McCain Ad – 2013

Obamacan – Winner, Obama in 30 Seconds

McCain: Obama criticisms are ‘cheap shots’

(CNN) – John McCain on Thursday called Barack Obama’s attitude toward veterans benefits “a convenient campaign pledge” and wrote off the Illinois senator’s criticisms of him as “cheap shots.”

After Obama criticized McCain’s opposition to expanding the GI Bill, McCain issued a statement accusing Obama of using “the Senate floor to take cheap shots at an opponent and easy advantage of an issue he has less than zero understanding of.”

The legislation, an updated version of the GI Bill, passed the Senate Thursday afternoon by a 75-22 vote margin and passed the House earlier this month by a similar margin. It proposes to essentially provide a full scholarship to in-state public universities for members of the military who have served for at least three years.

Obama on Thursday questioned McCain’s stance on the measure.

“I respect Sen. John McCain’s service to our country … but I can’t understand why he would line up behind the president in opposition to this GI Bill. I can’t believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans. I could not disagree with him and the president more on this issue,” he said while on the Senate floor.

“There are many issues that lend themselves to partisan posturing, but giving our veterans the chance to go to college should not be one of them.”

Obama said he thinks the expansion of the GI Bill would “strengthen our military and improve the number of people who are interested in volunteering to serve.”

McCain supports enacting legislation to expand education benefits for veterans, but he, as well as President Bush and much of the military brass, oppose this specific measure because they worry it will deplete retention rates among those currently serving in the military at a time when recruitment efforts are already struggling.

“I will not accept from Sen. Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did,” he said in the statement.

Read at CNN.com

Inspiration from Obama:US car dealer in free gun offer

A car dealership in the United States is offering a free handgun with every vehicle sold.

Max Motors in Butler, Missouri, says sales have quadrupled since the start of the offer.

Customers can choose between a gun or a $250 (£125) gas card, but most so far have chosen the gun.

Owner Mark Muller said: “We’re just damn glad to live in a free country where you can have a gun if you want to.”

The dealership sells new and old vehicles, including General Motors and Ford cars and trucks, and its logo shows a cowboy holding a pistol.

It has sold more than 30 cars and trucks in the past three days, an increase which the owners put down to their promotional offer.

Inspiration from Obama

Mr Muller said that every buyer so far “except one guy from Canada and one old guy” chose the gun, rather than the gas card.

He recommends a Kel-Tec .380 pistol, which he describes as “a nice little handgun that fits in your pocket”.

Read at news.bbc.co.uk.

Obama tries to reassure Jewish voters

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS
Associated Press Writer

Barack Obama on Thursday promised “an unshakable commitment to Israel’s security” as he sought to reassure doubtful Jewish voters. He also said he hopes to help improve relations between American blacks and Jews.

In a passionate appearance at a synagogue, Obama courted Jewish voters by reaffirming his opposition to negotiating with the militant Palestinian group Hamas and said talks with Iranian leaders could help strengthen Israeli security.

On the verge of clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama is now introducing himself to Florida, where Democrats agreed not to campaign during the primary because the state violated the party rules by holding a primary in January.

Some Jews fear Obama’s willingness to speak with Middle Eastern nations that oppose Israel, while others wonder whether he is a closet Muslim.

Obama asked his audience to hear him out.

“Judge me by what I say and what I’ve done. Don’t judge me because I’ve got a funny name. Don’t judge me because I’m African-American and people are concerned about memories of the past,” he said.

“When I am in the White House, I will bring with me an unshakable commitment to maintaining that bond between the United States and Israel and an unshakable commitment to Israel’s security,” he told the audience of several hundred at B’nai Torah.

Obama said he is distressed by strains between blacks and Jews in America, two groups “who have been uprooted and been on the outside.” Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been able to accomplish so much in the battle for civil rights without help from Jewish supporters, he said.

“I want to make sure that I am one of the vehicles by which we can rebuild those bonds,” the Illinois senator said.

Read more at the OneidaDispatch.com

MCCAIN BLASTS OBAMA FOR NEVER HAVING SERVED IN UNIFORM

 

by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Republican John McCain, a Vietnam War hero, blasted likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama for never having served in uniform as the two took aim at each other in yet another sign that the presidential race is rapidly moving toward their general election matchup. McCain’s comments Thursday came after the Illinois senator accused the Republican of partisan posturing for opposing a bill that would guarantee full college scholarships for those who serve in the military for three years.

“I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did,” the Arizona senator said in a harshly worded statement issued Thursday.

McCain was a Navy fighter pilot who was shot down and spent nearly six years as a Vietnam prisoner of war, and the Arizona senator is likely to stress his impressive military record and Obama’s lack of one as the race moves forward.

While the contest for the Democratic nomination is not over, Obama leads rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in the delegate count and it is virtually impossible for her to catch up with only three primaries remaining. Obama has 1,965 delegates to Clinton’s 1,780, with 2,026 needed to win the nomination.

Democratic officials said Thursday that Obama’s campaign is quietly scouting for a running mate, with former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson overseeing the early vetting.

Candidates for consideration include Hillary Clinton, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, anti-war Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel and former Sen. John Edwards.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said Obama’s vice presidential selection process “is clearly premature in that he is not yet the nominee.” He also said the Clinton campaign didn’t have a similar process under way and there had been no discussions with the Obama campaign about her becoming Obama’s No. 2.

Some Democrats are calling on Obama to pick Clinton as his vice president.

On the Republican side, the vice presidential speculation about McCain has been going on for months, fueled in part by the candidate himself. Last month, he told reporters he was in the “embryonic stages” of the search with a list of about 20 names.

This weekend McCain is hosting at least three Republicans mentioned as potential vice presidential running mates at his Sedona, Arizona, home — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A top aide said it’s a social event with more than two dozen guests not meant for vice presidential vetting, but the socializing is a prime opportunity for would-be running mates.

The latest spat Thursday between McCain and Obama came as the Democratic-led Senate passed the measure on scholarships for veterans.

Obama supports the measure but McCain opposes it, as does the Pentagon, out of concern that providing such a benefit after only three years of service would encourage people to leave the military after only one enlistment as the U.S. fights two wars and is trying to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.

Read more at FoxNews.com