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Todd Schultzthis will be my only post in this thread, as politics, like religion, is pointless to argue and almost certainly bound to lead to at least some bad will in the end. Still, since off-topic threads seem to be the theme of the week, I'll pony up mine.
McCain integrity. Well, we know a little bit about the senator here in AZ, and his dalliances over the years. And yes, what about the Keating Five. Particularly distasteful down here, as 'ol Charlie and many of the disgraced were prominent Arizonans. John was right there in the mix, and was lucky to duck most of the charges. And then there's his first wife, who he divorced upon his return from Nam. By most (maybe all) accounts, she waited patiently and devotedly for his return, and was dumped by him after she had become disfigured and largely immobilized following a traffic accident, no longer retaining her beauty contest winning looks and youth. Of course, integrity also means you put your country second so long as it means you can become electable--nominate a pretty face who has ZERO experience and likely just as little ability at the helm of anything complex (5 colleges in 6 years, what stick-to-it-ness she showed). So yeah, we down here really view his character as unassailable--right.
The Republican party remains a one-trick pony--fear. You must vote for us because these are troubled times, and we need a leader. Never mind that we will be $600 BILLION dollars into Iraq by election time--a place we never should have gone and, stay with McCain on this, we must remain. Hmm, think that might have something to do with the economy, or maybe the 90% plus other things you sided with Dubya on these past 8 years? Nope, blow the trumpets, if you give a damn about this country you must elect the red white and blue saint who will keep the mongrels at bay--lest we all be reading a Koran in 2-3 years. The sky is falling, Akmed is at our door, and if you don't vote for a real patriot you can kiss your children's future goodbye.
Now what about economic and social issues Senator Mccain? What do you offer that is different than your predecessor? Answer: "Did you not hear what I said about Iraq? Do you want that we should all be prisoners of war? Do you not want me to save you? Do you like my new girlfriend, er, running mate? Ain't she cute?
So if you're looking for substance from the GOP, you'd better have really sharp eyes, 'cause it's gonna be damn hard to see.
EDITED to remove one remark out of friendship.