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This one here smells like a computer virus that nobody has ever seen before! MAKE IT GO VIRAL!!! FORWAAARRDD!!
August 29, 2008
Putin Suggests U.S. Provocation in Georgia Clash
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
MOSCOW -- As Russia struggled to rally international support for its military action in Georgia, Vladimir V. Putin, the country's paramount leader, lashed out at the United States on Thursday, contending that the White House may have orchestrated the conflict to benefit one of the candidates in the American presidential election.
Mr. Putin's comments in a television interview, his most extensive to date on Russia's decision to send troops into Georgia earlier this month, sought to present the military operation as a response to brazen, cold war-style provocations by the United States. In tones that seemed alternately angry and mischievous, he suggested that the Bush administration may have tried to create a crisis that would influence American voters in the choice of a successor to President Bush.
"The suspicion would arise that someone in the United States created this conflict on purpose to stir up the situation and to create an advantage for one of the candidates in the competitive race for the presidency in the United States," Mr. Putin said in an interview with CNN.
He added, "They needed a small victorious war."
Mr. Putin did not specify which candidate he had in mind, but there was no doubt that he was referring to Senator John McCain, the Republican. Mr. McCain is loathed in the Kremlin because he has a close relationship with Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, and has called for imposing stiff penalties on Russia, including throwing it out of the Group of 8 industrialized nations.
Mr. Putin offered scant evidence to support his assertion, and the White House called his comments absurd. But they underscored the depth of the rift between Moscow and Washington over the Georgia crisis, which flared three weeks ago when the Georgian military tried to reclaim a breakaway enclave allied with Russia. They also suggested that the Russian leader was deeply concerned about the possibility that Mr. McCain, widely viewed here as having a strong bias against Russia, could become president.
Only last spring, Mr. Putin, the president at the time, held a summit meeting with Mr. Bush in which the two expressed personal affection for each other and sought to smooth over tensions in the bilateral relationship.
Russia has been struggling to persuade the outside world to back its action in Georgia. On Thursday, China and four other countries meeting with Russia for the annual summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security alliance, declined to back Russia's military action in a joint communiqu�.
Mr. Putin's interview came after his prot�g�, President Dmitri A. Medvedev, spoke to several foreign news outlets this week as part of a concerted move by the Kremlin to counter Georgia's public relations offensive in the international media. Mr. Medvedev's tone was less harsh, though he also criticized the West.
On Thursday, Mr. Putin, now prime minister, also said Russian defense officials believed that United States citizens were in the conflict area supporting the Georgian military when it attacked the separatist region of South Ossetia.
"Even during the cold war, during the time of tough confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, we have always avoided direct clashes between our civilians, let alone our servicemen," Mr. Putin said. "We have serious reasons to believe that directly, in the combat zone, citizens of the United States were present."
"If the facts are confirmed," he added, "that United States citizens were present in the combat zone, that means only one thing -- that they could be there only on the direct instruction of their leadership. And if this is so, then it means that American citizens are in the combat zone, performing their duties, and they can only do that following a direct order from their leader, and not on their own initiative."
In Washington, the White House spokeswoman, Dana M. Perino, dismissed Mr. Putin's remarks. "To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a political candidate just sounds not rational," she said.
She added, "It also sounds like his defense officials who said they believe this to be true are giving him really bad advice."
A senior Russian defense official, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said at a news conference in Moscow on Thursday that Russian forces had found a United States passport in a ruined building near Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. The position, he said, had been occupied by Georgian Interior Ministry forces.
"What was the gentleman's purpose of being among the special forces and what he is doing today, I so far cannot answer," General Nogovitsyn said, holding up what he said was a color copy of the passport. He said members of the Georgian unit had been killed, and the building destroyed.
When the war broke out, the United States had about 130 military trainers in Georgia preparing Georgian troops for service in Iraq. The American Embassy in Tbilisi said these trainers were not involved in the fighting; about 100 remain and are assisting with the delivery of aid to Georgia that is arriving on military planes and ships.
General Nogovitsyn said the passport was in the name of Michael Lee White of Texas, but gave no information on whether Russians believed that he was a member of the United States military. The United States Embassy in Georgia told The Associated Press that it had no information on the matter.
Mr. Putin said in the CNN interview that Russia had thought that the United States would prevent Georgia from attacking South Ossetia, but suggested that he now believed that the Bush administration encouraged Mr. Saakashvili to send in his military.
"The American side in fact armed and trained the Georgian Army," Mr. Putin said. "Why hold years of difficult talks and seek complex compromise solutions in interethnic conflicts? It's easier to arm one of the sides and push it into the murder of the other side, and it's over. It seemed like an easy solution. The thing is, it turns out that it's not always so."
The Georgia conflict has become a flash point in the United States presidential campaign, with Senator McCain assailing what he refers to as "revanchist Russia" and asserting that he is far more qualified to handle such a crisis than the Democratic candidate, Senator Barack Obama.
Mr. McCain has long been friendly with Mr. Saakashvili, who has said he talks to Mr. McCain regularly. Mr. McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, has worked as a lobbyist on behalf of the Georgian government, and Mr. McCain's wife, Cindy, traveled to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, this week on a humanitarian aid mission.
All these ties, combined with Mr. McCain's criticism of Russia, have earned him a kind of notoriety in Moscow. When Parliament passed a resolution this week urging that Russia recognize the independence of the two breakaway enclaves, some lawmakers not only praised the courage of the South Ossetians, but also threw a few barbs at Mr. McCain.
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting.
Obama raps McCain for ignorance of his own houses
By MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writer
In this Feb. 5, 2008 file photo, Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., watches Super Tuesday election returns from the kitchen area of his home in Phoenix, Ariz. Days after he cracked that being rich in the U.S. meant earning at least $5 million a year, McCain acknowledged that he wasn't sure how many houses he and his wealthy wife actually own. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- John McCain may have created his own housing crisis. Hours after a report that the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting didn't know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own, Democratic rival Barack Obama launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch.
With the economy the top issue in the race, Obama sought to turn McCain's gaffe into one of those symbolic moments that stick in voters' minds.
Think John Kerry sailboarding or the first President Bush wowed by a grocery store checkout scanner, Michael Dukakis riding in a tank or Gerald Ford eating a tamale with the husk still on.
"I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico when asked Wednesday how many houses he owns. "It's condominiums where - I'll have them get to you."
Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states - Arizona, California and Virginia.
Property records reviewed by The Associated Press show McCain and his family appear to own at least eight homes: A ranch and two condos in Arizona; three condos in Coronado, Calif.; a condo in La Jolla, Calif.; and another in Arlington, Va. The number of houses is a bit trickier to determine since the ranch has at least four houses and a two-story cabin on it.
Last week McCain cracked that being rich in the U.S. meant earning at least $5 million a year. His latest comments gave Democrats an opportunity to suggest that McCain cannot relate to ordinary voters.
Campaigning in Chester, Va., Obama said: "I guess if you think being rich means you've got to make $5 million and if you don't know how many houses you have, it's not surprising you might think the economy is fundamentally strong." He returned to the McCain remark later, saying of teachers: "Most teachers hold themselves accountable. They didn't go into teaching to make money. They don't have seven houses."
The Obama campaign also announced 16 campaign events across the country to highlight the comment and try to turn the tables on McCain's effort to cast him as an elitist. In the battleground state of Michigan, Obama's campaign asked volunteers to guess how many houses McCain owns, a contest dubbed, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: McCain Edition."
While both sides are trying cast the other as too rich to understand the working class, the truth is neither candidate is hurting for money.
McCain's tax returns showed a total income of $405,409 in 2007. According to her 2006 tax returns, Cindy McCain had a total income of $6 million. Her wealth is estimated by some at $100 million, based on her late father's Arizona beer distributorship. She has not released her 2007 returns, which she files separately from her husband.
Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported making $4.2 million in 2007.
In the 2004 campaign, Republicans tried to use wealth against Kerry even though President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were multimillionaires themselves. In 2005, Kerry reported a net worth between $165 million and $235 million, most of it controlled by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Underscoring how seriously the McCain campaign takes the house controversy, the Republican National Committee responded with a Web site highlighting Obama's ties to Chicago businessman Antonin "Tony" Rezko, a friend and contributor who was convicted in June on more than a dozen felonies in a corruption scandal.
Obama and his wife bought their home in Chicago in 2005 for $1.6 million after getting advice from Rezko. The corruption case had no connection to Obama, and Obama has said it was a mistake to work with Rezko on buying the house.
