The Case Against John McCain
January 12, 2008
I'm baffled that John McCain won the New Hampshire primary, especially after all the bone-headed things he has done and said during this campaign. First was the incident when McCain got angry at some high school kid and responded by saying, "thanks for the question you little jerk. You're drafted." Then we had the senator going on stage and singing "bomb bomb Iran". Recently McCain made the comment that 100 years in Iraq would be "fine by me". But what really really wanted to make my head explode was a comment he made during the South Carolina Republican debate the other night.
Here is the context: the moderator asked a question, directed at Ron Paul, about how best to solve the Israel/Palestine conflict. Paul's response was that we should remove ourselves from the Middle East; that the United States is not an honest peace broker, and as such we shouldn't concern ourselves with fixing this conflict. Rather, Paul said, we should trade with both Israel and the Arab nations, and let free market capitalism provide an incentive for the conflict to be worked out. He concluded by saying that US involvement in the Middle East leads to many unintended consequences and a lot of blow back. I don't completely agree with Paul's assessment, but at least it was honest and thought out.
Now, the extremely disturbing comment that John McCain insisted on chiming in with:
In case you missed it our your volume was turned off, McCain actually said, "I'm not interested in trading with al-Qaeda; all they wanna trade is burqas. I don't wanna travel with them...they like one-way tickets." All I can say is: WOW.
These comments paint a picture of John McCain and demonstrate why anyone considering voting for this man should seriously reconsider that decision. First, labeling all Arab nations as Al Quida is a dangerous line of thinking, and a leader who insists on thinking this way is incapable of understanding the true conflict and how to solve it. Al Quida is not a country, not a sovereign entity, and the idea that it is, and that we can fight a "war on terror" is part of the reason we are mixed up in Afghanistan and Iraq right now. Second, saying that all they want to trade is burkas is mindlessly ignorant of economics, international trade and Arab culture. Third, the comment that they like one way tickets is an obvious jab at the stereotype that people from Arab nations are terrorist bombers, again, extremely ignorant and uncalled for.
Most disturbing is the fact that McCain goes on this racist tirade with a huge smile on his face and the confidence that he is 100% right on this question and anyone who disagrees is a fool. If you are planning to vote in an upcoming Republican primary, I beg you not to vote for John McCain. The President of the United States is the single most important person when it comes to dealing with international affairs and foreign relations. John McCain has more than proven himself incapable of handling that responsibility. It really is terrifying to see how close this man actually is to becoming our nations next president.
Here is the context: the moderator asked a question, directed at Ron Paul, about how best to solve the Israel/Palestine conflict. Paul's response was that we should remove ourselves from the Middle East; that the United States is not an honest peace broker, and as such we shouldn't concern ourselves with fixing this conflict. Rather, Paul said, we should trade with both Israel and the Arab nations, and let free market capitalism provide an incentive for the conflict to be worked out. He concluded by saying that US involvement in the Middle East leads to many unintended consequences and a lot of blow back. I don't completely agree with Paul's assessment, but at least it was honest and thought out.
Now, the extremely disturbing comment that John McCain insisted on chiming in with:
In case you missed it our your volume was turned off, McCain actually said, "I'm not interested in trading with al-Qaeda; all they wanna trade is burqas. I don't wanna travel with them...they like one-way tickets." All I can say is: WOW.
These comments paint a picture of John McCain and demonstrate why anyone considering voting for this man should seriously reconsider that decision. First, labeling all Arab nations as Al Quida is a dangerous line of thinking, and a leader who insists on thinking this way is incapable of understanding the true conflict and how to solve it. Al Quida is not a country, not a sovereign entity, and the idea that it is, and that we can fight a "war on terror" is part of the reason we are mixed up in Afghanistan and Iraq right now. Second, saying that all they want to trade is burkas is mindlessly ignorant of economics, international trade and Arab culture. Third, the comment that they like one way tickets is an obvious jab at the stereotype that people from Arab nations are terrorist bombers, again, extremely ignorant and uncalled for.
Most disturbing is the fact that McCain goes on this racist tirade with a huge smile on his face and the confidence that he is 100% right on this question and anyone who disagrees is a fool. If you are planning to vote in an upcoming Republican primary, I beg you not to vote for John McCain. The President of the United States is the single most important person when it comes to dealing with international affairs and foreign relations. John McCain has more than proven himself incapable of handling that responsibility. It really is terrifying to see how close this man actually is to becoming our nations next president.
