Author Topic: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave  (Read 16727 times)

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Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #50 on: November 05, 2008, 09:48:26 AM »
McCain's whole idea of campaign propriety made a weak candidate with no natural constituency (except possibly vets) even weaker.  The only thing that got him over 20% at all was Sarah Palin.

The one positive is that McCain's defeat was convincing enough that there is no question of laying it at the feet of vote fraud, voter registration fraud, or voter intimidation.  He directed the limits of his campaign, and he chose its financing mode (screwing himself on the same stupid 'principles' that he screwed his own party with previously).  Therefore he alone bears the responsibility for the failure becasue of these key strategic mistakes. 

It is time for him to permanently STFU and forswear any further involvement in GOP Presidential politics.

   
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Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #51 on: November 05, 2008, 10:15:37 AM »
McCain's whole idea of campaign propriety made a weak candidate with no natural constituency (except possibly vets) even weaker.  The only thing that got him over 20% at all was Sarah Palin.

The one positive is that McCain's defeat was convincing enough that there is no question of laying it at the feet of vote fraud, voter registration fraud, or voter intimidation.  He directed the limits of his campaign, and he chose its financing mode (screwing himself on the same stupid 'principles' that he screwed his own party with previously).  Therefore he alone bears the responsibility for the failure becasue of these key strategic mistakes. 

It is time for him to permanently STFU and forswear any further involvement in GOP Presidential politics.

   
Hear! Hear!

A good commentary that sums it up:

There is no "McCainism" as there was a "Bushism" or "Reaganism." Those men offered fairly clear visions (well, Reagan particularly so). Not McCain. Everything with him is just his personal gut, principle-free, just an instinct, an impulse, which often takes him in wildly contradictory places (but he's always haughty about the moral superiority of his decisions).

For example, he's pro-drilling... but not in ANWR. Um, why? He's forever undercutting himself with unexplained hedges and caveats.

He's pro-business... Kinda. Except when he's making his distaste for anyone working in the private sector "for profit not patriotism" so glaringly evident.

He wants to lower taxes. Sorta. Sometimes. Maybe. In election years.

We must regard Obama as suspect because of his association with the terrorist Bill Ayers... but it's racist to mention his membership in Jeremiah Wright's Church of Hate.

This leads to a paralysis among his campaign staff. Everyone knew, pretty much, the Idea of Reagan. They could act independently with confidence that they were advancing Reagan's goals.

No one could do that with McCain.

Steve mentioned the german military term schwerpunkt, or "critical point." (PDF link.) Every military mission needed an easily comprehended schwerpunkt; even the most complicated mission must have, at its heart, a simple idea, a non-complex goal. If the goal was to capture the bridge, it must be clear that capturing the bridge was the schwerpunkt. Not only was everyone clear on the general goal, then, but when asked to give orders independent of senior command, lower officers would know the main goal that each of their orders must advance, the schwerpunkt. Without that, lower officers could not possibly issue orders that would serve the mission's goal. How can one advance the mission without knowing precisely what is at its heart?

What was McCain's schwerpunkt? What was his case? Ultimately he sought to run not on a plan or an idea, but upon his character, his personal wisdom and integrity (something I note, not uncoincidentally, could never benefit Republicans generally, as an *idea* could).

He always had a tough battle, but in the end he had no plan for battle, only the unwavering belief that he alone was equipped to lead the war.

There was no idea of McCain beyond McCain himself.

And ultimately, he lost. No man is greater than an idea.

Even the great McCain.



As to your point of voter fruad...

My fear is: with such strong margins the vote fraud and corruption that IS part of Obama's very essence will go uninvestigated, unprosecuted and unpublished because it will be politically unfashionable and he gets to name the federal prosecutors and judges.

That will only encourage the shitbags in 2010 and beyond.
According to the Bible, "know" means "yes."

Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #52 on: November 05, 2008, 10:26:22 AM »
Quote
My fear is: with such strong margins the vote fraud and corruption that IS part of Obama's very essence will go uninvestigated, unprosecuted and unpublished because it will be politically unfashionable and he gets to name the federal prosecutors and judges.

My HOPE is that the Dems will feel their hand is so strong, they will not fear going through the motions of cleaning up their act a little bit and beginning to restore some slight degree of integrity to the process, though I am probably being 'way too optimistic there.
Go and tell the Spartans, O traveler passing by
That here, obedient to their law, we lie.

