-- How's That Drug War Working Out for You? Traces of cocaine can be found on 80 percent of the US currency in circulation, according to The Discovery Channel's 'Mostly True Stories' series. Come on, folks, let's increase the budget for the War on Drugs and get that number up to 90 or 95 percent. -- A Prediction: In 50 years all of the ugly truth will emerge about the Reagan and Poppy Bush presidencies, should the country survive, and they will be relegated to their proper places on the list of US presidents, lounging down near the bottom with Milliard Fillmore and James Buchanan. While you may find the occasional Ronald Reagan Memorial Corn Crib or George H. W. Bush State Penitentiary for the Insane in parts of the south and Midwest, the Reagan Airport in Washington will have a new name and the aircraft carrier that bears Bush Senior's moniker will have turned into rust in dry dock. And what of Bush Junior, the worst president in our history? Americans will spit disgustedly after saying his name and he will have the distinction of coming in dead last on every presidential scorecard, if he manages to avoid jail. San Francisco has shone the way regarding appropriate memorials for Shrub's occupations of the nation's highest office – some of the city's residents have plans to name a sewage treatment plant in his honor. Speaking of shrubs, perhaps a future landscaper will create Mount Bushmore – a large hedge trimmed to look like Mad Magazine mascot Alfred E. Newman reading 'My Pet Goat.' -- Exposing his true self, the human-like excrescence that calls himself Karl Rove has once again revealed his Inner Doofus by describing Obama as some kind of Tex Avery cartoon snob, a snarky cad who hangs around country clubs with a beautiful woman on his arm, drinking martinis and making snide remarks about the other members. As someone said on TV yesterday, isn't that what you're supposed to do when hanging out at elite country clubs that welcome pampered white Republican twits like Rove? BTW, I never bought the Boy Genius angle, either – Karl has used essentially the same playbook in every election he's ever been involved in and his only 'edge' is that he's sociopathic and nasty enough to commit atrocities that cause even the degenerate moral eunuchs who make their livings as political campaign managers to turn their heads in revulsion. And he's also willing to lie and cheat without blinking an eye. Decent, self-respecting people keep the children and domestic pets in the house when they see a man like Rove coming, which explains his acceptance and even praise by the demented wretches who rewrite government press releases and call it national news – most are either unmitigated cowards or as free of conscience about the consequences of their work as Karl is about his. -- Here's How You Can Tell When Conventional Wisdom is Wrong: When every babbling gasbag from David "St. Yoda" Broder to Bill "Steaming Pile of Humanity" O'Reilly to Tom "Filling Russert's Shoes" Brokaw to Gloria "DC Madam" Borger to Michele "Independent, ha, ha, Women's Forum" Bernard to Pat "Shine My Shoes, Boy" Buchanan all agree on some ragged piece of CW. In the past it's been the public's surpassing lust for the tough-on-terrorists Rudy Giuliani that resulted in 'America's Mayor' scoring all of one single GOP presidential primary delegate in Florida; then it was the incessant Punditrocracy gum-beating over Hillary Clinton's overflowing campaign war chest and can't-miss rack of seasoned professionals on her campaign staff that resulted in newbie Barack Obama becoming the Dem nominee. Now it's the latest CW bullroar that a terrorist attack on American soil before the November elections will undoubtedly redound to John McCain's benefit. Really. Since the only thin rag the GOP has left to wave as a flag is that there have been no further terrorist attacks inside the US since 9/11 (and no impertinent member of the genuflectors of the domesticated White House Press Corps has dared ask a Republican exactly why Bush didn't try to stop that attack after he was warned of Bin Laden's plans to strike us by the CIA on August 6, 2001), it would seem more logical for the public to blame the Republicans and McCain for falling down on the job rather than dumbly accept that somehow the GOP is better at fighting terrorism after allowing two major attacks within our country. File this bit of overblown CW head-nodding with the notion that Jeremiah Wright was going to end Obama's presidential bid, and that he wasn't doing well with Hispanic voters, until the poll came out that 62 percent favored him over McCain. Speaking of McCain, the majority of the Punditry Echoplex also agreed his candidacy was over in December of last year.

McCAIN IS OLDER THAN.........  ADD YOUR SUGGESTIONS......

McCain's Flip Flops (the definitive tally)

