Three words: Campaign. Finance. Reform. Also known as the Incumbent Protection Act.

It looks photo-shopped to me

McCain's been an insider for so long, he's lost sight. Plain and simple.

This is why Americans never elect senators. Bad thing is Obama is not a "career" senator yet. He can still capitalize on being an outsider.

I do not believe this photo - it's a fake

That's a news photo.

Should be interesting to see how Ron Paul does after being shut out of the Fox News GOP debate. if he beats Guilliani again, does he finally get to attend a GOP...uh Fox...um....News?

Well, I tuned in to the recent debate and he DID mention global warming and being convinced of the science.

Yeah, he's always rubbed me the wrong way too. Sanctimonious is the word, I think. Unctous?

Got a kick out of Steyn's take: most people don't even know he's a senator -- think of him as a PoW.

And Hugh Hewitt is right to: what experience? He's never run anything!

Brad,

I agree completely.

I just tried to return to the Post's site to see the photographer's credit line and...voila...they seem to have pulled it.

If the pic is fake, it's "fake but accurate" TM.

It's an AP photo. Original source file:

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080108/capt.7c65df8607a54c7c913509fe1ac74740.mccain_2008_nhcd123.jpg?x=400&y=223&sig=C8S7Mz276M9dN9BWiiG1Sw--

McCain suffered brain damage from his abuse as a POW.
He is unfit for any responsibility. Yet makes the Perfect subject for the idiot loving MSM!

Well,well,the Manchurian Candidate. I thought that was fiction.

McCain look like he has already died of old age. He has that in common with old Count Floyd Robertson of CTV News. Even Bill Clinton looks like he's ready for a set of Depends. I want a guy who look like he can still kill our enemies. I think Rudy is the guy.

What's with the Maple Leaf logo in the middle of the "STOP" ??

Canuckistan infiltration ??

Dr. Fruit Fly stealth Attack ??

spike 1: ROFLMAO!

Kate: Are you saying that because the photo came from AP it couldn't possibly be fake or doctored in some manner? Sheeesh.

Previous commenters are absolutely right to touch on the lack of experience running anything. The USA hasn't elected a President without substantial elective executive branch experience since 1960 (JFK). Since then, it's been Johnson (vice-President and President prior to his election), Nixon (vice-President), Carter (governor of Georgia), Reagan (governor of California), Bush 41 (vice-President), Clinton (governor of Arkansas), and Bush 43 (governor of Texas). Gerald Ford had no substantial elective executive branch experience, but he was never elected President.

Ahhh....

AP

Well they only doctor photos to make the US military look bad.

BTW,like you and others,I've tried to like this guy as I admire him for the horrendous sacrifices he has made for his country but his performance in the debates demonstrates to me he is somewhat emotionally unstable.

Certainly not presidential material,anyways.

I do not believe that photo, it really does look photo-shopped.

Other than a tough stance on national security, I don't trust McCain not to cut an amnesty deal with the Dems or keep it nice for illegals. The electorate is looking for fresh faces. I agree with Doug, McCain isn't one. He looks old, crabby, and tired.

After watching the Republican debate on FOX, I felt Romney and Thompson were the most reasonable and articulate. Too bad Fred Thompson hasn't been better funded and organized. He has a Reaganesque quality about him.

Huckabee is a clownish flash in the pan. Outside of Bible belt Iowa, he's not going to do well under tougher scrutiny. His record in Arkansas is at odds with his statements of convenience.

Pete D - Ron Paul is a joke. He's got a core cult following, that's it. He's attracted every group of goofballs from 9/11 conspiracy nuts to white supremacy nuts. Like with Dennnis Kucinich, whose encounter with an alien spacecraft at Shirley McClain's house in print recently and not denied, it was time to pull the plug.

I think the Dems are looking for any excuse to give Hillary the boot, she's not electable for them.

"I think Rudy is the guy.' by John West

So do I actually, and mainly because what I think America needs is someone who won't take any crap and will have no problem whatsoever giving it.

One word, Photoshop

Note the maple leaf on the placard. Is it possible that the MSM used the photo out of context? IE, was he being critical of us Canadians?

I really don't know.

By the way... it's "Unctuous" not unctous, but the sentiment is correct. ;-)

Global warming is one of the sacred liberal topics. AP fakes pictures all the time, but They would never fake this one.

McCain wears pink underwear. He's a tax 'n spend Big Government type. Didn't you guys know?

I am rooting for Fred Thompson. Fred has all the Conservative qualities and a great sense of humour! I value humour - esp. dry humour.

