De Senectute - McCain's the Guy!

Now this man conducted wars with all the spirit of youth when he was far advanced in life, and by his persistence gradually wearied out Hannibal, when rioting in all the confidence of youth. How brilliant are those lines of my friend Ennius on him!

For us, down beaten by the storms of fate,
One man by wise delays restored the State.
Praise or dispraise moved not his constant mood,
True to his purpose, to his country's good!
Down ever-lengthening avenues of fame
Thus shines and shall shine still his glorious name.

M.T. Cicero on John McCain - sorry - I meant Quintus Fabius Maximus, an old Roman lion who saved the Repulic in time of war.


Michael Cooper raises the age and health issue on John McCain's Presidential hopes.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/us/politics/25mccain.html?ei=5065&en=003772be4242ec70&ex=1188619200&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print

Senator John McCain was fielding questions at a town-hall-style meeting earlier this month in Ankeny, Iowa, when a woman raised her hand and asked him, “from one white head to another white head,” why he wanted to be president in such troubled times.

“You’re getting pretty old!” she said, after praising his long service to the country. “And it’s such a hard job!”

Mr. McCain deadpanned, to laughter, “I’m sorry I called on you.”

John McCain has the capacity to understand the needs of his country and help lead, over the enjoyment of quiet days usually given over to folks in their seventies - usually. How many American voters with white or fleshy domes have been called upon to bail-out their children, granchildren financially or return to the company from which they had recently been retired and put it back on a war-footing for commerce? How many retirees are taking in the children of their grandchildren and raising them to be solid citizens, because the onus of parenthood was too much on the MTV generation? How many experienced veterans of Vietnam have gone into the classroom to help give kids a real education? How many retired police and fire professionals have gone back 'into service' as consulants in Post -9/11 America ? Quite a few. Just outside my cubicle, passed a retired University of Chicago Biophysicist who is up-dating Leo High School's Science Department.


Cicero, a brilliant but oily politician, had the genius to recognize the best in other men and women; though he understood his own deficiencies:

Again what vigilance, what profound skill did he show in the capture of Tarentum! It was indeed in my hearing that he made the famous retort to Salinator, who had retreated into the citadel after losing the town: "It was owing to me, Quintus Fabius, that you retook Tarentum." Quite so," he replied with a laugh; "for had you not lost it, I should never have recovered it." Nor was he less eminent in civil life than in war. In his second consulship, though his colleague would not move in the matter, he resisted as long as he could the proposal of the tribune C. Flaminius to divide the territory of the Picenians and Gauls in free allotments in defiance of a resolution of the Senate. Again, though he was an augur, he ventured to say that whatever was done in the interests of the State was done with the best possible auspices, that any laws proposed against its interest were proposed against the auspices. I was cognisant of much that was admirable in that great man, but nothing struck me with greater astonishment than the way in which he bore the death of his son-a man of brilliant character and who had been consul. His funeral speech over him is in wide circulation, and when we read it, is there any philosopher of whom we do not think meanly? Nor in truth was he only great in the light of day and in the sight of his fellow-citizens; he was still more eminent in private and at home. What a wealth of conversation! What weighty maxims! What a wide acquaintance with ancient history! What an accurate knowledge of the science of augury! For a Roman, too, he had a great tincture of letters. He had a tenacious memory for military history of every sort, whether of Roman or foreign wars. And I used at that time to enjoy his conversation with a passionate eagerness, as though I already divined, what actually turned out to be the case, that when he died there would be no one to teach me anything.

There is so much that an experienced leader can give to the Republic, especially in time of War. John McCain is that leader. Give Cicero a look and give McCain your support; he has mine.
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McCain Tree County

A tree loving pal sent me this species of rare American timber that withstands all manner of abuse, set backs, storms and Way Right Republican hissy fits:

The McCain Tree

Today I got me a note from the candidate for the Office of President of the United States - the one candidate who can win America's war on Islamist Terror - Senator John McCain. The Senator talked about the resignation of his Campaign Advisers - singularly gracious and all. But the payoff was at the end.

