Partial transcrpit from the Huffington Post on Hagel's appearance on "Face the Nation" -

BOB SCHIEFFER: Let me just ask you this, Senator Hagel. You're a Republican. For a long time you were very, very close to John McCain-I want to ask you later, are you still that close-but he has been very, very hard on Senator Obama all this week. And I mean the gloves have really come off. This morning in an interview on ABC he said, I think it was seven times, that Senator Obama simply doesn't understand the stakes in Iraq. he doesn't understand the situation there. And earlier in week, we'll look at some tape here, here is how he put it at one point.

JOHN MCCAIN: Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a campaign.

BOB SCHIEFFER: He said this morning that Senator Obama's strategy was based, basically, on political expediency, that he chose-and these are Senator McCain's words-"a political path that would get him the nomination."

CHUCK HAGEL: Well, let me begin by making this comment in answering your question. Both of these men are smart, capable, decent men who love their country. I think we, as a nation, are far better off for these two capable men-one will have to govern this country and bring the country together as well as lead the world and bring the world together-and that's going to take a bipartisan consensus, to govern. They're better off to focus on policy differences. I think John is treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives and when we start to get into, "You're less patriotic than me. I'm more patriotic." I admire and respect John McCain very much. I have a good relationship. To this day we do. We talk often. I talked to him right before I went to Iraq, as a matter of fact. John's better than that. And he's not asked for advice on this, but since you've asked me the question, I think both he and Barack have to be very careful here because it's just not responsible to be saying things like that.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well let me-just in line with what you said, the McCain campaign came out with a new ad because Senator Obama chose not to visit those troops in the hospital in Germany. Let's take a look at this.

NARRATOR: Barack Obama never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan. He hadn't been to Iraq in years. He voted against funding our troops. And now he made time to go to the gym but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras. John McCain is always there for our troops. McCain-country first.

JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

...

CHUCK HAGEL: Let me add to that. As you know, Bob, the congressional delegation that you referred to ended when we parted in Jordan. At that point, it was a political trip for Senator Obama. I think it would have been inappropriate for him and certainly he would have been criticized by the McCain people and the press and probably should have been if on a political trip in Europe paid for by political funds-not the taxpayers-to go, essentially, then and be accused of using our wounded men and women as props for his campaign. I think the judgment there-and I don't know the facts by the way. I know what you've just read. No one has asked me about it other than what you've just asked about. But I think it would be totally inappropriate for him on a campaign trip to go to a military hospital and use those soldiers as props. So I think he probably, based on what I know, he did the right thing. We saw troops everywhere we went on the congressional delegation. We went out of our way to see those troops. We wanted to see those troops. And that's part of our job to see those troops, by the way, and listen to those troops, Bob. And we did.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Do you think that ad was appropriate?

CHUCK HAGEL: I do not think it was appropriate.

BOB SCHIEFFER: You do not.

CHUCK HAGEL: I do not.

Full transcript available at HuffPo -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/27/hagel-mccain-on-thin-grou_n_115193.html

Mr. McCain comes off instead like the ineffectual Mr. Wilson, the retired neighbor perpetually busting a gasket at the antics of pesky little Dennis the Menace.

haha, perfect.

Oh, and it's getting beyond troublesome to see McCain flatly deny saying things that we have video tape of him saying just days prior.

Does he not fully grasp the idea of "video," does he just think we're that stupid or is he losing his mind?

I like Chuck Hagel...I hope he will endorse Obama. He is rational.
McBushSame is in big trouble, like Senator Clinton was, and can only become negative at this point. He is starting to throw everything he can at Obama...

Obama is so smart, he is meeting with financial and economic advisers tomorrow and start an Ohio bus tour...

And i don't think he will hand up in a german restaurant:)

We're fucked

McSame's a walking timebomb, waiting to blow a gasket.
Once it happens, it won't be pretty, and it will finish him once and for all.

If I'm the Obama camp, I just run a loop of Hagel (with the R under his name highlighted), "Do you think this add was a appropriate?" "No, I Do Not." "You do not." "I do not." Followed by a fundraising plea to 'Help us shout down crappy adds like this.."

