Sue U wrote:If it irritates Trump -- and boy, does it -- I'm good with it.ex-khobar Andy wrote:I am not sure that he deserves the universal panegyrics and wall to wall coverage on CNN.
My fellow Americans whom I have gratefully served for 60 years and especially my fellow Arizonians. Thank you for the privilege of serving you, and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead.
I've tried to serve our country honorably. I’ve made mistakes but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them. I've often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now, as I prepare for the end of my life. I’ve loved my life, all of it. I’ve had experiences, adventures, friendships, enough for 10 satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life in good or bad times for the best day of anybody else’s.
I owe this satisfaction to the love of my family. One man has never had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America to be connected to America's causes: Liberty, equal justice, and respect for the dignity of all people brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth were not circumscribed, but are enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.
Fellow Americans, that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history, and we have acquired great wealth and power in the progress.
We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment, and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down; when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.
We are 325 million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country, we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before, we always do.
Ten years ago I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening. I feel it powerfully still.
Do not despair of our present difficulties. We believe always in the promise and greatness of America because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit, we never surrender, we never hide from history. We make history. Farewell fellow Americans, God bless you, and God bless America.
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/white-house-f ... ories.htmlTrump ignores questions about McCain but White House returns flag to half-staff
The White House abruptly returned its flag to half-staff Monday afternoon in honor of the late Sen. John McCain, while President Donald Trump appeared to ignore questions about the Arizona senator in the Oval Office Monday morning.
(MORE: Unlike White House, some governors order flags at half-staff until McCain's burial)
The president issued a statement explaining why the flag was again lowered -- after facing widespread criticism for not keeping it at half-staff.
"Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment.
I have asked Vice President Mike Pence to offer an address at the ceremony honoring Senator McCain at the United States Capitol this Friday," the statement said.
"At the request of the McCain family, I have also authorized military transportation of Senator McCain’s remains from Arizona to Washington, D.C., military pallbearers and band support, and a horse and caisson transport during the service at the United States Naval Academy.
Finally, I have asked General John Kelly, Secretary James Mattis, and Ambassador John Bolton to represent my Administration at his services," the president said.
When ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl asked the president for "any thoughts on the legacy of John McCain," Trump heard the question but ignored him several times during a Mexico trade announcement in front of reporters, according to Karl.
Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.
My friends, we have we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honour of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.
- (Crowd boos)
Please.
To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.
I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.
But we both recognise that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.
America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.
Let there be no reason now ... Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.
Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.
Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.
These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.
It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.
We fought we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.
- (Crowd: "No!")
I am so...
- (Crowd begins chanting)
I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honour of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.
The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.
I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother ... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.
I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.
You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.
All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.
I am also, I am also, of course, very thankful to governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen ... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength ... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children ... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.
We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican party and our country.
To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenging campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.
I don't know, I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.
This campaign was and will remain the great honour of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honour of leading us for the next four years.
- (Crowd boos)
Please. Please.
I would not, I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.
Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.
Tonight, tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama, whether they supported me or Senator Obama.
I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender.
We never hide from history. We make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.
It's as rare as a two-horned unicorn in a rubato post...I have respected him for his intellectual honesty although it was as rare as a unicorn in his party.
In 2015, in response to a question about allowing transgender persons to serve in the military during , Mike Huckabee (then a hopeful contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president) declared, “The purpose of the military is to kill people and break things. It’s not to transform the culture by trying out some ideas that some people think would make us a different country and more diverse ... The purpose of it is that we protect every American.”ex-khobar Andy wrote:And having said all that, I am grateful for McCain's one vote on the Senate floor. But in other aspects of his life - for instance his treatment of his first wife; and the fact that he undoubtedly killed hundreds (??thousands??) as an enthusiastic bomber pilot in Vietnam; and his general support of all things Republican for most of his career - he was an unmitigated asshole. Like most of us, he was a very complicated person and I am not sure that he deserves the universal panegyrics and wall to wall coverage on CNN.
That is the identical argument used by those (e.g., Omar Bradley), who opposed Truman's EO which dismantled discrimination in the US armed forces.Bicycle Bill wrote: In 2015, in response to a question about allowing transgender persons to serve in the military during , Mike Huckabee (then a hopeful contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president) declared, “The purpose of the military is to kill people and break things. It’s not to transform the culture by trying out some ideas that some people think would make us a different country and more diverse ... The purpose of it is that we protect every American.”
These were, IMNSHO, the truest words spoken during that entire campaign by any of the presidential wanna-bes.
Yeah, you would have thought that a Christian minister would have done a much better job teaching their kid about the meaning of "thou shalt not lie"...And next we can talk about Mike Huckabee's parenting skills.
This why, the US can’t win the illegal and immoral war against Russia.ex-khobar Andy wrote:That is the identical argument used by those (e.g., Omar Bradley), who opposed Truman's EO which dismantled discrimination in the US armed forces.Bicycle Bill wrote: In 2015, in response to a question about allowing transgender persons to serve in the military during , Mike Huckabee (then a hopeful contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president) declared, “The purpose of the military is to kill people and break things. It’s not to transform the culture by trying out some ideas that some people think would make us a different country and more diverse ... The purpose of it is that we protect every American.”
These were, IMNSHO, the truest words spoken during that entire campaign by any of the presidential wanna-bes.
My point had more to do with McCain's enthusiasm than his actions. Many later repented - John Kerry for example - their actions in VN. AFAIK McCain never did. I mentioned above his Senate vote which helped to bury (at least temporarily) the attempts to dismantle the ACA. It's called bravery which is true enough: except that there were another 50 senators (including two Republicans) who made that decision long before he did. I'm glad of his vote but let's not eulogize him for doing the right thing.
And next we can talk about Mike Huckabee's parenting skills.
Ignore the truth if you want, but it would be Vietnam all over again and you know it. If we couldn’t defeat the Vietnamese communist there is no way we can beat the Russians. However, there is still time to do something about it but we won’t.dales wrote:Shut your treasonus and ignorant pie hole!
I *might* agree if you were referring to US invading Russia. In Vietnam we were the foreigners and they were the home team, literally defending their homes. If Russia tried to take over the US the positions would be reversed and we would be the ones with the home team advantage (not to mention the advantage in military budget, military hardware, and available military manpower--i.e., population).liberty wrote:Ignore the truth if you want, but it would be Vietnam all over again and you know it. If we couldn’t defeat the Vietnamese communist there is no way can beat the Russians. However, there is still time to do something about but we won’t.dales wrote:Shut your treasonus and ignorant pie hole!
