User:Jorfer/Sandbox6

Titans of Ambition
This article main focus is on Senator’s attempts to become President this election in the context of historical attempts by Senators to do so. The reason I am using the article is for these two paragraphs: But the mutual admiration society showed some signs of tension in October when McCain, irked by Democratic criticism of President Bush's policy toward North Korea, fired away while campaigning for GOP candidates in Michigan. "I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration's policies that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated [to curb North Korea's nuclear weapons program] was a failure." Clinton shot back the next day at an editorial board meeting with the New York Daily News by suggesting that McCain was trying to position himself as a Bush loyalist in his quest for the GOP nomination. "It's political calculation," said Clinton of McCain's salvos. "His embrace of President Bush's policies in Iraq, secret prisons, North Korea, is political. And he's giving up his political independence."

Mutual Contempt
Both Barack Obama and John McCain share the image of Washington reformers, but each feels the other is a “posturing phony”. Obama has led in efforts of reforming politics even while a senator in Illinois to which he was mocked. Naturally, in the wake of political scandals when he arrived in Washington, he ended up as a Democratic point man for reform co-sponsoring a Russ Feingold ethics reform measure early on. In the broader ethics reform movement, the Republicans were reluctant to accept a Democratic sponsored bill. The Republicans instead decided to send John McCain with Rick Santorum’s alternative bill to the bill championed by Democrat Harry Reid. Due to John McCain’s past battles with political corruption, credibility was lent to the Republican bill. The two got in a fight over Obama’s claims he would act in a bipartisan manner when a day after a meeting to discuss the issue, Obama sent a letter to McCain stating his preference for the Democratic bill. Even while rejecting the weak bill that was overwhelmingly passed in the Senate, Obama indicate that the bill needed to “restrict the use of corporate jets and also transfer ethics enforcement out of Congress and into a new separate commission” while McCain indicated the bill needed earmark reform. This article thus shows how Obama and McCain have a tense relationship despite their similar desire to fix Washington.

2008 May Test Clinton's Bond with McCain
This article describes John McCain’s friendly relationship with Hillary Clinton. Using a vodka-drinking contest between the two in Estonia for the backdrop, the author points to a friendly relationship fostered during their work on the Senate Armed Services Committee and on the issue of global warming. When both were asked on “Meet the Press” whether the other would make a good President, they both responded in a yes fashion (I plan on adding a Youtube video for this). Despite their civility, they of course disagree on matters like the level of United States scrutiny of foreign government ownership of United States ports.

Hand-Tied by the Times
A short article discussing the John McCain campaign’s ironic choice to use a lobbyist to talk on Meet the Press the week that the New York Times article came out discussing alleging inappropriate ties to a lobbyist. The story should go great with a video clip from “Meet the Press”.

With Friends Like These...
This in-depth story does not just cover the McCain-lobbyist scandal in great depth, but goes behind the scenes to cover the journalism behind it. The scandal involved John McCain’s preparation in 1999 to run for Presidency in 2000. He at first claimed that he was not warned about his relationship with the lobbyist in question, Vicki Iseman, and that he had not been contacted by the group in question in relation to a letter he wrote to the FCC to influence the bureaucracy to hurry up on a matter Iseman was pressing for. Two close associates stated otherwise on the first part and a 2002 legal deposition stated otherwise on the second matter. The FCC matter was not new. In January 2000, the Boston Globe quoted the chairman of the FCC stating that the letter was “highly unusual”. The actual news was Iseman’s involvement in the matter. Sometime during fall of 2007, The New York Times picked up the Iseman part of the story. In December, the New York Times Reporter found out from fired McCain aide John Weaver about a cease and desist meeting he had with Iseman. On December 20, the Drudge Report posted a story saying that John McCain had a hired “superlawyer” Robert Bennett to defend him against a vaguely described woman. The story almost came out early enough to affect the Mitt Romney campaign. The New Republic assigning a reporter to find out why the Times was holding back is what drove the story to print. The New Republic would likely not have gone forward with the story, however, because of the lack of confirmation of the sex allegations. The New Republic came out criticizing The New York Times for “printing a salacious story thinly and anonymously sourced” after they published the story.

