Quote :

"MCCAIN RELEASES LETTER TO OBAMA For Immediate Release Monday, Feb 06, 2006 Washington D.C. ­– Today, Senator McCain sent the following letter to Senator Obama regarding ongoing Congressional efforts towards bipartisan lobbying reform. The following is the text from that letter: February 6, 2006 The Honorable Barack Obama United States Senate SH-713 Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Obama: I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere. When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership’s preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter to me dated February 2, 2006, which explained your decision to withdraw from our bipartisan discussions. I’m embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble. Again, sorry for the confusion, but please be assured I won’t make the same mistake again. As you know, the Majority Leader has asked Chairman Collins to hold hearings and mark up a bill for floor consideration in early March. I fully support such timely action and I am confident that, together with Senator Lieberman, the Committee on Governmental Affairs will report out a meaningful, bipartisan bill. You commented in your letter about my “interest in creating a task force to further study” this issue, as if to suggest I support delaying the consideration of much-needed reforms rather than allowing the committees of jurisdiction to hold hearings on the matter. Nothing could be further from the truth. The timely findings of a bipartisan working group could be very helpful to the committee in formulating legislation that will be reported to the full Senate. Since you are new to the Senate, you may not be aware of the fact that I have always supported fully the regular committee and legislative process in the Senate, and routinely urge Committee Chairmen to hold hearings on important issues. In fact, I urged Senator Collins to schedule a hearing upon the Senate’s return in January. Furthermore, I have consistently maintained that any lobbying reform proposal be bipartisan. The bill Senators Joe Lieberman and Bill Nelson and I have introduced is evidence of that commitment as is my insistence that members of both parties be included in meetings to develop the legislation that will ultimately be considered on the Senate floor. As I explained in a recent letter to Senator Reid, and have publicly said many times, the American people do not see this as just a Republican problem or just a Democratic problem. They see it as yet another run-of-the-mill Washington scandal, and they expect it will generate just another round of partisan gamesmanship and posturing. Senator Lieberman and I, and many other members of this body, hope to exceed the public’s low expectations. We view this as an opportunity to bring transparency and accountability to the Congress, and, most importantly, to show the public that both parties will work together to address our failings. As I noted, I initially believed you shared that goal. But I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party’s effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness. Again, I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn’t always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator. Sincerely, John McCain United States Senate "

http://mccain.senate.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=NewsCenter.ViewPressRelease&Content_id=1654

2/7/2006 12:10:08 AM

damn, the gloves are off with that one.

Reid obviously got to Obama.

Quote :

"I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics the public interest isn’t always a priority for every one of us. Good luck to you, Senator. "

Thats a bitchslap right there.

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 12:14 AM. Reason : 1]

2/7/2006 12:11:54 AM

i mean

he's mr. "of the people"
this is a huge slap in the face
i mean, this could shake his career

2/7/2006 12:20:53 AM

P
W
N
T

2/7/2006 12:28:22 AM

Shake his career?

This won't even make cable news.

2/7/2006 12:28:46 AM

hahahahaha
ok

2/7/2006 12:30:10 AM

John McCain never forgets!

2/7/2006 12:35:55 AM

If anything good comes of this scandal mess, it will be giving McCain a boost.

2/7/2006 12:37:25 AM

sounds like schoolyard bickerring to me.

2/7/2006 12:37:29 AM

Pretty eloquent for a schoolyard, don't you think?

2/7/2006 12:41:45 AM

Hello, pot? This is kettle....

2/7/2006 1:05:27 AM

^If virtually any politician other than McCain wrote it, I would agree with you.

2/7/2006 1:25:34 AM

"Waaaaaah! You withdrew from from my "bipartisan" (Lieberman, Nelson + Rs) commission to investigate a Republican problem! Waaaah!" + Eloquence

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 1:46 AM. Reason : ...]

2/7/2006 1:31:46 AM

^^Hes using a pretentious, posturing letter to call someone out on pretentious posturing

2/7/2006 1:36:54 AM

n/m

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 1:41 AM. Reason : double post]

2/7/2006 1:40:10 AM

Way to miss the point of the letter.

He's calling someone out on partisan posturing and the politics of self interest, things that he has rarely (if ever) been guilty of.

2/7/2006 1:41:27 AM

Quote :

"[I] am puzzled by your response to my recent letter. Last Wednesday morning, you called to invite me to your meeting that afternoon. I changed my schedule so I could attend the meeting. Afterwards, you thanked me several times for attending the meeting, and we left pledging to work together. As you will recall, I told everyone present at the meeting that my caucus insisted that the consideration of any ethics reform proposal go through the regular committee process. You didn't indicate any opposition to this position at the time, and I wrote the letter to reiterate this point, as well as the fact that I thought S. 2180 should be the basis for a bipartisan solution. I confess that I have no idea what has prompted your response. But let me assure you that I am not interested in typical partisan rhetoric or posturing. The fact that you have now questioned my sincerity and my desire to put aside politics for the public interest is regrettable but does not in any way diminish my deep respect for you nor my willingness to find a bipartisan solution to this problem. Sincerely, Barack Obama United States Senator"

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 1:45 AM. Reason : take that pwnt and shove it up your ass...right up there]

2/7/2006 1:44:33 AM

McCain's has more words.

2/7/2006 1:49:44 AM

^

2/7/2006 1:58:18 AM

this is important because... John McCain is instrumental in the future political success of Barack Obama.

