McPrettyDamnCloseToBush

This loving couple is prominently featured on Youtube. It's been the central theme of many liberal grassroots campaigns. Even MSNBC's, Keith Olberman refers to John McCain as McBush and there are scores of liberal blogs that call him McSame.





This is an excellent campaign strategy to get the anti-Bush voters out, but is there any substance behind it? Do McCain and Bush really agree on that much? Well, the NYT gave a quick, but somewhat comprehensive of where the two stand.

Bush and McCain agree on...

Abortion and Judges:

"Both men oppose use of federal money for abortions, including aid to groups that help women obtain them. Both support the ban on Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003 and parental notification for minors. Mr. McCain says Roe v. Wade "should be overturned," an idea he spoke out against in 1999, and says he would
appoint Supreme Court justices who "strictly interpret the Constitution." He voted for both of Mr. Bush's picks to the court. Mr. Bush has not publicly called for repealing Roe."

This is a huge issue to be in agreement with Bush. This is the issue that has politicized generations of women AND men. If McCain is looking to swing some women and indy's to the dark side, this is not going to help him. Furthermore, he said that he would "appoint Supreme Court justices who "strictly interpret the Constitution". And that was in 1999 BEFORE he sold himself out. I guess we can expect another Scalia on the bench under McCain.

Education:

"Mr. McCain generally supports No Child Left Behind, Mr. Bush's signature education policy. Calling it a "good beginning," he has said, "there's a lot of things that need to be fixed" about it. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a McCain adviser, has said "the law needs to start addressing the underlying cultural problems in our education system."

Backing one of the worst education bills that nearly all of those in education abhor will not help McCain as he faces serious problems with our system. Besides the fact that his home state has one of the worst high school dropout rates in the country, Obama has been there and understands what needs to be done -and this is key- from the ground up. Writing laws about test scores and evaluations does not improve education.

Diplomacy with Iran and Syria:

"Like the president, Mr. McCain has ruled out direct talks with Iran and Syria for now. Mr. McCain supported Mr. Bush when he likened those who would negotiate with "terrorists and radicals" to appeasers of the Nazis, a remark widely interpreted as a rebuke to Senator Barack Obama."

While some might think that this is a McCain strong point, I would disagree. Trying to be a tough guy when dealing with other tough guys only gets us to one place: more war. Discussion is not appeasement. Diplomacy is not appeasement. Ignoring a problem until it comes to a head is what the Bush / McCain strategy gets you.

Immigration:

"Mr. McCain supported a 2007 bill, strongly backed by Mr. Bush, that called for establishing a guest-worker program and setting up a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. He sponsored a similar bill in 2006 but
this year he said he would not vote for his own proposal now. "Only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a way that defends the rule of law," he said in February."

This sounds good, but the issue is how and who sets up this so-called "path to citizenship". Again it appears McCain is backtracking from his previous self and will defend whatever the GOP instructs him to do. What a Maverick!

He also agrees with Bush on Iraq, health care, medicare, social security, Same-sex marriage, taxes, trade, no due process for Guantanamo detainees, and the worst, wiretapping and executive power.

These are not small issues. These are issues that will create ripples that could last centuries and effect generations to come.

To be fair, let's look at what he disagrees with Bush on and more importantly, to what degree does he disagree.

Climate change:

"Unlike Mr. Bush, Mr. McCain supports a cap-and- trade program that would set a national ceiling on carbon emissions. Although critical of the Bush administration's lack of initiatives on the climate, Mr. McCain has said that "America did the right thing by not joining the Kyoto Treaty" and that any such global accord should include China and India, an argument used by Mr. Bush."

So, he has a conscience and understands that there is a problem with pollution, but uses a Bush line to excuse participation in cleaning up. Would he agree to cutting emissions in the US proportionate to population? Doubt it.

He also disagrees on Federal spending, interrogation tactics, and arms control. I don't think for a second that if he was elected he would cut down on spending. And yet again, he wants to get tough on North Korea rather than diplomacy.

The bottom line here is that the issues that he agrees with Bush on for the most part are very critical and hits a chord with many voters. The issues that he disagrees with Bush on are all minimal in as far as that he doesn't really disagree with Bush, he just has some small qualms with them.

Arizona also has cowboys.