No Answers From The Straight Talk Express

Straight Talk Express
Engineer not too quick
with straight answers.This is from an interview with Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, highlighted in the New York Times blog called "The Caucus", and commented on by Americablog.

Listen to these wishy-washy, not-saying non-answers from the man who bills his campaign as "The Straight Talk Express."

Q: "What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush's policy, which is just abstinence?"

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "Ahhh. I think I support the president's policy."

[JIP: "I think"? You can't remember what you think about whether kids should be taught about contraception... although you support what the President thinks?]

Q: "So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?"

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) "You've stumped me."

[JIP: That response sounds to me like Senator McCain is trying to say that he has never heard that question before. It's a major Republican political topic for chrissakes. Stumped?]

Q: "I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?"

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) "Are we on the Straight Talk express? I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I'm sure I'm opposed to government spending on it, I'm sure I support the president's policies on it."

[That takes some major balls, doesn't it? To say something like that? "I know I had an opinion about a major Republican discussion point in the past, and I'm sure I know a few facts about it now, and I'm sure I support the President... whatever he may think... but I don't remember what I personally think. let me check my notes."]

Q: "But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: 'No, we're not going to distribute them,' knowing that?"

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) "Get me Coburn's thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn's paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I've never gotten into these issues before."

[He's never gotten into these issues in the past, except that just 5 seconds before saying that, he said, "You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it on the past."]

Imagine these two as the candidates.
There will be an entire Presidential
campaign and not one question will
be answered with any conviction...
just pandering to vox populi.What Senator McCain's opinion may or may not be on this subject is not the point. His willful stonewalling and shifty ambiguity on a political subject as important as this ("Do condoms block HIV infection?") is not promising, and makes him look like a Hillary-style political opportunist: "I won't answer that until I've taken a poll. I'll get back to you when I find out how it plays in PeoriaOn the Vaudeville circuit, it was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, it would work anywhere. The question "Will it play in Peoria?" has now become a metaphor for whether something appeals to the American mainstream public, and Peoria is often used as a test market for new products, services, and public policy polling. (Source: Wikipedia)."

Based on this, I really believe that this is not a man who deserves to be President, ladies and gentlemen. A man who either (A) cannot remember his position on a very important subject, (B) remembers but isn't willing to declare and defend his (partisan) position on a very important subject, or (the-very-unlikely C) has no actual opinion on a very important subject.

The Presidential Candidate who gets my vote will be the candidate who is willing to... even if I completely disagree with him on an issue... declare without hesitation or reservation, "Here is what I believe. Here is why I believe it. I understand that 75% of Americans disagree with me about it, but I'm not going to change what I believe just to get people to vote for me."

"Fair enough," I'll say. And I'll vote for him (or — doubtfully — her), because that candidate will be the one I know is on the Straight Talk Express.