US News
McCain has learned lessons of 9-11, Bush says (3rd Roundup)
By Frank Fuhrig and Chris Cermak Sep 3, 2008, 6:24 GMT
President George W. Bush addresses via video the second session of the 2008 Republican National Convention in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 02 September 2008. EPA/TANNEN MAURY
St Paul, Minnesota - US President George W Bush called new Republican standardbearer John McCain the candidate who 'understands the lessons' of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in an address by satellite Tuesday to the party's national convention.
Bush, whose low approval ratings have led to a minimized role in the McCain campaign, was originally to speak in person Monday to the presidential nominating convention in St Paul, Minnesota.
He cancelled the visit due to Hurricane Gustav's arrival on the Gulf Coast.
Bush characterized McCain as an independent thinker who is best able to lead the country in a time of war, and touted McCain's military history as a Vietnam War fighter pilot who was captured and tortured for five years in a Hanoi prison.
'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 offence, stop attacks before they happen and not wait to be hit again,' Bush said.
'I know the hard choices that fall solely to a president. John McCain's life has prepared him to make those choices. He is ready to lead this nation.'
Arizona delegate Augustus Shaw said he was not disappointed by Bush's failure to appear in person.
'He's the president of the United States. We're at a time of serious national crisis (on the Gulf Coast),' Shaw said. 'I would be concerned if he were here. He has a job to do, and I'm glad he's doing it.'
Shaw, an attorney from a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, conceded that Bush's diminished role at the convention - which has a prime-time television audience - might be beneficial, 'if it wasn't John McCain.'
The delegate quickly rattled of issues where McCain has had major policy differences with either the unpopular president or fellow Republicans in Congress: tax policy, immigration and the successful troop surge in Iraq, for which McCain was once a lone voice.
'John McCain has a storied history of being his own man,' Shaw said.
Convention delegates are expected to formally nominate McCain for president on Wednesday night, with his acceptance speech on Thursday.
Republicans have hammered Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who was elected to the Senate in 2004, as inexperienced and unprepared to lead the country. Bush did not mention Obama.
The president's address came on the second day of the centre-right Republican convention, which had been drastically curtailed Monday due to the onset of Hurricane Gustav.
Bush headlined a convention night that included independent Senator Joe Lieberman, a one-time Democratic vice presidential nominee, and Senator Fred Thompson, a lawyer and actor who mounted a short-lived presidential bid in early 2008.
Lieberman, who has been one of McCain's strongest supporters, made a direct plea to Democrats and independent voters, touting McCain's maverick reputation and arguing that he was better prepared than Obama to bring change to Washington.
'I'm here tonight for a simple reason: John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead America forward,' said Lieberman, who was Al Gore's running mate in the court-contested 2000 presidential elections.
With Bush's approval ratings languishing at or below 30 per cent, the McCain campaign has been keeping the president at arm's length. McCain, 72, has appeared with Bush only once - at a private fundraiser - since the president endorsed him in March, after the Arizona senator locked up the Republican nomination.
Democrats used their own convention last week in Denver, Colorado, to link McCain to Bush's policies, arguing that McCain simply brings 'more of the same.'
'The man George Bush needs may be John McCain, but the change America needs is Barack Obama,' Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said in a statement Tuesday.
The McCain campaign has highlighted their candidate's long- established reputation for being unafraid to go against his own party, and Bush alluded to that track record in his speech.
'John is an independent man who thinks for himself. He's not afraid to tell you when he disagrees - believe me, I know,' quipped Bush, who has tussled with McCain on issues including torture and global warming.
While Bush was unable to attend, his father and former president George HW Bush received a long standing ovation as he entered the convention hall with his wife, Barbara.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
So here we have it !
Mr. Ambre Solaire from Illinois as Big Bwannanman making a deal with his idol Osama Bin Laden not to hurt any more Americans providing the US give him a generous annual handout and promise not to stop him blowing up other people.
