John Mccain

JOHN McCAIN was severely wounded in Vietnam and languished in a North Vietnamese prison for years. Max Cleland had three limbs blown off by a grenade. John Kerry saw action in Swift boats, saved a life and was awarded numerous medals. At about the same time, George Bush went AWOL from his National Guard unit. The Republican attack machine has spit on the service of all three of these war heroes. Spit on them just as surely as some of our returning vets were spit on so long ago. Yet George Bush continues to get a free ride.

1. b. Douglas MacArthur. 2. d. Estes Kefauver, who received 55 percent vs. Truman's 44 percent. 3. False, both won in landslides. 4. c. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. 5. a. Richard Nixon. 6. False, Johnson beat McCarthy, 49 percent to 41 percent. 7. b. Edmund Muskie. 8. Jerry Brown. 9. False. George H.W. Bush won in 1988 and '92; George W. Bush lost in 2000 to John McCain, but won in 2004. 10. b. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

George W. Bush coasted toward the Republican presidential nomination yesterday, winning primary battles across the country and all but ending the insurgent challenge of John McCain. Bush, the Texas governor, racked up victories in California, New York, Maine, Maryland, Georgia, Missouri and Ohio and the Minnesota caucuses, and was leading in Idaho and North Dakota as well. McCain, the Arizona senator, won in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont, all New England states that offered only a handful of nominating-convention delegates and little reason for hope of victories outside the independent-minded Northeast.

High school senior Meghan Devonshire has set up the voting area between two competing bake sales in the cafeteria - smart politics, as the sugary aroma of cupcakes and chocolate-chip cookies draws students her way. "Shana, vote!" Devonshire calls to a friend, who ambles over. On a table are slips of paper, blank but for the names of candidates who are running or have run for president this year - Clinton, Obama, McCain, Huckabee, Paul. The mock election is a precursor to April 22, when many students from Garnet Valley High School will cast their first real votes in a Pennsylvania primary that, for once, may decide the Democratic nominee.

Sen. John McCain, a favorite for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, made a quick trip to Delaware County yesterday to plug the reelection of Curt Weldon (R., Pa.), who might be in for his toughest race for the U.S. House of Representatives in 20 years. Speaking to a crowd of about 150 mostly war veterans and their families in Aston, the senator, a Vietnam War veteran, and Weldon talked of hanging tough in Iraq. "Look, I read the polls," said McCain (R., Ariz.)

In 1992, 104 million Americans voted in the presidential election. In 1996, that dropped to 96 million. The sad drop in turnout tracked a similar decline in votes for the Reform Party candidate. Twenty million people voted for party founder Ross Perot in '92. Just 8 million did so in '96. Let's suppose that the reason for this lower vote last time was the lack of a provocative alternative to the two major parties. The question is how to attract the independent-minded, turned-off voter back into the process.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio - John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, have toned down their attacks on rival Barack Obama. Last Monday, Palin said that Obama was "palling around with terrorists. " On Friday, after voters at campaign rallies shouted "terrorist" and "off with his head" toward the stage, McCain called Obama "a decent, family man" whom public shouldn't fear and cut off a woman who called him an Arab. The character attacks, it appears, are now out of Palin's stump speech as the economy has become the issue on which this election will be decided.

RE DON Gallagher's letter about Barack Obama's message being "too sophisticated": If you're going to attack the Obama/Biden ticket, get the facts right. Joe Biden isn't the son of a wealthy exec - he's the son of a car dealer. Mr. Biden has worked hard for everything he'as earned. He put himself through school, raised a family under the most difficult circumstances with the death of his wife and young daughter, and earned the respect of world leaders. John McCain's father and grandfather were both admirals, and without them, he'd never have been accepted to the Naval Academy, where he graduated near the bottom of his class.

'SHE GAVE A great speech. " "She is really cute. " "She is a force to be reckoned with. " These are just a few of the comments I heard after Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican convention. And my fear that comments like these will propel folks to vote for her who would never have considered voting for John McCain prompts me to write this letter. Sarah Palin perfectly recited a speech that was written for her, a speech full of style and no substance. I ask, What do you believe in, and does Palin share those views?

President Barack Obama (D) John McCain (R) Treasurer Robert McCord (D) Endorsements are for contested races only State Senate First District: Larry Farnese (D) 17th District: Lance Rogers (R) Philadelphia Ballot Questions: 1. Separate the functions of the City Representative and the Commerce Department? YES 2. Permit additional management-level deputies in city departments? YES Election Day Resources Common Cause Pennsylvania election hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE.