Flight Pundit

From dr at Campaign 2008 - Commentary

What McCain did to draw such ire from the self-described “traditional conservatives” I’m not quite sure, but this morning’s program did lend credence to a previous post that discusses the likelihood of a McCain type figure running as an Independent after finding the Republican nomination to be unwinnable.

McCain has blocked, trampled, and generally voted against most conservative initiatives over the last decade. Senator McCain is a great American and deserves our respect. But that respect does not mean we need to support him when he is not representing our views.

This scenario was outlined to me [E. J. Dionne Jr.] recently by a shrewd and loyally Democratic political operative with personal ties to the McCain camp before Mark McKinnon, one of the president’s top media advisers, publicly confirmed that he would help a McCain presidential run if it materialized.

Personal ties? with a political operative? WTF. OK this is a WaPo leftist propaganda rag. Can we believe this?

More from the WaPo:

The standard view of McCain’s choice, especially among Democrats, is that he sold out to Bush for nothing. This assumes that McCain can’t win the 2008 Republican nomination because of the intense opposition he will face from the Republican right, especially from Christian conservatives. It also assumes that Bush will never lift a finger to help McCain.

We must be the EVIL Republican Right? Is there a republican left? wait, that is the McCain followers. The followers of the wind. the believers in a global government (ie.UN). the people that are not based in reality…While I applaud his support for the War on Terror, I don’t like the (implied) reason behind it.

Before you go, however, consider for a moment what I heard this morning on CSPAN’s Washington Journal during a segment devoted to a potential McCain-Bush ticket. Every single caller said that they loved (insert either McCain’s or Jeb’s name here) but absolutely hated (insert other name here) and could not/would not vote for the ticket as a result.

But how many callers were for McCain? How many of them were republicans? The left loves McCain because he is a Republican in Name only. So what does this prove? Nothing

But McCain made a crucial decision to alter the relationship in 2004. Courted hard by John Kerry as a potential running mate, McCain said no. He decided he wanted to be president and that it was unlikely he would ever get a Democratic nomination — and implausible that he could win as an independent. His one shot was as a Republican.

Which way is the wind blowing again?

And here is where Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president’s brother, could be the deal-closer. Jeb Bush has said he will not run in 2008. But that does not rule him out as a vice presidential candidate. If McCain won, Jeb would be the No. 2 to a president who will turn 72 on Aug. 29, 2008, and might well serve only a single term. If McCain lost, Jeb would have enhanced national recognition for a run in 2012.

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You don’t tolerate shit. The .45 you carry in you pocket is scary, but your words are the real threat, especially when you decide to get Biblical. Try to take it easy, but maintain that edge of yours, which tends to keep people wary in your presence. Take the What Pulp Fiction Character Are You? quiz.

Heh

H/T Mike the Marine

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Ogre is on vacation, and Raven is working lots of hours so we are getting the party started so they can just join in and not worry about gettting it ready.

They are both such great hosts that we need to do this for them. (well maybe we just need a house to have a party in.)

Grab a drink and come on over.

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Michael Yon is in Iraq telling true stories about the HEROES in Iraq.

As I approached, one soldier in particular took a step toward me in a way that spoke loudly and said, Alpha. In a synchronicity that still registers as bizarre to me, the soldier was Jeffrey Mellinger, the Command Sergeant Major for Coalition Forces in Iraq, the very man I most wanted to meet.

In the service there is always a saying “be carfull of what you ask for” you just might get it.

Finally, while I was eating lukewarm food on the hood a Humvee in Mosul, all of a sudden . . . grace my eyes . . . I looked over my shoulder and saw CSM Mellinger again. I wasted little time making a personal request, and after LTC Kurilla, who was also standing there, vouched for me, I got a “maybe.” More emails and more “maybes,” until the day came . . . about five days ago . . . when CSM Mellinger had driven just near Mosul to Tal Afar-in his Humvee for chrissakes-to check out his soldiers who were fighting in the area. He happened to be passing through Mosul on the way back to Baghdad, so, finally, after six months of asking, he allowed me to tag along.

Sometime after getting that news, I learned that while I am the first “journalist” to travel with CSM Mellinger, I am not the first he invited. Two reporters to whom he extended similar invites around election time, both backed out when they realized they would be traveling in a Humvee.

And so, he picked me up and we drove to Baghdad, and now we are headed to Kuwait. I’ve had six months to put a list of questions together. Some of his answers, along with my observations from “walking the line” with CSM Mellinger, will be included with subsequent posts. But for now, we are driving the roads of Iraq in a Humvee, and walking the line.

If you haven’t added him to your blogroll yet you should. You can subscribe to email notices of when he posts also.
He will have more reports soon of his time hitching a ride with CSM Mellinger.

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WASHINGTON, June 16, 2005 - For the first time since World War II, a woman soldier was awarded the Silver Star Medal today in Iraq.

This is very cool. After nearly four years of the War on Terror a Woman has been awarded a medal that is very rarely awarded. One the fact that she is the first sense WWII to be awarded the Silver Star she removes any political agenda like Feminist with one quote.

“It really doesn’t have anything to do with being a female,” she said. “It’s about the duties I performed that day as a soldier.”

That is what it is about. Being a soldier with, and for her buddies next to her. I liked this quote about who her heroes are.

“My heroes don’t play in the (National Basketball Association) and don’t play in the U.S. Open (golf tournament) at Pinehurst,” Vines said. “They’re standing in front of me today. These are American heroes.”

This is something that today’s sports superstars need to hear and understand. Sports stars should understand that they might be great at a GAME, they are not great at LIFE. They are not heros. The American Military has all of the heroes! Hey Hollywood, did you hear that? Now shut your trap on life. You know how to play life, but not about life.

also check out Beldar as he has some great information on this hero and the whole team.

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I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past.

Cpl. Jeff Sornij, USMC; in Navy Times, November 1994

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