Duke Hendershot, a double amputee retired Marine who served in Vietnam, supported McCain’s run for president in 2000 but is undecided this year.
“John just isn’t the same as he used to be. He’s not his own man,” said Hendershot, who lives in San Antonio, Texas. “A lot of that has to do with how he’s wanted this job so bad for so long that he’s tied himself to President Bush.”
John McCain spent his Saturday in Las Vegas attacking Barack Obama infront of a gathering of Disabled Veterans... and the results are fascinating.
Just one of 14 veterans interviewed by the Sun after his speech said he is a certain McCain voter, and the nonpartisan group’s legislative director expressed concerns about McCain’s proposed “Veterans’ Care Access Card.
More below the fold from the Las Vegas Sun article.
Apparently many of the vets in attendance weren't buying the negative attacks and instead were looking for more in the way of substance on veterans issues (an area McCain is known to take for granted)...
Hendershot also criticized McCain for taking swipes at Obama in his speech. “He should have been talking about veterans issues, not his opponent,” he said.
By contrast, he praised Obama for keeping his remarks tightly focused on veterans. The Democrat gave taped remarks via video.
There was one area of policy which McCain was trying to pimp, something I've not heard much of but I can't imagine will go over well: PRIVATIZATION OF VETERANS BENEFITS
To help veterans who live far from VA hospitals or need specialized care the VA can’t provide, McCain proposed giving low-income veterans and those who incurred injury during their service a card they could use at private hospitals. The proposal is not an attempt to privatize the VA, as critics have alleged, but rather, an effort to improve care and access to it, he said.
Joe Violanti, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, a nonpartisan organization, said the proposal would increase costs because private hospitals are more expensive. The increased cost could lead to further rationing of care, he said.
That went over like a lead anvil. And incase you haven't seen it anywhere else, I think for the very first time the Obama campaign has tipped it's hand on the McCain attacks of late, especially those "Celeb" ads that continue to run, now in the Olympics...
But Plouffe argued that McCain's efforts to portray Obama as a mere celebrity who is not ready to serve as president may be more likely to create enthusiasm among core Republicans than to persuade swing voters. He said the campaign's research has shown that swing voters were turned off by the celebrity ad that featured Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
McCain can only exist in the Negative envirnoment... only with negative ads. It's his only chance. And the polls aren't showing any action to indicate success.... Rasmussen had a 3 Point swing in favor of Obama today, while Gallup is up to +5 Obama.
When McCain can't even sell his negativity to an audience of Veterans... you know he's hitting a Brick Wall.