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| |  |  | VOA Online Discussion: The 2008 Republican Convention
| Guest: Robert Timberg, John McCain Biographer and Jon Berela, Delegate from New Mexico
Date: 01 September 08
Moderator: Erin Brummett |
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| | Erin: Welcome to a special edition T2A chat from a scaled back Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The impact of Hurricane Gustav has most here very concerned about the welfare of those in the storm’s path. Nevertheless, the Republican Party is nominating John McCain to be its candidate for the November Presidential election. Right now, we’re meeting someone who has written two books about Senator McCain. Robert (Bob) Timberg joins T2A from Annapolis, Maryland, where is editor of Proceedings Magazine at the U.S. Naval Institute. Like Mr. McCain, Robert is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Then we will introduce you to a Convention Delegate from New Mexico who is attending his first Convention. But first, let’s start with Robert Timberg:
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Erin: What initially sparked your interest in Senator McCain and his history?
Bob: The thing that intrigued me right from the start was the fact that he had had one of the worst Vietnam Wars of anyone I knew or had heard of and yet had managed to somehow put it aside and moved forward, so that it did not control him. So many Vietnam Veterans are not able to shake that sense of betrayal and the anger that they felt in large measure because of political actions in the U.S. and actions of members of their own generation who challenged the war and did not go themselves. If McCain felt those things, he certainly didn't show it and seemed much more intent on moving forward and letting the past be the past.
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Erin: What are you trying to communicate to your readers in your work on John McCain?
Bob: To start, I'm a biographer and a storyteller and John McCain's story is compelling, so my primary reason for writing John McCain: An American Odyssey and before that The Nightingale's Song, was to tell a compelling story. Beyond that it was important to me to be able to demonstrate through the lives of John McCain and some other Vietnam veterans that the Vietnam had continued to haunt us to the end of the 20th century. Finally with John McCain I thought he was a man of extraordinary resilience, as much as resilience as anybody I had ever encountered and I thought that ability to get up off the mat after being knocked down again and again was fascinating.
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Erin: Talk about who you talked with as you researched your books. And did you spend much time with Mr. McCain? What do you recall about those conversations?
Bob: I spent an extraordinary amount of time with Senator McCain. I interviewed him probably every 2 weeks for three years, and in addition I went out to Arizona and followed him around not to mention talking to scores of friends, associates, critics. So when I came out of this I as able to provide more than a sketch of him...I was able to paint a multi-hued portrait of him. As far as the experience of being with him, this is something few people realize and don't believe me when I tell them this, but he's the funniest man I've ever met. Our interviews, I'd go in...I'm a journalist and I'd go in fully prepared with questions and points I wanted to get him to illuminate for me and I'd sit down and we'd start and I'd ask him a question and he'd say, 'Hold it, hold it Bob I have to tell you this great story...' And the next I knew, we were on the Rivera with some beautiful French woman! This happened in lots of my interviews...The other thing about these interviews is that particularly when it came to discussion of his time as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, he was very reluctant almost completely unwilling to discuss any episodes that had the effect of portraying him as acting courageously. He talked alot about others who were with him, about their bravery, their ability to withstand torture and the way they inspired him. But when it came to similar acts on his part, he shied away from discussing those things, so most of what I was able to write about, those incidents of personal heroism, I got from other POW's and confirmed with him, and even that was like pulling teeth. And he also told funny stories from when he was imprisoned, if you can believe that.
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Erin: Thank you Bob for joining T2A. Bob Timberg is a McCain biographer and currently edits the U.S. Naval Institute's flagship magazine Proceedings. You can visit Bob’s magazine Proceedings at this website: www.usni.org Now we’re pleased to meet Jon Barela, a Delegate from New Mexico. This is Jon’s first political convention, though his background is filled with Republican party experience…Jon is joining T2A each day this week to share his experiences.
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Marcien FOSSUO: Senator Obama's camp has qualified McCain as more like President Bush. If he's elected, how would a President McCain start to set his legacy apart from his predecessor's?
Jon: There are significant differences from my perspective between Senator McCain and President Bush. First, let's talk about domestic spending. Sen. McCain is a fiscal conservative who opposes earmarks for special projects--earmarks are basically special appropriations made to benefit particular states or districts and they are done outside the normal appropriations process. They're sort of special gifts from the federal government without due consideration to the needs of a particular state or district. And unfortunately under the Bush Administration there has been an increase in federal spending almost across the board. Sen. McCain opposes wasteful spending and unnecessary earmarks.
Jon:I would also add that Sen. McCain's world view is different from President Bush's in my opinion. Sen. McCain's views for example toward the Middle East are inclusive and understanding of trying to building alliances with other countries to defeat terrorism. Pres. Bush's style has been more unilateral. -------------------------------
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Hio Tiao Lim - Philippines: Hello Jon, how does it feel to join a political convention for the first time?