John McCain has had a bewildering array of positions, often on the same issues. This post will be regularly updated as new positions come to light. Keep checking back, and please e-mail us with tips (mccainisinsane at gmail dot com). UPDATED 6/20/08 Torture BEFORE McCain 11/16/07: "One of the things that kept us going when I was in prison in North Vietnam was that we knew that if the situation were reversed, that we would not be doing to our captors what they were doing to us" "I want to tell you. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney all think it is O.K. They have one thing in common. They don’t understand the military and the culture of this nation. If they did, they could never condone such behavior." [NY Times] AFTER McCain votes against a ban on CIA torture. [NY Times] Special Interests BEFORE McCain: "I'm the only one special interests don't give any money to." [YouTube] AFTER McCain's campaign manager and many key campaign officials are telecom lobbyists, who have given at least $765,000 to his campaign (and that's just one special interest) [USA Today] Campaign Finance Laws BEFORE McCain author of McCain Feingold amendment, limiting use of soft money in campaigns. [Wikipedia] AFTER 3/21/08: McCain likely in violation of campaign finance laws. [WashPost] Jerry Falwell BEFORE McCain 2/28/2000: "I am a pro-life, pro-family fiscal conservative, an advocate of a strong defense, and yet Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and a few Washington leaders of the pro-life movement call me an unacceptable presidential candidate. They distort my pro- life positions and smear the reputations of my supporters. Why? Because I don't pander to them, because I don't ascribe to their failed philosophy that money is our message." McCain 2/29/2000: calls Robertson and Falwell "agents of intolerance." [IHT] AFTER McCain gives commencement speech at Falwell's Liberty University, cozies up to Falwell. [ABC] Iraq BEFORE McCain 9/29/02: “We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.” McCain 1/22/03: “But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [ThinkProgress] AFTER McCain: 1/4/07: "When I voted to support this war, I knew it was probably going to be long and hard and tough, and those that voted for it and thought that somehow it was going to be some kind of an easy task, then I’m sorry they were mistaken. Maybe they didn’t know what they were voting for." [ThinkProgress] Abortion BEFORE McCain 8/24/99: "But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." [WashPost]  McCain Flip Flops on Abortion   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeBw28tX5Nw AFTER McCain 2/18/07: "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned" [MSNBC] Bush's tax cuts BEFORE McCain 5/26/01: "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief." [McCain's Senate website] AFTER In 2006 McCain votes to extend Bush tax cuts [MediaMatters] Ethanol [hat tip Carpetbagger] BEFORE McCain 11/03: "Ethanol is a product that would not exist if Congress didn't create an artificial market for it. No one would be willing to buy it. Yet thanks to agricultural subsidies and ethanol producer subsidies, it is now a very big business - tens of billions of dollars that have enriched a handful of corporate interests - primarily one big corporation, ADM. Ethanol does nothing to reduce fuel consumption, nothing to increase our energy independence, nothing to improve air quality." [CNN] AFTER McCain 8/06: "I support ethanol and I think it is a vital, a vital alternative energy source not only because of our dependency on foreign oil but its greenhouse gas reduction effects." [CNN] Gay Marriage [hat tip anon] Well, just watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeBw28tX5Nw Confederate Flag [hat tip The Real McCain] BEFORE McCain 1/12/00: "Personally, I see the flag as symbol of heritage." AFTER McCain 4/19/00: "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary. So I chose to compromise my principles." [CNN] Gun control BEFORE In 2001, McCain and Lieberman introduce legislation to regulate gun shows. [HuffPo] AFTER McCain 4/19/07: "I strongly support the Second Amendment and I believe the Second Amendment ought to be preserved, which means no gun control" [WashPost] Moqtada al Sadr [hat tip Think Progress] BEFORE McCain week of 3/16/08: "His influence has been on the wane for a long time." [CNN via Think Progress] AFTER 4/1/08: "I said he was still major player and his influence is going to have to be reduced and gradually eliminated." [CNN via Think Progress] Housing Relief BEFORE March 2008: "It is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers." [NY Times] AFTER 4/11/08: "Let me make it clear, that in these challenging times, I am committed to using all the resources of this government and great nation to create opportunity and make sure that every deserving American has a good job and can achieve their American dream." [NY Times The Press and Hillary BEFORE "The media often overlooked how compassionately [Hillary Clinton] spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of Americans.” AFTER “I did not [say that]." [Think Progress] The Estate Tax BEFORE "I am concerned that repeal of the estate tax would provide massive benefits solely to the wealthiest and highest-income taxpayers in the country. A Treasury Department study found that almost no estate tax has been paid by lower- and middle-income taxpayers. But taxes have been paid on the estates of people who were in the highest 20% of the income distribution at the time of their death. It found that 91% of all estate taxes are paid by the estates of people whose annual income exceeded $190,000 around the time of their death." AFTER "Another of my disagreements with Senator Obama concerns the estate tax, which he proposes to increase to a top rate of 55 percent. The estate tax is one of the most unfair tax laws on the books, and the first step to reform is to keep it predictable and keep it low." [Matthew Yglesias] Wiretaps BEFORE "There are some areas where the statutes don’t apply, such as in the surveillance of overseas communications. Where they do apply, however, I think that presidents have the obligation to obey and enforce laws that are passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, no matter what the situation is." AFTER McCain spokesman: "Neither the administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions that most people, except for the A.C.L.U. and trial lawyers, understand were constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001,” [NY Times] Immigration Reform #1 BEFORE McCain introduces bill on immigration reform. AFTER January 30, 2008, when asked if he would vote for his own bill: ""No, I would not, because we know what the situation is today. The people want the borders secured first."" [MediaMatters] #2 BEFORE May 22, 2008: "[We must enact comprehensive immigration reform. We must make it a top agenda item if we don’t do it before, and we probably won’t, a little straight talk, as of January 2009." AFTER National Review: "Team McCain tells me the senator’s comments were poorly worded. There’s been no discussion within the campaign of altering their stance on illegal immigration, and as far as everyone on the campaign is concerned, the policy is still, ’secure the border first.’" [Think Progress] Offshore drilling BEFORE 1999 campaign: McCain opposes offshore drilling AFTER McCain 6/15/08: ""There are areas off our coasts that should be open to exploration and exploitation, and I hope we can take the first step by lifting the moratoria." [MotherJones] Social Security BEFORE McCain 11/28/04: “Without privatization, I don’t see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.” AFTER McCain 6/12/08: "I’m not for, quote, privatizing Social Security. I never have been. I never will be." [Think Progress] Hurricane Katrina investigations BEFORE 2006: McCain opposes commission to study government's response to Hurricane Katrina. [LA Times] AFTER McCain 6/4/08: "I’ve supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy." [Think Progress] http://howinsaneisjohnmccain.blogspot.com/2008/03/mccain-never-met-position-he-didnt-like.html