I think Rudy is the guy.' by John West

Me too. I'll never forget his contemtuously returning that $10 million cheque to the slimey Saudi "prince" Alawaheed bin Talal and Rudy's remark that his entourage seemed to be smirking as they toured ground zero.

The political class is disastrously compromised by the Al Saud. I've even been wondering if they're a kind of global J Edgar Hoover who had all the pols in his pocket as potential bribery victims.

I consider this the #1 threat to America (and the West) -- bar none. I'm hopeful that Rudy could end this.

And his achievement in NYC is nothing short of miraculous, albeit just common sense. And oh, my classical musician daughter, who lives safely in NYC, thinks he a fascist!

Silicon Valley Jim "logic" precludes alot of the contenders but not Huck-a-bee.

Guliani is a former NYC mayor-that don't count, though NYC is bigger than some states (Arkansas too?)

I like Fred too and love his no-nonsense "I ain't puttin' my hand up like a school child" push back -- but he's a bit dated I think.

Ah, they're all so bloody desperate, they'll grasp at any straw they think will draw in a few votes.

He sort of looks like he'd like to hide behind it!

What really sticks out is it's Liberal Red and it has a MAPLE LEAF!

Isnt that an NDP sign? It sure is there colors.

the group on the sign is a New Hampshire based enviroment group, on their website the maple leaf is displayed, Not sure if this is apart if their logo(leaf is green on the site). All politicians want to appear as enviros. during an election & i would think that mccains advance people would check a group thoroughly before allowing him to hold a groups placard.

If I was bong paranoid I might think that the Clintons are in league with Obama with the following scenario.

If on super Tuesday Hillary ends up ahead, Obama will throw in with Hillary for the promise of the vice-presidency, cash rewards now and a parting gift of the Clinton machine support 8 years hence. Nah, it could never happen.

McCain-Feingold...
The reason McCain will not get the Republican nomination. It is a bill conservatives percieve as an attack on their First Amendment.

McCain is the darling of the liberal media, he courts them all the time.

http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=267559

"Lieberman, McCain Reintroduce Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act"
============

Lots of info on the act here:

http://www.pewclimate.org/policy_center/analyses/s_1151_summary.cfm

"Summary of McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2005"

Note that it was co-sponsored by Barack Obama.

That picture of McCain could be Fred's ticket to the Whitehouse !

Fred: So McCain, in order to comply with Kyoto;

- What will be the unemployment rate in Michigan ?

- Will your family be comfy without room temperature ?

- Will your wife give up the second car ?

- What will the south's resorts do without air travel ?

- If you could, would you deny northerners warmer winters ?

- Who will tell the kids they can't have dishwashers ?

- Hey McCain, would you rather live under a glacier ?

- How does double the electrical bill grab you ?

- Will you agree to no more than 100 hp in your buggy as well ?

In a room, live on CNN and Fox and Rush -- Fred, in a toe to toe, would wipe the floor with McCain.

Would the media be game for such an airing of the Kyoto Kult's Hoax ? Maybe not yet, but they will when there is no more life in the fear-mongering corpse of climate change.

All scams die eventualy and we don't hear about them again because the media doesn't want to look stupid.

Any news in the media lately on Y2K ? Global Cooling ? Alien Crop Circles ? Martians ? SARS ? West Nile ? Frankenfoods ?

Giuliani / Rice in '08!!

McCain on carbon tax, cap and trade, and nuclear power:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQlX13tUSh8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNAUqZfewoU

McCain also states that China and India *must also be part* of the plan to reduce GHG's

Lots more here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+mccain+climate+change&search=Search

I think the doomsday theory of a supervolcanic eruption, such is Yellowstone is way more plausible than the Gorebot's claims on global warming.

McCain reacts like The Champ.
The Vietnamese waiter asked The Champ if his wife would like Sum yung Ghy “Well I just lost it!”

Spectator, The, Dec 11, 1999 by Steyn, Mark

Rumours that John McCain is bananas have done wonders for his presidential bid.
'Look at his shoulders,' hissed my friend. 'That's not coke,' I said. 'That's dandruff.' ..'I know that,' she said. 'But what sort of presidential candidate has dandruff all over him at eight in the morning?' ….. ill-treated by the Vietcong as a prisoner of war and that, 30 years later, he's unable to raise his arms above his shoulders. So he cannot comb his own hair. His aides are obliged to do it for him and, while they're at it, brush down his jacket.
….. 'why didn't they brush down his jacket this morning?' And then all sorts of darker stories begin to emerge - of a volatile, unstable personality who looses torrents of four-letter words at little people for no reason, the sort of fellow whose dandruff you're reluctant to draw his attention to first thing in the morning for fear he explodes. .

