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John McCain Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 06, 2014 21 Comments
The NY Times ran an editorial on June 5, The Rush to Demonize Sgt. Bergdahl, excoriating Republicans for hypocrisy as to condemnation of the exchange of 5 top Taliban Gitmo detainees for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. There are many all-too-typical Times sleights of hand, such as referring to Bergdahl as:
... a free-spirited young man who asked many questions but gave no indication of being a deserter, let alone the turncoat that Mr. Obama’s opponents are now trying to create.
In condemning a rush to judgment as to Bergdahl by critics, The Times Editors rush to an alternative judgment. More important, the centerpiece of the Editorial, with which it begins, is a quote from John McCain (emphasis added):
Four months ago, Senator John McCain said he would support the exchange of five hard-core Taliban leaders for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. “I would support,” he told CNN. “Obviously I’d have to know the details, but I would support ways of bringing him home and if exchange was one of them I think that would be something I think we should seriously consider.”
NY Times Rush to Demonize Sgt Bergdahl 6-6-2014 9 30 am I've underlined the words "Obviously I’d have to know the details" because those words were not in the original versions of the Editorial.  Rather, it was a late correction which significantly scales back the notion that McCain previously supported this exchange deal. I've tracked the changes in the Editorial through a very useful service, NewsDiff.  The NewsDiff archive history page for the Times Editorial reflects that the Editorial originally had a less aggressive title, and also did not include the part of McCain's quote I've highlighted.  In omitting that language from the quote, the Times made it seem as if McCain supported the same deal that Obama struck.  That supposed support was the foundation for the Editorial, but when the foundation shifted, the Times made like nothing changed. Here's the edit history of the intro paragraph via NewsDiff:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 25, 2014 46 Comments
There is a growing attempt to paint Wendy Davis as the victim of a double standard, in which a woman is treated more harshly than conservative men as to family failings and career ambition. Kirsten Powers articulated that view in her post at The Daily Beast, The Right Subjects Wendy Davis to Litmus Tests No Male Would Ever Face (interestingly, the title shows up in search engines as "Wendy Davis the Piñata Parent," not sure if that was the original title):
It seems that Wendy Davis needs to learn her place.... It’s fair to criticize Davis for her misleading bio that implied she had been a single mother during law school. Instead, a misogynistic mob is determined to punish her for her parenting choices.... Where were the headlines claiming the unfitness of male Republican candidates who ditched wives with whom they had children (think Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani)? Or are we to understand that conservatives believe that cheating on a spouse and getting divorced is not relevant, but giving your husband full custody of a child is?
Similarly, Politico Magazine has a lead article playing up the "Wendy as victim of sexism" defense.  In The Most Judged Woman in America, the sub-title tells the story:
Wendy Davis did make a mistake. She thought that we were ready for a single mother.
Just Google "Wendy Davis Sexism" and you will see that these two examples above are not exceptions, they are part of a pattern of defending Davis. There is no double standard. Both Newt Gingrich and John McCain were seriously attacked because of their treatment of first wives and kids, as I shared with Powers in a Twitter exchange:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on October 27, 2013 36 Comments
Meghan McCain says her Arizona senator dad is “depressed” and “frustrated” with the tea party faction of the Republican Party, which she called “the hyper-conservative wing.” The comments were part of Meghan's promo for her new show, which no one will watch, Raising McCain. As a Tea Party activist, I am all for making both McCains even more frustrated. One of the most important developments in the new conservative movement has been encouraging regular Americans to participate directly in politics. In California, that has meant many have gotten involved in local Republican groups and have become versed in the ways of state party politics and its Byzantine rules. Recently, the Tea Party California Caucus  formed in response to the state Republican Party's continued lack of enthusiasm for formulating and implementing conservative policy. On Canto Talk, I recently had a chance to interview its founder Randall Jordan, as well as California Tea Party coordinator Dawn Wildman.  The caucus recently participated in the California Republican convention in Anaheim; Jordan says they met with "100 % more success" than they were anticipating and now the GOP establishment "can't ignore us and knows we are not going away."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 18, 2013 45 Comments

Sure, I disagree with Marco Rubio on the Gang of 8 immigration bill, particularly the amnesty part. But what's most galling is that Rubio appears to have been played by Chuck Schumer on the Democratic side, and McCain/Graham on the Republican side, suckered into being the...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 24, 2013 38 Comments

I had read headlines about this speech by Ted Cruz, but watching it finally was even better. As background, Sean Sullivan at WaPo's The Fix points out our house is divided, Ted Cruz vs. John McCain: Welcome to the new normal in the Senate: Sen. Ted Cruz...

Posted by Anne Segal on July 17, 2012 31 Comments

Senator John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his VP in 2008 because she was a "better candidate" than Romney, Pawlenty, or any of the others under consideration. McCain made the remarks Tuesday after being asked if Mitt Romney's tax returns were the cause of him choosing...

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