Respect lost for McCain

So when he announced his candidacy for president, and proclaimed his intention to run an honorable campaign, I cheered. But his campaign has been composed largely of personal attacks, false outrage at words taken out of context, and manufactured facts that turn out to be untrue. And lastly, the outright lies, as in "Obama will raise your taxes." Not the truth. Obama will simply not renew the tax cuts given by Bush to people who earn "250,000.00 or more, and give people who earn less, the middle class, a tax cut.

McCain does not discuss the issues: unending war, mounting debt, a depressed economy, collapse of financial institutions, a housing crisis, crippling energy costs, and the lack of affordable health care for so many Americans.

I am disappointed. This once honorable man has morphed into George Bush, employing the tactics of campaigning on a personal basis, engaging in character assassination, and avoiding the discussion of real issues. And since McCain agrees with Bush over 90 percent of the time, he intends to continue the failed policies of the last eight years, a sure prescription for more failure. McCain was one of the few Senators to cast a vote against an expanded benefits GI Bill, claiming that by offering help to veterans to attend college at the end of their enlistments, reenlistment rates will be harmed, thereby reducing the pool of service people available to maintain troop levels for deployment to war zones. How cynical. As if multiple tours of duty in war zones is not enough to earn this benefit. As a veteran I am outraged, as a citizen, appalled.

I have lost my respect and admiration for McCain and my confidence in his leadership.

He has also lost my vote.

Gerald Briere
Felton