I don't know how much more of this crap I can take. Is the spin ever going to stop? Surrender, Nazi, appeasement, Islamic Jihadists, middle-class tax cuts, pork-vetoing, "just like Germany", "good progress", League of Democracies, foreign policy experience, "Maverick". You have got to be kidding me! Every time McCain opens his mouth, the washing machine pauses. Are the American People really this gullible? Do the majority of us just take these lunatics at their word and fully accept what Fox and CNN say? I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but this is crazy.
Surrender is a strong word that is only used to completely play to the emotions of Americans because we don't like to lose, let alone surrender. We don't lose wars. It's not in our blood to give up on something. But there is a huge difference between surrendering (packing up everything and going home because we give up) and Obama's plan to carefully and pragmatically adjust the mission back to where our focus should be in the first place. The administration's treasonally-flirtatious foreign policy has accomplished little besides greatly strengthening Iran and al Qaeda. But instead of arguing the merits of Obama's plan for the Middle East, McCain just labels it "Surrender" and moves on to more illogicalities.
Prior to WWII, Hitler was in control of the world's largest and most powerful military that was equipped with enough personnel, tanks, bomber aircrafts, battleship fleets, and logistical capabilities to, well, start a world war. There was little doubt that Germany would stop short of anything except total world domination. While bin Laden and Hitler are equally bisserk, I would say Osama's fighting force is just a little bit behind what Adolph commanded. Al Qaeda, while capable of very sophisticated attacks, doesn't fight on a linear battlefield, doesn't have the support of any entire nation, and their resources can be controlled with the right approach.
Germany, both pre and post WWII, was a relatively peaceful nation that shared much in common with the other Western countries, including religion many cultural aspects of life. Germany was a free and democratic nation when Hitler came to power, and once the coalition defeated the Nazis, The Marshall Plan seized the moment and effectively returned Germany to the democracy as we know it today. In Iraq and the rest of the Middle East, the cultural differences couldn't be greater. Israel is the only country in the region that has had any success with democracy, and the fighting has been going on since time was recorded. Virtually every household in Iraq owns an AK-47 7.62mm assault rifle and probably knows how to get a hold of an RPG if necessary. If you think for one second that in ten years time there will be discos open in downtown Baghdad, where US Soldiers can drink rum and pickup Iraqi women, you are sadly mistaken. As long as we have any presence here, there will be an effort to kill us--even in 100 or 10,000 years.
Logically, the comparison doesn't add up (but who cares about logic?).
McCain says he can cut $100 billion by eliminating pork-spending. He claims he can save 25 million middle-class families an average of $2,000 by getting rid of the Alternative Minimum Tax. He says the Democrats are going to execute the biggest tax increase in history by allowing the Bush's tax cuts to expire. He claims Obama's plan for capital gains will affect 100 million middle-class Americans. Basically, McCain is always wrong (please read FactCheck.org's assessment of his plans here and here).
Almost no one agrees that getting rid of pork will have any long-term affects on spending, because most earmarks are legitimate and only direct how the funds get spent--Congress will still spend money if it's in the form of earmarks or not. The AMT was designed to target the top 1% of 1% because they found so many loopholes they weren't paying taxes. Today the AMT affects many more than the 155 people is was targeted for (because it's not linked to inflation), but eliminating it is only GOP code for more tax breaks for the rich in its most perfect form. The Bush Tax Cuts are going to expire between 2011 and 2013 unless Congress passes a new bill extending them (highly unlikely). While Obama does plan on returning the tax structure to more resemble what we had in the 1990s, Obama has also said he plans on keeping some of the lower and middle class levels the same, hardly affecting anyone but the upper 5% of all earners. And by making any changes to the capital gains taxes, the middle-class is almost completely immune because 87% of all Americans don't have any capital gains, and 89% of all capital gains taxes are paid by those earning more than $100k (another FactCheck.org link). I would pay money to hear McCain try and explain the "supply side" theory of taxes.
I think the bottom line here is McCain has great plans and vision for the country, but those little things like facts and logic don't support him.