"All scams die eventualy and we don't hear about them again because the media doesn't want to look stupid." by ron in kelowna

Way too late for the media.

Giuliani / Rice in '08!!

Would once have agreed. Now it has to be admitted that Rice is nuts. Any person who confuses Mahmoud Abbas with Martin Luther King and equates the PaliNazis with civil rights era blacks is delusional and unfit for any office outside the academy.

If you go to www.carboncoalition.org, you will see an elderly lady on one of the pages with the exact same poster. John McCain is appealing to all the nutjobs who believe global warming is a threat to all our lives. Man, why do all the loonies get the good weather!

John McCain is a fine man and the epitome of a true American hero.He should be rememberd as such and afforded every accomdation the American people can give. Having said that, I don't believe he would make a good leader of his country and would therefor not vote for him.

the hair has it , proof that John Kerry and John Edwards werent fighters, the hair is too good, too combed. take heed Iggy.

'Look at his shoulders,' hissed my friend. 'That's not coke,' I said. 'That's dandruff.' ..'I know that,' she said. 'But what sort of presidential candidate has dandruff all over him at eight in the morning?' ….. ill-treated by the Vietcong as a prisoner of war and that, 30 years later, he's unable to raise his arms above his shoulders. So he cannot comb his own hair. His aides are obliged to do it for him and, while they're at it, brush down his jacket.
….. 'why didn't they brush down his jacket this morning?' And then all sorts of darker stories begin to emerge - of a volatile, unstable personality who looses torrents of four-letter words at little people for no reason, the sort of fellow whose dandruff you're reluctant to draw his attention to first thing in the morning for fear he explodes.

Just ponder what types of judges he would nominate.

PHOTOSHOP--So obvious.

MASSAIN IS GORE/STRONG CARBON BROKERAGE PIMP:

JOHN MCCAIN:
Called President Bush's approach to global warming "disgraceful." Co-sponsored first Senate bill calling for mandatory greenhouse-gas reductions. Supports cap and trade program.

If president HE would . . .

Streamline licensing of nuclear power plants, subsidize research and development of coal gasification, support higher fuel-efficiency standards.

"It's like Tony Blair said: Suppose we're wrong, and there's no such thing as greenhouse-gas emissions, and we adopt green technologies. All we've done is give our kids a better planet.'

BY CONTRAST RON PAUL IS THE ONLY GOP CANDIDATE WHO CALLS AGW BOGUS

RON PAUL:
Reflecting his libertarian philosophy, does not believe government should play a major role. Not convinced global warming is caused by human activity. Says EPA is not needed, that strict enforcement of property rights would reduce pollution.

If president HE would . . .

End subsidies for big oil companies and other energy producers, support use of coal and nuclear power and drilling in ANWR.

"To assume we have to close down everything in this country and in the world because there's a fear that we're going to have this global warming and that we're going to be swallowed up by the oceans, I think that's extreme. I don't buy into that."

http://pajamasmedia.com/2008/01/war_on_terror_conversation_joh.php

I must admit that to my tired eyes the picture looks like it has been altered. However I do know that during the "I'm not going to do a hand show" episode McCain indicated that he believed that manmade CO2 was a major contributor to "Global Warming".

Nothing new in that photo. McCain has been a very loud warmist for at least a couple of years, and I wrote him off as presidential timber two years ago for that very reason. Eight years ago, he was a reasonable alternative to Bush but, I believe that he's now more than a little bit senile. (And he's younger than I am!)

Not thrilled about McCain being a "warmist", but quite frankly I don't think too many politicians are free to say otherwise these days (although McCain is said to stand by his convictions, so I assume he also believes in AGW.) Too bad -- other than that, I think he is probably the most credible candidate that the Republicans have and I think he could beat Obama. The fact that he has aligned with Dems on a couple of issues (global warming and also immigration) means he could attract some of the Democratic vote, while not giving away the Republican ship (Iraq).

Me No Dhimmi - agree. Rice lost my respect when she created that silly Annapolis Summit meant to bring Israel and the Palestinians to the table again. Get real. One of the good aspects of Bush's mid-east policy has been to let the Palestinians rot. They had been the center of ME attention and effort for decades wasting everyone's time. It was a vanity act on her part that made no sense.

The other Rice flaw is that as a Russian specialist she didn't direct her boss's attention to the Putin menace early on.

Penny,

Please don't let the (admittedly nuts) fringe of Ron Paul's support network turn you off -- check out all the veterans who are endorsing him, or active duty military men and women. And no, he's not soft on terror -- he voted to go into Afghanistan and find Bin Laden, but wanted to chase the sonofab*tch into Pakistan, not get derailed in a long, unconstitutional and expensive war in Iraq...