"Does a guy who made more than $4 million last year, just got back from vacation on a private beach in Hawaii and bought his own million-dollar mansion with the help of a convicted felon really want to get into a debate about houses?" asked McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.
However, the campaign got one thing wrong: Hawaii has no private beaches. Obama, who was born in Hawaii and spent most of his youth there, visited relatives during a recent vacation and joined the public swimming and surfing in the ocean.
In a forum last week with the Rev. Rick Warren, McCain was asked to define the word "rich" and to give a figure. After promoting his tax policies, McCain said: "I think if you are just talking about income, how about $5 million?" The audience laughed, and he added: "But seriously, I don't think you can - I don't think seriously that - the point is that I'm trying to make here, seriously - and I'm sure that comment will be distorted - but the point is that we want to keep people's taxes low and increase revenues."
Asked the same question at the forum, Obama said those making $250,000 and higher are in the top 3 to 4 percent and "doing well."
August 21, 2008
Obama camp links McCain to Abramoff scandal
Posted: 02:11 AM ETFrom CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Obama's campaign is out with a tough new campaign ad featuring Jack Abramoff.
(CNN) — Barack Obama's campaign is linking John McCain to the infamous Jack Abramoff scandal that ended several Republicans' political careers three years ago in a new campaign ad hitting Georgia airwaves Wednesday.
The 30-second spot is the Obama campaign’s second negative ad in the past 24 hours. It attacks the Arizona senator for his association with former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, one of the Republicans implicated in the scandal.
The ad also seems to suggest McCain didn't call Reed to testify before a Senate panel he chaired in return for political favors.
“When the Senate investigated, the senator in charge never even called Reed to testify….And that senator? John McCain. And who’s now raising money for McCain’s campaign? Ralph Reed," the ad's narrator says. "For 26 years in Washington, John McCain’s played the same old games. We just can’t afford more of the same.”
The TV spot sparked a sharp rebuke from McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers, who called it "ridiculous," and noted Obama's connection to Bill Ayers, the current University of Chicago professor and one-time leader of the militant group "Weather Undeground."
“If Barack Obama wants to have a discussion about truly questionable associations, let’s start with his relationship with the unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, at whose home Obama’s political career was reportedly launched," Rogers said. "Mr. Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground, a terrorist group responsible for countless bombings against targets including the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon and numerous police stations, courthouses and banks."
Reed, who lost a bid in 2006 for lieutenant governor of Georgia, had promoted a McCain fundraiser last week in the Atlanta area that netted the presumptive Republican nominee $1.75 million in campaign cash. Though Reed did not attend the event (after intense Democratic criticisms), he circulated "special invitations" to several Republicans in the Atlanta area seeking donations.
That prompted several watchdog groups to call on McCain to cancel the event — although his campaign noted the fundraiser was sponsored by the Republican National Committee, not Reed.
Barack Obama bites back against John McCain
Senator Barack Obama has stiffened his rhetoric against Senator John McCain, after complaints within Democratic ranks that he was allowing attacks to go unanswered.
By Alex Spillius in Washington Last Updated: 9:01PM BST 20 Aug 2008
As the White House race heated up ahead of the first party convention next week, the Democratic candidate has said his Republican rival "doesn't know what he's up against" in this election and challenged him to stop questioning his character and patriotism.
Mr McCain had said Mr Obama "tried to legislate failure" in the Iraq war and had put his ambition to be president above the interests of the United States.
Apparently enjoying getting under his rival's skin, Mr McCain said yesterday: "Senator Obama got a little testy on this issue. He said that I am questioning his patriotism. Let me be clear: I am not questioning his patriotism, I am questioning his judgment."
Mr Obama also for the first time hit back at personal attacks on his popularity in McCain campaign advertisements which compared him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
"Our job in this election is not just 'win,' although I'm a big believer in winning," Obama said. "I don't intend to lose this election. John McCain doesn't know what he's up against.
"He can talk all he wants about Britney (Spears) and Paris (Hilton), but I don't have time for that mess," Mr Obama said.
Despite vowing to eschew negative tactics, Mr Obama yesterday launched a series of hard-hitting advertisements in swing states that verged on contravening his pledge.
They portrayed Mr McCain as a member of the wealthy elite disconnected from the struggles of ordinary families. One used a Jan 2008 quote from the Arizona senator: "I don't believe we're headed into a recession".
Another presented a mock book of Economics by John McCain, with Chapter Two titled $10 Billion A Month In Iraq. The Republican has been a staunch advocate of the war from its inception.
A decorated Vietnam war veteran and member of the Senate armed services committee, Mr McCain has sharply questioned whether the 47-year-old Obama has the experience and character necessary to serve as commander in chief.
He also has spoken out strongly against Russia's invasion of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, using Obama's absence from the campaign trail during a Hawaiian holiday last week to take a hard line against Moscow.
Mr Obama has always vowed not to let attacks go unanswered, having seen the disastrous effects of John Kerry's failure in 2004 to respond quickly to slanderous questions about his war record in Vietnam.
But political brawling goes against his nature, and his campaign will try as far as possible to stay above the fray, keeping its powder dry for the final eight weeks of the campaign, which follow the end of the Republican convention on Sep 4.
According to some Democratic strategists, that is the right course of action. "Over the summer we have seen a bit of a rope-a-dope strategy, but at the conventions we will see the dynamic of the campaign change," said Dan Gerstein, who worked on Al Gore's 2000 campaign.
After Mr Obama has formally accepted the party's nomination in front of 75,000 people on Aug 28, he believes the Illinois senator's campaign will launch a sustained counter-attack, linking McCain to fellow Republican George W Bush. "You will hear the phrase 'Bush's third term' a lot," he added.
Reggie Love Is Barack Obama's Gatekeeper, Friend
Love Went From Duke Athletics to Obama's Personal Assistant
By NICK WATT and LEE FERRAN
Aug. 19, 2008 —
Every president, and every presidential candidate, has one -- a "body man," or personal assistant.
And Barack Obama? Well, he has Reggie Love, a former Duke University varsity basketball and football player. Though the two have become very close since Love took on the role of body man in January, to Love, defining exactly what he does can be difficult.
"It definitely makes for interesting conversations when you meet someone and they're like, 'What do you do?' I'm like, 'Well, I travel around with this guy all day. He's running for president,'" Love told "Good Morning America."
It is perhaps easier to define Love's job by what he carries with him when he travels with the Democratic presidential hopeful. In his bag is an array of small, everyday items, such as a toothbrush, mouthwash, cough drops, aspirin and wet naps.
Basically, Love has to be there to tend to all of Obama's personal needs.
And as an athlete himself, one of Obama's recurring personal needs is to play basketball against solid competition.
"Reggie is the best athlete that I know," Obama said in an interview with "Good Morning America." The senator also claims that he always does his best to be on Love's team, rather than play against him.
"Well, look, I mean, Reggie is 20 years younger than me," he said. "I cannot be guarding Reggie."
Love became Obama's personal aide just one year after he was hired in January 2007. Since then, Love has become so trusted that he acts as a gatekeeper for anyone who is trying to get information to Obama.
When former Sen. John Edwards decided to drop out of the Democratic presidential race earlier this year, his staff contacted Love first. When actress Scarlett Johansson wanted to throw her support to Obama, she e-mailed Love.
He is even trusted to load Obama's iPod with more recent hits than Obama's usual Aretha Franklin and John Coltrane, so that he is, as Obama put it, "not a complete fuddy-duddy."
The two have become so close that, if he makes it to the White House, Obama said he would like to take Love with him.
"You know, if Reggie wants to stay involved in my work, then I will keep him as long as I can. He is like a little brother to me."
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
by Ted Robbins
Listen Now [4 min 16 sec] add to playlist
Kathleen Hensley Portalski displays newspaper clippings of her father in World War II, as well as snapshots of herself as a child with her father.
Portalski is shown with her late father, Jim Hensley, who also was Cindy McCain's father.
Read the original profile on Cindy McCain.
Nicholas Portalski, whose mother is McCain's half sister, says it's "very, very hurtful" that he and his mother haven't been recognized.
All Things Considered, August 18, 2008 · Last Tuesday, NPR broadcast a story about Cindy McCain's business and charity work. In it, Ted Robbins described McCain as the only child of Jim Hensley, a wealthy Arizona businessman. The next morning, NPR received an e-mail from Nicholas Portalski of Phoenix, who heard the story with his mother.
