Readers of this blog know, and I have been consistant, that I will not support Senator John McCain for the 2008 presidential nomination. As a leader in the local South Florida GOP, I will oppose his nomination with all the resources we have available.

The reasons are many, but this cheap shot he took at a former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is the final nail in his 2008 political coffin.

“BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday the war in Iraq has been mismanaged for years and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be remembered as one of the worst in history.
“We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement _ that’s the kindest word I can give you _ of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war,” the Arizona senator told an overflow crowd of more than 800 at a retirement community near Hilton Head Island, S.C. “The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously.”

McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, complained that Rumsfeld never put enough troops on the ground to succeed in Iraq.

“I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history,” McCain said to applause.

The comments were in sharp contrast to McCain’s statement when Rumsfeld resigned in November, and failed to address the reality that President Bush is the commander in chief.

“While Secretary Rumsfeld and I have had our differences, he deserves Americans’ respect and gratitude for his many years of public service,” McCain said last year when Rumfeld stepped down.

While were at it, the AP can shove their editorialization. When they can report the news instead of manufacturing it, then perhaps they can give a shot at editorials.

Nevertheless, McCain shows once again that he is not the man of character he would have us believe because a man of character says what he means - not behind a another back - but to his face. McCain is a “Face Politician” who only speaks to hear himself talk and says whatever it takes to get himself in the limelight.

If we wanted this kind of leadership in 2008, we could vote for John Kerry - yes, he’s that bad.

As of today, as far as we are concerned here in South Florida, he is anathema.

UPDATE: Btw, Phil Graham’s attempt at resuscitation doesn’t come close to changing anyone’s mind.