John McCain is scheduled to speak on foreign policy later today in Los Angeles. In his speech he will address his feelings regarding war.

“When I was five years old, a car pulled up in front of our house in New London, Connecticut, and a Navy officer rolled down the window, and shouted at my father that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. My father immediately left for the submarine base where he was stationed. I rarely saw him again for four years.

My grandfather, who commanded the fast carrier task force under Admiral Halsey, came home from the war exhausted from the burdens he had borne, and died the next day.

In Vietnam, where I formed the closest friendships of my life, some of those friends never came home to the country they loved so well.

I detest war. It might not be the worst thing to befall human beings, but it is wretched beyond all description. When nations seek to resolve their differences by force of arms, a million tragedies ensue. The lives of a nation’s finest patriots are sacrificed. Innocent people suffer and die. Commerce is disrupted; economies are damaged; strategic interests shielded by years of patient statecraft are endangered as the exigencies of war and diplomacy conflict.

Not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify war. Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers most keenly. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war. However heady the appeal of a call to arms, however just the cause, we should still shed a tear for all that is lost when war claims its wages from us.”

The men in my life have been familiar with war. My father was a veteran of World War II, my husband is a Vietnam Veteran and now my son is a veteran of the Global War on Terror. I have never heard one of them talk about loving war. I have heard my husband say that no man who has been to war would ever want there to be a war. None of them are the ‘war mongers’ as they are categorized by the left. They simply understand the awful necessity of war. They understand history and the nature of the world. They know that appeasement is not the answer to the aggression of our enemies and they have the courage to face the harsh realities that we are faced with in this world.

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crossposted at Blue Star Chronicles

Senator Lindsey Graham was on Hannity and Colmes last night and responded to the dems repeatedly distorting John McCain’s statement that the United States will have a presence in Iraq for up to 100 years.

The liberals are very good at sound byte politics. They knowingly distort and take statements out of context, repeat their sound byte repeatedly until many in the public start believing that their version of events is true. If you don’t keep close tabs on politics and depend on the old media for your information there is no reason that you wouldn’t believe that John McCain expected our troops to be fighting the Battle of Iraq for another 100 years. In reality, we need to remember that we’ve had troops all over the world for many years. Troops have been in Japan and Germany since World War II (over 60 years) an no one seems concerned about that in the least.

Via Stop The ACLU, originally over at Blogs For John McCain, where you can also see the video of when Hillary insulted General Patraeus.

Hillary will apologize about the same time Obama admits he attended some of Jeremiah Wright’s hate filled sermons.

Via Patrick Hynes

My Friends,

Next week, I will embark on a “Service to America” tour visiting numerous locations that have played a significant role in shaping who I am today; places where I have had the honor of serving our nation. This tour will take me through Mississippi, Virginia, Florida and my home state of Arizona. I look forward to visiting sites that have left an imprint on my life aboard my campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express.

My campaign has come up with an opportunity for a supporter to join me on the Straight Talk Express for a day of conversation and campaigning. As a token of my appreciation for your financial support, you will be entered to win this seat aboard the Straight Talk Express if you make a contribution before midnight on March 31st. I hope you’ll consider joining me by making a donation today. If you can give $50 or more, not only will you be entered to win a ride on the Straight Talk Express, but you’ll receive a commemorative Straight Talk Express ticket.

March 31, 2008 marks an important deadline for our campaign. We will file a report with the FEC outlining the amount of money we have raised during the past three months. I’m reaching out to you to ask for your support by following this link to make a donation of $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 - anything you can contribute up to the legal limit of $2,300.

I have said many times before that this campaign will be the most expensive campaign in our history, and I have no doubt that both Senators Clinton and Obama will continue to report historic, record-breaking fundraising numbers. With your support today, my campaign will have the resources necessary to compete with either Senator Clinton or Obama in what will be a great contest come November.

I’m looking forward to traveling on the Straight Talk Express again next week, visiting directly with voters, hearing their concerns, offering my vision for the future and highlighting those among us who are serving our country and communities, dedicating themselves to causes greater than their own self interest. Your support makes this possible, and I am grateful for any assistance you are able to give.

Sincerely,

John McCain

P.S. You have an opportunity to join me aboard the Straight Talk Express by making a generous contribution before March 31st. With your donation of $50 or more, we will send you an exclusive, commemorative Straight Talk Express ticket as a symbol of your commitment to our campaign. Thank you.

I put in my $50. How ’bout you?

Hotz-Eakin lays it on the line, showing us a vast difference between what Senator McCain wants and what the Democrats want to take from us

To solve the current crisis, John McCain would shore up the foundations of the companies, growth enterprises and family businesses that are the source of jobs for our nation’s workers. Spending by households and businesses is slowing, leading to job losses. Looming over daily market volatility, the mortgage crisis and the widespread credit crunch is the specter of inflation, especially in gasoline and food prices. To address these challenges, McCain would combine immediate help with reforms that ensure that American families will be protected from such threats in the future.

No government program is a substitute for a good job, and fast job growth requires easing employers’ burdens. The most obvious cost is taxes; McCain would oppose Democrats’ plans to impose damaging tax increases. He would improve our international competitiveness with a tax credit for research and development, investment incentives and a lower corporate tax rate. He would propose comprehensive health-care reforms that would change the practice of medicine to reward quality, high-value care, as well as tax credits and insurance market reforms to stop the erosion of health insurance. Such a combination would attack spiraling costs, ease pressure on family budgets, permit firms to pay better wages and reduce the number of the uninsured. His commitment to low taxes, controlling government spending and honoring international agreements would reassure investors and strengthen the dollar, helping to ease inflation and oil prices that are hurting American families.

Read the rest at the Washington Post.