"We were listening to the piece about Cindy McCain on NPR, All Things Considered, and it just struck us very hard," Portalski said.
His mother, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, is also Hensley's daughter.
The Portalski family is accustomed to hearing Cindy McCain described as Hensley's only child.
She's been described that way by news organizations from The New Yorker and The New York Times to Newsweek and ABC.
McCain herself routinely uses the phrase "only child," as she did on CNN last month. "I grew up with my dad," she said then. "I'm an only child. My father was a cowboy, and he really loved me very much, but I think he wanted a son occasionally."
McCain's father was also a businessman — and twice a father.
"I'm upset," Kathleen Portalski says. "I'm angry. It makes me feel like a nonperson, kind of."
Who Is Kathleen Hensley Portalski?
Documents show Kathleen Anne Hensley was born to Jim and Mary Jeanne Hensley on Feb. 23, 1943. They had been married for six years when Kathleen was born.
Jim Hensley was a bombardier on a B-17, flying over Europe during World War II.
He was injured and sent to a facility in West Virginia to recuperate. During that time, while still married to Mary Jeanne, Hensley met another woman — Marguerite Smith. Jim divorced Mary Jeanne and married Marguerite in 1945.
Cindy Lou Hensley was born nine years later, in 1954.
She may have grown up as an only child, but so did her half sister, Kathleen, who was raised by a single parent.
Portalski says she did see her father and her half sister from time to time.
"I saw him a few times a year," she says. "I saw him at Christmas and birthdays, and he provided money for school clothes, and he called occasionally."
Jim Hensley also provided credit cards and college tuition for his grandchildren, as well as $10,000 gifts to Kathleen and her husband, Stanley Portalski. That lasted a decade, they say. By then, Jim Hensley had built Hensley and Co. into one of the largest beer distributorships in the country. He was worth tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.
Sole Inheritor To Hensley's Estate
When Hensley died in 2000, his will named not only Portalski but also a daughter of his wife Marguerite from her earlier marriage. So, Cindy McCain may be the only product of Jim and Marguerite's marriage, but she is not the only child of either.
She was, however, the sole inheritor of his considerable estate.
Kathleen Portalski was left $10,000, and her children were left nothing. It's a fact Nicholas Portalski says his sister discovered the hard way.
"What she found in town — on the day of or the day before or the day after his funeral — was that the credit card didn't work anymore," Nick says.
The Portalskis live in a modest home in central Phoenix. Kathleen is retired, as is her husband. Nicholas Portalski is a firefighter and emergency medical technician looking for work.
They say it would have been nice if they were left some of the Hensley fortune.
They also say they are Democrats, but Nicholas Portalski says he had another reason for coming forward.
"The fact that we don't exist," he says. "The fact that we've never been recognized, and then Cindy has to put such a fine point on it by saying something that's not true. Recently, again and again. It's just very, very hurtful."
Kathleen Portalski says she'd like an acknowledgment and an apology.
NPR asked the McCain campaign — specifically, Cindy McCain — to comment or respond. Neither replied.
Rachel Gets Her Own MSNBC Show
by Keith Olbermann
Tue Aug 19, 2008 at 02:05:19 PM PDT
Happy Now? The network will be formally announcing this tomorrow, but I am pleased to inform you in this fully authorized leak, that as of Monday, September 8, our mutual friend Ms. Maddow will become host of her own show, on MSNBC, at 9 PM Eastern Time. And, yes, we will be making another unofficial announcement of this on tonight's edition of Countdown. My guest to analyze the Rachel Maddow news will be Rachel Maddow.
Let me answer the key questions in advance: 1) No, she will not be serving as a VeeJay introducing music clips or cartoons. 2) No, I don't think we have the name of the show chosen yet. She wanted to use "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" and I said, that's where I draw the line. 3) No, the format isn't set, though there have been a lot of discussions out there and they have all centered on how to best allow her to both give her laser-quality insights while soliciting the opinions of others. 4) Yes, I had something to do with it. 5) Yes, you had something to do with it. 6) Yes, this is why I never really responded to any of the 41,754 comments that all pretty much read "And get Rachel her own show, nitwit." 7) No, I'm not sure it will replay later in the evening but I bloody well hope so. 8) Yes, I did like the description of her in The Nation: "Everything about her radiates competence and a deft, bright careerism." 9) Billy Loes. A teammate of Hodges in 1950, an opponent of Adcock in 1954, an opponent of Colavito in 1959, a teammate of Mays in 1961. 10) No, this actually happened pretty quickly. Less than five months between first paid appearance and own show is pretty fast. I believe I still hold the MSNBC record: I came back to guest host for three days in 2003 and 39 days later I had a contract to do the 8 PM show. With people as talented like Rachel, getting it locked down quickly is a good thing. 11) No, I have no idea who will start guest hosting Countdown. Took me five years to find her. Dammit! Why didn't I think of this! She can't be the guest host any more! I knew I'd forgotten something! 12) No, there will not be pie. Well, you may bring your own pie, but I can't be bothered with pie now! I have to go find another guest host. Dammit.
Commentary: Is McCain another George W. Bush?
By Jack Cafferty
CNN Editor's Note: Jack Cafferty is the author of the best-seller "It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America." He provides commentary on CNN's "The Situation Room" daily from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. You can also visit Jack's Cafferty File blog.
Jack Cafferty says John McCain shows virtually no intellectual curiosity, emulating President Bush.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Russia invades Georgia and President Bush goes on vacation. Our president has spent one-third of his entire two terms in office either at Camp David, Maryland, or at Crawford, Texas, on vacation.
His time away from the Oval Office included the month leading up to 9/11, when there were signs Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America, and the time Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans.
Sen. John McCain takes weekends off and limits his campaign events to one a day. He made an exception for the religious forum on Saturday at Saddleback Church in Southern California.
I think he made a big mistake. When he was invited last spring to attend a discussion of the role of faith in his life with Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, McCain didn't bother to show up. Now I know why.
It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. "It means I'm saved and forgiven." Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries. McCain then retold a story we've all heard a hundred times about a guard in Vietnam drawing a cross in the sand.
Asked about his greatest moral failure, he cited his first marriage, which ended in divorce. While saying it was his greatest moral failing, he offered nothing in the way of explanation. Why not?
Throughout the evening, McCain chose to recite portions of his stump speech as answers to the questions he was being asked. Why? He has lived 71 years. Surely he has some thoughts on what it all means that go beyond canned answers culled from the same speech he delivers every day.
He was asked "if evil exists." His response was to repeat for the umpteenth time that Osama bin Laden is a bad man and he will pursue him to "the gates of hell." That was it.
He was asked to define rich. After trying to dodge the question -- his wife is worth a reported $100 million -- he finally said he thought an income of $5 million was rich.
One after another, McCain's answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has -- virtually none.
Where are John McCain's writings exploring the vexing moral issues of our time? Where are his position papers setting forth his careful consideration of foreign policy, the welfare state, education, America's moral responsibility in the world, etc., etc., etc.?
John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet.
He no longer allows reporters unfettered access to him aboard the "Straight Talk Express" for a reason. He simply makes too many mistakes. Unless he's reciting talking points or reading from notes or a TelePrompTer, John McCain is lost. He can drop bon mots at a bowling alley or diner -- short glib responses that get a chuckle, but beyond that McCain gets in over his head very quickly.
I am sick and tired of the president of the United States embarrassing me. The world we live in is too complex to entrust it to someone else whose idea of intellectual curiosity and grasp of foreign policy issues is to tell us he can look into Vladimir Putin's eyes and see into his soul.
George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.
He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.
I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
REX NUTTING
Why McCain would be a mediocre president
Commentary: It's not a given that Republican candidate has the right stuff
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 3:53 p.m. EDT Aug. 7, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In his frivolous Paris and Britney ad, Sen. John McCain has asked the right question: Is Barack Obama ready to lead this country?
Since last January, Sen. Obama's fitness for the presidency has been the only question that matters in American politics. The pollsters and pundits agree that if Obama can show the voters that he's up to the job, he'll win. If not, he won't.
But that begs another question: Is McCain fit to lead America?
That question hasn't been asked, nor has it been answered.
The assumption seems to be that McCain's years of experience in the military and in Congress of course give him the background and tools he'd need in the White House. As Britney might say, "Duh! For sure he's qualified!!! He's Mac!!!"
But is that true? Does McCain have the right stuff?
