John McCain is a war hero.  A genuine war hero.  He served his country with honor and went above and beyond the call.  He should be admired for his military service.  He was simply incredible and has more intestinal fortitude than I will ever have.


That does not mean he is right on every political issue however, and it certainly doesn’t mean he is above criticism.

John McCain reminds us (constantly) that he is “serving his country.”  He recently told Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes that he is more energetic after his recent cancer diagnosis because he has to hurry to serve his country while he still can.

Really?  Nobody else can cast the votes in the Senate?  The country really needs an 80 year old senator who has been there since the 1980’s?  We cannot manage without him?  I think his sense of self has gotten the best of him.

The reason we refer to military service as “service” is because people do it to benefit others.  It’s a sacrifice.  It means giving up certain freedoms.  It means working for peanuts and going where someone else tells you to go and doing what they tell you to do.  THAT is service.

Winning a popularity contest to gain the privilege of sitting in congress is not service.  Where is the sacrifice? You receive a six figure paycheck and perks like lifetime healthcare no matter how long your term in congress.  All that for voting? As I see it, members of congress serve themselves, not the country.

Politicians like to tell us they are “serving” the country.  What a bogus attempt to appear noble.  The only people they are serving are themselves.

One could argue that members of congress “serve” their constituents.  Hmm…I suppose you might argue that.  Why do they need to win a popularity contest to “serve?”  And why do they have to live on the public dime?  How about just getting a real job like everyone else and earning your own money and paying for your own healthcare?

Think about what John McCain did after he returned from the war.  He retired from the Navy in 1981.  He then moved to the state that he had no previous connection to.  Oh, they just happened to have an open House seat.  He ran for the House in 1982.  In 1986, he was elected to the Senate.

Three years later, Mr. McCain was implicated in the Keating Five scandal?  Remember that? Read about it here.

Since the 1980’s, John McCain has been sitting in Washington, casting votes, acting the “maverick” part, and all for the sake of “serving his country.”  Give me a break.

The bottom line is John McCain is just another career politician.  Let me say that again.  John McCain is just another career politician.

Being a career politician does not in anyway erase his military service or the fact that he was a genuine war hero.  BUT being a war hero does not in anyway erase the fact that he is just another career politician either.

The war hero thing doesn’t make him right on the issues, and it certainly doesn’t mean he cannot be criticized.

Instead of lecturing the Senate or grandstanding on TV, Mr. McCain should quietly retire from the Senate and ride off into the sunset.  Sorry, John.  It happens to everyone.  At some point, it’s out with the old and in with the new.  We don’t need “service” from career politicians anymore.  We don’t need someone to remain on the public dime for over 30 years.  We need new citizens that will step up to the plate for a few years, then LEAVE and go back to their own lives.

With that said, I wish Mr. McCain a speedy recovery and may more years to come.  Travel, enjoy retirement, do whatever you want to do.  Be happy. You’ve “served” enough.

All politicians say the same things don't they? "I've always put the people first," or "I'll look out for your interests and fight the special interests." You can go back decades and look at almost any political race and the conversation is the same.

The truth is that politicians are simply out for themselves. It's their egos that drive them. They want a higher seat than they currently have, and will say and do just about anything to get it. The people keep falling for the same boring lines and political consultants keep manipulating the public.

Take Governor Charlie Crist of Florida who just announced he was now running as an independent because he is way behind in the polls as a republican. Don't the people see this for what it is? Do they really believe that he cares so much about Florida that he realizes he's the only person who can possibly represent them the way they deserve, so he needs to switch parties to accomplish what's best for Floridians? Give me a break. Mr. Crist has no way to win as a republican so instead of accepting the fact that the people prefer someone else to represent them, he thinks only of himself and switches parties. Doesn't he care that he might split the republican vote and elect a democrat instead? Probably not.

This kind of party switching isn't new. Joe Lieberman did it, and so did Arlen Spector. The list of people who look out only for themselves while draping themselves in the banner of "public service" is a mile long. We need to stop electing people based on name recognition and celebrity in this country, and start electing people with real world experience. We recently elected a President based on celebrity and look where it got us. We're repeating the same mistakes of 30 years ago and we're going to end up in the same place. Can you say stagflation?

Charlie Crist is full of it, but the sad thing is that he's not alone. In my book all politicians care only about themselves. Every single one of them should be replaced, term limits imposed, and their salaries cut by 70%. Maybe then, we'll get the kind of selfless representation we deserve.

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Jack Kemp was such a great guy that it's hard to find anyone who didn't like him. You can find people who argued with him, but everyone liked Jack Kemp. He was just a nice guy.

I didn't know Mr. Kemp, but I did share an elevator with him once in Orlando. He was speaking with several young people in front of the elevator while my brother and I waited for the same elevator. He was exactly the same in person and the guy you see on TV. He was electric and animated and it seemed like there was a spotlight on him. Perhaps it was just the white hair and his pressed white shirt and bright blue tie. Whatever it was, he was unique.

I had no idea he was sick and his death came as such a shock. I'll simply say, we need more people in the world like Jack Kemp.

Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic Party is troubling because he is only looking out for himself. Doesn't anyone care that our politicians only care about themselves, and not the people they represent?

Mr. Specter is 79 years old and has been in the senate a very long time. Why not just retire? I was on a flight with Mr. Specter from Philadelphia to Chicago last year and I was shocked at how old he looked. On TV he looks good, but in the airport he walked very slowly and was hunched over like an old man. Why can't he just let go and retire? Ego, lust for power, and greed come to mind. In any other profession people would expect him to retire but in politics, we accept just about anything.

Mr. Specter admits that he was about to lose a Republican primary race so he simply switched parties to save his own butt. Joe Lieberman did a similar thing last year when he switched to become an independent. Why do the American people put up with this kind of behavior? We need to stop electing people on celebrity and popularity. We need to elect leaders with skills. We've already elected a President based on celebrity and now we have an ex-Senator as President, an ex-Senator as Vice President, and an ex-First Lady who became an ex-Senator as Secretary of State. What have all these senators brought us? A big mess. We need people who have actually run something to lead our government. Instead we just settle on a popularity contest.

Oh well, Arlen Specter is just another example of a politician looking out for himself. I have an idea for all the politicians out there. Get a real job like the rest of us.

Someone sent this to me in an email. It speaks for itself.

What can I say, Obama is just like every other politician. He's full of it. After blasting President Bush and accusing him of "undermined the Constitution," President Obama now realizes that President Bush was correct in keeping the secrets around the Terrorist Surveillance program and is fighting the same lawsuit that President Bush fought. What does this prove? It proves that we cannot trust what candidates say in a campaign. Obama did not have all the facts in the campaign yet he chose to blast Bush for things he now agrees with. He took cheap shots at Bush for political gain.

Read the article for the particulars, but the bottom line is we need to stop electing people based on celebrity, and what they say in a campaign. We need to elect people who have a record of accomplishments. Most Senators don't have to run anything so they don't make good managers. We need to elect someone who has done something like run a state, or a military department, or a small or large business. Someone who knows what they are doing.

Whether you are conservative or liberal, please vote for people based on a record of accomplishments and not celebrity or campaign rhetoric.