Whatever happened to John McCain?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Will the real John McCain please stand up?
The long-time Arizona senator, now in the toughest re-election battle of his career, is hardly recognizable these days.
We should have known something was wrong when the then-Republican presidential candidate decided Sarah Palin was a good idea for vice president.
McCain is a war hero. He endured years of torture rather than compromise with the enemy. He was a moderate lawmaker, willing to compromise and known for reaching across the aisle.
But suddenly when it looks like he might lose his cushy Senate seat, John McCain is willing to slither out of his principles much like a snake sheds its skin.
Take for example McCain's flip-flop on illegal immigration. It was only a few years ago that the senator supported a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal aliens in this country. A lot of people called that amnesty - because that's what it is.
But now that he's in danger of losing the Republican primary to a candidate who says McCain isn't conservative enough - the senator has changed his tune. He's calling for a crackdown on illegal immigrants and is supporting Arizona's tough new immigration law.
Plus - he's taken to making incomprehensible statements in defense of the measure like this one: "It's the ... drivers of cars with illegals in it that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeway." Say what?
McCain has also backed off several other issues - from gays in the military to climate change and creating a national debt panel.
To top it all off - McCain, known for years simply as a "maverick," denies he ever was one.
Here’s my question to you: Whatever happened to John McCain?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What should be done to fix Social Security?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Americans need to accept the fact that Social Security is already broke.
That's the sobering bottom line in an article on AOL news. The piece suggests that the Social Security crisis - that's been talked about for years - is already upon us. This year Social Security will pay out more in benefits than it collects in contributions.
Experts have been warning that the annual surpluses for the trust fund would eventually shrink to zero. A deficit was inevitable - in part because of the growing number of retirees and the fact that relatively fewer workers now support them.
But, because of the nation's high unemployment rate and people retiring earlier than expected... the system is already in the red.
And things could get worse... much worse. If the economy suffers a "double dip" recession like some fear... Social Security may never be in the black again.
There's also the whole issue of the "trust fund" - which is nothing more than an accounting gimmick. Defenders of the system say there's no emergency because of this $2.5 trillion fund... they say the system will be solvent until 2037.
But that's a joke... you see this fund is filled with nothing more than IOUs... Instead of investing the money from the years of surplus, the government raided the fund and spent it elsewhere. Which means we, the taxpayers, are on the hook once again.
Of course, at the end of the day... there aren't many options. This crisis calls for our gutless politicians to make the tough decisions to either raise taxes or cut benefits. Don't hold your breath.
Here’s my question to you: What should be done to fix Social Security?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
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