Sunday McCain Roundup

Americablog asks: Why is John McCain getting $58,000/year in tax-free disability from the U.S. government?

You'd think that someone who argues that the new G.I. Bill is too generous to our veterans would himself eschew such lavish government welfare for himself. McCain owns 8 or 9 houses, his wife is worth over $100 million, and his "disabilities" have never prevented him from holding a job.

Obama's poll bump begins:

Rasmussen Presidential Poll 6/8/08 (5/29/08 results):
Obama: 50 (42)
McCain: 43 (47)

That's a 13 point turnaround in the last week. We'll see if a similar bump occurs in Gallup or in the state polls. But you can see why McCain's campaign is so desperate to pull away Clinton supporters during this critical time.

The Daily Mail slams McCain for his callous abandonment of his first wife:

Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit.

‘When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it.

‘Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better.

‘This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.’

.....

But Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics.

‘McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,’ he said.

‘After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.’

Right wing attempts to further trash Trinity United Church of Christ are backfiring:

Thanks to Hewitt, I can see that there was a lot to commend the church to ordinary non-radical believers like Obama. The week-to-week business of the church, as suggested in the Hewitt excerpts, was to carry out the best of the Christian tradition: encouraging kidney donations, praising college students who, instead of partying during spring break, helped rebuild New Orleans; shining a light on Darfur; alerting the poor members of the congregation to the earned income tax credit or the new Medicare prescription drug program; giving shout-outs and encouraging "high fives" to the members of the congregation achieving advanced degrees; and so forth. The emphasis is on praising those who shun hedonism in favor of less materially rewarding work. The personal attributes of congregants singled out for praise by Wright are essentially little "c" conservative virtues.

The Hewitt posts, intentionally or not, seem to corroborate Obama's claims (which to many seemed a bit implausible) that, on a week to week basis, Wright was not serving up loopy views or radical anti-Americanism, but was encouraging personal responsibility and the relatively typical forms of social activism that many churches and synagogues encourage.

Why is McCain trying to copy Obama's logo and slogan? He is opening himself up to a lot of ridicule down the road. Nobody votes for you because of your logo, but they will vote against you if you come across as a phony with zero fresh ideas.

Just like Bush, McCain wants to tap your phones.

Phil Gramm is only going to cause McCain more problems as the campaign begins.

And just today, McCain's best pal Lindsay Graham confirms that McCain's policies will be an extension of Bush's policies.

Good advice.