Reader comments
Obama and McCain on the hunt for v.p.'s

Mel | 7:46 a.m. May 23, 2008

McCain is going to lose, so it really doesn't matter who he chooses. Obama should select Chuck Hagel, a real Republican and anti war congressman from Kansas. If not Hagel, then Sibellius(sp), the woman governor of Kansas.

RR | 10:19 a.m. May 23, 2008

Not necessarily. Look at what Clinton voters are saying about Obama. They vote for anyone but Obama, and some have even said they'd vote for McCain.

Why? | 10:21 a.m. May 23, 2008

In your headline you have "v.p.'s" which is a possessive. You would correctly spell out vice president and add an "s" to make it correct. The News quality of headlines online has become problematic. Is no one there qualified in the English language? Or have you out sourced this too?

Comments continue below

Lewt | 10:29 a.m. May 23, 2008

Hagel's a Republican, but he's from Nebraska. Brownback, a onetime candidate, is from Kansas.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 4:08 p.m. May 23, 2008

Mr. Obama's remarks are insulting to a lot of folks. It's kind of like Abraham Lincoln said, "God must love the common people because he made so many of them". His remarks make me think that Obama doesn't know the people of this country very well. I'm sure he knows the jet set and the Hollywood bunch, the limousine liberals and the save the whales, kill the babies crowd, but does he think that the ordinary people don't count? Does he think that they're so stupid that they don't know who he's talking about when he says these things? Does he think their opinions aren't important? Apparently. How can a man stand in front of America and tell people what he wants to do for them and have so little respect for a whole segment of the population. In fact, a very large segment. Does that mean that he would only represent the high-minded liberal ideals of the far left and ignore the rest of us? What kind of Commander and Chief would he make if he doesn't respect the very people who make up the lion's share of the armed forces.

Mark B | 7:10 p.m. May 23, 2008

Brother Chuck, it seems you're trying to assume a whole belief system from one quote. Wouldn't it be more accurate to see what the man's work has been aimed at? Didn't someone say that it was by "their fruits" that people should be known? There's no record of Obama being connected with any jet set or Hollywood types (as if we had the ability to judge all of THEM), and whatever wealth he has comes from work done by him and his wife. Nobody married into any fortune here. His experience guarantees that he's seen things from more than one side, and all types of people now work in his campaign. If a guy looks hard enough, he'll find things to dislike, just as anyone could with your or my life. But he didn't overcome all these obstacles, not to mention some formidable competitors, by being made of spun sugar. Here's someone in his prime who's shone a great example to America's youth. Anyway, just make fair judgments.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 8:33 p.m. May 23, 2008

Mc Cain is a good man, he's for Veteran's, hope he also brings back The Draft also, if for anything else, to clean up our gene pool, of what gives America a bad name.

Mark B | 8:43 p.m. May 23, 2008

Let's see if McCain votes against the president on expanded GI benefits. Bush says he'll veto it. I don't get your comment on "gene pool", but I see some great people who are the results of stirring it up.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 8:52 p.m. May 23, 2008

McCain is for Veterans - America owes its liberty, its prosperity and its future to our veterans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our great country. Please remember and honor our proud veterans and service members this Memorial Day weekend. I served from 69 - 75 in the US Army. The Viet Nam era. Where did you serve at son ?.

Better yet - just where did Obama serve at?.

McCain will NEVER vote against the President on expanded GI benefits. No POW would.

JC | 8:59 p.m. May 23, 2008

Mark, I think McCain was against the version of the GI Bill that is up for vote. He believes that it will lower retention rates or something. I can't remember the details. It is one of the few things I disagree with him on but not enough to not vote for him. Being a Veteran who got out of the Air Force last year and currently using the GI Bill, I prefer the one up for vote right now.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 8:59 p.m. May 23, 2008

Our military has never lost a war. Our losses have been at the hands of cowardly politicians who don't have the guts to stay the course. This country has paid a terrible price for our freedom and if you visit any military cemetery and consider that every name on every tombstone is a father, mother, son or daughter who left home and family and gave their life for the country they love, it comes home to you just how terrible that price was. Every citizen of this nation owes an unpayable debt of gratitude to every man and women who has ever worn the uniform whether in wartime or peacetime. They deserve our support, our prayers and our allegiance.

