GraniteGrok

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 Sen. McCain in Wolfeboro; President Bush in Stratham. (GG file photos)

When it comes to the mantra of John McCain being the third term of President Bush, beyond the obvious lack of proof that McCain and Bush march lockstep in all matters, there are some positive points about the president that are worth emulating despite what you might think. Because the mainstream media is too busy in their goal of completely destroying the president’s record and all that he stands for, they have missed some key elements of his makeup that, when you really think about it, ought to make us glad he is at the helm. Thankfully, we live in an age of new media, where, when the old guard drops the ball, someone is there to pick it up. And thankfully, we have at least one presidential candidate not afraid to continue pursuing that which is positive from the present administration, popular or not…

This past Tuesday, The Politico and Yahoo! News teamed up and, along with online participants and listeners, conducted the very first interactive Internet event featuring President Bush. Besides reporters from the two new media news organizations, those connected online were also able to submit questions to the president. The interview showed the president unwavering on the key issue of the war with the “extremists,” along with something about his golf game that most people, myself included, did not know…

Writing about the interview, the Politico’s Mike Allen reports, to no surprise, that President Bush warns

“that the Democratic presidential candidates’ plans to withdraw abruptly from Iraq could ‘eventually lead to another attack on the United States’ and would ‘embolden’ terrorists.” He continued to say “his doomsday scenario for a premature withdrawal ‘of course is that extremists throughout the Middle East would be emboldened, which would eventually lead to another attack on the United States.’”

“‘The United States pulling out of Iraq or pulling out of the Middle East or not maintaining a forward presence would send all kinds of signals throughout the Middle East,’ he said in the Roosevelt Room. ‘And it would shake everybody’s nerves, and it would embolden the very same people that we’re trying to defeat.”

On this, McCain is on the same page as the president.

In the same interview, for the first time, President Bush revealed a little-known secret about his golf game: he no longer plays. Again from the Politico:

“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”

I imagine the same attitude from a President McCain. If that’s what is meant by a “third Bush term,” then bring it on!