Reagan was a fan of Ron Paul. Ron Paul fully understands and quotes Ayn Rand and is as pure an individualist as you will ever find.

Finally, I think the most important part of Dr. Paul's message, and what I hope will play the largest part in determining if he is successful, is his stance on monetary policy (specifically the idea of abolishing the Fed/Fiat money and backing the dollar with gold).
/rant

Aw nuts... sorry for the double post... but I meant to also note that Ron Paul explicitly called the Truther's 9/11 theories absolutely nuts in an hour long interview he did with Glenn Beck a couple weeks ago... Ron Paul thinks that US foreign policy (most notably the bases in Saudi Arabia, which caused Bin Laden's illegitimate Fatwa's) played a roll in motivating the attackers, but the concept that it was an "inside job" is laughable to him.

I'm not competent to judge the authenticity of that photo, but McCain has been drinking the global warming Kool-Aid for some time now. it's just one of the reasons he's a media favorite. BTW, Limbaugh used to regularly play a parody song that was a take-off of Spinal Tap's Should I Stay or Should I Go where the words began:

My name is Maverick John McCain
My only straight talk is my name ...

At first I thought it a little harsh. Now I think the song had him pegged.

Hey, redux, what about the presstitutes? And the one world government transnational resource monopolist NGO manifest destiny occultists?
I can do that brain salad boilerplate from memory now.
(And Ron Paul is crazy.)

Yes, McCain is an asshole, but he'll be next POTUS

Ouch!

Fred is not only being whumped big time by the other campaigning candidates, he is being outvoted by the "write in" candidates.

That Pfffsshhhhshshshss sound you hear is air escaping from Obama's momentum (and that crashing and clanging sound is the wreckage that once was known as the John Edwards campaign).

Well, looks like the mole won New Hampshire.

McCain is making a long boring victory speech, he's actaully reading it, can't he remember his message? He's a great American but he's way too old to be POTUS, old literally and in style.

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is very early days. Giuliani didn’t even bother to to make a run in Iowa or NH.

Ted - even if Hillary scores in NH, she has to win large black population southern and NE state primaries next. Iowa and NH are lilly white states, small town, small population, basically rural states.

That Obama trounced her, now almost ties her in NH in another small white states doesn't bode well for her.

We forget every election cycle how insignificant the Iowa and NH primaries are.

Don't get me wrong about the photoshop comment, I have next to no use for this Dem in sheep's clothing.

Anyone of Rudy, Fred or Mitt would be fine by me

McCain has to be the most statist of the republican candidates and there's no way he should be POTUS. Still hoping for Ron Paul who's the strongest supporter of the 2nd ammendment of all those running for presidential nominations. Guess it's time to send the NRA and JPFO some money to make sure supporters of the 2nd ammendment can counter anti-gun propaganda that's likely to get more intense the closer we get to the presidential election.

"what I think America needs is someone who won't take any crap and will have no problem whatsoever giving it"

Then you'd have to vote for Fred Thompson; he's the only conservative running for the GOP.

Huckabee is just a liberal who's against SSM and abortion; he's all for illegal immigration & raising taxes (he raised 'em $500 million as governor).

Romney's on the record for too many flip-flops.

McCain's views on global warming & campaign finance reform will oust him in the long run.

The most heartening thing was to see hillary crash & burn in Iowa. Rush Limbaugh's coverage of her continual gaffes is priceless. If she loses New Hampshire (she's leading but results aren't final as yet), that'll make my day. Watch the clinton smear machine gear up when that happens.

mhb23re
at gmail d0t calm

That RINO Giuliani is no better than this weasel McCain; although I appreciate what McCain did in the military, his willingness to step all over the First Amendment shows that he shouldn't be in the White House.

As I said we forget that Iowa and NH will be meaningless after the big state primaries. I just wish Thompson had had a better showing, McCain isn't the fresh face that the GOP needs. I'm hoping other Republicans will realize this and keep Fred alive.

I guess the tears worked for Miss Piggy. As per a FOX poll exit survey tonight, she is strongest with oldsters, union members and single women. Men, no.

Only Kryptonite or garlic and a stake in the heart can kill off the Clintons. No matter what the hype this isn't a big win for Hillary.

Fred's dead, penny.

So are Edwards, Kucinich and Richardson on the Democratic side, though they'll all stick around for Super Duper Tuesday.

Ron Paul is also done.

Huckabee is on life support now, possibly flatlining, but given his beliefs and his southern support no one is going to pull the plug before February 5.

Romney is probably in worse shape than Huckabee, or at least as bad, because of how much money he's had to lend himself ($18M+) with not much of anything yet to show for it.