A careful look at McCain's biography shows that he isn't prepared for the job. His resume is much thinner than most people think.Here are some reasons why McCain would be a mediocre president.
Lack of accomplishments
Like the current occupant of the White House, McCain got his first career breaks from the connections and money of his family, not from hard work.
The son and grandson of Navy admirals, he attended Annapolis where he did poorly. Nevertheless, he was commissioned as a pilot, where he performed poorly, crashing three planes before he failed to evade a North Vietnamese missile that destroyed his plane. McCain spent more than five years in a prison camp.
After his release, McCain knew his weak military record meant he'd never make admiral, so he turned his sights to a career in politics. With the help of his new wife's wealth, his new father-in-law's business connections and some powerful friends had made as a lobbyist for the Navy, he was elected in 1982 to a Congress in a district that he didn't reside in until the day the seat opened up. A few years later, he succeeded Barry Goldwater as a senator.
McCain hasn't accomplished much in the Senate. Even his own campaign doesn't trumpet his successes, probably because the few victories he's had still rankle Republicans. His campaign finance law failed to significantly reduce the role of money in politics. He failed to get a big tobacco bill through the Senate. He's failed to change the way Congress spends money; his bill to give the president a line-item veto was declared unconstitutional, and the system of pork and earmarks continues unabated. He failed to reform the immigration system.
Every senator who runs for president misses votes back in Washington, so it's no surprise that McCain and all the others who ran in the primaries have missed a lot of votes in the past year. But between the beginning of 2005 and mid-2007, no senator missed more roll-call votes than McCain did, except Tim Johnson, who was recovering from a near-fatal brain aneurysm.
Shallow
McCain says he doesn't understand the economy. He's demonstrated that he doesn't understand the workings of Social Security, or the political history of the Middle East. He doesn't know who our enemies are. He says he wants to reduce global warming, but then proposes ideas that would stimulate -- not reduce -- demand for fossil fuels. McCain has done one thing well -- self promotion. Instead of working on legislation or boning up on the issues, he's been on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" more than any other guest. He's been on the Sunday talk shows more than any other guest in the past 10 years. He's hosted "Saturday Night Live" and even announced his candidacy in 2007 on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
McCain has not articulated any lofty goals. So far, his campaign theme has mostly been "McCain: He's None of the Above." In the primaries, he campaigned on "I'm not that robotic businessman, I'm not that sanctimonious hick, I'm not that crazy libertarian, I'm not that washed-up actor, I'm not that delusional 9/11 guy." In the general election, he's emphasized that he's not that treasonous dreamer.
No leadership
McCain has frequently taken on near-impossible missions that go against the grain of his party. It's the basis of his reputation as a maverick. But McCain has never been able to bring more than a handful of Republicans along with him on issues such as campaign finance reform or immigration. Democrats on the Hill have accepted McCain's help on some issues, but except for a few exceptions (John Kerry and Joe Lieberman), they've never warmed to him.To achieve anything as president, McCain would have to win over two hostile parties: The Democrats and the Republicans.
Living in the Sixties
McCain is still fighting the Vietnam War. But he's not fighting the real historic war, which taught us the folly of injecting ourselves into a civil war that was none of our business. We learned that, in a world where even peasants have guns, explosives and radios, a determined and popular guerrilla force can defeat a modern army equipped with the mightiest technology if that army has no vital national interest to protect.
Instead, McCain is fighting an imaginary Vietnam War, where a sure victory could have been achieved with just a little more bombing, just a little more "pacification," just a little more will to win at home. This fantasy clouds McCain's judgment on foreign policy.
Most of the other high-profile politicians who fought in Vietnam -- Colin Powell, Chuck Hegel, John Kerry, and Jim Webb -- aren't stuck in the past, and they don't view the Iraq War as a chance to get Vietnam right.
No principles
After years of honing a reputation as a guy who'll say the truth regardless of the political consequences, McCain has crashed the Straight Talk Express. On almost every issue where he took a principled stand against the Republican line -- taxes, immigration, oil drilling, the Religious Right -- he's changed his views.
We ought to like politicians who change their mind when the facts change; it shows maturity, judgment and flexibility. But politicians who change their mind to suit the prevailing winds show the opposite.
The bottom line
Successful presidents come from two molds: visionaries, or mechanics. The visionaries -- think Reagan or FDR -- see what others can't and say 'Why not?" to inspire the country. The mechanics -- think LBJ or Eisenhower -- know the ins and outs of government and are able to harness the power of millions of humans to accomplish great things, or at least keep the wheels from coming off.
McCain fits neither style. He's neither a dreamer, nor a detail guy. His major accomplishment, in Vietnam and in the Senate, has been merely to survive.
Just surviving doesn't make you a hero, or a decent president. America needs to do more than survive the next four years.
Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.
Go grab your copy! Collector's Edition - 5 of 8!
All I can say is "Simply Gorgeous!" Oh yeah, and... "Dayum!" :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/30/olbermann-special-comment_n_110114.html
Copied/pasted from comments: "This is what O is up against. He has to break through this mindset of fear. KO exposed all the no-win possibilities. He"s not telling Obama to vote against FISA.
He's speaking to all those supporters of O who didn"t know that the Bill did not contain criminal immunity.
Thus he"s telling O supporters: "Don"t worry if he votes for it, because he can still use the loophole to go after the Administration and anyone who broke privacy laws unjustifiably.
This Bill does not grant immunity from criminal charges."He is exposing this Bill as the perfect Republican trap that O cannot win with, except that there is a loophole he can use against them later.
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/06/20/hot-seat-how-honest-is-obama/
Vote now!
Opiate For the Mrs.
When laws are broken, somebody's got to be punished. In the case of Cindy McCain, that somebody is Tom Gosinski
By Amy Silverman, Jeremy Voaspublished: September 08, 1994
You're U.S. Senator John McCain, and you've got a big problem. Your wife, Cindy, was addicted to prescription painkillers. She stole pills from a medical-aid charity she heads and she used the names of unsuspecting employees to get prescriptions. The public is about to find out about it.
Until now, you've managed to keep it all quiet. When Tom Gosinski, a man your wife fired, sued for wrongful termination and threatened to expose the whole sordid story, you didn't hesitate to call in the big guns.
John Dowd, the attorney who got you out of your Keating Five mess, worked on getting your wife a sweetheart deal with federal prosecutors. He also made Gosinski's lawsuit go away.
He didn't stop there.
To help maintain your reputation and discredit your wife's accuser, Dowd called Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley and complained that Gosinski was trying to extort money. Romley, your Republican ally, promptly launched an extortion investigation.
But now New Times makes a public records request for documents in the extortion case. It's only a matter of days before the story gets out.
Here's what the senator does. He calls in another big gun, political strategist Jay Smith, who conceives a rather remarkable plan.
On August 19--just three days before the records are to be made public--Smith parades your wife before a select group of journalist friends. She tells a tale of pain and triumph, and, incredibly, all the reporters agree to sit on the story until August 22. When Cindy McCain says her confession is intended to quell rumors and to inspire other druggies to turn their lives around, the journalists lap it up. They write about her "bravery." The first round of stories is one-sided. There is no mention of Tom Gosinski or Romley's extortion investigation.
But after a week, there is no glossing over huge gaps in the image that has been spun for the public:
• Cindy McCain lied about drug treatment she claims to have undergone. Although she told reporters she went into a residential drug treatment program earlier this year, she told investigators she had treatment during 1991 and 1992. Whom did she lie to--investigators or reporters?
• If Cindy McCain did undergo treatment before 1994, as she told investigators, the senator's claim that he didn't learn of his wife's addiction until this January simply defies credibility.
• Cindy McCain and Jay Smith lied about her status with federal prosecutors. She told a Tucson reporter she had already completed a pretrial diversion program. Smith told another reporter that the case had come to "resolution." In fact, Cindy McCain hasn't even been accepted into a diversion program.
• Jay Smith misled the Arizona Republic when he said that Gosinski had, in an act of retribution, tipped federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents after failing to get a cash settlement. In fact, Gosinski was talking to the DEA 11 months before he ever filed his wrongful termination claim.
• Tom Gosinski no longer has a civil lawsuit against Cindy McCain. It died of neglect this summer.
While the stories told by the senator, his wife and his hired guns are rife with inaccuracies and inconsistencies, everything Tom Gosinski says seems to check out.
John and Cindy McCain are now attempting to return to lives of privilege and prestige. If she gets into a diversion program and lives by its rules, she'll have no criminal record.