Alt. we have ;-
The lead singer of the Hanoi All American Fly-boy Choir trying to take revenge on those who made him grovel and denounce his country for fear of being ejected from the luxurious Hanoi Hilton that Daddy was paying for and put back into dirty confined cells like the other American prisoners.
WHAT A FUTURE 4 YEARS TO LOOK FORWARD TO ! It is hideous.
We can only HOPE that Congress will be able to control and nullify the insane aspirations of these two nutters from destroying our great nation.
Bean Brains wrote - 'half of New York was vaporized'
You mean a couple of buildings were demolished and the loss of life was less than one months carnage on american roads. Do try and keep some grasp on reality !
You are about the biggest prick ever to puke a few words on these pages.
Crawl back into your hole and die - do us all a favor.
bush still is lost in a cloud .
to late to change now chimpy
The unique collection we have at present of human oddballs competing for the position of Court Jester in the White House is akin to the infamous and now extinct OOZLAM bird.
This was a bird that lived in the Arctic Circle and flew in ever decreasing circles until it flew straight up it`s own arsehole. This was the reason it became extinct.
same old - politics as usual!
IF McCain understood the lessons of 911 - then why didn't he fill Bush in on them?
...after it was revealed that the mastermind of 9/11 was offered up to Bush's predecessor by Somalia and he could have simply taken him into custody.
ya think everyone learned something on that one?
To - 'To John' --- so you can't face up to facts ?
He cannot face the facts or the truth. He appears to be a 'good' republican. He cannot face reality.
Hindsight - the best sight, of course!!!
Regardless of who gets to the White House, we can finally be thankful we won't have to put up with stumble bum Bush anymore!!
...as he silently pulls his finger out, at the end of the day, of every dem congressman's ass in Washington, after getting everything he wanted greenighted by th elikes of folks like Biden. For 8 years he has played these posers like the puppets they are. Bush is the Ty Cobb of polticians: the more you hate him, the better he gets. Honstly, he must just go upstairs and laugh every night, at the utter stupidity of these goofs he's played silently, while they grouse to their libnazi press.
You Worry Me
This pilot 'hit the nail' right on the head in his open letter. The paper stated today that some Muslim doctor is saying we are profiling him because he has been checked three times while getting on an airplane. The following is a letter from a pilot. This well spoken man, who is a pilot with American Airlines, says what is in his heart, beautifully Read, absorb and pass this on.
'YOU WORRY ME!' By American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco
I've been trying to say this since 911, but you worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country.
BUT! you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me. I notice you because I can't help it anymore. People from your homelands, professing to be Muslims, have been attacking and killing my fellow citizens and our friends for more than 20 years now. I don't fully understand their grievances and hate, but I know that nothing can justify the inhumanity of their attacks. On September 11, 2001
ARAB-MUSLIMS hijacked four jetliners in my country. They cut the throats of women in front of children and brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of those planes and crashed them into buildings killing thousands of proud fathers, loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends, favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers.
The Palestinians celebrated, the Iraqis were overjoyed as was most of the Arab world. So, I notice you now. I don't want to be worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage and hate and prejudice that has destroyed the soul of these terrorists But I need your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell the difference between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist. How do I differentiate between the true Arab/Muslim-Americans and the Arab/Muslim terrorists in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children? The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of its religions, with ALL of its different citizens, with all of its faults. It is time for every Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.
I want to know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know, whether or not you love America. Do you pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car? Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation, that He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah with destroy it in one of your Jihad's? Are you thankful for the freedom that only this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by also paying the ultimate sacrifice?
Do you love America ? If this is your commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it. Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect the United States of America.
Please, no more benign overtures of regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not interested in any more sympathy. I am only interested in action. What will you do for America - our great country - at this time of crisis, at this time of war?
I want to see Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting 'Allah Bless America ' I want to see young Arab/Muslim men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money, time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this nation as a whole. The FBI has a list of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people live and socialize right now in Muslim communities. You know them. You know where they are. Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals. The very few Arab/Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making sure that the United States proves who was responsible before taking action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they did with supporting our country and denouncing 'leaders'like Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat. If the true teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people, then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it up.