Jon: I'm honored and privileged to represent my state and to vote for Sen. McCain, so as an American I feel greatly blessed to exercise my rights in the political process. Secondly you are perceptive in recognizing that the events are a little more somber than what I expected in light of Hurricane Gustav. We are all Americans first and we care about the suffering and we are hurt by the suffering of others. That has kept some of the proceedings a little more muted.
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Jagdish: How will Sen. McCain resolve the differences between his maverick image and the need to appeal to the conservative core of the Republican Party
Jon: Sen. McCain will appeal to conservatives because of his fiscal conservatism and his selection of a conservative reformer as his vice presidential pick. In the past couple of days since the announcement of Governor Palin, conservatives from around the country have expressed excitement and support for Sen. McdCain's campaign. Finally, Sen. McCain has a long record, despite his maverick image, of supporting limited government, lower taxes and more freedom for Americans. All of those resonate with conservative voters.
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Subhash: John McCain’s running mate Alaska’s governor Sarah Palin said “Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all,” Do you think that McCain can hope that she will capture dissident Hillary Clinton supporters even after President Clinton and Hillary Clinton strongly endorsed Barack Obama -- and how many women supporters of Hillary Clinton can come to the side of traditional conservative such as Sarah Palin?
Jon: In my opinion, Gov. Palin will appeal not only to a wide portion of Sen. Clinton's supporters but will also energize women from all political persuasions. I have personally heard from many people while here at the Convention that many Clinton supporters are now switching their votes to Sen. McCain. Just as important, people who have not been involved in the political process previously are now showing support for Sen. McCain and that is apparent in the calls I've received and in the additional polls that I have reviewed. Gov. Palin comes across as a genuine and likeable figure who the average voter can relate to.
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Marcien FOSSUO: Joe Biden said this about Senator McCain, "If you think George.W.Bush deserves a third term, vote for McCain." Though you mentioned there are significant differences between Bush and McCain, why did Senator McCain vote 95 percent of the time with Bush? By the way is that true?
Jon: (Jon laughs) In American politics, unlike in other political systems, there is very often a high degree of correlation between a a congressman's voting record and the administration's. By the time a bill reaches the floor of the House or Senate (for a vote), most often the bill has been written in a way which is acceptable to the Congress and the Administration. Thus, even Democrats, especially on major issues such as the War on Iraq, vote with the administration. Specifically for example, Sen. Biden voted with Pres. Bush on going to war with Iraq. Sen. Biden has in fact supported much of President Bush's domestic policies, especially when it comes to appropriations and funding of the prescription drug program, education, and other spending items. All of those are significant issues.
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Jagdish: Since the nominee and his running mate are already chosen for both parties, what's the point of the covention. It seems like a large waste of money.
Jon: (Jon laughs hard) That's a very good question! It is true that since the beginning of television, American political conventions have largely been scripted. There are still many significant activities which take place at the Convention. Most importantly, we still have to formally nominate our candidates in an open and lawful manner. Second, the respective parties platforms are written and debated at these conventions. Party platforms offer the American voters a general sense of where the party stands on significant issues. Finally, the Conventions are important to energize each party's base and to educate the delegates so that when they return home, they are ready to organize and work for the candidates they support.
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Subhash: Follow up on the selection Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. Hasn’t John McCain bewildered even many leaders of his own Republican Party? There might be resentment although these party leaders are not expressing it openly. Some Republican or Independent voters might switch sides.
Jon: The selection of Gov. Palin surprised many people, but it was pleasantly surprising. Gov. Palin is known for standing up to special interests and for cleaning up her home state of Alaska, which was mired in corruption. She is also conservative in her values and political beliefs. That appeals tov irtually all Republicans, and as I stated before, she comes across as very likeable and a genuine person, not somebody who is scripted and molded by political advisers. Thus I do not believe that Republicans are disappointed, nor do I believe that any significant number of Republicans will vote against Sen. McCain because of his choice of Gov. Palin.
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Erin: Thank you Jon. You can learn more about delegate Jon Barela and the New Mexico delegation at this website: www.gopnm.com And you can get all the latest political developments on VOA’s new website: www.usavotes2008.com That wraps today’s special edition Republican Convention T2A chat with Jon and with McCain biographer Robert Timberg. Our thanks to Jon and Bob and to you for joining us. We hope you can come back Tuesday at 1500 utc when we learn about efforts to encourage America’s young people to join the political process…and we’ll continue our discussion with first time delegate Jon Barela. That’s Tuesday at 1500 utc, right here on voanews.com See you then!
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