8 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq

New York Times: 8 U.S. Soldiers Killed in 2 Iraq Bomb Attacks

We're still there and will be for a long time if John McCain has his way.

Five More Soldiers Die In Iraq

Even if the media in the US has largely forgotten it, there are still US soldiers dying in Iraq:

In Friday's bloodiest incident, four soldiers were killed by a roadside blast while on patrol northwest of the Iraqi capital, the U.S. military said in a statement. It blamed a deeply buried roadside bomb, a signature al Qaeda tactic.

Another soldier died in an explosion near his vehicle and three others were wounded near Tikrit in northern Iraq.

The Iraq Coalition Casualty Count keeps track of the dying troops that John McCain wants to keep in Iraq indefinitely.

An Unbiased Media

Does the "liberal media" include Chris Matthews of MSNBC gushing over John McCain after Bush's SOTU address? From Media Matters:

MATTHEWS: Let's go to Senator John McCain, Republican presidential -- there he is! Senator McCain, you know you're in my heart! I have to tell you the president gave your speech tonight.

[...]

McCAIN: I know that pundits like you and [MSNBC host] Keith [Olbermann] were making different predictions about who was going to win about a month ago, not only on the Democratic side, but on our side as well. So, I think a lot of things can happen between now and a week from now or even -- so, I just think --

MATTHEWS: I know.

McCAIN: -- things are very unsettled. I think a lot of Americans are undecided.

MATTHEWS: Well, you show a lot of courage out there, Senator. Thank you very much for coming on tonight. And by the way, we have our jobs, too. Our job is to predict what's --

McCAIN: I know you do. Tell Keith.

MATTHEWS: -- going to happen tomorrow night and we can't do it very well, but we do like doing it.

The Media Matters link contains nine more examples of Matthews promoting John McCain.

Deadly Weekend in Iraq

Despite what lying John McCain might say, things in Iraq are not going well:

BAGHDAD — Ten U.S. soldiers were killed over the weekend as armed groups avoiding Baghdad's security dragnet attacked with bombs and other weapons in cities and towns just outside the capital.

The violence came as radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr called on Iraqi soldiers and police to unite with his Al Mahdi militia to oppose the American presence in Iraq. Thousands of his supporters plan to hold a protest today in the shrine city of Najaf against what Sadr considers to be the United States' four-year occupation of Iraq.

In the city of Mahmoudiya, just south of Baghdad, a car bombing Sunday killed 17 Iraqis and wounded 26.

Bush Loving Republicans Filibuster Iraq Resolution
From AmericaBlog:
Voting to permit debate about Bush's "surge" plan"- Snowe (R-ME):
Specter (R-PA)
Warner (R-VA)
Collins (R-ME)
Hagel (R-NE)
Coleman (R-MN)
Smith (R-OR)

Voting to filibuster and stop the debate:

Lieberman (I-CT)

Not voting: Nine Republicans and one Democrat, Tim Johnson (who is in the hospital):
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Ensign (R-NV)
Hatch (R-UT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
Murksowksi (R-AK)

Straight-talker John McCain didn't show up for the vote.

It's a Klein Line on a Straight Shooter
I normally wouldn't bother commenting on the likes of Time columnist Joe Klein, but ThinkProgress points out something too absurd to ignore.

Klein thinks that McCain has been "entirely consistent about the war." Some reminders for Klein from the ThinkProgress post:
– McCain called for sending “another 20,000 troops” to Iraq. He endorsed Bush’s escalation strategy, but later claimed, “I would have liked to have seen more” troops on the ground.

– McCain claimed the Iraq war has been “easy,” except that he also “knew it was probably going to be long and hard and tough.”

– McCain claimed he “bitterly disagreed” with the Iraq strategy from the beginning, except that he previously said, “We will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”

– McCain was for withdrawing U.S. troops to the border of Iraq if escalation failed, but then later backtracked, saying he would only consider redeployment if “we have the situation under control.”

– McCain wants to establish benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet, but “can’t tell you” what they are.

– McCain said that escalation could not bring about results in “a few months,” but then claimed, “I think in the case of the Iraqi government cooperating and doing what’s necessary, we can know fairly well in a few months.”

McCain is a flip-flopper, plain and simply.

McCain Hearts Daddy D
McCain to make amends with Dobson. From the article:
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Tuesday he hopes to patch things up with conservative Christian leader James Dobson, who recently said he wouldn't support the Republican's presidential bid under any circumstances.
In a radio interview with KCBI, a Dallas Christian station, Dobson argued that McCain didn't support traditional marriage values and complained that the campaign finance legislation he co-authored hurt Christian broadcasters.
"Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances," Dobson said on KCBI.
...
During a campaign stop in Columbia, S.C., McCain said: "I'm obviously disappointed and I'd like to continue and have a dialogue with Dr. Dobson and other members of the community."
McCain has said gay marriage should not be legal but has angered some conservatives with his opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. The Arizona senator said the issue should be left to the states.
"I'm happy to say that I've established a dialogue with a number of other leaders," including the Rev. Jerry Falwell, "Purpose Driven Life" author Rick Warren and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention.
McCain has reached out to conservatives he once crossed. Last May, he spoke at Falwell's Liberty University in Virginia. In 2000, Falwell opposed McCain's campaign for the GOP nomination and supported George W. Bush. At the time, McCain labeled Falwell and others on the right and the left as "agents of intolerance."
During his 2000 presidential bid, McCain also criticized Bob Jones University, a Christian fundamentalist college, for its ban on interracial dating.
In a GOP debate with Bush, McCain said that given the opportunity to speak at the school as Bush had, he would have said: "Look, what you're doing in this ban on interracial dating is stupid, it's idiotic, and it is incredibly cruel to many people."
McCain said last year that he wouldn't turn down an opportunity to speak at Bob Jones.
Since 2000, the school has lifted its interracial dating ban.

Talk about flip-flopping. (And yes, all the hypers on McCain are like a McCain drinking game! See Pam's post for more on that.)

McCain the Flip-Flopping Iraq Escalation Supporter
2008 presidential hopeful Senator John McCain has been confused on how many troops we need in Iraq. As Pam notes however, McCain supports escalation.

He's spun in the wind on supporting Jerry Falwell.

He's twirled like a ballerina on ethanol.

He's spun like a top on gay marriage.

He's done the whirling dervish on a woman's right to choose.

He's been a revolving door on drilling for oil in the ANWR.

Even more McCain acrobatics can be found here.