# Enemies won't challenge McCain **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156 "2008-10-23T00:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/1 "2008-10-23T00:59:10Z")
From [here](http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/mccain.blitzer/index.html); "Enemies would not similarly challenge McCain, he said, because he’s already been tried. “They know I’ve been tested,” he said. “They know I’ve been tested. I’ve been tested many times.” " Tough Guy posturing, or simple stupidity? Guess what, John. This argument may work for your most ardent supporters, but it’s more of the same “Trust me, I know how to do this” answers that we keep getting from you that promise success but fail to explain HOW you’re going to achieve that success. Now I’m not some damned fool who thinks the Iranians are going to 180 their policies because you’ve “been tested”, nor do I think the North Koreans are going to throw their hands up and surrender, nor is Osama bin Laden going to crawl out of his cave and throw himself on your mercy simply because you claim that you’ve “been tested”. So John, what happens when they do test you? Because, and trust me on this, they will. Are you going to do something reckless and all "maverick"y just to show 'em? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/2 "2008-10-23T01:02:20Z")
You know what gets me? Remember a few months back- people used to say, “Obama talks pretty, but I’ve never seen what his actual PLAN is”. Funny, those same people aren’t saying the same thing about McCain and his “I know how to…” statements. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/3 "2008-10-23T01:50:53Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > You know what gets me? > > Remember a few months back- people used to say, “Obama talks pretty, but I’ve never seen what his actual PLAN is”. > > Funny, those same people aren’t saying the same thing about McCain and his “I know how to…” statements. Maybe its because McCain doesn’t talk pretty? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/4 "2008-10-23T02:02:17Z")
As disgusting as this campaign has gotten, this is a new low. McCain is threatening the American people that if we don’t vote for him, they’ll be killed in their beds by terrorists. New. Low. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/5 "2008-10-23T02:06:45Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > As disgusting as this campaign has gotten, this is a new low. McCain is threatening the American people that if we don’t vote for him, they’ll be killed in their beds by terrorists. New. Low. That’s a little hyperbolic. Seriously, lots of foreigners seem quite enthusiastic that Obama might be President- remember the huge crowds in Berlin? I think he might have an easier time with foreign policy because other leaders will give him a pass on the mistakes of his predecessor. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/6 "2008-10-23T02:09:05Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > That’s a little hyperbolic. Um, no it’s not. He’s saying if you vote for Obama, we will be attacked by our enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/7 "2008-10-23T02:11:29Z")
I dunno, didn’t Dick Cheney say the same thing in '04? Really, the republican party has gone from a league of supervillains to a circus of clowns. It’s not even worth it to get worked up anymore. I just point and laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/8 "2008-10-23T02:12:37Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > As disgusting as this campaign has gotten, this is a new low. McCain is threatening the American people that if we don’t vote for him, they’ll be killed in their beds by terrorists. New. Low. For him, maybe. For his party, that message has been on a loop since 2001. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/9 "2008-10-23T02:12:54Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Tough Guy posturing, or simple stupidity? I’m not going to vote for him, and detest his taxes, but he’s tougher than me. Put me in a prison camp and it’s “Yes Sir, No Sir, Please may I have some food?” 🙂 I do wonder what his policy towards Vietnam would be. “Deliver these former prison guards to the American embassy, or the nukes begin falling.” ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/10 "2008-10-23T02:14:54Z")