Giga Tuesday will likely end it for the Democrats in H's favour, but it won't settle a thing for the Republicans because McCain, Romney and Guiliani, and even Huckabee to a lesser extent will all pull in sizeable enough delegates.

Anyone know when either party had a delegated convention?

STOP GLOBAL WHINNING

According to Wikipedia, the 1976 Republican convention, when Reagan nearly knocked off Ford, was the last convention of either major party where the outcome of the nomination battle was in doubt up until the convention, but there were only two left at that point, so not a true delegated multi-ballot mess.

In today's National Post, Tucker Carlson from MSNBC had a full page article on Ron Paul that was, IMHO, quite complimentary. He notes that Paul doesn't try to whip up crowds, or create fake enthusiasm; in fact, he seems embarrased by the attention. He just tries to deliver his message.

One of the biggest parts of the message is that many of America's problems would diminish or disappear if Americans would just start paying attention to their constitution. For example, the constitution states that all legal tender should be gold or silver money *ONLY*. If there were no Federal Reserve, fractional banking system, and printing press money, do you think the sub-prime mess would have erupted in the US last year?

Note: some boring macroeconomic arguments follow; skip them if you wish, but I think you'll find it enlightening to read them.

Here are some interesting facts that you can confirm yourselves at "www.westegg.com/inflation". What would have cost you $1,000 US in 1800 would have cost you less than $600 in 1912. That means in 112 years with real money, prices fell by almost half.

In 1913, the Fed was created. What would have cost you $1,000 US in 1913 would cost you over $20,000 in 2006. That means in less than 100 years with fake money, prices have risen by over *TWENTY* times.

I mean, what would you rather have? Price stability where every dollar you save this year buys you more next year, or constant inflation, where your savings go down in value every year? Who's the nut job in this case?

I spent most of the day listening to CNBC today. Treasury Sec. Paulson and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Friedman both came on, and made happy talk that there would be no recession in the US, but if GWB suspected there would be, he would take action (i.e. some sort of "stimulus" package). A few, very young, brokers or money managers parroted the same "growth will slow, but there's not going to be a recession" line. On the other hand, all the grizzled vets (i.e. over 45) in the private sector were definite: recession it will be.

Paulson refused to say he wanted a weaker US dollar, although he did admit that the weaker US dollar has helped boost exports and reduce the trade deficit slightly. Then he said he wanted some "readjustment" in the Chinese yuan. Friedman said he wanted a "stable dollar in the US, and a value dollar outside the US". When pressed to explain this, he said it meant he wanted a dollar where its purchasing power was maintained within the US, but where it led to "competitive exports" outside the US. Talk about weasels spewing out of both sides of their mouths!

And now for the scorecard: once the news Countrywide Financial (one of the biggest sub-prime lenders) might not be able to arrange financing in the next two weeks, and thus go bankrupt, hit the tape, stocks went south. The DJ industrials finished down over 240 pts., which broke their late November lows, and gave a definite Dow Theory bear market signal. At the same time, gold took off, and hit a new all time high of $880.

So far, in one week of trading in 2008, the Dow Industrials are down over 5%, the Transports are down over 7%, while oil (which did hit $100, as I predicted, and then backed off from that number, as I also predicted), is still up 0.3% from 12/31/07, and gold moved up from 838 to 880, so it's up over 5%. Meanwhile, in the agriculturals, it was "beans in the 'teens".

I keep saying it, and some people here keep sneering at me, but get out of most common stocks and US dollar investments, and get into gold, oil, and commodities. And I have to say, what I really don't understand is so many people support the idea that AGW is not supported by the facts, but when I post investment ideas that are supported by the facts, make fun of me. Oh well; it's your money to lose. Good luck.

I disagree with comments from people like Hugh Hewitt, who suggest that people, like senators, don't have the qualifications to be president because 'they have never run anything'.
There is a big difference between a leader and an operational manager. Surely a leader needs to understand the business but it is really the ability to understand issues and problems and make decisions and have (and communicate and drive) a vision which is the difference between leading a country and running a country.

Where is Moe Strong, any sightings?

Not likely, since he's the Granddaddy of Kyoto,an impossible dream of the cloud dwellers is now defunct. He's the quintessential Mr. Spic'N'Span now that the shit has hit the fan.

Tucker has been a Ron Paul fan for a long while. Thompson seems to be done, and as David Schuster said this morning on MSNBC, if Romney had to raise money anywhere other than his own breakfast table he would be done as well. The feeling seems to be that HC showing some true emotion the other day could have been the turning point.
It sure looks like Feb 5 will the day of reckoning for many of the pretenders.

..Blame Canada