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Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #53 on: November 05, 2008, 10:36:26 AM »
My HOPE is that the Dems will feel their hand is so strong, they will not fear going through the motions of cleaning up their act a little bit and beginning to restore some slight degree of integrity to the process, though I am probably being 'way too optimistic there.
You're talking about the party of Schumer, Reid, Kennedy, Clinton, Biden, Murtha, Jackson, Sharpton, et al

get real dude
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Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #54 on: November 05, 2008, 10:40:28 AM »
You're talking about the party of Schumer, Reid, Kennedy, Clinton, Biden, Murtha, Jackson, Sharpton, et al

get real dude

Yeah.  But, I'm not expecting much in that hope, just something they regard as symbolic now, but which we can wield as a sword when the pendulum eventually swings back.   
Go and tell the Spartans, O traveler passing by
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Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #55 on: November 05, 2008, 10:43:36 AM »
Yeah.  But, I'm not expecting much in that hope, just something they regard as symbolic now, but which we can wield as a sword when the pendulum eventually swings back.   
When lying crooks win a landslide they are not humbled they are encouraged.

They will only get worse then use their newfound power to crush any who shine a light at them.

WITNESS: Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber getting dragged through the grist mill.
According to the Bible, "know" means "yes."

Offline paladin0

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #56 on: November 05, 2008, 10:44:16 AM »
You're talking about the party of Schumer, Reid, Kennedy, Clinton, Biden, Murtha, Jackson, Sharpton, et al

get real dude

These people are addicted to power, and they'll do anything to keep it. That means even more fraud.

Paladin0
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Offline Woody

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #57 on: November 05, 2008, 10:45:10 AM »
Steve mentioned the german military term schwerpunkt, or "critical point." (PDF link.) Every military mission needed an easily comprehended schwerpunkt; even the most complicated mission must have, at its heart, a simple idea, a non-complex goal.

The US Army refers to it as "commander's intent", which requires much less translation.  I used to have a quote from a captured Russian document that basically said, "The strength of the Americans is not in their doctrine or tactics, but in their willingness to depart from their established doctrine or tactics, which makes them very difficult opponents."

Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
-Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer", 1951

Offline dutch508

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #58 on: November 05, 2008, 10:46:04 AM »
Yeah.  But, I'm not expecting much in that hope, just something they regard as symbolic now, but which we can wield as a sword when the pendulum eventually swings back.   

it will all be swept under the rug, as the right tries to work with the dems for the first couple of quarters. the fact they didn't get their 60 seats will help a bit, but I expect the first year to be jammed with every leftist bill they think they can pass...

Anti-gun
Health care
gay 'marry' rights
slash the defense budget
pull out of Iraq
**** up the war in Afghanistan
taxes
taxes
taxes

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Offline NHSparky

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #59 on: November 05, 2008, 10:57:05 AM »
You forgot "card check", 2-3 SCOTUS nominations, Fairness Doctrine, trashing trade agreements, energy policies, and legislation which will drive jobs overseas in droves, to name a few.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #60 on: November 05, 2008, 11:02:04 AM »
And don't forget that the ****in' NeoComs are completely unfamiliar with how to actually CUT a ****in' budget - unless of course it's the military's budget.  They can't spell cut, they are physically and mentally un-equipped to do that kind of math.  They are going to spend this country into REAL, honest to God BANKRUPTSY.
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Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #61 on: November 05, 2008, 11:17:35 AM »
The US Army refers to it as "commander's intent", which requires much less translation.  I used to have a quote from a captured Russian document that basically said, "The strength of the Americans is not in their doctrine or tactics, but in their willingness to depart from their established doctrine or tactics, which makes them very difficult opponents."

"Commander's Intent" is related but not identical.  Schwerpunkt really translates more to "Priority of effort" or "Principal Axis."  Postwar US ground combat doctrine up until AirLand Battle drew very heavily from German WW2 origins, especially Auftragstaktik, the idea of tactical flexibility and freedom of action in aid of a unifying objective, using broad and unspecific mission-based orders to subordinate elements rather than rigid movement-based orders.     
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Offline Woody

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #62 on: November 05, 2008, 12:09:12 PM »
"Commander's Intent" is related but not identical.  Schwerpunkt really translates more to "Priority of effort" or "Principal Axis."  Postwar US ground combat doctrine up until AirLand Battle drew very heavily from German WW2 origins, especially Auftragstaktik, the idea of tactical flexibility and freedom of action in aid of a unifying objective, using broad and unspecific mission-based orders to subordinate elements rather than rigid movement-based orders.     

Thanks.  That explains it, then; I served in the late 90s, in Force XXI, which I guess was the basis for the new network-centric warfare doctrine... 

(Who chooses these names?  AirLand is much cooler sounding.)
Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
-Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer", 1951

Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #63 on: November 05, 2008, 12:56:16 PM »
(Who chooses these names?  AirLand is much cooler sounding.)

