War lover McCain auditioning to be the Walter Cronkite of Afghan war

February 27, 1968, is one of the most important dates in the 14 year long Vietnam War (1961-1975). That was the day that CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite, dubbed the most trusted man in America, returned from a fact finding trip to Vietnam and announced to his audience in his version of a "special comment", that the war was unwinnable and must be ended by negotiation, not napalm. President Johnson, upon ingesting Cronkite's dose of reality reportedly said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America". Thirty-three days later, LBJ withdraw from the 1968 Presidential election to do just that - negotiate a settlement.

As the Afghan war approaches its eleventh anniversary in two weeks, with a tentative end date of December 31, 2013, not guaranteed, a surprise war party war horse popped up to propose his Cronkite moment on Afghanistan. Arizona Senator John McCain, war lover extraordinaire, offered this on September 19, 2012: "I think all options ought to be considered, including whether we have to just withdraw early, rather than a continued bloodletting that won't succeed."

President Obama doesn't have to worry about McCain's remarks causing him to lose Middle America on the Afghan war. The vast majority of us gave up on that senseless, murderous, failed war years ago. Sadly, we've become numb to the trillion dollars spent, 2,000 GI's killed, tens of thousands maimed or damaged, and millions of Afghans whose lives have been devastated.

Senator McCain has been engaged either in killing innocents or promoting the killing or innocents for 45 years now considering his service bombing North Vietnamese and his promotion of our senseless military ventures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He famously said on August 12, 2008, "Today, we are all Georgians" in his feeble attempt to get the US to back Georgia in its skirmish with Mother Russia. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and McCain didn't get his war mongering wish.

All that sordid McCain history makes his Afghan comment so refreshing. He needs to follow up on this one sound bite audition to make this world saner and safer by lobbying his fellow members of the "war always" crowd to jump on board his peace train. If he does, it would be a fitting and touching coda for a man who spent his life waging and advocating war. Instead of all the folks he either directly or indirectly got killed, we could remember McCain as the Walter Cronkite of the Afghan war.

The only loser

Gov. Romney sure dropped his guard and spoke from the heart (or space where the heart should be) when he wrote off campaigning for the 47% who don't pay income tax. He essentially called them all losers who are incapable of taking "personal responsibility and care for their lives". Though I'm a 53%er who pays lots of income taxes, I know of many folks who pay no income taxes. Funny, the only one of all those folks I consider a loser....is Mitt Romney.

Also published in the Chicago Tribune, September 20, 2012, and the Chicago Sun Times, September 24, 2012

Romney following in Rick Perry's footsteps: "Whoops, I stepped in it"

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a little 'splainin' to do to the American people who he seeks to give him 50% plus one of their votes this November 6.

Speaking before a private closed door gathering of 30 wealthy donors shortly after getting the nomination, Romney was caught on secret video proclaiming that he's written off the 47% of Americans who don't pay any income tax since they will "vote for President Obama no matter what simply because they are dependent on government for health care, food and housing". He went on to say "My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

In one incredible sound bite Romney has written off the bottom 47% of people who don't pay income tax, not recognizing they pay sales tax on virtually every purchase from their limited resources. He also conveniently ignores they mostly work as hard as any 1 per center, like Romney, maybe harder, as they try to subsist on one or more low paying jobs to keep a roof over their families, food on the table and clothes on their backs. Some of them subsist serving the unlimited whims of the extended Romney clan; cleaning up the Romney horse stalls, gassing up Ann's "couple of Cadillac's" and maintaining Mitt's luxurious cabin cruiser he uses escape from the pesky press on his New England water playground.

Speaking of horse residue, Romney, isn't the first GOP presidential contender to "step in it". Texas Governor Rick Perry beat Romney to that dubious distinction, self destructing during a national debate when he couldn't name the three governmental agencies he'd abolish so he could give the savings back to the greedy rich in further tax cuts. Unlike Perry, who strategically bowed out of the race after his first unsightly mis step, Romney has 50 days to continue following Perry's footsteps.

Why Roskam - Coolidge debates important

Its been 33 days since Leslie Coolidge challenged IL 6th District Congressman Peter Roskam to a series of town hall style debates with no response and just 50 days to go till election day.

It's not Leslie Coolidge who is being cheated out of a chance to discuss the vital issues with Congressman Roskam, its the 700,000 IL 6th District residents. Also cheated is the democratic process, which has used face to face debates to make more informed voting decisions since the Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas Senate debates 154 years ago. Interestingly, those debates, which introduced the American public to the brilliant mind and generous spirit of Honest Abe, occurred right here in Illinois and showcased the first future Republican president. I wonder if Illinois Republican Peter Roskam considers the irony of an Illinois Republican denigrating the state and the man responsible for those historic first debates.

These debates are needed infinitely more now than in 1858 because fabulously rich corporate interests weren't around then to insulate the incumbent, in that case Senator Stephen Douglas, from avoiding a competitive race. In his last re-election race in 2010, Roskam raised $2,243,451, much of it from the big money boys, compared to just $60,066 for Ben Lowe, who proudly refused even a dollar from those same fat cats. Does that disparity fuel Roskam's disdain for debates which are the only hope the voters have to judge these candidates on a level playing field?

Douglas went on the defeat Lincoln after those seven debates in 1858 but he lost to Lincoln when it really mattered, the Presidential election of 1860. By then, Lincoln's emergence upon the national scene from the eloquence and wisdom and humor he displayed in Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton enabled him to vault ahead of Douglas into the Presidency. Arguably, without the Lincoln-Douglas debates, there may not have been The Great Emancipator.

Congressman Roskam needs to emerge from the shadows of wealthy special interests and corporate clout to discuss the issues straight up. Every concerned citizen, Republican, Democrat, Green, Socialist, independent or other, should call Roskam's campaign office at 630-221-0006 and ask when those IL 6th District debates will take place.