Here are some notes from the end of his letter:

"Now is not the time to be timid or to shy away from our challenges - now is the time to stand up and say what we believe. I'm fighting to make our nation stronger, our government more effective and our world a safer place - and I hope you will continue to join me in this important journey.
Together, I have every confidence that we will be successful and I am honored by your continued support and friendship. "
Sincerely,

Senator John McCain


He's short on dough but long on courage and political honesty. He is as deeply rooted as the fine and homely American wood above. John McCain is staying!

Template for a Leader: John McCain's Answers to The Daily News

On Sunday the Daily News issued its questions to the candidate: John McCain.

Give this a read and witness the Template for an American President. Senator McCain speaks from his heart to the global nature of America's War with Islamist Terrorism. No squirmy sound bytes or spin. This is the straight talk of a leader.

America needs a Leader. Here's a passage that I found particularly compelling:

"Our standing in the world is a strategic asset and will be increased by working more closely with the world's democracies. We Americans must be willing to listen carefully to the views of our democratic allies. Like all other nations, we reserve the sovereign right to defend our vital national security when and how we deem necessary. But our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom, knowledge and resources necessary to succeed. When we believe international action is necessary, whether military, economic, or diplomatic, we must work to persuade our democratic friends and allies that we are right. But in return, we must be willing to be persuaded by them. To be a good leader, America must be a good ally."

Read the entire response of Senator John McCain. He speaks like a leader, because he is just that - he does not play one on television, or when the teleprompter whizzes, or by catching the eye of his handler.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/07/01/2007-07-01_the_daily_news_candidate_challenge__john-2_print.html

May God watch over all of you and hold each and everyone in the cup of His warm hands this Fourth of July, 2007.

Note Well, Please:

Pray for the soul of eleven year old Nathan Dombrowski who died last night in an accident in our neighborhood in Chicago. The poor little guy was playing with his pals. Pray for his family and act with kindness to our own.

Why I am For John McCain

Imagine a good guy leading this country!

I have donated to John McCain's campaign and I will continue to do so. I believe that he is the only person of either Party ( Mike, Bull Moose ,Bloomberg and ,soon, Ralph Nader - the ubiquitous Presidential cold sore that no dose of L Lysine can arrest - included ) with the character and common sense to lead America.

The War on Terror is a now a smoking cauldron of misplaced talent and shifting loyalties under President Bush. He got in a fight he can't finish and had the wrong guys holding his coat. John McCain knows how and why to fight; but, it is on immigration reform that John McCain explains what it takes to lead and in the language of the heart of one of our neighbors.

Unlike the shrill parrots of Fox News anchors or bow-tied Preppy Anchors, this public servant takes a cold look at our problems with a warm heart. He speaks staright and offers no 'bumber sticker' rhetoric or snake-oil buzz button ideas like Newt Gingrich's recent:

'Out source it to Fed-EX! Visa and Mastercard - Priceless!' Newt back to work on the novels about Old Dixie, Son.

Here is what the 'cutting the lawn next door to you guy' thinks - the guy who went to Vietnam, Desert Storm, and now raises his kids like a Man and Citizen:

This is John McCain on Immigration reform without the Spin:

"This problem cannot be allowed to continue any longer. Finding an effective, just and practical solution is difficult, but it is our work to do, on our watch. The politics of Washington have encouraged us to leave solutions to the toughest problems for another unluckier generation of leaders. Problems are left unsolved year after year, because we fear the political consequences of seriously addressing them or value their utility as political attacks in our campaigns. Illegal immigration and our porous borders are problems that we have, to our shame, ignored for too long because it was too hard and politically risky to solve. But the problem has grown too acute and dangerous to ignore any longer. To do nothing now would be an unconscionable abrogation of our responsibilities to defend the security, prosperity and values of our country.

