McCain Wins Coveted LA Times Endorsement

Courage and morality - if only he wasn't playing so shrewdly by changing his positions for the primaries. But, what the hell, they know what they're going to get if he wins. Now all he has to do is convince those dumb, evil Republicans to enlighten themselves. Climb aboard the straight talk express. Just don't expect any unless, or until he seals the deal.

As noted, we do not support his determination to fight on in Iraq, but we welcome his insistence that America's military posture be matched by its moral purpose. Alone among the Republican candidates, he would close the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which has become an international symbol of U.S. arrogance. He has waged a principled and persistent effort to end the Bush administration's embrace of torture as a weapon of war, a frightening concession to terrorism and an abdication of basic American values. He alone among the Republican candidates has condemned torture in all its forms; he alone among all the candidates in this race has endured it.

Then there is an issue on which McCain has broken from the mainstream of his party and on which the party would do well to rejoin him: immigration. As the Republican field indulged this campaign season in an orgy of ignorance on immigration, McCain stood his ground, sponsoring legislation that would provide a route to citizenship for the 11 million to 12 million immigrants here illegally. His rivals have argued for mass deportations and strong border fences. McCain too backs toughened enforcement, but he has defended the humanity of those at the center of this debate. "We are all God's children," he says with conviction. McCain equivocated alarmingly on this issue last week, saying during the GOP debate that he would not today support the immigration bill that he courageously championed last summer. He should return to his support for immigration reform, and Republicans should follow him.

Similarly, McCain has led his party in its halting effort to confront the reality of climate change. He introduced the Senate's first attempt to address the problem legislatively in 2003, and although that bill failed, McCain has supported cap-and-trade systems that could reduce greenhouse gases, and he has stayed that course despite criticism from fellow Republicans.

Comments

[ToddonCapeCod]

Other than remaining in Iraq, there is NO reason this blurb from the Times gave to vote for him!

[Dan]

The LA Times' McCain endorsement can only help Romney with conservatives. If you were a candidate with weak conservative credentials would you want the liberal LA Times saying this about you?

"...the Arizona senator's conservatism is, if not always to our liking, at least genuine".

That's hilarious. If he was a "genuine conservative" the LA Times wouldn't be endorsing him.

Wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or throw up reading that endorsement.

[Fred Beloit]

"McCain has led his party in its halting effort to confront the reality of climate change."

Really? What has been done by "his party"?

And of course the LA Times uses the new term "climate change" instead of the old "global warming" term. This is equivalent to, when one is asked to call heads or tails, calls "heads and tails".

[in_awe]

You must be kidding..."coveted"? I live in OC and nobody that I know subscribes to that liberal rag. Even the local political analyst from USC used by LA TV stations says the influence of the LA Times is limited to races for local judges. LA Times editorial board - legends in their own minds, indeed.

[the day after the day after tomorrow]

re: Posted by: Fred Beloit | Saturday, February 02, 2008 at 11:32 AM

That may be, but it's nothing new.
The whole point of the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" was global climate instability and change. That's what they fear.

[serfer62]

You can tell a lot about a person by their friends

LAT, NYT, kennedy, clinton, gramnesty,liberman etc...