<p>Bush never admitted to being “alcoholic,” though he did say he had a “problem” with alcohol which led to a DUI arrest at age 30. (Cheney’s had TWO DUI’s!) Earlier, as a college student, he was arrested for disorderly conduct at a football game, also (I think) involving alcohol. As a junior at Yale, Bush was arrested for stealing a Christmas wreath from a hotel. He was drunk, it was a college prank, and charges were later dropped. … Supposedly, Bush was arrested yet again in 1972 for cocaine possession, with that (again, supposedly) having been expunged from his record due to his father’s political clout and in return for community service. (The last one is not verifiable–just thought I’d throw it out there.)
Obama has been upfront about his own use of illegal drugs from many years ago. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were given a pass for their youthful “indiscretions,” so why not Obama? Does anyone here seriously think he hasn’t grown up just a wee little bit over the past TWENTY-FIVE years?</p>
<p>consolation
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<p>Yeah, let’s judge a guy who sat in a Vietnamese prison, tortured and broken, for FIVE years, and then came home and found out that he and his wife had grown apart. How many people get divorced every year without those circumstances?</p>
<p>McCain also chose to stand by a women with a serious mental illness, adopt a child with a cleft palate out of poverty after he already had three biological children, and chose to STAY in a prison camp so that others who had been there longer could go home. He ticked off his entire party by aligning with Democrats on key issues. He stood up for the troop surge even though it was HUGELY unpopular and he knew it could destroy his chances of being elected (and he was right about that).</p>
<p>That McCain. As far as politicians go, you’d think we could find someone better! If only he could be as good a person as the rest of us. (sarcasm).</p>
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<p>I wasn’t going to be a McCain supporter to begin with, but I do genuinely like the guy (at least who he was before he started pandering to the Bush-wing of the Republican party). However, my biggest fear about his being president is precisely this. I am getting the sense he is not at all physically up to it, and recently his mind has seemed a bit mushy. I know, I know, that’s what a VP is for, but short of real disability, there are a lot of stages of decline that would be for us to have a president experiencing. Plus, we don’t really vote for a VP, and I’d hate to get someone that no one directly voted for.</p>
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<p>Grown apart? No, more like she got in a bad accident and was a lot uglier – and he wanted someone who wasn’t crippled in that way. C’mon, McCain’s a complicated character in that way. He’s shown real steadfastness in some things and not others. Don’t lionize the guy and don’t ignore his warts either.</p>
<p>Ross Perot, the billionaire who paid for McCain’s first wife’s medical bills, on McCain:</p>
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<p>Bush for sure admitted to having a drinking problem.
Fox news claimed he used coke…
I really don’t care as long as it is in the past. My point is that the past 2 presidents have been accused of using drugs, but were still elected, so BO’s use will be a non issue. This is just based on history, and in no way means I condone drug use. To me, there are more important issues than BO using coke in college.
How a I spinning McCain’s money again? I simply pointed out an error which erroneously insinuated McCain is very wealthy, when in fact it is mostly his wifes money(similiar to Kerry and theresea).
My whole point is I don’t care how much money one has, as long as they don’t ask others to sacrifice when they are indulgent.
Its not “spin”, its a fact that Cindy and John file seperate returns, and Cindy is the rich one.
I like how you “spin” mccain and cindy having seperate finaces as being a trust issue. Many people have prenups to protect their children and make sure their kids get the money, not a step father(as is the case with my gma).</p>
<p>Hindoo - I do think he has grown up, but I also believe that since he’s going for the job as #1 role model, confessions are not helpful. I believe in discretion on this one. I also don’t think that people who have had affairs shopuld get it off their chests to their spouses, and I think parents who have done drugs should not engage in long confessions to their kids. It’s about whether the confession hurts or helps. I bet Obama was talkng about it just to prevent others from doing it first, which is wise politically, I guess. I’d rather that the nation of kids not know about their president’s experimentation, however. It makes it seem OK. I don’t judge him for experimenting, but there are are a lot of body bags out there with teenagers in them every year because of experimentation.</p>
<p>I am with Hindoo, who gives a flying fig about stupid indiscretions done 10 -20 yrs ago. I did stupid things like driving drunk when I should have I was 21, it was wrong and I would never do it now, but back then I thought I was indestructible, I never thought that I might kill someone!</p>
<p>With age comes wisdom. </p>
<p>My true problem with Obama in his bonehead moves (he calls it that) is how recent they have been. A 40 yr old man with an Ivy league education should realize if you have to do a back door deal in getting your dream home it might not be a smat choice…find another home. A 40 yr old man who is elected to the Sen. should say to his wife, don’t take the 100K bonus, we can afford not to (same yr he made millions off of his book). A 40 yr old man with an enormous amount of education should be able to see how inflammatory Rev Wright might be to the rest of the world, heck Oprah realized it!</p>
