Arizona Senator John McCain (official)

[jimotis4heisman]

Originally Posted by Wingate1217

Given the focus on the candidate's education I thought it would be fun to look at some hypothetical candidates. All these people ran for President within the last 100 years......
Would you vote for any of them just based on the educational synopisis of each?????


Candidate #1-He attended Georgia Tech and Georgia Southwestern State University before receiving an appointment to the United States Naval Academy where he received a Bachelor of Science degree and is the only graduate of the Naval Academy to become President.[6] He finished a high 59th out of his Academy class of 820.


Candidate #2-He was the only president who served the last 100 years not to earn a college degree: poor eyesight prevented him from applying to West Point, his childhood dream, and financial constraints prevented him from securing a degree elsewhere. He did, however, study for two years toward a law degree at the Kansas City Law School (now the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law).


Candidate #3-He attended Abilene High School in Abilene, Kansas and then took a job as a night foreman at the Belle Springs Creamery.
After Dwight worked for two years to support his brother's college education, a friend urged him to apply to the Naval Academy. Though Eisenhower passed the entrance exam, he was beyond the age of eligibility for admission to the Naval Academy.
A US Senator recommended him for an appointment to the Military Academy which he received and he graduated in the upper half of his class.


Candidate #4-He went to Groton School, an Episcopal boarding school in Massachusetts. He was heavily influenced by its headmaster, Endicott Peabody, who preached the duty of Christians to help the less fortunate and urged his students to enter public service. He then went to Harvard, where he lived in luxurious quarters and was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
He entered Columbia Law School but dropped out (never to graduate).


Candidate #5-He spent a year at Davidson College in North Carolina, then transferred to Princeton as a freshman, graduating in and becoming a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Beginning in his second year, he read widely in political philosophy and history.
He attended law school at University of Virginia for one year. Although he never graduated, during his time at the University he was heavily involved in the Virginia Glee Club, as well as the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society.[10] His frail health dictated withdrawal, and he went home to Wilmington, North Carolina where he continued his studies.
He entered graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University and in three years later received a Ph.D. in political science. His doctoral dissertation, Congressional Government, brought immediate fame and academic appointments at Bryn Mawr College and Wesleyan University.


Answers:
Candidate #1 Jimmy Carter
Candidate #2 Harry S. Truman
Candidate #3 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Candidate #4 FDR (He dropped out of Law school because he already had passed the bar).....
Candidate #5 Woodrow Wilson

and jfk transferred more times than emonte jernigan...

[ScriptOhio]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.
McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, wiping out Obama's solid 7-point advantage in July and taking his first lead in the monthly Reuters/Zogby poll.
The reversal follows a month of attacks by McCain, who has questioned Obama's experience, criticized his opposition to most new offshore oil drilling and mocked his overseas trip.
The poll was taken Thursday through Saturday as Obama wrapped up a weeklong vacation in Hawaii that ceded the political spotlight to McCain, who seized on Russia's invasion of Georgia to emphasize his foreign policy views.
"There is no doubt the campaign to discredit Obama is paying off for McCain right now," pollster John Zogby said. "This is a significant ebb for Obama."
McCain now has a 9-point edge, 49 percent to 40 percent, over Obama on the critical question of who would be the best manager of the economy -- an issue nearly half of voters said was their top concern in the November 4 presidential election.
That margin reversed Obama's 4-point edge last month on the economy over McCain, an Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war who has admitted a lack of economic expertise and shows far greater interest in foreign and military policy.
McCain has been on the offensive against Obama during the last month over energy concerns, with polls showing strong majorities supporting his call for an expansion of offshore oil drilling as gasoline prices hover near $4 a gallon.
Obama had opposed new offshore drilling, but said recently he would support a limited expansion as part of a comprehensive energy program.
That was one of several recent policy shifts for Obama, as he positions himself for the general election battle. But Zogby said the changes could be taking a toll on Obama's support, particularly among Democrats and self-described liberals.
"That hairline difference between nuance and what appears to be flip-flopping is hurting him with liberal voters," Zogby said.
Obama's support among Democrats fell 9 percentage points this month to 74 percent, while McCain has the backing of 81 percent of Republicans. Support for Obama, an Illinois senator, fell 12 percentage points among liberals, with 10 percent of liberals still undecided compared to 9 percent of conservatives.
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Entire article: McCain takes lead over Obama: poll - Yahoo! News

['BusNative]

Fairly harsh criticism of McCain from the Cato Institute...

John McCain's Foreign Policy Judgment is Questionable

John McCain's Foreign Policy Judgment is Questionable

by Ted Galen Carpenter and Malou Innocent


A major theme of John McCain's campaign is that he has far more experience in foreign affairs than does Barack Obama. McCain has now escalated his attacks by targeting Obama's judgment as well ? especially the latter's pessimism about the effectiveness of the surge in Iraq.
There is little doubt about McCain's lengthier foreign policy experience. But it is not at all apparent that his judgment is superior to Obama's. Indeed, the record indicates that McCain's own judgment is alarmingly bad.

