Read it all. Especially you, RWS.

After this little reminder -- and some stuff I didn't know before -- I'm not sure I can hold my nose and vote for McCain after all.

"Straight Talk" Takes Scenic Route to the Truth

John McCain is Bob Dole minus the charm, conservatism and youth. Like McCain, pollsters assured us that Dole was the most "electable" Republican. Unlike McCain, Dole didn't lie all the time while claiming to engage in Straight Talk.

Of course, I might lie constantly too, if I were seeking the Republican presidential nomination after enthusiastically promoting amnesty for illegal aliens, Social Security credit for illegal aliens, criminal trials for terrorists, stem-cell research on human embryos, crackpot global warming legislation and free speech-crushing campaign-finance laws.

I might lie too, if I had opposed the Bush tax cuts, a marriage amendment to the Constitution, waterboarding terrorists and drilling in Alaska.

And I might lie if I had called the ads of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "dishonest and dishonorable."

McCain angrily denounces the suggestion that his "comprehensive immigration reform" constituted "amnesty" -- on the ludicrous grounds that it included a small fine. Even the guy who graduated fifth from the bottom of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy didn't fall for this a few years ago.

In 2003, McCain told The Tucson Citizen that "amnesty has to be an important part" of any immigration reform. He also rolled out the old chestnut about America's need for illegals, who do "jobs that American workers simply won't do."

McCain's amnesty bill would have immediately granted millions of newly legalized immigrants Social Security benefits. He even supported allowing work performed as an illegal to count toward Social Security benefits as recently as a vote in 2006 -- now adamantly denied by Mr. Straight Talk.

McCain keeps boasting that he was "the only one" of the Republican presidential candidates who supported the surge in Iraq.

What is he talking about? All Republicans supported the surge -- including Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. The only ones who didn't support it were McCain pals like Sen. Chuck Hagel. Indeed, the surge is the first part of the war on terrorism that caused McCain to break from Hagel in order to support the president.

True, McCain voted for the war. So did Hillary Clinton. Like her, he then immediately started attacking every other aspect of the war on terrorism. (The only difference was, he threw in frequent references to his experience as a POW, which currently outnumber John Kerry's references to being a Vietnam vet.)

Thus, McCain joined with the Democrats in demanding O.J. trials for terrorists at Guantanamo, including his demand that the terrorists have full access to the intelligence files being used to prosecute them.

...

Though McCain was far from the only Republican to support the surge, he does have the distinction of being the only Republican who voted against the Bush tax cuts. (Also the little lamented Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who later left the Republican Party.) Now McCain claims he opposed the tax cuts because they didn't include enough spending cuts. But that wasn't what he said at the time.

To the contrary, in 2001, McCain said he was voting against Bush's tax cuts based on the idiotic talking point of the Democrats. "I cannot in good conscience," McCain said, "support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans who need tax relief."

...

Though McCain generally votes pro-life -- as his Arizona constituency requires -- he embraces the loony lingo of the pro-abortion set, repeatedly assuring his pals in the media that he opposes the repeal of Roe v. Wade because it would force women to undergo "illegal and dangerous operations."

Come to think of it, Dole is a million times better than McCain. Why not run him again?

Posted by: Ace at 11:55 AM | Comments (98)
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Via Instapundit, a pro-war, libertarian transsexual.

And thanks to Anywn, Rachel Lucas puts her dog forward as a candidate.

The dog's (Sunny's) position on immigration? “We’ll try to be reasonable but most of you need to get the fuck out.”

Posted by: Ace at 11:49 AM | Comments (5)
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Which may sound like good news, but somehow this winds up massacring polar bears.

How? I don't know. Just trust me on this. Fewer hurricanes = polar bear holocaust = you're a dick for buying that Coleman grill. Asshole.

Posted by: Ace at 11:40 AM | Comments (17)
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The pic's too big for the main page, so I'll put it under the fold. more...

Posted by: Ace at 11:36 AM | Comments (34)
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"He was like us. He was up at night reading Ace or whatever," Mr. Simon said. "But then when you start running for president, you've got about six minutes of free time a day."

Damn. Now I feel like a real dick.

Posted by: Ace at 11:25 AM | Comments (125)
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Each question is followed by a "Yes or No" and a box for either; no space for evasive essays is provided. I actually deleted that because it broke up the flow of the questionnaire.

It's a good questionnaire and I wish he'd sent it out sooner.