What’s Obama’s plan for when “they” test him. And trust me on this, they will. Limp-wristed acquiescence? Just to “show 'em?” Great. > [@](#): > > Sen. Barack Obama’s foreign policy positions could encourage America’s enemies to test it during the early days of an Obama administration, Sen. John McCain said Wednesday. > > “And the thing that probably may encourage them a little is that Sen. Obama has been wrong,” McCain said in an interview to be aired on CNN’s “The Situation Room” at 6 p.m. ET Wednesday. > > “He was wrong about the surge in Iraq. He still fails to acknowledge that he was wrong. I mean, remarkable,” the Republican presidential nominee continued. > > “He was wrong when he said Georgia should show restraint. He was wrong when he said he would sit down across the table from Ahmadinejad, Chavez and the Castro brothers. He was wrong about those. So I can understand why the American people might be concerned.” Nothing to see here. Yanno, Obama being “tested” doesn’t mean terrorists killing your mommy in her sleep, but go ahead with the hyperbole. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/11 "2008-10-23T02:15:34Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > For him, maybe. For his party, that message has been on a loop since 2001. > > -Joe Yeah, I know, but I was under the naive impression that, having been scolded for such shenanigans in the past, they’d know better than to pull it again. I know, I know, I’m retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/12 "2008-10-23T02:39:07Z")
With the greatest respect for Senator McCain’s heroic service during his captivity from 1967 to 1973, I fail to see how his having been tested as a prisoner of war over 35 years ago means that he will now react to a foreign policy crisis now in a coherent or effective manner, particularly in a complex world without clear friend/enemy distinctions. Indeed, his incoherent and scrambling reaction to the economic crisis casts doubt on his ability to react in a well-tested manner to a similar foreign policy crisis. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/13 "2008-10-23T02:41:00Z")
Enemies won’t challenge McCain? They’re 1-0 so far. Statistically, they’re better off challenging McCain than Obama. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/14 "2008-10-23T02:46:05Z")
Like McCain said before ,He knows how to win a war. What war did he win? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/15 "2008-10-23T02:56:09Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > What war did he win? Grenada? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/16 "2008-10-23T02:57:19Z")
He knows how to win a war. He knows how to fix Social Security. He knows how to balance the budget. He knows how to get Bin Laden. He knows how to fix the Economy. Blah, blah, blah. (He knows when we’re naughty, he knows when we’re nice?) As my 72 year old, formerly very Republican father said; “If he knows how to get Bin Laden, how come he hasn’t picked up the phone sometime in the last seven years and told President Bush?” I could say the same about everything else he claims to know how to do. The man has been a Senator for quite a long time. If he hasn’t introduced bills to do the things he claims to know how to do, or made calls to other people to convince them how to do them, it’s a fairly safe bet that he does not, in fact, know how to do any of these things. Now we’ve all known these people in our lives, or at least seen them on TV. They’re called **Blowhards** and **Liars**. Is this the man you want to vote for? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/17 "2008-10-23T03:04:45Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Like McCain said before ,He knows how to win a war. > > What war did he win? You didn’t see the movie _The Green Berets_? He and John Wayne singlehandedly kicked the asses of the NVA. The truth of the matter is that we won the Vietnam war, but the liberal media hides that fact from us. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/18 "2008-10-23T03:06:46Z")
> [@McCain](#): > > He was wrong when he said he would sit down across the table from Ahmadinejad, Chavez and the Castro brothers. Um, what? How can he be wrong when he’s not in a position to do that yet, and won’t be for at least three months? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/19 "2008-10-23T03:23:19Z")
[Al-Qaida-linked Web site backs McCain as president](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iFK9c9KTpdbjhYyuWIlZyAuyqeJgD93VA3B80) [McCain camp’s reponse:](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/21/AR2008102102477.html) > [@](#): > > In an e-mail response, senior McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann noted that al-Qaeda leaders have repeatedly said that America “did not have the stomach to fight them over the long haul,” which the Arizona senator has pledged to do. “Whatever musings and bravado on radical websites the Washington Post chooses to quote, the fact remains that only John McCain has the experience, judgment and fortitude to lead a country at war,” he said. The Obama campaign declined to comment on the Web postings. Now unless al Qaeda is not John McCain’s enemy, the lie was given to his words, before he even said them. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156/20 "2008-10-23T03:27:21Z")
John McCain is right. Enemies will not be testing him. That’s because John McCain is not going to be president. Bwaaahaaa. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enemies-wont-challenge-mccain/469156.md?page=2)