Senator McCain's Speech on Foreign Policy

Senator McCain, in what was billed as a major foreign policy speech, this week in Los Angeles made the case why his supporters should vote for the Democratic nominee in the general election.  The following phrases were used by Senator McCain:

 

Calls for stronger ties with allies and cautioned that American power does not mean that we can do what we want, wherever we want, whenever we want.  The government should close Guantanamo Bay prison and work with allies to forge a new understanding on how to treat detainees.  America needs to be good stewards of our planet and urge steps to limit green house gas emissions. 

 

Those are the same positions that Democrats have long been advocating.  However, this is an election year,  so John McCain is trying to distance himself from Bush and his past support of Bush's policies.  The Senator will say anything to try and mask his blunders concerning foreign policy.  McCain was an early backer of going it alone in Iraq.  His late embrace of diplomacy is only a campaign speech.  Remember the Republican control of Congress which McCain was part of backed Bush's policies to the hilt.

 

As for his call for a new understanding on how to treat detainees, it is a mere political statement because we already have one.  It's called the Geneva Convention and America's own rules and regulations for treating detainees.  McCain has flipped flopped on this issue now for sometime.  His attitude on the Iraq war is still the same: stay the course with no end in sight and no plan or policy to define success, much less end the war.

 

Senator McCain also mentioned early in his speech President Truman's leadership in foreign policy.  Republican presidential hopefuls always talk about past Democratic presidents when they are looking for votes because those Presidents were good at developing foreign policies that worked.  One thing is for certain, President Truman would never have invaded and occupied a country over WMD that did not exist.  He would have recognized that Iraq was not a threat to our national security.  He would have also had something to say in strong words to McCain, Bush, and others who still support this unnecessary war. 

 

The Senator will be making many speeches before November in an effort to change his image and positions he has held on the war, the economy, the planet, immigration and etc., and you can be sure he will be moving closer to the Democrats' positions on those issues.  What the people need to remember is that the Republicans have made an art out of lying and the policies McCain now backs away from, are the same ones he has proudly defended for many many years in the Senate.