Meanwhile, one volunteer doctor who wrote prescriptions at Cindy McCain's behest is under investigation. He could lose his license.
And Tom Gosinski, the man who knew too much, is under criminal investigation, working two jobs and trying to put his life back together.
From September 1991 to January 1993, Tom Gosinski was the director of government and international affairs for the American Voluntary Medical Team, a nonprofit organization headed by Cindy Hensley McCain.
Gosinski says McCain started behaving erratically in the summer of 1992. He says he and other AVMT staff members became convinced she was addicted to the prescription narcotics Percocet and Vicodin. They believed she was obtaining these drugs illegally in the names of her employees and the public charity she founded.
Gosinski's multiple claims--the knowledge of which, he says, led McCain to fire him in January 1993--were central to a federal investigation, a civil lawsuit, the extortion investigation and, finally, a statewide media circus.
New Times obtained a copy of Gosinski's private journal. It covers the period from early July 1992 through January 1993. Gosinski did not grant New Times permission to print excerpts from the journal, but neither did he disavow their accuracy. The 52 journal entries, recorded during Cindy McCain's drug meltdown, paint a disturbing picture.
The aforementioned matters are of great concern to those directly involved but my main concern is the ability of AVMT to survive a major shake-up. If the DEA were to ever conduct an audit of AVMT's inventory, I am afraid of what the results might be. . . . It is because of CHM's willingness to jeopardize the credibility of those that work for her that I truly worry.
During my short tenure at AVMT I have been surrounded by what on the surface appears to be the ultimate all-American family. In reality, I am working for a very sad, lonely woman whose marriage of convenience to a U.S. Senator has driven her to: distance herself from friends; cover feelings of despair with drugs; and replace lonely moments with self-indulgences.
As Gosinski observed in a September entry, the journal soon evolved into a "bitch pad" for his complaints about Cindy McCain. He also wrote at length of his concern for her well-being.
The journal entries don't tell the whole story. But certainly they add depth, providing glimpses of life with a drug-addled boss, and identifying previously unmentioned doctors who were associated with AVMT and who were drawn in--unwittingly or otherwise--to Cindy McCain's illicit activities.
Until now, Gosinski has not spoken on the record to the press. It has taken months of cajoling, Cindy McCain's public admission and the release of documents relating to the extortion investigation to convince him to open up.
Even now, he is nervous. He shows up at New Times over the weekend with an old friend at his side as a "comfort blanket." He won't sit for a portrait, although he had agreed to do so just days before. He's looking for a better job, he says, so he doesn't want his face on the cover.
And the county attorney's extortion investigation is ongoing. Although Gosinski is certain he has done nothing wrong--in fact, he may be one of the few in this story who hasn't--he also knows that might not mean much.
At 36, Gosinski is of medium build and below-average height. He's clean-shaven, with brown eyes, bristly brown hair. He knits his brow constantly, making deep grooves between the eyes. He laughs a lot, mostly from nerves, and wears a baseball cap with the hapless Wile E. Coyote embroidered on it. The cap matches his outfit: long-sleeved, hunter-green button-down and faded Pepe jeans. He's a hip, polished, well-spoken, conservative Republican.
His roots are in small-town Nebraska. Although he'd originally planned to study music, Gosinski majored in organizational communications at Concordia College in Minnesota, because he thought he'd earn a better living.
He moved to Phoenix "on a lark" 12 years ago and got a job with America West Airlines as a customer service representative. He worked his way up to middle management and a position in the airline's governmental and international affairs office. It was while he was in that post that he met Cindy McCain.
That was in 1991, and Desert Storm had just rumbled through Kuwait. McCain had asked America West for a government charter to take AVMT to aid war victims. As a reward for his assistance, she invited Gosinski along. He jumped at the chance.
When the plane touched down at noon in Kuwait City, the smoke was so thick the streetlights were on. The heat was searing. The AVMT crew slept on hospital floors and cots. Cindy McCain was a hard worker, Gosinski recalls. She slept in the hallway, lugged boxes and tended children with the rest of the volunteers.
Close friendships were formed, particularly because of the danger, Gosinski says. "People were still stepping on land mines. People were still being shot."
After Kuwait, McCain invited Gosinski on another trip--this time to Washington, D.C., to receive thanks from Vice President Dan Quayle and dine at the McCains' Alexandria home.
The day Gosinski met Quayle, America West Airlines filed for bankruptcy, and Gosinski fretted about his future. He stayed in touch with Cindy McCain and AVMT.
That September 1991, he quit America West and began working full-time as AVMT's first director of government and international affairs. Annual salary: $48,000.
Over the next two years, Gosinski's job would take him on missions to Bangladesh, Vietnam, El Salvador and, in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, to Florida.
Most of his time was spent at AVMT's headquarters in Phoenix. He also grew close to Cindy McCain and her family. He took her and the children on outings, to the state fair. He gave one of her sons swimming lessons.
Things went swimmingly, indeed, until the summer of 1992. That's when things started getting weird at AVMT. It's also when he began documenting events at the workplace in his journal.
In addition to people already mentioned, the journal's cast of characters includes Cindy McCain's parents, Jim and Smitty Hensley; Cindy's aunt and former AVMT receptionist, Jeri Johnson; AVMT employees Kathy Walker and Tracy Orrick; Cari Clark McCain, Jeri Johnson's granddaughter and Cindy's adopted daughter; John Bircumshaw, a contract fund raiser for AVMT; and doctors John Max Johnson, Tom Moffo, Francis Fote, Dennis Everton and Daniel De La Pava.
(All the people mentioned in the passages New Times is publishing have been contacted by phone, and given the opportunity to respond to comments in the journal. Only one, Everton, chose to comment.)
July 22, 1992: We haven't heard from Cindy today. Who knows what she might be up to. Kathy did find a DEA number from Doctor Everton on Cindy's desk this morning. . . . To date, Tracy, Kathy and I know that on Friday of last week she requested or received DEA numbers from Drs. Tom Moffo, Francis Fote . . . Max Johnson, De La Pava and Everton. I certainly hope that she does not get all of these guys in a lot of trouble.
(Everton says New Times' inquiry marked the first time anyone had asked him about his DEA number--a federally assigned code that allows doctors to dispense drugs internationally--despite his being interviewed by two DEA agents about a year ago. Everton says he doesn't recall giving AVMT his DEA number, although the organization might have had it. Everton adds that he found it odd that months after he went on his one and only AVMT mission, a staff member tracked him down on vacation and asked him to prescribe Tylenol 3--a drug similar to Vicodin--for an upcoming AVMT trip. Everton says he prescribed the drug anyway. He doesn't recall that the prescription was in any individual's name.)
August 10, 1992: Work is the same. CHM is in Phoenix today and, as is common these days, is up to her old tricks. She told Kathy this morning that she has a call in to Dr. Moffo. I certainly hope she doesn't get him to write her prescriptions for pain pills. Also, we received a bill this morning from Professional Pharmacy for vicodin and Apap with codeine, 200 units each, the prescription written by Max Johnson. I cannot believe the amount of doctors who . . . continue to fill her prescriptions.
August 14, 1992: Work started off at a relatively normal pace this morning. And then--Kathy received a call from Royal Norman at Ch 3 regarding a possible AVMT trip to Somalia. Before Kathy informed me of her conversation with Royal she told Cindy and Cindy jumped all over the issue. Now Cindy wants to airlift a load of supplies to Somalia and use Ch 3 to get the coverage she so desperately goes after. I think the whole idea is crazy as we have so much to do with the Navajos but Cindy seems intent on making it happen.
Kathy asked Cindy about the bill for the drugs I referred to in my 10AUG92 entry as Kathy has not received them for inventory for AVMT. Cindy told Kathy that those drugs and some antibiotics were sent to Micronesia with military personnel since AVMT was unable to make a trip to that area this year. To the best of my knowledge no drugs or supplies of any kind were sent to Micronesia. . . .
August 21, 1992: Cindy and John returned from the Republican convention today. John's speech last night was full of worthy messages but his delivery was less than inspirational. Cindy sounded as though she had a good time at the convention. I inquired what the president's intentions were for John and she stated that, off the record, the president may ask John to serve as secretary of defense. Everything is contingent upon the outcome of both the president's and John's campaigns--John being named as secretary of defense might mean that I would have an opportunity to move to Washington.