There is simply no practical way to do that, and most Americans understand that. We have proposed a way to encourage them to come out from the underground economy, submit to a criminal background check, pay fines, back taxes and prove they are gainfully employed in exchange for a visa that would allow them to continue working here. Getting these people to declare themselves and prove they have come here for a job, pose no security threat and have no criminal record beyond entering the country illegally will enable our security and law enforcement officials to concentrate their resources on those who have come here to threaten our way of life rather than embrace it. DHS Secretary Chertoff, who helped negotiate this legislation, has warned that two million people in this country illegally have committed serious crimes. If some of them attempt to legalize their status, we will apprehend them. If they don't, we can concentrate our efforts on locating them and not rounding up lettuce pickers, hotel maids, and babysitters. Most importantly, we can devote all the resources necessary to finding terrorists who have broken our immigration laws, like three of the terrorists who intended to attack our soldiers at Ft. Dix. "

Senator McCain does not go in for the 'those are not people; they are a horde' logic of the mean spirited loser at the end of the bar and the last of his dollars ordering his 15th Bud Light of the afternoon. John McCain is a person who lost his home for quite a while and had only memories of what is best about his native land - McCain was a Prisoner of War and tortured repeatedly, abused, and demonized by people who did not want him in their country.

"I missed all of it, very much, but I still carried her ideals in the habits of my heart. And because they were all I possessed of my country, I cherished them all the more. I cherished the honor of being a citizen of a country that was the last, best hope of mankind, the great refuge of those who sought escape from despair and tyranny on crowded, miserable steamers into New York harbor, on small rafts across the Florida Straits, and on foot across the punishing deserts of the southwest. I know why people want to come here. I once thought I would rather die than be denied my country for one more day. "

McCain lays down rules for those who want in - welcome to our home and behave accordingly.

Later, I will relate some of John McCain's 'effective, just and practical' means of making immigration reform a task Americans can complete. McCain'll do the heavy lifting- the leading. I'll bet that he might even get that poor mope at the end of bar in the neighborhood tavern to Man-Up for this work!

John McCain Will Be The Last Man Standing - So Will Hillary.

Due to the stalled Immigration Legislation in the Senate: Harry Reid back-burnered it 15 votes shy of whatis needed, John McCain will be carved up by extreme right wing conservatives who want to stall for time for one of the other debutants to shore up a position. Hillary Clinton gets to stay above the Immigration Debate and Obama will be spinning his 'Quiet Riot' remarks into his exit in a few weeks.

In the mean time, McCain will be fighting a holding action against the tin-foil- hat crowd Progressives who have 'mobilized' the rhetoric clouding the importance of immigration reform.
The next few weeks will see John McCain maintaining the common sense line in this fight. The weak sisters in his Campaign are jumping ship for a cushier berth on other campaigns.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0607/McCain_loses_an_SC_county_chair_over_immigration.html

That is good. Stay tuned boys and girls - the Man who stood up to the Hanoi Hilton is well-prepped to withstand the pince-nez patriots who wrote for the Dartmouth Daily Denouncer and then got patriotic in Reagan's Administration. They bleed blue-blood - rhetorical hemoglobin mind you.

John McCain is a Leader.

John McCain - The Paradigm for an American President

This ain't no photo-op shot taken by Karl Rove's Boys and Girls - This guy is the real deal!

I have always liked Barack Obama. As a life-long Democrat, I admire his brains and his heart. As a legislator in Illinois he was effective and impressive. Then came the last Democratic National Convention and the newly minted Senator from Illinois electrified America. I hope that was not his high water mark.

Within days of DNC, Senator Obama was elevated to political Olympus and in the months that followed he was surrounded by the acolytes of every Democratic political disaster over the last twenty years. Though he eclipsed every National wannabe - especially Rep.Jesse Jackson, Jr. who got himself a tummy-tuck right after Obama's Sun Ascended, Senator Obama ran into the arms of the Amature-Hour politicos ( they get paid, of course, but they couldn't deliver a win even if the 'old school fix' was in). The Clintons' people, old Bowie Knife slashing Arkansas gut -stabbers, have been through Obama's life like and IRS man on steroids. Right now, Senator Obama is being ham-strung in the debates and shows early signs of fighting for his political life ( Who prepped him for the Debate? Joe Moore? Dick Simpson? Casper Milquetoast?)- Stay tuned.

There is only one person running for President who has the heart, lungs, liver, brains and every other metaphorical organ necessary to lead America - John McCain. Here are the words of leader.

http://mccain.senate.gov/press_office/view_article.cfm?ID=1092