2/7/2006 1:58:53 AM

Obama's is easier to read.

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 2:01 AM. Reason : Less pretentious bullshit to sift through.]

2/7/2006 2:00:33 AM

6^

I believe YOU missed the point - a publicised character attack. In and of itself, partisan.

It may not be "Blue on Red" partisan, but its ostentatious, unproductive and clearly intended to do nothing more than stain Obama's credibility.

And I like McCain a lot more than I like Obama.

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 2:01 AM. Reason : 6^]

2/7/2006 2:01:17 AM

Obama is a rising political force. he'll be a VP candidate in the near future.

John McCain's days have been over ever since he pulled that toy lightsaber out during the 2000 republican primary campaign.

2/7/2006 2:05:36 AM

john mcain - old and busted

barack obama - new hotness

2/7/2006 2:19:49 AM

I like Obama, but I'm waiting to see whether there is any substance behind his style. He's great at soundbytes, but there is more to politics than eloquence.

McCain has proven his worth to me in his actions and voting record.

2/7/2006 2:37:15 AM

I'm not excited at all by the reform bill being pushed by the democrats. it is nothing more than cosmetic changes. What McCain is pissed off about (and rightly so) is that Obama agreed to meet with the taskforce then for some reason decided to tell mccain that mccain should support the bullshit democratic bill.

the real question is, other than one speech, what did Obama do to deserve all the praise? He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come.

2/7/2006 3:01:20 AM

somebody needs to photoshop John McCain's face onto Johnny Cash

2/7/2006 3:05:56 AM

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come."

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come."

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come."

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come."

Irony?

2/7/2006 3:17:29 AM

do you even know what irony means?

2/7/2006 3:19:50 AM

you're right. I meant stupidity

2/7/2006 3:21:35 AM

You got m...No wait, you lost your right to call someone stupid when you used "irony" wrong

2/7/2006 3:24:24 AM

I used it correctly my pea-brained friend.


You are welcome to look it up since you don't know what it means.

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 3:29 AM. Reason : Look up sarcasm while you're at it]

2/7/2006 3:26:10 AM

hahah, nothing in what I typed contains any bit of irony.

2/7/2006 3:30:05 AM

let me help you out, since you want to act the idiot:

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a fa[r]ce, which is why I will continue to vote green [party] and not democratic for years to come."

2/7/2006 3:31:49 AM

He is a joke and he is just a face (eg poster boy, no substance, only an image) and my basis for voting green is that they actually stand for something (the democrats don't).

Now if you'll get my balls out of your mouth you can aknowledge your stupidity

2/7/2006 3:37:23 AM

Quote :

"my basis for voting green is that they actually stand for something (the democrats don't)."

And now we have a little bit of dramatic irony

2/7/2006 3:46:03 AM

I seriously think you need to rehash your understanding of irony before this conversation continues.



[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 3:48 AM. Reason : the only irony going on is my socratic irony dumbass]

2/7/2006 3:47:11 AM

yeah, skokiaan, he's pretty much got you. i'd stop now.

2/7/2006 3:54:46 AM

Jason won.

2/7/2006 3:55:04 AM

Quote :

"An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning."

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come."

i think the irony is that voting green makes you a joke, but i'm not sure...

2/7/2006 4:45:41 AM

yeah
when i read

Quote :

"He's a joke and just a face, which is why I will continue to vote green and not democratic for years to come."

i see the irony

and i see it more along the lines of the green party is not really any substance, but "a joke and just a face"


[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 9:36 AM. Reason : but thats just me]

2/7/2006 9:35:28 AM

Quote :

"Prawn Star: He's calling someone out on partisan posturing and the politics of self interest, things that he has rarely (if ever) been guilty of."

Damn right, no partisan posturing at all.

Well, except that time he went out on the road to advocate for a candidate who villified him and his family in 2000. Or when he started meeting with the religious right to firm up support for his run in 2008.

Oh, wait...

2/7/2006 9:43:46 AM

mccain kinda came off as a pretentious prick

2/7/2006 10:54:21 AM

Gamecat

Quote :

""Waaaaaah! You withdrew from from my "bipartisan" (Lieberman, Nelson + Rs) commission to investigate a Republican problem! Waaaah!" + Eloquence"

I think this affects everybody, special intrests rule Washington. Abramoff comes off as a Republican problem but Republicans aren't the only ones that have taken kickbacks. Hell Jim Black is under scrutiny in NC for similar actions and hes a Democrat. Its a problem that needs to be addressed.

2/7/2006 11:05:46 AM

Just to make it clear, Jason lost.

2/7/2006 11:10:30 AM

Quote :

"Since you are new to the Senate, you may not be aware..."

n00b pwnt

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 11:32 AM. Reason : s]

2/7/2006 11:31:57 AM

If only tww dished out pwnts so sawa.

2/7/2006 11:45:59 AM

Quote :

" and i see it more along the lines of the green party is not really any substance, but "a joke and just a face""

no, the green party actually stands for something. Therefore it does not lack substance. See, there is no irony in that statement.

Quote :

"Jason Lost"

Go research irony before you get pwnt like skokkian.

2/7/2006 12:25:42 PM

so when you vote, are you electing the party or the candidate?

so when you vote, are you voting for the party or the candidate

[Edited on February 7, 2006 at 1:07 PM. Reason : glad i edited, no green party voter is electing anybody]

2/7/2006 1:06:57 PM

TAKE THAT, GREEN PARTY!

2/7/2006 1:16:11 PM