August 28, 1992: Work has been crazy--Cindy decided we should take a load of supplies to the Miami area to assist in the Hurricane Andrew relief efforts. It would be simple to complete the task if Cindy would not interfere with the rest of us doing our jobs, however, she is constantly stirring things up.
We are also contemplating a trip to Somalia--Mark Salter in John McCain's Washington office has stated that the State Department and the Department of Defense believe it is not safe to travel to Somalia or the northern regions of Kenya. Cindy insists that we are going to go on the trip and that it may be wise for us to pack guns.
She is absolutely crazy--I don't know how to load a gun let alone shoot one. . . .
September 2, 1992: This past week at AVMT has certainly been a challenge. All of us that work for Cindy have been asked to put in extended hours at night and on the weekend and have not even received a thank you. Cindy is the most demanding and thankless person I have ever met.
. . . . About Cindy's drug problem--Today Kathy asked Cindy about the invoice for drugs prescribed by Tom Moffo, the second such prescription in two weeks. Cindy stated the drugs had been sent to two different islands in the federated states of Micronesia with a Navy officer and that I had been aware of the request and AVMT's response. When Kathy told me about Cindy's statement I called Cindy to inquire about these two shipments about which I have no knowledge and Cindy changed the story and said that Kathy was confused and that what actually happened was that the shipment had in fact been sent with the Navy office but it had been so small that she had simply had him put it in his luggage--she stated the shipment was 'penicillin and a few items Dr. Moffo had put together for her.'. . .
September 3, 1992: Work is crazy as usual. The trip to Florida on Monday is on schedule--we are now traveling as a cleanup crew in blue hospital scrubs. I questioned wearing scrubs but Cindy insisted that the 'visual' is important, so--we are going to rummage through the rubble of Hurricane Andrew in scrubs.
Whatever . . . Per Mrs. McCain the AVMT schedule for the next couple of weeks is as follows: Miami cleanup from September 7 through September 11; Navajo Nation parade September 12; and depart for Somalia on September 13. Cindy must think that we have a staff of 20 as she has certainly not sat down, looked at a calendar and rationally thought about what she is suggesting we accomplish. . . .
September 29, 1992: Regardless of what happens with Cindy McCain, it is time for me to get out of AVMT. I have so little respect for Cindy and her objectives--she has made AVMT a media event--that even under the best of circumstances I do not think this organization merits existence. . . .
October 2, 1992: Well, it is done. Last night Jim and Smitty confronted Cindy regarding her dependency to prescription drugs and she admitted to her addiction. I understand that she told the Hensleys her addiction was rooted in her unhappiness--her marriage--and that she took the pills to mask her depression. The Hensleys told Cindy they knew she had a problem because of her severe mood swings and her change in character. They also said her meanness towards others was not excusable and must stop. . . .
October 6, 1992: All shit hit the fan yesterday!Jeri Johnson called Dr. Moffo to ask him not to fill anymore prescriptions for Cindy McCain. Dr. Moffo said he had not been filling any prescriptions for Cindy--it seems Cindy has been using Tom's DEA number to obtain her drugs.
Jim Hensley called Cindy this morning and told her not to use Moffo's number again. She denied she had used the number and since then has been trying to contact Moffo. God knows what she will say to Moffo if she reaches him. Also, Cindy was trying to reach Dr. John Johnson. She is either trying to do some quick damage control or she is going to set somebody up for the fall. . . .
October 7, 1992: More of the same.Yesterday the Tom Moffo issue became more complicated. After Jim Hensley confronted Cindy with information about her using Tom's name to obtain drugs Cindy called Moffo to question him. Moffo told Cindy he would not do any follow-up, i.e., turn her in, but told her to never do it again.
This morning Cindy called me to inform me that she and Max Johnson had contacted the DEA and asked that an investigation be conducted to 'investigate allegations made against her.' She said a 'bogus' phone call had been received which made wild accusations about her and that she believed the phone call was 'political.' Cindy also said she had called the supposed originator of the call and that the individual denied ever making the call. . . .
October 28, 1992: I am still concerned about Cindy McCain's drug problem--it seems her parents are falling into a denial mode and believe that time will heal Cindy's problem. . . .
November 3, 1992: Tonight I am attending an elections return party at the McCains' home. . . . John is expected to win his race by a landslide. . . .
January 11, 1993: Cindy was in the office today--first time in a couple of months. She and I met with John Bircumshaw to discuss an April fund raiser and John's grant-writing efforts. Shortly after the meeting, Cindy, very casually told me that I won't be traveling to Calcutta next week, instead I am to stay in Phoenix to work on the Navajo Nation project. God only knows what all of this means. . . .
January 13, 1993: Chalk up another day at AVMT.Yesterday was going great until I got a call from Cindy McCain who stated that she heard I was mad because I wasn't going to India.
I explained to Cindy that when she told me I was not going to be traveling to Calcutta I was upset because of the inconvenience that the last-minute change in plans had caused.
. . . It is evident to me that AVMT is in serious need of an organizational change. . . . Our shot gun approach to providing medical care has minimal impact when a focused approach on a specific area or type of care could significantly impact the target constituency. . . .
January 15, 1993: Well yesterday was certainly a bang!For the first time in my life I was fired from a job. Cindy asked me to come to her office so that we might speak. She immediately handed me a termination letter and began a speech of praise. She thanked me for my contribution to AVMT, for my loyalty and stated she would be 'forever thankful' for what I had done for her newest daughter, Bridget McCain.
Tom Gosinski knew something was up that day, because Cindy McCain was actually in the office. His co-workers would later tell a county attorney investigator that he took the news well, but Gosinski says his outward appearance was deceiving.
"I don't know that I was that well-composed on the inside," he says. McCain allowed him to stay through January, at his request, and offered a month's severance pay.
Typed on AVMT stationery, McCain's letter read in part: "It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that I must terminate your position with AVMT. Your termination is due to the decline in contributions and our inability to continue to pay you at this time. Your service both to a small nonprofit such as we are and more importantly to the suffering peoples of the world is commendable. . . ." She offered her assistance in finding another job and signed the letter "Respectfully."
Fellow workers Orrick and Walker took Gosinski to Lombardi's restaurant at Arizona Center for a farewell lunch on his last day; McCain was invited, but didn't attend. Gosinski was hurt.
Hurt turned to disbelief, he says, when he learned he was not eligible for unemployment benefits because AVMT, as a nonprofit organization, has the luxury of opting not to pay into the kitty.
Gosinski suspected that prescriptions had been filled in his name without his knowledge. So in February 1993, a month after his termination, Gosinski met with a representative from the DEA whose name he refuses to reveal. A DEA official confirms that Gosinski first contacted the agency in "early 1993."
He says he did not go to the DEA intending to blow the whistle, but was concerned that his name might become embroiled in a future investigation. He posed what he calls a "what if" scenario: "If a person knows that prescriptions have been written in their name, and they never met with the doctor and they don't know the whereabouts of the drugs, what is their responsibility? And I was told it was my responsibility to turn it in. So at that moment I began to cooperate with the DEA."
Gosinski says he told the DEA of his suspicions, and an agent called Gosinski back to show him copies of two prescriptions written in his name, by Dr. Max Johnson at Cindy McCain's behest. Gosinski says he told the DEA he had no knowledge of the prescriptions. Gosinski says he went to Lahr Pharmacy in north-central Phoenix and asked if any prescriptions had been filled in his name. Indeed, two had; the pharmacist gave him copies, he says.
It had been months since his departure from AVMT, and he couldn't find a job. After sending out hundreds of résumés for positions in government relations and personnel, he took a part-time job at a gift shop owned by friends. He was humiliated and broke.
In late 1993, he was hired as a salesman at Borders Books & Music in Phoenix. He applied with his old employer, America West, as a new hire and got a job selling tour packages. Gosinski works 80 hours a week and makes half of what he made at AVMT.
The more he thought about AVMT, the more he became convinced that he had been wrongfully terminated. He believed that after Cindy McCain learned that he was bellyaching about prescription-writing practices--and after John McCain had been sworn into the U.S. Senate--he became expendable.
Under state law, he had just one year from the day he was fired to file a civil lawsuit against his former employer. A local labor attorney, Stan Lubin, agreed to take his case on a contingency basis, but warned Gosinski he wouldn't represent him if the case went to court--unless Gosinski could scrape together the money to pay him up-front.
Gosinski filed his lawsuit in January 1994, but kept his complaint vague and withheld specific allegations about Cindy McCain. In February, Lubin wrote a letter to one of McCain's attorneys, Gary Stuart, asking for a $250,000 settlement.
