Auto and Car Insurance

Do all USA Senators have problems with telling the truth?

With economic troubles dominating the race, McCain opened the new line of criticism against Romney at his first event of the day in Fort Myers, Fla., and sought to shift the campaign back to his strength, national security, and away from Romney's, the economy. First, he slapped at Romney without naming him during a question-and-answer session with Floridians, saying: "Now, one of my opponents wanted to set a date for withdrawal that would have meant disaster." Minutes later to reporters, the Arizona senator was more direct: "If we surrender and wave a white flag, like Senator Clinton wants to do, and withdraw, as Governor Romney wanted to do, then there will be chaos, genocide, and the cost of American blood and treasure would be dramatically higher." Asked about the comment in Land O' Lakes, Fla., Romney bristled. "That's dishonest, to say that I have a specific date. That's simply wrong," he said. "That is not the case. I've never said that." The former Massachusetts governor added: "I know he's trying desperately to change the topic from the economy and trying to get back to Iraq, but to say something that's not accurate is simply wrong — and he knows better." Later in Sun City, Fla., McCain stuck to his assessment and said: "The apology is owed to the young men and women serving this nation in uniform." He said he was quoting Romney as favoring a "timetable" for withdrawal and argued that he was not misquoting Romney, saying, "Clearly, the impression was that he was ready to set a date for withdrawal." But Romney quotes circulated by McCain's campaign didn't show Romney making that exact comment — nor did aides back up McCain's earlier comment that suggested that Romney "wanted to set a date for withdrawal." In an interview with ABC News in 2007, Romney said: "There's no question that the president and (Iraqi) Prime Minister al-Maliki have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about. But those shouldn't be for public pronouncement. You don't want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds until you're going to be gone." While Romney has never set a public date for withdrawal, he has said that he agrees with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, that U.S. troops could move to more of an oversight role in 2008. McCain, for his part, has been a staunch supporter of the Iraq war and advocated more troops on the ground for years before Bush embraced that position last year and ramped up the number of U.S. forces in Iraq. The buildup helped curb violence in Iraq, and McCain has not been shy about claiming credit for the strategy's success. Romney aides labeled McCain's charge "stunningly false," while McCain aides portrayed his Iraq comments as part of a broader effort in the coming days to question Romney's leadership, foreign policy experience and judgment. A former venture capitalist and business consultant, Romney has spent the past week arguing that he is the Republican best able to right a troubled economy, given his 25-year record in the private sector. He's argued that McCain, who has spent much of his life in the military and in Congress, doesn't have the qualifications necessary to lead the country out of a potential recession. McCain, in turn, has sought to beat back Romney on the issue by arguing that a president needs to be ready to lead and qualified on both national security and economics, and he offers both — despite having previously acknowledged that the economy is not his strongest suit. He also sought to rebut Romney's criticisms in an unusual fashion: he dispatched high-profile surrogates to talk with the press corps traveling with the former governor. Among them: former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift. She boarded the Romney press bus to repeat similar criticisms to reporters. ____ Associated Press Writers Glen Johnson in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Libby Quaid in Fort Myers, Fla., contributed to this report. * Email Story * IM Story * Printable View RECOMMEND THIS STORY Recommend It: Average (196 votes) 2.7 stars » Recommended Stories Full Coverage: 2008 Presidential Election Off the Wires * Obama runs away with SC primary AP, 3 minutes ago * Racial divide could hurt Obama beyond SC AP, 4 minutes ago News Stories * Obama wins in South Carolina at The Chicago Tribune (reg. req'd), Jan 27 * Obama wins South Carolina at Politico, Jan 27 Opinion & Editorials * Obama's Big Win in SC a Referendum on Clintons The Nation via Yahoo! News, Jan 27 * Politics as blood sport -- or why the GOP rules at The Chicago Tribune (reg. req'd), Jan 26 Politics News * Fla. governor endorses McCain AP * Obama wins South Carolina primary AP * Strong black vote helps Obama in SC AP * Early SC exit poll highlights AP * Racial divide could hurt Obama beyond SC AP Most Viewed - Politics * Obama wins South Carolina primary AP * Disabled spy satellite threatens Earth AP * Clinton seeks to smooth relations with Obama Reuters * Obama coasts to easy win in South Carolina Reuters * Bare rear could cost ABC $1.4 million AP Politics Video * A Chat With George ABC News - 32 minutes ago * The South Carolina Primary ABC News - 29 minutes ago * Political Play of the Day: Clinton hugs fans AP - 18 minutes ago * Florida governor backs McCain CNN - 18 minutes ago Sponsored Links ( What's this? ) * Car Insurance Quotes Online Compare auto insurance quotes from top companies online. www.insurance.com * Fed Cuts Interest Rates Again Mortgage Rates Hit 26 Month Lows. Calculate Your New Mortgage Payment. www.LowerMyBills.com * Get a Free iPod Shuffle Complete just 1 offer and it is your's free. www.myeasyrewards.com Related Video AP story image Play Giuliani falls in Florida polls AP CBS4 story image Play Latest Polls Show Sen. McCain Ahead in Florida CBS4 Miami » All news video Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a campaign event at the Shell Factory and Nature Park in North Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) AP Photo: Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a campaign event at the Shell... View the 60 Minutes segment on Barack Obama Election 08 * voter Big win Barack Obama routs Hillary Clinton in the contentious South Carolina primary. * Florida governor endorses McCain * Democrats outnumber GOP voters in primaries nearly 2-1 * GOP candidates work harder for Cuban vote * Clinton: Give states their delegates * Political Dashboard Elsewhere on the Web * CNN.com: Obama wins South Carolina primary, CNN projects * ABC News: Barack Obama Wins South Carolina Primary * McClatchy Newspapers: Analysis: Obama's win sets up a long hard fight ahead ADVERTISEMENT click here Featured IN YAHOO! NEWS Election coverage and analysis from Congressional Quarterly. » More from Congressional Quarterly

Public Comments

1. wow.
2. How do you bristle? I need to do that before I die.
3. Telling the truth would often result in alienating a block of voters. In a close race that can mean defeat in an election. Getting elected is a politician's top priority, above all else. They all do it. JFK lied when he said the U.S. farmer could feed the world. He knew it wasn't true, but it got him the farm vote along with a lot of the do-gooders votes--farmers saw $ bills while others felt the tug on their heartstrings. Ike Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe in WWII and later a two-term president. But it wasn't 'til his farewell address to the nation that he warned us about the threat of our "huge military industrial complex". He had basically lied about it for his enire career by hiding from the general public what he knew. And even though I'd call him basically a good man, albeit plenty paranoid, even he was probably overwhelmed by it all. I could not imagine a politician surviving political office by telling the truth all the time. Jesus Christ tried it and you see what they did to him.