I just saw the first segment of GPS. It was very interesting, it was a discussion about how Obama did during his European tour, and why he so well liked in Europe...

McCain is coming increasingly unglued. Compare his appearance with Stephanopolous with Obama's appearance with Brokaw and the difference is stark. Obama: clear, direct and rational policy positions and calm demeanor. McCain: irritable, irrational denial, vague and unfocused policy and distracted demeanor.

I think McCain's issues are being magnified because he isn't running his campaign and he's being fed talking points and then doesn't remember saying them.

I could see McCain kicking the Rovians to the curb sooner or later and running "his campaign" in one last attempt to win the White House. He'll blame all of this gutter mudslinging on the Rove Disciple he has running his campaign and will try to take the high road in an attempt to sway voters and regain his Maverick title.

McCain will play the victim, saying how he was taken advantage of, that he passionately believed he was the better man to be President and panicked when he was trailing in the polls and that's when Rove and his Disciples started whispering in his ear.

If he loses he'll want to go out doing it his way.

hagel will endorse obama before dem convention or after the repubs along with powell.

Unfortunately McCain makes perfect sense regarding Iraq.

Which time?

Given the fact that he's held every possible position regarding Iraq at one point or another over the past 5 years, he has occasionally made "perfect sense regarding Iraq."

Unfortunately, on those occasions, he has within months, sometimes days, reversed his position to one that makes no sense regarding Iraq...and lately, those are the ones he's been doubling-down on.

Poor Fogu2, I feel so sad for you...

You guys need to watch GPS, there was another great panel about the Surge...Of the journalist said, she spoke with some Irakis, and they confirmed that the surge has little to do with the surge...

Irakis were so overwhelmed with the violence, they decided to fight themselves against the terrorists themselves in their neighborhood. Now wedding parties are happening again...

THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR MCBUSHSAME!!!

You might want to wash up now. It's all over you.

Judging by fogu2's posts, it's apparent that he's coming increasingly unglued as well (if that's possible). "Go cry to your daddy"? LMFAO

Mccain's campaign is so inept the man cannot stay on message for just two interviews...in CNN, Fox, ABC and CNN in last few days he changed his position or lied at least once each time...I pray he picks Romney seriously the abundance of ineptitude between those two might revive Carlin and Pryor just to get a piece of the action.

'Straight Talk' is just an excuse for a lack of tact. The media has just chosen to give him a bye on the behavior, and the McCain campaigns have chosen to use it as a trademark.

McCain's appearance on "This Week" was a fumbled mess.

From lying that he never used the word "timetable" to saying that it would have taken a seismic event to not visit troops in Germany when he didn't visit troops in April 2008 because the Pentagon said no (thus lying again) to his bumbling on the gay adoption issue.

Hey nice bump on the gallup tracking poll. Both Rasmussen and Gallup have Obama at 49%.

After he loses the election, I can imagine McCain retiring to a compound in the jungle of Cambodia, ala Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. One difference, the only two sycophants in attendance will be Graham and Lieberman.

I was disppointed in Hagel this morning, especially when he said "I think both he and Barack have to be very careful here because it's just not responsible to be saying things like that." As if BOTH sides are engaging in dirty swiftboating. Did I miss Obama's swiftboating ads against McCain somewhere?

He could have been much more forceful in his condemnatation of McCains despicable ads. He still a Republican and it would be a mistake for Obama to offer him a high ranking position in his cabinet (or VP, god forbid!)

Are we going to believe a NYPost story?

Unfortunately McCain makes perfect sense regarding Iraq.

And which part would that be...oh yeah The Surge...
Well as a soldier I would have love The Surge to have worked at the right war, and 4000+ troops and families sooner. So now is the time to forget the orginal vote and admit The Surged Worked.
Well I'm here to tell you THE SURGE DID NOT WORK, BECAUSE IT WAS THE WRONG WAR IN THE FIRST PLACE.
THE SURGE WAS A FIXER-UPPER, FOR A LIE
AND NOW WE HAVE TO START ALL OVER...AND YOU CALL THAT ...PERFECT SENSE...WELL I CALL IT PLAIN AND SIMPLE WRONG JUDGEMENT.