What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good, and pure, and true, when your 'leaders' are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and intolerance? It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if huge numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated to us
over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members (some as young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam.
We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab Muslim in this country stands and I think it is my
right and the right of every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your family.
I am pleading with you to let me know. I want you here as my brother, my neighbor, my friend, as a fellow American.
But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding your allegiance, and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand. Until then. 'YOU WORRY ME!' I totally agree with this sentiment. I hope you will forget all about the 'political correctness' mandate we've had rammed down our throats, and see if this doesn't ring true in your heart and mind.
For Canada, with all the multiculturism we've been told is so important, why should we not, as Canadians, expect that the millions of new people immigrating to our country will show their love for our country, their allegiance to our country, their willingness to obey the laws of our country, and acceptance that we are a Christian country? Just because they are able to enjoy exercising their own
religion, they should not expect us to be ashamed of ours. They knew Canada was a Christian country when they came here. Why are we erasing Christianity because immigrants who are unwilling to adopt our way of life expect us to? There is just too much insanity in the world, and we have to start taking a stand.
Bush isn't smart enought to accomplish all that you say he does. He is just a puppet!
If McCain can't even learn to do some background research on his running mate, what are the chances of him learning anything about threats to america ?
The lesson that Bush has taught us about 9/11 is that we don't know how to directly accomplish the mission anymore. When the Japanese attacked us in 1941, we went right after them. We did not confuse our attackers with the people of other Asian nations just because they all look the same. We did not attack China or Indonesia instead of Japan, and then pretend that it was all the same war.
Now, instead of following osama bin laden and al qaeda to their home bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we aborted the mission half way through, and then attacked another nation, a secular muslim nation that had nothing to do with 9/11. Since then we have pretended that our scapegoat nation, Iraq, had everything to do with 9/11. What about getting osama bin laden? Oh, I get it. After more than seven years of not trying to get him, we are pretending that he doesn't matter anymore. This is not mission accomplished, it is mission aborted.
The picture of that tiny Texas turd-ball Bush at the start of this article
is a perfect imitation of a chimp in every detail - even the face.
Watch Letterman sometime and see Bush's speeches.
Why is the word 'Republican' nowhere to be seen in the convention hall ? Just shows how ashames McCain is of being associated with Bush
..all the wussies who run the same old chestnuts here cannot stand to admit:
Higher employment than Clinton
Higher household wealth than Clinton
Higher tax revenues than Clinton
LOWER taxes than Clinton
Higher GDP growth than Clinton
At every turn, he has outperformed his predecessor. He warned you about foreign oil and proposed domestic drilling. Dems laughed as they got into their G6's and SUV's. Now he laughs in your faces. All you had to do was say yes. Now, go to the pump and smile.
He got Libya to de-nuke, got saddam, has Bin Laden in a cave, whacked Al Qaeda and has the best relationshiop we've ever had with Europe and our allies. He gets his legislation passed with a 30% approval rating.
No boneheads, this guy just keeps on coming.
By the way, anytime you want to see some bad speeches, watch Obama when he's not on the teleprompter i.e. saying Afghaniustan doesn't have enough arabic speaking troops (they do not speak arabic there as a first language) or his comment on abortion not being in the correct pay grade.
Those blinders are squeezing your brain, SP!
The picture above speaks for itself!
I agree with you. Everything SP4 opens his mouth and posts something, it just makes the case for getting rid of Bush more clear. He is the best we can hope for with his rants that are complete and total crap.
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BEAN BRAINSSep 3rd, 2008 - 10:07:38
Anybody who did not learn the lessons of 9/11 must be brain dead or a member of Al-Quaeda.
McCain is not quite there, but close. Hussein the Muslim is better acquainted with the crazy actions of suicidal nutcases since he appears to like them.
What the hell is all this about - 'learn the lessons of 9/11', is it some juvenile journalist writing this shit ? Christ ! half of New York was vaporized. What more lessons do you need ?
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