Even if one concedes that Obama was excessively negative about the surge's prospects for success (and the jury may be out on that point for months or even years to come), McCain's own prognostications on Iraq have repeatedly been off the mark. He was not prescient about the course of the war: As senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee prior to the invasion, McCain predicted Iraq would be a quick and easy victory, and even told MSNBC he had "no doubt" U.S. troops "will be welcomed as liberators."

There have been recent episodes in which McCain has missed even the most basic facts about foreign policy. During a recent CNN interview, McCain said the surge of U.S. forces, which began in the spring of 2007, led to the Sunni Awakening ? which started in early autumn of 2006, months before the surge was even announced.

Despite McCain's multiple trips to Iraq, he still manages to mangle facts on the ground. As a member of a senatorial delegation visiting Iraq this year, he erroneously accused Iran of aiding al Qaeda and suffered the embarrassment of an on-camera correction by his friend and fellow hawk, Sen. Joe Lieberman, that Tehran was aiding "Shiite extremists," not the Sunni zealots of al Qaeda. Yet, during a Senate hearing a few weeks later, McCain committed a similar gaffe. He asked Gen. David Petraeus to confirm that al Qaeda was far more than "an obscure sect of the Shiites," and then, apparently catching himself, added, "or Sunnis or anybody else."

McCain apparently is not even certain about Iraq's geographic location. He recently referred to a nonexistent "Iraq-Pakistan border." (The two countries are separated by more than 800 miles of Iranian territory.)

Far worse than such embarrassing factual errors, though, have been his shockingly careless ? and at times tasteless and insensitive ? off-the-cuff comments on various topics. His flip statement about keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for a hundred years is probably the least serious verbal blunder in an ever-mounting total. Leaving aside the key point that fractious Iraq is nothing like stable South Korea (McCain's model for an extended troop presence), his comment was still damaging because it ignored the probable reaction in the Muslim world. Al Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups repeatedly charge that the U.S. is determined to undermine their civilization and act as an imperial hegemon in their region. McCain's "100 years in Iraq" banner gives those allegations credibility and puts moderate Muslims on the defensive.

But that comment was well-thought-out compared to some others. McCain's "joke" at an April 2007 campaign stop, in which he sang "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of a Beach Boys song, was beyond tasteless. This month, he again offended basic sensibilities when he joked that despite the imposition of economic sanctions, America's unimpeded sale of cigarettes to Iran might be a good thing because "maybe that's a way of killing 'em."

At best, the senator has a warped sense of humor. But such gaffes also betray a disturbing lack of judgment.

Foreign policy is serious business, and America needs a president who carefully considers his comments rather than shoots from the hip. The world is always watching and listening, and such thoughtless remarks can do tremendous damage to America's already tattered reputation.

McCain's record shows clearly that he is a verbal loose cannon, and would be a clear and present danger in the Oval Office.

['BusNative]

McCain does not disagree that we need a military draft... I wonder if its for the same reasons as Charlie Rangel?

YouTube - Mccain Agrees On Military Draft

And, ironically, McCain, who has accused Obama of running for pure ambition, wrote in his 2002 book Worth Fighting For that he was running because it was his personal ambition (reading after Olberman intro)

YouTube - McCain Ambition First Country Last

Edit: If you absolutely cannot stomach Olberman (I know some of you feel this way ), here is the actual line:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mc...campaign,_2000

"I didn't decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to become president. I was sixty-two years old when I made the decision, and I thought it was my one shot at the prize."

It's not a big deal to me. ALL presidential candidates are ambitious, but its ridiculous for that to be an attack point for McCain's campaign (oh, except that it works, that's right).

[CookyPuss]

Hit & Run > The McCain Family's White Lies - Reason Magazine

Interesting comments on McCain's embellishments. Here's a piece:

McCain's history has never really been scrutinized before. This may sound hard to believe for 26-year veteran of Capitol Hill, but no less true. Like Riordan, McCain got used to being able to make a too-salty joke, or too-perfect anecdote, because the press was mostly amused and/or actively wanted to protect the guy from himself. This leads to bad habits, especially in the age of YouTube, and is one of many reasons why the Straight Talk Express is no longer a rolling press conference. But more than just malaprops, there are chunks of the McCain biography, including and especially the Vietnam chapter, that are just flat inconsistent and have never been fully examined journalistically. And it's not just the non-"pivotal" stuff like the cross-in-the-dirt story, but fundamental experiences like McCain's prison suicide attempt, which has a variety of different tellings and timelines in different settings.