Now Tucker Bounds is saying that Obama hasn't visited Columbia, Mexico City or Canada yet, like Sen. McCain has. Wasn't their attack a mere two days ago centered around Obama going overseas and for so long in the first place?

Obama will be pivoting to the economy tomorrow for the rest of the election. If McCain wants to talk about the surge every day, that's is perogative but Obama will be talking about what people REALLY care about.

* In 2005, McCain decided Iraqis resent our military presence, so we should reject a Korea-like model for long-term troop deployment. He insisted that “U.S. ‘visibility’ was detrimental to the Iraq mission and that Iraqis were responding negatively to America’s presence — positions held by both Obama and Clinton.”

* In 2006, McCain reversed course, and embraced the Korea model for a long-term military presence.

* In 2007, McCain reversed course again, saying the Korean analogy doesn’t work and shouldn’t be followed. “[E]ventually I think because of the nature of the society in Iraq and the religious aspects of it that America eventually withdraws,” McCain told Charlie Rose last fall.

* And in 2008, McCain reversed course yet again, deciding that we should be prepared to leave troops in Iraq, even if it means 100 years or more.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15370.html

And now its apparently "whenever", 16 months, a year, tomorrow.

Truly an amazing interview. I don't see how any rational voter can view McCain as other than a joke candidate at this point.

"I like yesterday. I like yesterday."

That just about sums up the McCain campaign so far...

In that same This Week interview, McCain completely reversed himself on affirmative action: McCain V McCain on Affirmative Action. If he gets asked about this again, he'll inevitably say, "But I've always been against quotas!" However, McCain has supported the military implementation of affirmative action which incorporates race as a hiring/acceptance preference in several different ways, and which would be illegal if implemented in an Arizona institution should this ballot initiative pass.

For years, McCain's used the tired excuse that he's "for affirmative action and against quotas" ... it's actually the same cop-out that Obama regularly uses to avoid answering the question. The problem here is that reporters always ask, "Do you support affirmative action?" Rather, they should ask, "Do you think it's appropriate for public entities such as civil service and military academies to take race or gender into account in admissions or hiring? What about private entities?" Framing the question this way would eliminate the quota cop-out. Unfortunately, McCain decided this morning to take a more direct approach and announce his support of an amendment that stands in opposition to affirmative action as it's practiced in the military or anywhere.

I guess it'll get him some votes in Michigan, but good luck selling that in Nevada and Colorado.

the NBC poll showed that while Americans overwhelmingly see the Democrat as more likeable, "offering hope and optimism," and better able to improve "America's standing in the world," McCain leads Obama on having the "strong leadership qualities needed to be president," having more consistency and being stronger on honesty.

By a 2-1 ratio, Americans also see McCain as having the qualities of a commander in chief, and by a nearly 3-1 ratio, they view him as "being knowledgeable and experienced enough to handle the presidency."

And asked who they view as the riskier choice for president, Americans by a 55-35 ratio said Obama.

In your republicans dreams, but the reality says otherwise...It is time for your to pack your bags, and join the McBushSame campaign where you belong...

Gallup: Obama: + 9%

Huh? Are you smoking something?

Double digits, baby! No bounce? Try 12 points...

"A new Research 2000 national poll finds Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain, 51% to 39%, with Bob Barr getting 3% and Ralph Nader getting 2%."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/07/27/r2000_obama_holds_double_digit_national_lead.html

Woo hoo! Feel the bounce!! :)

Barack Obama widens lead over John McCain in polls following world tour http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/07/27/2008-07-27_barack_obama_widens_lead_over_john_mccai.html

Barack Obama's world tour scored big points back home.

The presumptive Democratic nominee jumped to a significant 9-point lead over GOP rival John McCain - his largest lead since the Gallup Poll began tracking the general election horse race in March.

Obama tops McCain, 49% to 40%, among registered voters nationwide, Gallup's daily tracking poll conducted from Thursday to Saturday revealed.

Anyone wish to offer which network discommentator
you would most like to see present when this walking political bomb goes off? Stepenfetchalot
gets my vote.

FX ランキング
is over.

Do you have a ETCカード?