaign.
October 17, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
John McCain has been palling around with George W. Bush for the past 8 years. Bush didn't just threaten to bomb innocent people, he's done it.
Unlike G. Gordon Liddy, GWB has not served his time.
October 17, 2008 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
There you go, tree; spot on.
October 17, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just finished reading your post, tearing up. YES.
Chrono spark you're a chrono-favorite of mine for many reasons. I so totally agree that now is the time to run over and kill the sleeze. I live in deep red (turning to pink, turning to blue) GA and my ANGER at what I hear sometimes threatens to overwhelm.
Thanks for a positive, angry call to arms.
October 17, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Chrono - we're with you here in GA which we are going to turn blue and shock the shit oout of everybody...you take care of my Mom's home state and we'll get Martin Luther King's home state there with you...
October 17, 2008 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Chrono- You are an inspiration to me. I will get my sorry ass over to the Obama headquarters in New Hampshire today and make some calls.
October 17, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you. Thank you so much.
October 17, 2008 6:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you murder someone, you are branded a murderer...for life. Even if you repent, find god, serve 30 years in jail. You are still a murderer.
Ayers is a terrorist and will be for life. That is his brand regardless of his lack of apology. That he hasn't committed terrorism recently is irrelevant. He was and remains a terrorist for life.
John McCain was a wartime hero. That is his brand. He was and is a hero, for life. Nothing he does changes that.
Neither Obama nor Biden have lifetime brands. They have not done anything personally to merit it. They're politicians, that's a profession and not a very respected one at that.
October 17, 2008 5:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
So what you're saying is, if you're branded as a hero, and then go out and slaughter and massacre a village of people, you're still a hero? No offense, but that logic doesn't sit well with me. Simply because you were, at one time, a hero, does not make you infallible because of it. It does not make you untouchable to redefinition.
Lucifer, at one time, was the greatest of the angels under God. But as a result of his actions, he is no longer thought of as an angel, and instead of considered a devil, and evil. Yet by your standard, he is still an angel, and should still be thought of as such regardless of the acts that he commits presently.
If someone can explain the logic and reasoning in this, I would love to hear it.
October 17, 2008 5:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
You can be both a traitor and a hero. One doesn't negate the other if they are two different events. Benedict Arnold was both a traitor and a hero.
Nice try though.
October 17, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
So... Benedict Arnold is known for, remembered for, and considered by most to be a hero, rather than a traitor? Yeah, I grew up knowing Benedict Arnold the hero as well. I learned of all the great things he did for our country.
I think Boyd below said it best when he said,
"Nice try though."
October 17, 2008 5:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain is a spoiled dumb lying horse's ass who lives off third hand inheritance money of his wife. He would have been kicked out of Annapolis if his father and his grandfather had not both been admirals.
He doesn't have the motivation, the staff, the smarts or the conscience to do a damn thing for this country if elected president.
October 17, 2008 7:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is a rather dangerous game you're playing, not to mention some primary-level logic you're checking in with. (Did the third graders at Gladys Woods Elementary help you with this?)
For example: replace "Ayers" with "Liddy". Now your false equivalency is circling the drain.
Moreover, anyone - ANYONE - can burn their so-called brand. What McCain has done in this election has irreparably damaged his "brand".
A reputation takes years to earn - but only moments to destroy. It's even easier to destroy a reputation when you piously claim to be above the fray, only to be caught wallowing in the muck (see: Spitzer, Eliot).
October 17, 2008 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tellmemore, you don't know how to think. McCain killed women and children for no reason. He is not a hero by any common-sense definition. In fact he is a mass murderer.
Ayers was rightfully horrified by the senseless massacres in Vietnam, and he tried to do something about it. I totally disrespect his actions, but I respect his motivation.
Bush and Cheney are terrorists. If the World Court had any balls, Bush and Cheney would have already been executed for crimes against humanity.
October 17, 2008 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now McCain is a mass-murderer? You are insane.
It is important to keep people such as you out of power and out of authority.
Thanks for making the case for a President McCain.
October 17, 2008 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
McLiar's "heroism":
1. US involvement in Vietnam was ILLEGAL. NOTHING based upon or flowing from that was LEGAL. Doing the ILLEGAL is not HEROISM.
2. McLiar was bombing CIVILIAN infrastructure -- that being a WAR CRIME. Committing war crimes is not HEROISM.
3. McLiar was shot down -- failing his mission, which does not constitute HEROISM.
4. McLiar landed in a lacke -- in which he would have drowned had he not bee rescued by the "enemy".
5. He was legally imprisoned as a POW. Being captured by the "enemy" is not HEROISM.
6. His fellow POWs called him "Songbird" because he spilled the beans -- much of that VOLUNTARY -- which does not constitute HEROISM.
7. Ayers was KICKED OUT of the Weather Underground because TOO MODERATE.
8. Last but not least, LYING against Obama based upon REPEATEDLY REFUTED LIES is not only not "heroic," it is IMMORAL.
October 17, 2008 8:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Chrono for stating this so well:
I've canvassed twice so far, phone banked, and am slated to go out tomorrow and next Saturday. Plus, I'll be wearing my new Vote Obama/Biden t-shirt that just came in the mail. It's way past time for Florida to turn blue again.
October 17, 2008 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're in Florida? Good for you! Thank you so much for your help and support!
October 17, 2008 7:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sigh...Yes, I live in Florida. On the upside, I know of Hillary supporters who are volunteering as well as many retirees, including my dad, who are doing their part. This state is mobilized. After what democrats here have been through, they're not going to be humiliated again.
October 17, 2008 8:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm glad to hear that. I think that's an echo from many states around the country.
October 17, 2008 9:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
But he did pal around with terrorists. Bill Ayers and his wife were/are terrorists. They bombed government buildings and killed innocent people. So how is that statement false?
October 17, 2008 10:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Palled around with"? ...Yeah, that's the perfect way to describe the "relationship" between Barack and Bill Ayers.
October 18, 2008 12:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, you're in JOPLIN?!? I was born there; I know what it's like and man you are *brave.* Thanks so much for doing what you're doing.
I'm in rural Wisconsin -- been out canvassing at least two days a week for the past month. Looks like WI will be blue... here's hoping MO will be, too!
Best of luck.
October 17, 2008 10:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
MO will go blue. We have worked too hard, and sacrificed too much, for us to lose the state. It will go blue.
And thank you. Others have told me I'm brave, but... I'm just doing my part like everyone else.
October 18, 2008 12:16 AM | Reply | Permalink