[DGADBTWSOM]

Houses Add Up to A Snag for McCain
Campaign Has Cast Obama as Elitist


By Jonathan Weisman and Robert Barnes
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, August 22, 2008; A01

Sen. John McCain's inability to recall the number of homes he owns during an interview yesterday jeopardized his campaign's carefully constructed strategy to frame Democratic rival Barack Obama as an out-of-touch elitist and inspired a round of attacks that once again ratcheted up the negative tone of the race for the White House.
A week dominated by vice presidential speculation and the run-up to the Democratic National Convention was quickly overtaken by the McCain miscue. In an interview with Politico.com, the presumptive Republican nominee was asked how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, heir to a beer distributorship, owned.
"I think -- I'll have my staff get to you," McCain replied. "It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you."

[fourteenandoh]

big deal, at least you know he hasn't been spending his time and energy on real estate investing. i don't think my real estate portfolio would be on the top list of priorities if i were him either.

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by fourteenandoh

big deal, at least you know he hasn't been spending his time and energy on real estate investing. i don't think my real estate portfolio would be on the top list of priorities if i were him either.

Entirely correct. IOW, it has the validity of the McCain attempts to portray Obama as an elitist....and the fact that it is easy to portay someone as an elitist, and that it may detract from that McCain campaign talking point, was the gist of the article.

[Steve19]

I am outraged! Absolutely, outraged!

OK. I don't know why. But, I am outraged anyway.

OK. Maybe not outraged. Incredibly disappointed. That's it. Oh, no it's not exactly it, either. I guess I kind of wanted an elitist president. That homeless guy hanging around 15th and High looked like we could get him cheap, but I kinda wanted someone with a bit more experience.

How about we throw both these guys out and get Tom Peters? He talked a lot about managing chaos, and let's be serious, there's some of that around these days.

But, hey, those Obama kids are cuter than...than...well, the Bush kids. And, what about Shaq? He was great in that Genie movie.

Important notice to the candidates: If it's not too much trouble, can you please tell us what you intend to do to clean up the mess in aisle 3 and stop talking crap about each other.

Important notice to the press: How about helping inform us so that we can make a decision about who we want to hold the most important job in the world? If it's not too much trouble, please.

[Best Buckeye]

Correct me if I'm wrong Steve19 but I think the term you are searching for is "Hissy fit" .
btw I agree, lets run someone else for Pres. Maybe a military man?

[daddyphatsacs]

I don't think that the issue itself is that big of a deal, rather the fact that McCain has time and time again shown a lack of ability to think on his feet. Why would he need to consult his advisors? It's sad if he has to consult with advisors to answer any unscripted question. After 8 years of Bush, America doesn't need it.......

[Bucklion]

Originally Posted by daddyphatsacs

I don't think that the issue itself is that big of a deal, rather the fact that McCain has time and time again shown a lack of ability to think on his feet. Why would he need to consult his advisors? It's sad if he has to consult with advisors to answer any unscripted question. After 8 years of Bush, America doesn't need it.......

Ah but remember one of the major things that helped Al Gore snatch defeat from the jaws of a near given victory was his whole smartest-kid-in-the-class routine. Bush in 2000 used the argument of surrounding himself with smart and experienced people to his advantage (note: I am not validating the actual results of that argument), and every time Gore sighed or hissed or acted all exasperated and basically said "Al-ie knows best", people got turned off by it. I agree McCain has a problem thinking on his feet, but Obama would also be wise to remember that in school people didn't worship the smartest kid in class...they wanted to pound the crap out of them. It's a fine line to walk...acting like you know a lot while acknowledging you don't know everything, and you know that too.

[Gatorubet]

Originally Posted by Best Buckeye

Correct me if I'm wrong Steve19 but I think the term you are searching for is "Hissy fit" .
btw I agree, lets run someone else for Pres. Maybe a military man?

Oh yeah - that's worked out so well lately.

[CookyPuss]

Originally Posted by Bucklion

Ah but remember one of the major things that helped Al Gore snatch defeat from the jaws of a near given victory was his whole smartest-kid-in-the-class routine. Bush in 2000 used the argument of surrounding himself with smart and experienced people to his advantage (note: I am not validating the actual results of that argument), and every time Gore sighed or hissed or acted all exasperated and basically said "Al-ie knows best", people got turned off by it. I agree McCain has a problem thinking on his feet, but Obama would also be wise to remember that in school people didn't worship the smartest kid in class...they wanted to pound the crap out of them. It's a fine line to walk...acting like you know a lot while acknowledging you don't know everything, and you know that too.

100% agreed. I thought at the time that the sighing hurt Gore more than anything in 2000. McCain cannot afford to look like he doesn't know what he's talking about during the debates... or worse looking like being "out of touch." Obama needs to remember to smile, make jokes, and relate everything to the lives of "regular people."

[BuckeyeMike80]

Originally Posted by Gatorubet

Oh yeah - that's worked out so well lately.

You do realize the last military man (meaning to me, at least, someone who made their career in the military not just being IN the military at some point) was either Carter ( ) or Eisenhower right?