Damfino, I suspect there is a marketing department somewhere in the bowels of DCSOPS in the five-sided funhouse.

AirLand didn't depart from the basic mission-order idea so much as to adopt a different operational/theater-strategic approach, i.e. going over from a defensive war of movement to blunt and then destroy Warsaw Pact offensive by trading space for time and inflicting massive damage, to an offensive deep-ranging joint and combined approach.

AirLand wouldn't have been feasible without Reagan's force build-up and the fielding of high-mobility operational forces, the previous retrograde plan was really the best suited approach for the available resources we had under Ford, Carter, and the early Reagan years.  Nor was AirLand quite as bold and original as we wanted to think, it owed a lot to and was roughly comparable to a concept the Soviets had in the 80s called the Operational Maneuver Groups (OMG,  :-)) which involved something more or less like a German offensive Kampfgruppe of corps-sized armor/mech-heavy forces breaking through and maneuvering independently out of contact with their own main force, deep in our rear.  One of the functions of Spetznaz was to aid the OMGs, by grabbing key bridges or terrain ahead of them (like our SOF or German WW2 Brandenburgers).     
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Offline Woody

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #64 on: November 05, 2008, 01:24:09 PM »
Well, my perspective was much smaller - Infantry team/squad leader in a mechanized unit (dismount only!), with occasional attempts to shoehorn me into OCS...  My definition of commander's intent was "Here's the ultimate goal, and this is the plan to get there.  When (and not if) the plan fails, at least you know what the ultimate goal is, and can attempt to achieve it under your own initiative." 

Using a football analogy, it's like the QB recognizes that the receivers are all covered, and sprints across the goal line instead of insisting on a completed pass. 
Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
-Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer", 1951

Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #65 on: November 05, 2008, 05:08:53 PM »
I was a Soldier, then an NCO in tank battalions in the late 70s, then an 11B NCO in a Reserve unit, then company-grade officer back on active duty through the 80s (yes, kids, promotion was slower back in the day).  Soviet and US doctrine, orders of battle, task organization, and equipment identification were our bread and butter.  We got a lot of bread and butter.

 :cheersmate:
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That here, obedient to their law, we lie.

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Offline Woody

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #66 on: November 05, 2008, 05:40:21 PM »
 :cheersmate:

Here's to the uniform, and everything it stands for.  Thanks for your service, it was much more extensive than mine.

I think I'll have another...  :cheersmate:
Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
-Eric Hoffer, "The True Believer", 1951

Offline formerlurker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #67 on: November 05, 2008, 05:43:26 PM »
I blame the loss on Huckabee.   Romney was the better candidate -- outsider, successful businessman and governor, and excellent debater.   

It is what it is. 

Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #68 on: November 05, 2008, 05:43:40 PM »
:cheersmate:

Here's to the uniform, and everything it stands for.  Thanks for your service, it was much more extensive than mine.

I think I'll have another...  :cheersmate:

It's all good, Woody.  Here's to ya!

 :cheersmate:
Go and tell the Spartans, O traveler passing by
That here, obedient to their law, we lie.

Anything worth shooting once is worth shooting at least twice.

Offline Baruch Menachem

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #69 on: November 05, 2008, 06:12:54 PM »
I have the feeling that we were had.
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Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #70 on: November 05, 2008, 06:14:24 PM »
I have the feeling that we were had.

Explain? We sabotaged ourselves?

Offline thundley4

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #71 on: November 05, 2008, 06:25:37 PM »
Explain? We sabotaged ourselves?

I think the media sabotaged the Republican primary by shoving John McCain down our throats. Just look at how the toed the Obama campaign rhetoric in their attacks/coverage of McCain during the general election.

Offline LadyLiberty

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #72 on: November 05, 2008, 08:25:30 PM »
I'm ****ing sorry, but if McCain loses it's not his fault. It's the medias.

I agree that the MSM showed their unabashed bias.

They are corrupt.
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Offline Thor

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #73 on: November 05, 2008, 08:27:31 PM »
Romney is just another f'n RINO, just like McCain......
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Offline Schadenfreude

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Re: OBIT: I Hated McCain From the 1st, Now I Spit on His Political Grave
« Reply #74 on: November 05, 2008, 08:34:38 PM »
He was weak and worthless bringing nothing to the GOP....

Great post mortem from you and just about everyone else in this thread.

The GOP needed to be cleansed and purged. It will be painful, but we will come back bigger and stronger.

To all the people thinking their gas will be paid for and your mortgage as well.... keep on hoping.  :-)
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