US News
McCain promises "change" in accepting party nomination (2nd Roundup)
By Frank Fuhrig and Chris Cermak Sep 5, 2008, 3:34 GMT
St Paul, Minnesota - John McCain touted his record as a reformer and sought to reclaim the mantle of change from his Democratic opponent in a speech accepting the Republican Party's presidential nomination on Thursday.
McCain slammed his own party for having 'lost the trust of the American people' over eight years in office.
'Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second crowd: change is coming,' McCain said.
McCain, a 26-year Arizona senator but with a maverick reputation, sounded many of the anti-establishment themes that have been the cornerstone of Democratic rival Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency.
But McCain argued that he was the candidate with a proven ability to shake up Washington and bring opposing politicians together, in an attempt to rebuff the arguments of his Democratic opponents that he represents the policies and practices of his unpopular Republican compatriot, President George W Bush.
'We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption,' McCain said. 'We're going to change that.'
'I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not,' McCain said, alluding to his five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
McCain said his time in the military and in captivity had taught him the drawbacks of war and promised to use diplomatic and economic means in addition to military force to defeat US enemies.
'I hate war. It is terrible beyond imagination,' McCain said. 'I'm running for president to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has.'
McCain was preceded by his wife, Cindy, on the final night of the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota. Cindy McCain praised her husband as a military hero, dedicated father, a reformist and independent thinker.
'If Americans want straight talk and the plain truth they should take a good close look at John McCain ... a man who served in Washington without ever becoming a Washington insider,' she said.
McCain spoke of his military history as a fighter pilot who was shot down, captured and tortured for his country in the Vietnam War - a service regularly highlighted as a strong virtue during the convention, the theme of which was 'country first.'
'I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's,' McCain said. 'I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's.'
McCain spoke of 'admiration' for Obama and his speech was relatively soft on attacks on the Illinois senator. But he took one subtle jab that played into Republican criticisms of Democratic nominee as a presumptive, celebrity-style politician.
'I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need,' he said.
Obama had earlier criticized the Republican four-day convention for a series of negative attacks on him and heavy focus on McCain's personal story, while talking little about economic issues.
'They've had a lot to say about me, but they haven't had anything to say about you,' Obama, a four-year senator from Illinois, said at a Pennsylvania rally.
'You haven't heard a word about how we're going to deal with any aspect of the economy that is affecting you and your pocketbook day- to-day,' he said.
In preparation for McCain's speech, the convention stage was retooled and the podium extended further out into the crowd of thousands of delegates, creating more of a townhall-style gathering, which is famously McCain's favourite type of venue.
McCain's speech followed Wednesday's address by his vice presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who was a relatively unknown politician from one of the least-populated US states until selected as McCain's running mate last week.
More than 37 million people watched her convention speech, according to Nielsen Media Research, only abut 1 million less than watched Obama's acceptance speech last week.
It was unclear if McCain's acceptance speech would receive the same ratings. Thursday was also the opening night of the American football season, but the New York Giants-Washington Redskins game ended only minutes before McCain took to the stage.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Let me paraphrase: boo, be afraid, be very afraid, boo, fear, fear, fear, the boogie man is gonna git you boo, fear, fear, did you know I was a POW? Then be afraid, the boogie man is gonna git you, boo fear, fear, boo, fear, be afraid, did you know I was a POW?
Then he went on to say, boo, fear, be afraid, boo, fear, fear, fear, boo, boo, did you know I was a POW? No substance, fear, hatred, boo, fear, foo, fear, be afraid the boogie man is gonna git you, did you know I was a POW?
I saw two signs in the audience that were hand made that had Mavrick written on them instead of Maverick. Great base. Boo!
'Neither speech was anything to brag about, and their eyes didn't stray very far from the teleprompter as they read their speeches.'
Wrong...
Halfway through Sarah Palin's speech tonight at the RNC, people following the speech noticed she was deviating from the prepared text.
According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks. As a result, half way through the speech, the speech had scrolled significantly from where Governor Palin was in the speech. The malfunction also occurred during Rudy Giuliani's speech, explaining his significant deviations from his speech. [see the update below on this part]
Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory [and relying on her printed text, clearly looking down occasionally at the printed page], to deliver her speech without the teleprompter cued to the appropriate point in her speech.
Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved.
www.redstate.com/diaries/redstate/2008/sep/04/breaking-sarah-palin-wing ed-her-speech-bec/
'Let me paraphrase: '
Let me paraphrase your paraphrase: You are a complete moron.
Electing McCain/Palin and McCain dying while in the White House is scary enough.
Electing McCain/Palin and McCain not dying while in the White House absolutely terrifying.
Reasons:
Symptoms of POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER are prevalent with Combat Duty and POWs. Symptoms include chronic physical signs of hyper arousal, including sleep problems, TROUBLE CONCENTRATING, IRRITABILITY, ANGER, POOR CONCENTATION, blackouts or DIFFICULTY REMEMBERING THINGS, increased tendency and reaction to being startled, and HYPER VILIGANCE TO THREAT.
Two scientific articles:
1st Article: Worsening of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms with cognitive decline: case series.
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi 39216, USA.
Patient age ranged from 57 to 70 years old and all patients had war-related PTSD. In each case, the patient had a history of PTSD that was under fairly good control until the onset of cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease or vascular or alcohol-related dementia.
To view the entire article,
www.PubMed.org and search on ‘Worsening of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms with cognitive decline: case series’
2nd Article: Memory performance in older trauma survivors: implications for the longitudinal course of PTSD.
James J. Peters VA Medical Center, OOMH, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10468, USA. Julia.golier@med.va.gov
These alterations may put trauma survivors with PTSD at greater risk for cognitive decline in later life. PTSD was associated with substantial impairments in learning, free and cued recall, and recognition memory.
To view the entire article,
www.PubMed.org and search on ‘Memory performance in older trauma survivors: implications for the longitudinal course of PTSD’
Additional concerns of a MD from Chesterton, IN brings up critical points about McCain’s ability to govern:
“As a psychiatrist, I find the most troubling void in McCain's personal story, THE ABSENCE OF RESULTS FROM HIS VARIOUS NEURO-PSYCHIATRIC-EVALUATIONS. A man who demonstrates suggestive behaviors consistent with both Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (episodic, violent outbursts) and early dementia (multiple slips and errors of fact, flat, unmodulated speech, excessive reliance on teleprompters), McCAIN’S REFUSAL TO RELEASE THE RESULTS OF THESE EVALUATIONS RAISES THE SERIOUS POSSIBILITY THAT HE IS CONCEALING SIGNIFICANT MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL DYSFUNCTION. While in general, there is an important right to privacy that must ordinarily be respected with all patients, the fact that this particular patient has chosen to run for the presidency makes it imperative that these records become available.”
Summary:
We owe McCain our love and respect for his military service. However, I love my grandchildren and this country too much to vote McCain into the White House.
The Choice is Ours:
If you want 'EXPERIENCE AT GETTING IT WRONG', vote for McCain.
If you want 'JUDGEMENT AT GETTING IT RIGHT', vote for Obama.
..what has Obama ever done to prove his judgement?
page: 1
JakeSep 5th, 2008 - 03:46:45
Neither speech was anything to brag about, and their eyes didn't stray very far from the teleprompter as they read their speeches.
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