reply to post by spacedoubt
No disrespect to you, spacedoubt, but it doesn't make a differece whether McCain said, "or", "of", "err", or paused -- because he was simply
talking about the assassination of John F. Kennedy intervening the debates between Kennedy and Barry Goldwater.
[rant]
Folks need to take the time to listen and understand things within the context that they are said.
It is frustrating to no end to say something or write something clearly, only to have someone in the audience take a word, phrase, or sentence out of
context and apply a different meaning to it. And this happens
a lot here at ATS. And folks who mean well are guilty of taking things out of
context just as often as trolls.
Folks at ATS, those who wish to deny ignorance, should exercise more care when interpreting material. Because, if they do, it would decrease the
openings for attacks by trolls. Most importantly, it would increase understanding, learning, and the value of topics and opinions, and ATS as a
whole.
[/rant]
So -- how do we know what John McCain was thinking when he said that four letter word, "intervention", the other night? This past summer, on June
4, 2008, John McCain invited Barack Obama to a series of townhall-style debates. The letter reads:
Dear Senator Obama:
In 1963, Senator Barry Goldwater and President John F. Kennedy agreed to make presidential campaign history by flying together from town to town
and debating each other face-to-face on the same stage. In Goldwater's words, those debates "would have done the country a lot of good."
Unfortunately, with President Kennedy's untimely death, Americans lost the rare opportunity of witnessing candidates for the highest office in the
land discuss civilly and extensively the great issues at stake in the election. What a welcome change it would be were presidential candidates in
our time to treat each other and the people they seek to lead with respect and courtesy as they discussed the great issues of the day, without the
empty sound bites and media-filtered exchanges that dominate our elections. It is in the spirit of President Kennedy's and Senator Goldwater's
agreement, in the spirit of the politics of change, and to do our country good, that I invite you to join me in participating in town hall meetings
across the country to discuss the most important issues facing Americans. I also suggest we fly together to the first town hall meeting as a
symbolically important act embracing the politics of civility.
I propose these town hall meetings be as free from the regimented trappings, rules and spectacle of formal debates as possible, and that we pledge to
the American people we will not allow the idea to die on the negotiation table as our campaigns work out the details. I suggest we agree to
participate in at least ten town halls once a week with the first on June 11 or 12 in New York City at Federal Hall until the week before the
Democratic Convention begins at locations to be determined by our campaigns. Federal Hall is particularly fitting as it was the place where George
Washington took the oath of office as our first President and the birthplace of American government hosting the first Congress, Supreme Court and
Executive Branch offices. These town halls should be attended by an audience of between two to four hundred selected by an independent polling agency,
could be sixty to ninety minutes in length, have very limited moderation by an independ ent local moderator, take blind questions from the audience
selected by the moderator and allow for equally proportional time for answers by each of us. All of these are suggestions that can be finalized by our
campaigns. What is important is that we commit to participate in these history making meetings to join in the higher level of discourse that Americans
clearly would prefer.
To show our good faith, we should both commit to the first town hall I have suggested. In the mean time, we can work out dates for future town hall
meetings.
I look forward to your favorable reply and to the opportunity to work with you to give Americans a better opportunity to understand our differences,
our agreements and the leadership we offer them.
Sincerely,
John McCain
[Emphasis mine.]
www.mydd.com...
Now be good ATSers and get back to fighting and denying ignorance, will you?
[edit on 18-10-2008 by Areal51]