JC | 9:01 p.m. May 23, 2008

Oh and McCain has his own version but it is not as attractive as the one up for vote.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 9:11 p.m. May 23, 2008

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who lead this country through some of the most difficult financial times we've ever experienced, who led us out of the Great Depression and led us through the darkest days of the Second World War. The man who said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Harry S. Truman, the implacable little Missourian who ended the war and saved untold lives by dropping the only atomic bombs ever used in battle. The man who said, "The buck stops here." Ronald Reagan, who regained America's military power and prestige and who was not afraid to use it. The man who said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. What ever happened to all the great leaders?

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 9:19 p.m. May 23, 2008

Socialism is like a snake; it can creep silently in and stay around until the opportunity to bite comes along. Socialism is one of those things that sounds good on paper but never has and never will work out in practicality. Socialism sounds like a noble Robin Hood, share and share alike proposition where all the money goes into one pot and is distributed by a central government which makes the decisions about what you get and what you don't get. Actually there is no such thing as mass socialism because you can't administer such an undertaking without a mega massive bureaucracy which is actually a totalitarian police state were everybody watches everybody else and if you don't toe the line you get the midnight knock on the door. If you don't believe that, research the communist histories of Russia, Cuba, the Eastern block countries and look what Hugo Chavez is doing to Venezuela.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 9:43 p.m. May 23, 2008

Look at what Clinton voters are NOT saying - Under Clinton a single person making $30,000 a year paid $8,400 Under Bush that same person pays $4,500 Under Clinton a single person making $50,000 paid $14,000 Under Bush the same person pays $12,500 Under Clinton a married person making $60,000 paid $16,800 The same person under Bush pays $9,000 I won't list every income bracket, but in every case the taxes under Clinton are significantly higher. If we returned to the rates of the nineties would that really be raising taxes on the rich? I think not.

Mark B | 10:12 p.m. May 23, 2008

Wow. Looks like I touched a nerve somewhere. How do faithful guys like Chuck feel about deficits? The murderers row of deficits all came under presidents named Reagan or Bush. If McCain wants a lower deficit, it will have to be because either more taxes get collected or less money spent. Take your pick, Chuck. And just to try to make it clear, it's Bush who's threatening to veto expanded vet benefits. Is Bush another veteran who's a hero?

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 10:21 p.m. May 23, 2008

U.S. Senator John McCain submitted the following statement for the Congressional Record regarding H.R. 2642. Congress has an obligation to provide our servicemen and women with the resources they need to fulfill their mission. Yet we have, once again, chosen to abrogate our duties and use this bill as a vehicle to fund various domestic projects that were not requested by the President, nor are they authorized, and have not been handled through the appropriate legislative process. I believe America has an obligation to provide unwavering support to our veterans, active duty servicemembers, Guard and Reserves. Men and women who have served their country deserve the best education benefits we are able to give them, and they deserve to receive them as quickly as possible and in a manner that not only promotes recruitment efforts, but also promotes retention of servicemembers. What did Barack Obama do?

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 10:31 p.m. May 23, 2008

John McCain has fallen hook line and sinker for the global warming hoax and joins Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in proposing actions that would be catastrophic to business in America while not laying a finger on the real culprits in China and India.The three of them claim to have different approaches to health care but as usual the devil is in the details and the only thing any of them are proposing is a massive socialist, government-controlled program that will have disastrous effects on America's economy and lower the standard of healthcare as it has with the other unfortunate nations where it has been unsuccessfully tried. The best thing any of them can come up with to solve the energy crisis is to take about eighteen cents of federal tax off a gallon of gas for the summer, a totally symbolic gesture that makes absolutely no difference while the gas companies raise the price every day. They're all opposed to drilling in ANWR and just about every other practical solution anybody has come up with. So what are our choices here? McCain really cares about the War on Terror and the men and women in our military.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 10:42 p.m. May 23, 2008

