downwithtyranny.blogspot.com — "Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment & his vast experience in foreign policy & national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive & strong team. Biden's selection is good news for America."
Aug 25, 2008 View in Crawl 4
tcbishop12Aug 25, 2008
Contrast the respect Joe Biden commands with what Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who has known Senator John McCain for more than three decades, said last January when he endorsed Mitt Romney for president. Thad Cochran said in the past he has seen McCain's temper fly too often in committee hearings on the Senate floor. Cochran said his choice was prompted partly by his fear of how McCain might behave in the Oval Office. McCain's temper is well documented. He's called opponents and colleagues "sh_theads," "as_holes" and in at least one case "a fu_king jerk.""The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said about McCain by phone. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa said in an interview that he was so upset by a McCain tirade that he didn't speak to him for two years."Is [the Senate] a club where we're all pals and friends? No", McCain giggled to reporters on the campaign bus, ?I?m not going to win any Miss Congeniality awards?. MR. RUSSERT: The issue of your temperament has once again come to fore. This is from a colleague.SEN. McCAIN: Thad.MR. RUSSERT: "Thad Cochran of Mississippi"...SEN. McCAIN: Mm-hmm.MR. RUSSERT: ..."who's known Senator McCain for more than three decades endorsed Mitt Romney." "Cochran said his choice was prompted partly by his fear of how McCain might behave in the Oval Office."`The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine,' Cochran said about McCain. `He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.'"SEN. McCAIN: Well, I--you know, I've known and loved Thad Cochran for many years, and I've always felt we had a very close and warm relationship. My family goes back to the state of Mississippi. His colleague, Trent Lott, of course, is one of my strongest and best supporters. I have a wide circle of supporters, conservative and moderate--Richard Burr, Tom Coburn, Lindsey Graham.MR. RUSSERT: What does he base that on?SEN. McCAIN: I, I really don't know. Do I feel strongly about issues? And we all know, as much as I love Thad Cochran, he's an appropriator. And I have fought him hard time after time after time on these pork barrel projects that he has been famous for, many of which, in my view, have been harmful to our economy and our environment. So we've had, we've had strong words from time to time about pork barrel spending. He's one of the great pork barrelers, and he's very proud of that. He's very proud of his...MR. RUSSERT: He was a co-sponsor of your campaign finance bill.SEN. McCAIN: He was, and I appreciate that. And there're many areas in which Thad Cochran and I have agreed. But I have to admit to you, and I think it's very clear, we've had strong debate on the floor of the Senate about pork barrel projects..
tcbishop12Aug 25, 2008
McCain’s claim by the way, is false. In 2006, the senator teamed up with fellow Arizona senator Jon Kyl (R) to funnel $10 million toward the University of Arizona for an academic center named after the late Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. Even Arizona lawmaker, Rep. Jeff Flake (R), said he was planning to “lean against the measure.” The National Taxpayers Union, another traditional McCain ally, questioned why the senator was making federal taxpayers foot the bill for the center.In 2003, McCain also slipped $14.3 million into a defense appropriations bill to create a buffer zone around Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. As Roll Call reported in 2003, this project violated McCain’s own anti-pork rhetoric: The only problem is the project to acquire more land near the base was not requested by President Bush or fully authorized by the Senate Armed Services Committee - two of McCain’s criteria for identifying so-called ‘pork. [Now indicted] Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), a notorious porker, was overjoyed that McCain had joined his side. “One man’s pork is another man’s alternate white meat,” said Stevens. “If he asked for it, we put it in.”'Because he's a POW?