After Lubin withdrew, Gosinski searched for a new attorney, but none would take on a case against Cindy McCain. He missed subsequent deadlines to file amendments to his complaint and keep it alive.
"There is no lawsuit. It expired July 11," Stuart tells New Times.While his civil claim was withering away, a criminal investigation of Tom Gosinski was going strong.
Cindy McCain can thank her attorney, John Dowd, for thrusting the story of her drug addiction into the public realm. If Dowd had not insisted that the county attorney investigate Tom Gosinski's alleged extortion of Cindy McCain, accounts of her pill-popping likely would have remained on the cocktail circuit.
But that's Dowd's style. He's got lots of political muscle and he doesn't hesitate to flex it. The former federal prosecutor, now in private law practice in Washington, D.C., has become a fixture on the Arizona political landscape in recent years.
He represented John McCain during the Keating Five hearings, and although McCain was rebuked for his role, the senator was treated with relative lenience.
Dowd orchestrated Governor Fife Symington's favorable settlement of a $210 million suit filed against the governor by the federal Resolution Trust Corporation. Symington and Dowd attacked the governor's accusers. At one point during the ruckus, Dowd got an enterprising Mesa Tribune reporter yanked off the story by challenging him to a fistfight. When the reporter accepted--in front of a group of horrified editors--Dowd achieved his goal. (The reporter, John Dougherty, now writes for New Times.)
Dowd also served as Major League Baseball's special prosecutor in the Pete Rose and George Steinbrenner cases, relentlessly pursuing and eventually getting both men suspended. But in demolishing his quarry, Dowd's heavy-handed tactics also bloodied the office of baseball's commissioner. In his book Lords of the Realm, which examines baseball's labor history, author John Helyar describes Dowd as a "blunderbuss."
That description seems apt in the Cindy McCain case.Without Dowd, Tom Gosinski's claims against McCain and AVMT were going nowhere. His fleeting contacts with reporters were bearing no fruit. New Times interviewed Gosinski on several occasions, but he was unwilling to go on the record with his allegations. The Arizona Republic caught wind of the story and made inquiries, too.
Gosinski's assertion that Cindy McCain was addicted to painkillers required corroboration, some kind of official documentation, and when Dowd persuaded County Attorney Richard Romley to launch his extortion investigation, Dowd unwittingly provided it.
In a "confidential" April 28 letter to Romley, Dowd blurted, "We believe that Mr. Gosinski is aware that in the past Cindy had an addiction to prescription painkillers. . . . Given Cindy's public position, exposure of this sensitive matter would harm her reputation, career, the operation of AVMT, and subject her to contempt and ridicule."
There it was. On the record. In John Dowd's own words.What was in it for Romley? To Romley, the extortion investigation must have appeared to be a no-lose situation. He could take comfort in the knowledge that the DEA and the U.S. Attorney were already probing drug acquisition and handling at AVMT. The feds normally refer cases of prescription fraud to state courts, but federal sources say that because of the possibility that ill-gotten drugs had been transported out of the country, the DEA and U.S. Attorney retained jurisdiction.
That left Romley free to go after Gosinski without much fear of damaging the McCains. On May 12, Romley's office launched its extortion probe.
An edited version of the investigative report was released August 22, jarred loose by a New Times public records request. Because the McCain camp was informed that the report was to be released, there was time to set up Cindy McCain's confessions before the agreeable journalists, none of whom was aware that the report was to be released.
Barnett Lotstein, special assistant county attorney, says the office has prosecuted an average of 14 extortion charges each year since 1988. He says the Gosinski investigation is "substantially complete," but that no decision has been made on whether Gosinski will be prosecuted.
Lotstein also says it is common to provide complainants--in this case, Dowd, et al.--with opportunities to edit investigative reports before they are made public. Lotstein says Dowd and company were not shown the report, "but they did assert their privacy interests with regard to certain privacy issues."
Asked repeatedly to cite another example where complainants had been allowed to such access, Lotstein says, "I don't have a specific case, but I can tell you that it's the normal procedure."
As a sometimes-special prosecutor is wont to do, John Dowd left his mark on the county attorney's investigation. About one-fourth of the 200-plus pages in the report consists of Dowd submissions, including a 26-page diatribe dated June 14 that reads like an insider's summary of the investigation to that point.
Dowd met with the investigators on at least one occasion, June 27. And the phone lines between Dowd's D.C. office and the County Attorney's Office apparently were buzzing.
The report indicates that Dowd landed some blows, and took some as well. Portions of it seem to buttress Dowd's claim that Tom Gosinski was attempting "a shakedown." Gosinski's colleagues at AVMT heard him say he would be willing to use what he knew about Cindy McCain to enrich himself.
AVMT employee Tracy Orrick told investigators Gosinski "would make comments like, 'I wonder how much Cindy's father would pay to keep this quiet,' referring to gossip around the office."
Kathy Walker--who is identified in the report as being "employed by Hensley & Company as Cindy McCain's Administrative Assistant and Director of Operations" of AVMT--told investigators that Gosinski told her in November 1992 that "I'm going to get her [McCain], I'm going to blackmail her if she ever fires me."
Gosinski denies ever threatening to blackmail McCain, and says he's saddened by Orrick's and Walker's statements. Gosinski claims that Walker and Orrick often joined in speculation about their job security, based on their observations of Cindy McCain.
"I truly don't understand that," he says. "I think it's noteworthy, though, that Kathy Walker is still employed by Mrs. McCain, as is Tracy [Orrick], and that Kathy Walker, in fact, picked up prescriptions written in [Walker's] name by a doctor and had them filled even though she had no need for them."Indeed, both Orrick and Walker told investigators that they became aware that prescriptions for controlled substances were being written in their names, and Dr. John Max Johnson, AVMT's medical director, admitted writing prescriptions in the names of Orrick, Walker and Gosinski.
Orrick told investigators that when Gosinski learned that prescriptions had been written in Orrick's and Walker's names, he declared, "They'd better not be doing that in my name."
Some prescriptions were for quantities of 400 and 500 pills. Sometimes, Cindy McCain would go to Johnson's home to pick up the prescription. Sometimes, she would send an underling, Johnson said.
Johnson told investigators that he never dispensed any painkillers during overseas missions, and that Cindy McCain carried the drugs in her personal luggage. Gosinski says he knew of no doctors who prescribed them on an overseas mission. Dr. Dennis Everton, however, tells New Times that on his sole AVMT mission--to Kuwait in 1991--he did prescribe pain medication.
Johnson told investigators that he wrote prescriptions in employees' names even though he knew it was improper. Johnson said he also wrote two prescriptions for painkillers for Cindy McCain, although he was unaware that she was addicted to them. Johnson is being investigated by the Arizona Board of Medical Examiners, which has the power to revoke or suspend his license.
The report raises questions about Walker's veracity. Orrick told investigators that after Gosinski was fired, she received four or five inquiries from prospective employers. She says he forwarded the calls to Walker after specifically informing her of their nature. When Walker was interviewed separately, however, she denied receiving inquiries from prospective employers. Instead, she stated that unidentified people had called, asking where Gosinski could be located.
"Ms. Walker seemed somewhat confused on this issue but stated that no prospective employers had called her," the investigative report states. "It should be noted that Tracy Orrick previously stated that four or five prospective employers did call AVMT requesting to speak with the personnel manager. Tracy said she turned these calls over to Kathy Walker."The discrepancy may be significant, because although he has yet to offer solid proof, Gosinski believes that AVMT sabotaged his job prospects elsewhere.
It also seems noteworthy that throughout the wide-ranging county extortion probe, nobody from AVMT was asked to verify the condition of the organization's finances at the time Gosinski was fired because of a funding shortfall. AVMT appears to be intertwined with Hensley & Company, the beer distributorship owned by Cindy McCain's father. In fact, when Gosinski was hired at AVMT, he filled out an employment form from Hensley & Company.
In letters urging county investigators onward, Dowd asserts that Stan Lubin, who initially represented Gosinski in his lawsuit against AVMT and Cindy McCain, was persuaded to quit the case after meeting with Dowd and fellow AVMT attorney Gary Stuart in February and March of 1994. "We informed Mr. Lubin that Mr. Gosinski's allegations were false and presented facts refuting the allegations," Dowd wrote. "As a result of the meetings, Mr. Lubin decided to terminate his representation of Mr. Gosinski."
