I do not trust McCain or his aides.

[MoonRiver]

McCain was stumping for * this year! He's not a Democrat and disagrees with Dems more than he agrees. Yes, occasionally he's a pain in the Pukes' collective arse, but in the end he remains their good soldier. He definitely knows on what side his bread is buttered. Therefore, I sincerely hope that Kerry won't trust McCain or his flunkies, er aides, farther than they can be thrown.

Before I would consider tolerating McCain or his aides influencing MY Democratic presidential candidate in any way, I would expect McCain to officially switch parties. Baring that, he's one with the enemy. PERIOD.

[BradCKY]

1. Don't trust him

I believe he is trying to annoy Bush, for obvious reasons, its really pretty funny.

[MoonRiver]

2. If that's all it is fine.

I just hope he and his crowd aren't trying to infiltrate the Kerry camp.

[SheilaT]

3. Every so often there's been a bit of swooning

over McCain here on DU. It's completely incomprehensible, given that McCain is a die-hard Republican, and nothing but. Anyone who starts fantasizing that he'll come over to our side, or do anything but support Bush, is seriously delusional. And naive.

[MoonRiver]

5. Agreed.

[Leilani]

4. What about the fact that Kerry trusts him & his aides?

First, I don't think McCain will be on the ticket.

But Kerry & McCain are close, close friends & have been for years.
They talk on the phone all the time. So why wouldn't they not trust each other?

They both hate Bush. As a Repub, McCain may officially support Bush, but that doesn't mean he wants him to win.

I think personal relationships can be more important than party affiliation.

Kerry & McCain can disagree on issues, & still both be looking forward to the ouster of the Shrub.

[MoonRiver]

6. I DO NOT trust McCain. Let him switch parties if he wishes to influence

our presidential candidate. If he doesn't, then everything he says and suggests should be considered suspect, imho.

[Leilani]

8. You're certainly entitled to your opinion

& I don't think McCain will switch parties. That's why I don't think he would ever be on the ticket.

After McCain lost in primaries in 2000, so many people urged him to become an Independent & run against Shrub. He didn't.

I know a lot about John McCain, which I will not go into, but in my opinion, if he's your friend, you could trust him with your life.

I understand so many Dems are suspicious of him, but not ALL Repubs are like Bush: lying, cheating, dishonorable people.

[MoonRiver]

23. Leilani,

I respect your judgement and opinions very much. I have had positive feelings about McCain in the past, and still do in some ways. However, I am very upset about the way he campaigned for bush* this Spring, and how he defends some of the man's most outrageous policies. I have been very disappointed in McCain lately, because he seems very rightwing. And whether he's posing somewhat to get re-elected or really believes bush* is the right man for the job, he certainly takes that stance publically.

I do agree with you that he won't be Kerry's VP, and trust that there's a lot more to John McCain than is (currently) meeting the eye. I would enjoy reading your input into this complicated man, and whether he might be an asset to Kerry in his administration, perhaps as Secretary of Defense.

[BootinUp]

7. I don't doubt that they can work together

but I don't want McCain so close to the presidency (heartbeat away).

[Leilani]

9. Fine, Jim

I understand how you feel.

I don't know if anyone could possibly hate Bush more than I do. My friends & family tease me about it. Matter of fact, my son is sick of hearing about it.

I'm not going to post on this subject anymore, because while we may disagree on some things, we can all agree on 1 thing. John Kerry MUST defeat Bush in November. I truly fear for my country if he loses.

[BootinUp]

10. You keep postin

I learn a lot from your posts. :pals:

[Leilani]

15. Thanks for that, Jim

But I don't want to start flame wars.

McCain won't be on the ticket, so it's all a moot point anyway.

[Crunchy Frog]

14. If they really are that close

and work so well together, then McCain could potentially be a tremendous asset to Kerry in the senate. Kerry will need all the help he can get to work successfully with a Repuke controlled senate.

Apart from that, I would like to see them maintain a healthy distance, and I too don't want McCain anywhere near the presidential ticket.

Sorry, I respect him, but he is still a conservative Republican.

[Leilani]

16. Let's hope it will be a Kerry landslide

& the Senate will go Dem!

That would be wonderful, wouldn't it?

And then Kerry gets 3 Supreme Court picks?

[Crunchy Frog]

17. I agree,

that would be the ideal scenario, and I hope it happens, however there remains a very real possibility that it will be a squeaker and that we will not manage to retake either the House or the Senate.

In that eventuality, it would be a really good thing to have a powerful and influential Republican senator who likes, respects, and works well with the President, giving him all the support that he realistically can.

[JI7]

12. you can tell mccain doesn't really support bush

if you ever saw him out there talking about how he supports bush, you can tell he doesn't believe it. remember, in 2000 when he endorsed bush he said it was like taking bad medicine now and getting it over with. NONE of the guys who have endorsed kerry and are supporting him said that. you can even tell howard dean really supports kerry and he is one many thought would not or would not be able to.

but when mccain speaks about kerry he always does it with enthusiasm and love. you can tell he really likes kerry.

i can't say for sure whether mccain will be on the ticket, but i will say that if kerry was really considering him he would have done things to make mccain more acceptable as vp. the first would have been to get mccain to switch to independent as jim jeffords did. this would free mccain up from having to support bush as a republican. also the fact that he already campaigned for bush would be an issue if he suddenly was on kerry's ticket.if they were really considering mccain they are smart enough to know to take steps to avoid dealing with these issues early on.

[mitchum]

11. Neither do I

Why should we?
"What is the nature of a thing?"

[TomSeaverr]

13. This is a setup to make

to make JFK look bad. When its all said and done it looks like the guy Kerry wanted as VP doesn't even think he should be President. If Kerry is such a good friend of his, why the heck isn't he endorsing him for President. McCain is full of crap. And in my opinion his stance on abortion alienates a big part of the democratic base.

[formernaderite]

21. It's as if they're saying Kerry needs McCain to win...

...this is a huge distraction...someone shut Joe Biden up.

[newyawker99]

24. Hi TomSeaverr!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[notbush]

18. Johnny M hates BUSH

But.. he's still a pro-life rethug.....can you really imagine a gun nut, pro-lifer being our democratic nominee???

[tameszu]

19. The aide Kerry just hired switched to Dem several years ago

Weaver would have made a great addition to the Clark team at a crucial moment in NH, if our campaign had gotten it together to have cemented that hire. =(

[w4rma]

20. I trust McCain. However, I don't agree with McCain.

He supports unfettered free-trade even at the expense of Americans.

[Name removed]

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