McCain: There was no improper conduct
This story adds several things “With Friends Like These...” does not mention. First it mentions: Bennett said there are a dozen instances in which McCain took the opposite position from clients of Iseman's firm. The McCain campaign provided a list of 13 bills dealing with such matters as broadcast licenses, low power radio and direct broadcast satellite providers. Neither Bennett nor the campaign listed the times McCain backed positions of clients of Iseman's firm.” Second, it states that the commission had taken 800 days deciding the matter he wrote the letter on. Finally, it mentions Mike Huckabee’s comments on the matter.

What's Wrong With McCain?
This is a short article detailing the bitter relationship John McCain had with George W. Bush and the Republican Party at-large right after the 2000 election when he was pressing for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act. The article even mentions speculation he would mount an independent run in 2004.

A New Partnership Binds Old Republican Rivals
This article describes the recent partnership between John McCain and George Bush on the War in Iraq and immigration. This article also described the relationship between the two as mostly politically calculation on both politicians’ parts. It describes how John McCain tried to get a ban on torture over the threat of Bush’s veto, but also how he supported him in letting the government of Dubai buy several American ports. It describes John McCain as fonder of the elder George Bush, and it gives Jeb Bush as a likely running mate.

Bearhug Politics: Careful Steps to a New Bush-McCain Alliance
This is an article on the warming of the John McCain-George Bush relationship during the 2004 election. It discusses how that election is the origin of the John McCain-George Bush hugging and whispering photo that has been used often by opponent of George Bush to criticize John McCain. The article describes John McCain’s relationship as a critical supporter of the President. While supporting George Bush on the war on terrorism, he has criticized how the administration has gone about it. While they share common ground on abortion, John McCain has criticized the administration’s domestic policies like taxes and stem-cell funding. John McCain has urged the President to condemn the shift boat ads against John Kerry and criticized a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but the article states that George Bush has embraced this independent attitude, because it captures a larger audience that of George Bush, and his approval rating are extremely high unlike George Bush’s approval ratings.

Bhutto's death: Candidates react
The purpose of this article is for the apparently unchallenged quote from John McCain regarding his relationship with foreign officials: "I know the players, I know the individuals and I know the best way to address this situation."

McCain, Long a G.O.P. Maverick, Is Gaining Mainstream Support
This article describes the Governor of Florida’s surprise endorsement. This article and the below article were chosen to point out McCain’s close relationship with state officials.

McCain Wins Schwarzenegger Endorsement, and Romney Delivers Barb
This article discusses the Governor of California’s endorsement of John McCain. This article and the one above it were chosen because the governors represent two of the four largest states. I am planning on including an article on the Texas governor endorsement on the next RA making it three.

Reasons Vary, but McCain and Romney Compete for the Same Prize
The purpose of this article is just for the snippet about the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry of Texas, endorsing John McCain, as Rick Perry is one of the three governors of the four largest states to do so. The governor of New York until March 12, 2008, Elliot Spitzer, was the only one not to do so, and he has since resigned after admitting to being a part of an illegal prostitution ring.

Why the Religious Right is stuck with McCain
This article discusses the relationship of the Christian Right to John McCain though it talks about Romney and the Christian Right more at length. Despite support from Christian conservatives such as Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and onetime presidential candidate Gary Bauer, much of the Christian right dislikes McCain according to this article including the influential Focus on the Family founder, James Dobson.

McCain Has Yet to Win Over Key Conservatives
This article describes the strenuous relationship of conservatives to John McCain more broadly than just the Christian Right, though it does mention it. It describes the relationship as getting better but work is still to be done. It gives as reasons John McCain’s support for embryonic stem-cell research, opposition to a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, support of effort to fight global warming, and push to outlaw torture and shut down Guantanamo. It also gives the reason of him not discussing core values enough and his mixed choice in advisors.