2 Responses to “Bomb Pakistan”

1. BD57 says:

   February 8, 2009 at 7:42 pm

   Jennifer:

   Too early in this opera to start applauding McCain – the overture is fine, let’s see if he follows through.
2. turfmann says:

   February 8, 2009 at 7:44 pm

   Forgive my pessimism, but Mr. McCain’s protestations at this point have all the effectiveness of a garden hose at a conflagration.

   Far too little, far too late.

   If he had been less gracious during the campaign, among other errors, we would be looking at some kind of stimulus bill that would only be huge and outrageous. Instead, we are Thelma and Louise with our foot planted firmly on the accelerator of the Thunderbird headed for the cliff’s edge.
3. Sebastian B. O. Bunionstow IV. says:

   February 8, 2009 at 8:47 pm

   Doesn’t maverick have a reelection looming? Just saying….
4. WBC says:

   February 8, 2009 at 9:02 pm

   It would be nice to think that Sen. McCain is capable of leading a principled opposition to the diabolical triumvirate of Obama/Reid/Pelosi. But that would require that he forgo the adulation of the liberal MSM for what will probably be what is left of his Senate career – something his ego is not capable of. Moreover, McCain has a lot in common with the left (an insane belief in Anthropogenic Global Warming, for example). Although he has voted consistently pro-life, he has no enthusiasm for the cause and merely lip-syncs the lyrics in order to stay in line with his state constituency (he was utterly silent regarding Obama’s renunciation of the Mexico City Declaration). It is unlikely that he will consistently voice opposition to the international obsequiousness that the Hildebeast has labeled “Smart Power.” He will have no principled plan in hand as Iran obtains nuclear weapons. He will not fight for the development of oil and gas reserves in opposition to his envirowacko friends. As the genius behind McCain-Feingold (a direct assault on political speech) he is unlikely to oppose the “fairness doctrine” (and besides, he hates Rush Limbaugh).

   He is, in many ways, an admirable and honorable man. But he is not going to be the leader of any conservative opposition.
5. Rod says:

   February 8, 2009 at 9:04 pm

   1980: National Debt 33% of GDP
   2009: National Debt 80% of GDP

   This is crazy…
6. CK MacLeod says:

   February 8, 2009 at 9:33 pm

   Sure, there are a lot of reasons not to expect McCain to function as the leader of the opposition, but his “honorable” campaign, his concession speech, his meetings with and expressed attitude toward Obama up until this controversy, and of course his extensive past history of bipartisan dealmaking all lend credibility to new stands in principled opposition. I don’t expect the “true conservatives” ever to give McCain full credit for helping to open the public’s ears to Republican views going forward, but I still believe it’s a service.

   I have to doubt there’s really a chance, as Ms Rubin appears to suggest, that the Stimulus Express can still be stopped, but McCain has already helped to focuse and maximize political damage to the Democrats. On foreign affairs, I believe he’ll struggle to find ways to be supportive: Any temptation to make a major public break with Obama-Clinton-Jones policy will to some extent be checked by the gravity of the issue that might motivate his opposition. He’ll probably confine his criticism to smaller matters and atmospherics until and unless what he considers a point of no return is being reached.

   Does anyone poll on how people feel about how they voted in November? I’m not assuming we’d already be seeing a sea-change against Obama, but it would be an interesting number to track.
7. Greg Ransom says:

   February 8, 2009 at 9:41 pm

   McCain is bickering over details.

   He agrees with the Keynesian Cargo Cult economics.

   All else is detail.

   Keynesian economics — that’ll work.

   The Japanese put themselves in a decades long slump by misinvesting $10 Trillion dollars on a Keynesian pipe dream, in a much smaller economy than we have today in America.

   There is nothing “maverick” about following the crowd in recommending this idiocy.

   John McCain — just one more member of the Cargo Cult.
8. Marks says:

   February 8, 2009 at 10:24 pm

   I recommend Rod @ 5 for Commentary of the day.
9. materialist says:

   February 8, 2009 at 11:09 pm

   John McCain hasn’t been my favorite republican for many years, and the only good decision I can identify in his campaign was the selection of Sarah Palin. But Jen is right – he’s doing the Lord’s work this week. Let’s praise him for it, and hope he keeps it up. For at least the next couple of years we need every single ally who can be found, and absolutely must be grateful for each one of them. Welcome back, John McCain.
10. Mike K says:

    February 8, 2009 at 11:12 pm

    The stimulus bill still has to pass and go to conference where the word is that it will revert to the House version, maybe with even more spending. McCain opposition, plus that CBO report, might be enough to stall the conference report. The Son-of-TARP bill has been put back until Tuesday to divert attention from the monstrous debt but the conference report still has to come back to the Senate. If Susan Collins backs out, as she has hinted, it could hang up. Specter is hopeless but it is not a done deal and public support is weakening every day.