John McCain, of course, will not respond, claiming "I don't respond to hypotheticals" (even though these are not hypotheticals, they're questions about present intent) or saying "Answering difficult questions is not part of the concept of 'Straight Talk.'"

Sessions himself hasn't endorsed anyone yet, so, in theory, this can win or lose his endorsement.
more...

Posted by: Ace at 11:14 AM | Comments (16)
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Straight talk! (Except when it might hurt McCain politically.)

Meanwhile, McCain got a surprise endorsement:

What a palooka.

Thanks to DrewM.

Posted by: Ace at 11:01 AM | Comments (11)
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As Johnny Hung said -- was it him? -- the Clinton White House is like a subway, you have to pay to get a ride:

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) secured more than $1 million in federal funding last year for a Harlem-based non-profit whose leader gave her presidential campaign a major endorsement last weekend.

Clinton -- who is aggressively competing for the black vote with her chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) -- touted the endorsement of Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, a prominent black leader and pastor of one of the oldest black churches in America, the Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem.

The $555-billion FY 2008 omnibus spending bill approved last month by Congress included 11 appropriations bills with almost 1,000 earmarks. Clinton teamed with senior New York Sen. Charles Schumer and New York Rep. Charles Rangel, both Democrats, to provide three earmarks for the Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC).

The ADC is a separate non-profit community development organization chaired by Butts that focuses on increasing quality housing, delivering social services, and boosting economic and educational opportunities in Harlem.

Clinton backed an $839,000 earmark to the development corporation's programs for at-risk youth; $446,500 for the organization to expand youth after-school programs; and $146,000 for the group's social service work.

Obviously Hillary's earmarks had nothing to do with his newfound support of her:

As of the most recent filing period, Butts has not contributed to any presidential candidate. However, in 2004, he donated $1,000 to Barack Obama's Illinois senate race.

If a million buys Hillary the nomination, I'm not sure my tax money has been misspent.

Posted by: Ace at 10:37 AM | Comments (8)
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Aw, this is so sweet:

The Iowa Legislature started just over a week ago and some people were upset before the first issue was every addressed.
When the session began, a Muslim Imam began the prayer in the Iowa Legislature. This is where the controversy begins.

The prayer asked of "Victory over those who disbelieve," and "Protection from the great Satan" among other things.

Pastor Steve Smith of the Evangelical Free Church in Albert City is among those concerned about the Muslim prayer. Rev. Smith admits that he doesn't know about all the levels of Muslim but knows that the Jihadists believe those in the U.S. are the great Satan.

Rev. Smith also wants to point out the mention of "victory over those who disbelieve." He feels "this is a request in the Iowa Legislature for God to grant the Muslims victory over every non-muslim. Not a request for salvation." Smith takes it as a gesture not of prayer but more as a political statement, especially with the wars that have been going on in the Middle East.

...

Here is the text of the opening prayer, as transcribed by Radio Iowa:
Imam Muhammad Khan of the Islamic Center of Des Moines spoke first in Arabic.

"I seek refuge in God against the accursed Satan in the name of God, most gracious, most merciful," Khan said in English. Khan made no specific mention of the war in Iraq or foreign affairs, but he called God the "master of the day of judgment" and asked for "victory over those who disbelieve."

"As we begin this new year...in a world with trials and tribulations, we ask you to open the hearts of our legislators and policy makers to make the right decisions for the people of Iowa," Khan said. "...We ask that you guide our legislators and give them the wisdom and knowledge to tackle the difficult problems that face us today in order to eliminate the senseless crimes on humanity. Help them, Lord, to solve the complicated problems in the State of Iowa so that we can be a model to the world."

What else can you say?

Oh, well, there is a bit more:

Senator Steve Kettering was questioned over it he stated he had not heard the opening prayer and added "I should point out that the Senate had a Catholic priest for their opening prayer".

Well that clears everything up.

Indeed it does. Indeed it does.

Little guess that party action on Senator Kettering?

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 10:18 AM | Comments (18)
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Own goal:

A WOULD-be suicide bomber fell down a flight of stairs and blew himself up as he headed out for an attack in Afghanistan, police say.

It was the second such incident in two days, with another man killing himself and three others on Tuesday when his bomb-filled waistcoat exploded as he was putting it on in the southern town of Lashkar Gah.

Thanks to CAD Daddy for the story and the headline.

Posted by: Ace at 09:39 AM | Comments (52)
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