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McCain: Ayers Oct 10, 2008

I question the relevance of Ayers in the 1960s to Obama's current campaign, but I think the Weather Underground are worth knowing about. There's a good documentary from PBS called The Weather Underground, currently posted in its entirety on Google Video.

Obama on withdrawing from Iraq May 27, 2008

I'm not sure he makes it out to be simple or quick in this video, although he may be doing that elsewhere in his campaign. The question was about whether he would resist pushback from military commanders and I think he gave a straightforward answer.

McCain on immigration May 27, 2008

Yeah, the polling data certainly don't indicate anything close to a consensus on immigration. He definitely dodged the real question which is: "aren't you compromising your actual position, which isn't supported by the Republican base?"

McCain: 2013 May 27, 2008

I don't think it would be appropriate for a 30 second TV spot like this one to go into too much detail, policy-wise, into this many issues. I think it's fair for a candidate to outline his or her priorities, although I could have done without the whole "2013" shtick.

McCain's website, not emphasized sufficiently as a source for further research, does outline his approach to a variety of issues. But not always with satisfying results, IMO.

I would say these aren't very ambitious goals. A "stabilized" Middle East relies on a kind of wiggle word that depends, to a great extent, on the time frame and on what passes for acceptable conditions in place of conflict. Does straight talk, in this case, mean lowered expectations?