<p>That’s the true difference that I see. He did Coke when he was in his 20s okay that was stupid and young. What he has done in his personal life over the last 5 yrs cannot be chucked up to youthful indiscretion</p>
<p>Spidey, McCain is not an angel. Like most other politicians and most other people he has flaws as well as strengths. Like most people who run for and attain major offices, both his flaws and his strengths are outsized.</p>
<p>But naturally you refuse to admit that. </p>
<p>Too bad the GOP didn’t nominate him instead of that smirking frat boy two terms ago. But no, you were all eager to lap up the Republican slime machine kool aid.</p>
<p>As for honoring veterans, check out the job your guys did on Max Cleland, a man who lost three limbs serving in Viet Nam. </p>
<p>By the way, I’m still waiting for your answer to my point that Clinton presented Congress with balanced budgets, which neither Bush nor Reagan EVER did?</p>
<p>I haven’t heard too many reports from the “heartland” lately about Obama. I do know he’s not up by much in general polls the last I looked. But when even the Obama-loving press are beginning to criticize his arrogance (that ridiculous presidential-like seal was a good example), control (Andrea Mitchell really slammed him last night on “Hardball” for this), presumption (behaving as if he’s already the pres overseas–even slammed by Gergen and Gloria Borger on AC360 last night), imagine what all those regular “bitter” folks out there must be thinking. Haven’t heard much about that lately, but if the people I know are any indication, BHO is rounding the corner in their opinion from being simply arrogant to being an a**.</p>
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<p>Why is it about her car accident? Have none of you heard about PTSD? I am with Spidey let me put you in a cage that is too short to stand in, too small to lay down in,(5x5) break all or most of your bones(no medical care except other POWS), be bombed on for 5 yrs and used as prpaganda…let’s see if you can handle that and be supportive of your mate. He should be admired that he was able to overcome all of that. He lost 5 yrs of his life, his wife has said he wanted to be 25 when he was 40. He has admitted he was a horrible husband when he came home and takes full blame of the dissolution. I feel for Carol McCain, but as she sat in a hospital bed and went through recovery she had family support, she had military support, she was not eating gruel and getting dissentary. Meanwhile while he tried to heal from his broken bones the Vietnamese decided to torture him, he had nobody to talk to, nobody to care over him and no doctors…Give it a rest</p>
<p>Just so everyone knows, I am an AD wife, the military admires him for what he endured. They also admire him for wanting Rummy fired. I have yet to hear about McCain being a horrible spouse for leaving Carol McCain, they all feel the same way he came home in bad shape and the marriage paid the toll.</p>
<p>^Seriously.</p>
<p>Consolation:
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<p>Really? I can’t stand the thought of voting for John McCain, and I’ve said so many times. Read my post history.</p>
<p>I’m polishing his halo right now. Naturally the Tail Hook culture makes excuses for the man.</p>
<p>What about those budgets?</p>
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<p>Easy answer. Clinton had a republican controlled Congress. Reagan had a Democrat controlled Congress. Bush had 9/11, stock market tanking after it which played into the situation, then the war. Eventually Bush had a Democrat controlled Congress, the Congress did not approve a balancd budget either…again its not just about the President.</p>
<p>Consolation:
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<p>Scroll up. You got it. Twice, actually, as the answer was in two posts of mine to you.</p>
<p>What, by the way, is “an AD wife”?</p>
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<p>What? Do you know when that happened? McCain was long gone…it happened in the 90’s! Or are you insinuating that all male officers cheat on their wives and use women as sex objects?</p>
<p>AD = Active Duty (DH is active duty, I am the dependent)</p>
<p>No, you are missing the point.</p>
<p>CLINTON presented budgets TO CONGRESS that were BALANCED before Congress started to tinker with them.</p>
<p>Bush and Reagan presented DEFICIT SPENDING BUDGETS to Congress.</p>
<p>It really is quite simple.</p>
<p>(And btw, Clinton had a Democratically-controlled Congress for part of the time.)</p>
<p>Ilsa I saw that about Andrea Mitchell on the drudge, but the link didn’t work…can you just paraphrase what she said? </p>
<p>I am surprised she would comment against him since I have read she was the front runner for Meet the Press</p>
<p>I’m giving you guys the same kind of crap that you are constantly dishing out to “liberals.” </p>
<p>I said “tail hook culture.” The culture that apparently pervaded the naval aviator “community” for many decades. I didn’t say or imply that McCain was at the infamous Tail Hook convention.</p>
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<p>If he hadn’t admitted his earlier drug use, someone else would, indeed, have been happy to do it for him. The media’s got this great game of “gotcha” going on, where they love to stick-it-to-a-candidate–“revealing” distant indiscretions, questionable involvements, etc. There’s nothing they like better than to prove that an iconic figure has feet of clay. Or better yet, is a total hypocrite. As you noted, Obama was probably just trying to head them off at the pass on that one.</p>