Not so, says Lubin."For him to say that I withdrew because of so-called irrefutable evidence is an absolute lie. I never said that," Lubin tells New Times.
In his February 4 demand letter to McCain's lawyers, Lubin wrote, "Due to the sensitive nature of the circumstances surrounding her actions, Mr. Gosinski has kept the allegations in the complaint very general. . . . I am sure you recognize what he has done to keep the sensitive matters from exposure."
He also stated that Gosinski was willing to settle the suit for $250,000.What John Dowd views as extortion, Gosinski and Lubin view as compassion."Based upon what I knew at the time, and what I think today, he [Gosinski] was wronged," Lubin says. "He was treated badly. And I think he has some legal remedies.
"What's wrong, then, with writing a demand letter and saying in it, 'Hey, nobody needs publicity. Let's resolve this. We have a legitimate claim. Let's resolve this quietly.' . . . And so I said what I said with that in mind. And I'm not going to retract one word of it.
"Dowd is trying to make a lot of noise with it, but, good God, look at what he's doing. He's threatening someone with criminal action if he files a lawsuit. . . . There's a lot of things that get done that you try to keep quiet, not because of any evil motive but because you have some compassion. And this is what's happened to Gosinski, who said to me, 'Good idea, yes, let's keep it quiet. I don't need any ink. They don't need any ink. This woman is ill. We don't need ink. I just want to be remedied.'
"That is not extortion. To claim that it is is bullshit."
John Dowd may have unleashed the media hounds on Cindy McCain, and he might never get an extortion charge filed against Gosinski. But local defense attorneys who have monitored the case say there is little doubt that he has secured a highly favorable deal for his client with federal prosecutors. First and foremost, the case has remained a federal one. That's unusual.
"Federal prosecutors routinely throw this stuff to state prosecutors," says one Phoenix attorney. "The DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office are not in the habit of popping penny-ante drug offenders."Second, the federal pretrial diversion program requires complete confidentiality, which is required at this stage of the investigation in any case. Moreover, although it is not clear what laws the feds believe Cindy McCain has broken, it seems likely that her offenses would be treated as misdemeanors.
"At worst, she probably could have gotten ten to 16 months," says one defense attorney who researched federal sentencing guidelines. He adds that under federal guidelines, McCain looks like a good candidate for diversion.
Another defense attorney says that in cases like McCain's, it is not uncommon for prosecutors to attempt to seize the offender's property, which, among other things, would include an interest in Hensley & Company and the McCains' North Central Avenue residence.
That attorney also says that Cindy McCain and John Dowd have done a service to other drug offenders.
"We're certainly going to jump on this when we have a client in a similar position," he says. "When we have a client that's charged in this same kind of 'script' writing, if the behavior is milder than Cindy McCain's, we should be getting diversion."State courts would have offered a much greater challenge for Dowd and his client.
"If she were charged in state court--and there is an offense that fits her case to a T--she's looking at Class 3 felonies," says one defense attorney. "If we assume conservatively that there were six separate counts, her liability in state court is astronomical. She could have been looking at ten to 20 years, with a presumptive sentence of 11.25 years and two-thirds served before she would be eligible for parole.
"If I had a client named José Lopez, I'm not so sure we wouldn't be looking at that."
Doug McEachern, a reporter for Tribune Newspapers, was one of the chosen few who was leaked the Cindy McCain saga. The resulting August 22 lead paragraph: "She was blonde and beautiful. A rich man's daughter who became a politically powerful man's wife. She had it all, including an insidious addiction to drugs that sapped the beauty from her life like a spider on a butterfly."
As most East Valley residents were fathoming McEachern's piece that Monday morning, New Times and the Arizona Republic were securing copies of Romley's investigative report. (The Republic, acting on a tip, made a public records request for the report that very morning; New Times' had been made 19 days earlier.)
Armed with the report, the Republic, which had been left out of the Cindy McCain exclusives, carried a front-page story on Tuesday morning that told of Tom Gosinski's lawsuit and the extortion investigation.
McEachern, a veteran political reporter, knew he had been had. "I'm not so sure it was a lie," McEachern says of the spin job. "It was hedging the truth."
McEachern dashed back to the subject like a lemming on a cliff. In an August 24 analysis, he attempted to explain why he'd only reported half the story the first time around. Again, he employed imagery: "News is not static. It flows like summer rain down a wash. The first bubbling rivulets coming down over the rocks may carry just a few nuggets of a big story. Later, as details become clear, the story eventually may build into a raging, foaming torrent."
If there was no torrent, a steady trickle fell on the McCain camp over the next week. The Republic, apparently piqued at being stiffed on the initial story, carried reports about Cindy McCain's drug habit on the front page every day during the week, and ran another piece on B1 on Saturday.
And all the while, key facts were out of whack. Steve Meissner of the Arizona Daily Star reported that Cindy McCain had completed "a diversion program established by the U.S. Attorney's Office."
Meissner says both Smith and Cindy McCain told him that she had completed a diversion program. "Then they put out a statement saying that--quote, inaccurate press accounts, unquote--had made it sound as though she had already completed the diversion program," Meissner says. "So I confronted them to that effect, and Jay Smith said that he was telling me what the lawyers were authorizing him to say and he said he didn't know what a diversion program was."
All of the McCain camp's wild talk of the diversion program and twisted investigation chronology no doubt rankled federal prosecutors and DEA agents, who are not able to comment on a case under investigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix actually issued Cindy McCain's statement about the inaccurate press accounts. The release went on to say that she had merely applied for the diversion program. The statement also indicated that McCain had agreed to reorganize AVMT, and pay for the cost of the federal investigation.
Accounts of Cindy McCain's drug treatment and exactly when her husband learned of her addiction don't jibe.
Phoenix Gazette columnist John Kolbe, who compared Cindy McCain's addiction to her husband's captivity in a Vietnamese POW camp, devoted a paragraph to the revelation that it was John Dowd who informed the senator that his wife was an addict in January 1994. County records show that Dowd was representing Cindy McCain in talks with the DEA in May 1993.
Both Kolbe and McEachern reported that McCain had checked into a drug rehab clinic in Wickenburg earlier this year.
But in their report, county attorney's investigators state flatly: "Mrs. McCain admits that she acquired a drug dependency for Percocet because of a back problem and received rehabilitation in Wickenburg Arizona in 1991 & 1992."
Dowd, after agreeing to a phone interview with New Times on Monday afternoon, changed his mind. Jay Smith and John and Cindy McCain did not respond to requests for interviews.
As is his habit, Tom Gosinski rose on Monday, August 22, and turned on a morning news show. He was nearly floored by what he heard.
"They announced that in the next segment they would be discussing Mrs. McCain . . . and that she was a drug addict," he says.
"I had no idea the story was coming out."After more than two years of tumult, Gosinski felt a tremendous burden slip from his shoulders. That morning, co-workers at America West who had doubted Gosinski's claims approached him to apologize.
"I felt really good that the story was out. . . . I also felt like this thing was coming clean--everything that I had said, everything that I had suggested to the DEA when I first went to them and everything that I had been talking about for a year and a half."That was Monday. On Tuesday, news of Romley's extortion investigation broke. Reporters flocked to Gosinski's workplace, seeking interviews. By Thursday, the papers were quoting John McCain as calling Gosinski a liar.
By Saturday, Gosinski was almost too rattled to tell his side of the story. But he did. After nearly five hours of answering questions, he struggles to answer a query about his feelings toward Cindy McCain.
"I feel bad for Cindy. And I truly do. Cindy was an addict; she's admitted to it. [But] I don't think that excuses the things she's done to obtain drugs or the way she treated people."
Dear Friends,
I'm asking you to join me in taking action to stop a slanderous smear on Senator Obama. I don't think the slander bears repeating, but I know that a man telling a patently false story does not deserve a chance to tell that story to the national media.
So I hope that you will join me in petitioning the National Press Club to check the facts before giving the microphone to Larry Sinclair on June 18:
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/petition/stoppingsinclair/khkie
Thank You
I think the one good thing that could come out of this election, besides Sen. Obama winning the White House, is that people of other backgrounds, cultures and races will have gotten to see what blacks have seen for decades in this country.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/06/the-barack-obam.html
Since all the talk about Hillary as VP, I think I'll now wait to see who he chooses before I give another dime, because she is not acceptable. I gave my first donation to be counted in the May totals, but now I need to make sure I'm not funding the wrong thing... Hillary for VP. That's a bad choice. An unacceptable choice. I could have voted for her if I wanted her.
