Last updated on August 11th, 2014 at 12:01 am
President George W. Bush told America tonight that the nation needs John McCain. Considering that Bush has exhibited terrible judgment all through his presidency, this should be reason enough for America to collectively run screaming away from McCain.
Bush framed America’s need for McCain in terms of Iraq, “Last year, John McCain’s independence and character helped change history. The Democrats had taken control of Congress and were threatening to cut off funds for our troops. In the face of calls for retreat, I ordered a surge of forces into Iraq. Many in Congress said it had no chance of working. Yet one Senator above all had faith in our troops and the importance of their mission – and that was John McCain. Some told him that his early and consistent call for more troops would put his Presidential campaign at risk. He told them he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. That is the kind of courage and vision we need in our next Commander-in-Chief.”
Bush also invoked 9/11 as the reason why we must elect McCain, “We live in a dangerous world. And we need a president who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain.”
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Let me see if I have this straight, John McCain defeated the whole Democratic Congress to get the troop surge passed. A surge which according to Republican myth has won the war in Iraq, crippled al-Qaeda, and defeated terrorism. If John McCain doesn’t win the election, then that soft liberal Obama is going to take over and let al-Qaeda blow us all up. Where have I heard this story before? Ah yes, it was the 2004 presidential election where President Bush warned us that America would be overrun by terrorism if John Kerry was elected.
The Republican terrorist boogeyman is so worn out. It didn’t work in the 2006 election, and it won’t work in 2008. From the looks of it, the entire fall McCain campaign is going to be a rehash of 2004. The GOP has nothing new to offer, so they are replaying their script from the past two elections. McCain is not going to win this election on terrorism and national security. The Republicans can’t avoid the economy, and if they choose to spend their entire convention doing so, the Obama people should be feeling pretty good about themselves on Friday.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