We are all hung up in the ever changing situation of the presidential race, as we well should be, but let's don't forget that the people who actually pass the laws are up for reelection too and about 80% of them should be sent home because they ain't done nothing and they ain't gonna to do nothing. The government's first answer to any problem is to throw money at it, which would be fine if it was their money they were throwing, but we all know where it's coming from in the end. And therein lies the problem. What it boils down to is that our politicians simply don't have the cajones to take on the hardcore environmentalists. Not only do they not want to explore for new sources of oil, they don't even want to harvest the known sources, and even if we did produce the crude we don't have the capacity to refine it, since there hasn't been a new refinery built in decades.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 10:45 p.m. May 23, 2008

China, India, Japan, and other countries are easing their dependence on fossil fuels by building additional nuclear power plants, but we can't go that route because the same people don't want nuclear, and Washington is being it's usual gutless self.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 10:55 p.m. May 23, 2008

I wonder if any network anchorman will look into Bill Clinton's murky military service or lack thereof, don't hold your breath. Hillary Clinton is dragging a lot of baggage around behind her but don't look for the media to cast their eyes in that direction. But keep your attention on her opposition, you can bet your last dollar that every inch of their lives will be microscopically examined and anything that sticks out, regardless of how innocent, will be exploited by the lap dogs in our national media. Fasten your seatbelts and hang on tight folks, this one is going to be a long bumpy ride and nobody who chooses to throw their hat in the ring, Democrat or Republican, is going to come out without scratches and bruises.

JC | 11:05 p.m. May 23, 2008

Brother Chuck,
McCain's proposal would raise the monthly benefits to $1500 a month, $500 a year for books and make the GI Bill transferable to family members after serving a certain amount of years in the military. Webb's proposal will pay for full tuition and pay a monthly living allowance that is equal to E-5 housing pay (when I was in, I got $660 a month for housing pay in 2007, 2008 is $801/month). As long as it keeps the monthly pay the same (I currently get $1250 a month while attending classes full time), it is the better version for me.

I do see where McCain has a problem with Webb's version concerning retention. I wouldn't be suprised if a quite a few soldiers separate if it is that attractive. If I was still in I know for a fact that I wouldn't hesitate. It took me 2 years of planning, saving and working out a budget so that I could separate and go to school with the current GI Bill.

I just hope that whatever version passes gets grandfathered so I can use it. 10 years service, two tours in Iraq, I think I earned it.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 11:29 p.m. May 23, 2008

Clinton and Obama will NOT do this, perhaps McCain will. When America controlled inflation, and reduced budget deficits like we did in 1998, the price of oil dropped to $11 a barrel 1,163 percent less than todayï¿½s price. The government controls oil prices. Our industries are sold to red communist devils, because our representatives sold us down the river and couldnï¿½t or wouldnï¿½t balance the budget. Washingtonï¿½s greed is unquenchable, the loss of Americaï¿½s industry is a crime of horrendous proportion that no other country in history has made such a fatal mistake. If we want peace and prosperity, jobs, reasonable food, oil, and gas prices, the first thing we should do is balance the federal budget thru the use of tariffs on manufactured goods.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 6:57 p.m. May 24, 2008

JC - something's in life are better than just going to school, after one leaves the Military, to milk that system, get as many degrees as one can, only to wind up as a manager at some Mickey Dee's or flipping burgers, till they wake up and smell the coffee. Try this, have Congress raise up the "Federal Poverty Wage Guideliles" to $75,000 for a Married couple without any dependants, that was the Veteran could get a $1,900 a month VA Pension, and if one is disabled, the other spouse could get $1900 a month to stay at home and care for that Vet, plus one could still draw your SSI check as well. THAT'S THE KEY to your golden door, that unlocks evert City, State, Federal program. Bill Clinton vetoed it in HIS second term in Office, when the House and Senate all said yes to this. Since that time, it's been on the back burner. ALL HONORABLE DISCHARGED VETS should be able to get this - this way - Not under any GI Bill either. Did you know this ?. Better get busy. I know it for a fact.

Barbara | 8:22 a.m. June 6, 2008

I'm an Independent who leans Republican but I will not vote for John McCain, nor do I think he's going to win the presidency. I really wanted Chuck Hagel to run for election but, since he's not, he would be an EXCELLENT choice for V.P. - if he'd agree to it. It would make me vote Democratic this year. I feel Wesley Clark would be a very good Secretary of Defense, and Sam Nunn for Homeland Security. Amen

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