MUTH’S TRUTHS

ONE HECK OF A RACE: “Both (Democrat and Republican) races (for president) continue to clarify, if not resolve. On the Democratic side, a great rebellion, a coming together of former officials, members of the commenting class, and the Kennedy family to stand athwart the Clintonian future and say, Stop.

“…On the Republican side an embrace, but an awkward and unfinished one. . . . (John McCain) has real supporters. He keeps winning. But he’s not getting even close to half the vote, as the presumptive nominee should. And he has been at odds with his party on so many things.”

- Columnist Peggy Noonan

BEN WOULD HAVE HATED MCCAIN-FEINGOLD

“Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech; which is the right of every man as far as by it he does not hurt or control the right of another; and this is the only check it ought to suffer and the only bounds it ought to know.”

- Ben Franklin

MSM’S GO-TO GUY

“While the liberal establishment may be conflicted over whether it wants Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee, there’s no doubt which Republican it favors. John McCain is the liberal elite’s go-to guy in the GOP. They believe he’ll be there for them when they need him.”

- CNS News editor-in-chief Terence Jeffrey

MCCAIN WEIGHED PARTY SWITCH

“Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.

“In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist. Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s case, they said, it was McCain’s top strategist who came to them.”

- The Hill, 2/1/08

LEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

“Well, John McCain is certainly right about one thing.  He knows how to lead, but he is often leading in the wrong direction, and often found with his liberal Democratic friends at his side. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are a case in point.  John McCain was certainly a leader on the tax cuts: He led by being 1 of 2 Republicans in 2001 and 1 of 3 Republicans in 2003 to oppose the most pro-growth legislation in a generation.”

- Club for Growth, 1/30/08

STRAIGHT TALK WITH A FORKED-TONGUE

“We have been hearing for years that Senator John McCain gives ‘straight talk’ and his bus has been endlessly referred to as the “straight talk express.” But endless repetition does not make something true. The fact that McCain makes short, blunt statements does not make him a straight-talker. There are short, blunt lies — and he told a big one on the eve of the Florida primary, when he claimed that Mitt Romney had advocated a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.”

- Columnist Thomas Sowell

DOUBLE-TALK EXPRESS ON ALITO

“As John McCain neared his momentous primary election victory in Florida after a ferocious campaign questioning his conservative credentials, right-wingers buzzed over word that he had privately suggested that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was too conservative. In response, Sen. McCain recalled saying no such thing and added Alito was a ‘magnificent’ choice. In fact, multiple sources confirm his negative comments about Alito nine months ago.”

- Columnist Robert Novak

CHARACTER COUNTS

“When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back on his record as a war hero in Vietnam. Let’s talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal. Being a war hero is not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card. And becoming President of the United States is not a matter of rewarding an individual for past services. The Presidency is a heavy responsibility for the future of the nation, including generations yet unborn. Character and integrity are major qualifications.”

- Columnist Thomas Sowell

ST. JOHN THE MAGNIFICENT

“Until last night, when I watched the Republican debate, I had no idea how much John McCain dislikes me and just about everybody else but Rudy Giuliani… The feeling is mutual between McCain and me. I don’t like the way he treats people. You get the impression that he thinks everybody is beneath him. He seems to be saying, ‘I was a war hero, and you had damn well better treat me as your superior.’

“…He has contempt for conservatives who he thinks can be duped into thinking he’s one of them, despite such blatantly anti-conservative actions as his support for amnesty for illegal immigrants, his opposition to the Bush tax cuts which got the economy rolling again, and his campaign finance bill which skewed the political process and attacked free speech.

“…In John McCain’s eyes, conservatives are the Viet Cong of this generation and he treats us as such. It’s either his way or no way. I despise his habit of talking down to us, like a wise father to an idiot son. He’s just at a loss to understand why everybody doesn’t grovel at his feet and accept his every word as wisdom handed down from his lofty perch atop Mt. Olympus.”

- Talk-show host Michael Reagan

HUCKABEE’S REVENGE

“The conventional wisdom is Mr. Romney can’t win it while Mike Huckabee’s in it. If Mr. Huckabee dropped out, Mr. Romney might pick up his conservatives. But Mr. Huckabee seems very happy running, and perhaps happy thinking of his future as the Mitt slayer in the party of John.”

- Columnist Peggy Noonan

Posted on February 1st, 2008 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National