I loved McCain in 2000.  I probably would have voted for him over Gore.  But the McCain of 2000 is not the McCain running today.

The proof is in the man's reversals on positions:

McCain defended "privatizing" Social Security. Now he says he's against privatization (though he actually still supports it, he just doesn't like the word any more because it polled badly).

McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn't.

McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were "too tilted to the wealthy." By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.

McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.

McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling (as did his advisor Lindsay Graham); now he's against it.

And how about his flip flop on waterboarding?

And what about his brilliant pick of Sarah Palin?  Do you need me to give you a list of CONSERVATIVE pundits who think she's a joke?  Talk about putting politics before country.

I could go on and on and I'm happy to back up all of these statements with links.  But our side doesn't like him because he's not the guy we used to like.

Bottom line:  McCain has trashed his brand of being a straight-talking maverick.  People see him as an opportunistic politician as evidenced by his erratic behavior this week (does ANYONE who doesn't sit behind a Fox News desk really buy that he "suspended" his campaign"?)

Look no further than tracking polls for the proof:

• Gallup: Obama 50%, McCain 42%, with a ±2% margin of error. Yesterday, Obama was up 49%-44%.

• Rasmussen: Obama 50%, McCain 44%, with a ±2% margin of error, unchanged from yesterday.

• Hotline/Diageo: Obama 47%, McCain 42%, with a ±3.2% margin of error, compared to a 48%-43% Obama lead yesterday.

• Research 2000: Obama 50%, McCain 43%, with a ±3% margin of error. Yesterday, Obama was up 49%-43%.

These are the first numbers that encompass McCain's bizarre moves of suspending his campaign while he was campaigning and then swooping in to DC to save the country.

So that's why we don't like McCain.

I strongly disagree with him on Iraq, privitizing social security, judges (both Supreme Court as well as lower level courts), his (lack thereof) an energy plan, stem cell research..And of course, Sarah Palin (which shows he's caving in to the religious right of the party, a group he called "agents of intolerance" in 2000.....

I tend to put more emphasis than most on the Supreme Court as we are at a dangerous crossroads there....If McBush gets to replace Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, or Breyer with a far right fringe justice:  then abortion rights, civil liberties, environmental issues, employment laws/issues, First Amendment & censorship issues would be in danger of being lost...The court already has 4 ultra far righties (Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, & Ailito) & there needs to be some balance there....Obama voted (as did Clinton) "NO" on the confirmations of Roberts & Ailito, of course since Republicans had the majority in the senate at that time they got thru.....

Finally, McCain is extremely unlikeable....I didn't agree with Reagan on much, but he was affable & charasmatic, whereas McCain is arrogant, condasending, hostile, stubborn....

Obama 08

-- Modified on 9/28/2008 1:09:34 PM

Collect a lot of $ and whoever collects more money is the winner. Let us not even go about influence peddling. Primary system and electoral college system needs to be revamped. There should be strict limit on how much anyone can spent on every election.

Let us have one vote, let all the candidates run and whoever gets the popular vote majority becomes the president. Every other country does it. Why not here and it would give people real choice and final decision making power.