McCain launches on Obama

[NorthSideSox72]

I disagree.  He just lambasted Obama for breaking his word.  totally justifyable in my opinion.

 

If you read the articles on this, including the letter that Obama wrote that started the whole thing, you will see that wasn't the case at all. I actually thought exactly what you did at first, until I did some more reading. Turns out what this is really about is that Obama and McCain have different plans for a reform bill, and can't agree on a compromise. Obama didn't promise to sing onto McCain's bill no matter what - he had his own, and decided at some point that he and McCain weren't going to see eye to eye.

 

Now, I think its sad for both of them. But I think McCain (who I like, and have defended many times here) just overreacted on this one.

[southsider2k5]

That's great. But why would you let the world know about it? If the Senate is all about collegiality, you send him the letter and that's the end of it. You don't put the letter on your website and let drudgereport know that its there. That's grandstanding, period.

 

Of course it is grandstanding. The Repubs know they can't allow Obama to continue unchallenged in his stature as some sort of an untouchable god senator. This is just the first salvo of what is only going to get worse.

[YASNY]

If you read the articles on this, including the letter that Obama wrote that started the whole thing, you will see that wasn't the case at all.  I actually thought exactly what you did at first, until I did some more reading.  Turns out what this is really about is that Obama and McCain have different plans for a reform bill, and can't agree on a compromise.  Obama didn't promise to sing onto McCain's bill no matter what - he had his own, and decided at some point that he and McCain weren't going to see eye to eye.

 

Now, I think its sad for both of them.  But I think McCain (who I like, and have defended many times here) just overreacted on this one.

 

I did read it. The way it came across to me is that Obama welched.

[YASNY]

Of course it is grandstanding.  The Repubs know they can't allow Obama to continue unchallenged in his stature as some sort of an untouchable god senator.  This is just the first salvo of what is only going to get worse.

 

But dude ... we all know the Dems never grandstand!

[Balta1701]

The telephone call was far more pleasant than the letter.

 

One day after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) sent an excoriating note to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), accusing him of being politically disingenuous in his attempt to propose ethics and lobbying reform, the two senators had a brief telephone conversation Tuesday.

 

"We're moving on," McCain said a few hours after speaking to Obama. "We're still colleagues. We're still friends. I mean, this isn't war."

 

It was, according to both men, a polite exchange. Yet the prospects of achieving a bipartisan solution on one of the most contentious issues of the election year — ethics reform — remained uncertain in light of the fissures exposed in the unusually abrasive back-and-forth between McCain and Obama.

 

"The tone of the letter, I think, was a little over the top," Obama said. "But John McCain's been an American hero and has served here in Washington for 20 years, so if he wants to get cranky once in awhile that's his prerogative."

 

When asked by a reporter if the freshman senator had indeed called McCain "cranky," Obama said: "You got my quote the first time."

 

In the two-page letter, which emerged as a leading topic on political websites and talk radio Tuesday, McCain upbraided Obama for what he called "self-interested partisan posturing." He also accused Obama of failing to uphold his promise to help negotiate a bipartisan approach to reform rules governing ethics and lobbying.

 

When asked whether he regretted using such pointed language about another senator, McCain said without hesitation: "Of course not. Of course not."

 

The fallout from a widening congressional ethics and bribery scandal, which toppled former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, has become sore point in the battle for control of the House and Senate. So far, there has been little consensus among Democrats and Republicans, and the confrontation between McCain and Obama underscores the complications of reaching an agreement during an election year.

 

"You don't get any reform unless it's bipartisan," McCain said.

 

Today, the two senators are scheduled to come together again and testify on pieces of their respective proposals at a hearing of the Senate Rules Committee.

 

McCain said he would unveil his plan to create more disclosure in legislation, particularly in the process known as "earmarking," where specific local projects often were hidden in complex legislation. Under his plan, the projects would be subjected to considerable scrutiny.

 

Obama intends to propose creation of a Congressional Ethics Enforcement Commission, comprised of former federal judges and former members of Congress, to investigate ethics complaints and to make disciplinary recommendations to the Senate Ethics Committee and the Justice Department.

 

Both men said they hoped to put the matter behind them and work together to craft ethics reform laws.

 

To accomplish that, they must bring the deeply divided Senate and House along.

 

"Ultimately, what will tell the tale is the end product," Obama said. "If the process is a little messy and some egos get hurt, that's not that important."

Linky.

[Cknolls]

Gore did win.  But daddy's friends were able to help out.