McCain in May 2008 vs. McCain Now

Created by: Jillian
A colleague of mine gave me the most interesting article from Glamour Magazine. On May 17, 2008 Glamour Magazine sat down with John McCain to discuss the upcoming election and his positions on issues that impact women in the United States today.

What a difference 3 months can make...

In response to the questions, "Was Senator Clinton treated fairly on the campaign trail as a woman?", McCain said, "You know, I don't know because I'm not objective enough to make the judgment. I simply don't know. But I know the one thing that I try to avoid in my campaigns is feeling sorry for myself. It's easy to do, pick up the paper this morning, read a story that's negative, oh, my God, they're picking on me. You just can't do that. But I admire Senator Clinton's tenacity, her knowledge of the issues."

In response to the question, "Is the environment an issue that the two of you (his daughter) talk about?", McCain said, "Yeah. And we talk a lot about climate change. And I've been involved in it for a long period of time. I've proposed legislation with Senator Joe Lieberman. I've been heavily engaged. I've traveled this globe from the Antarctic to the Arctic, to native Alaskan villages that are falling into the ocean, to Greenland, to the Brazilian rain forest, to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia...I'm convinced from everything I've seen that climate change is real, maybe even worse than some of us had anticipated years ago when we got into it."

In response to the question, "Last year you said that the Republican platform on abortion should change so that it did include an exception for cases of rape and incest and to save the life of the mother. Is that still something you believe?", McCain said, "Yes. My position has always been: exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother." As a follow up, Glamour asked, "Would you encourage that platform be changed this summer at the convention?", McCain said, "Yes...and by the way, I think that's the view of most people, that rape, incest, the life of the mother are issues that have to be considered."
...most people except his running mate, I suppose.


Obama was also interviewed for that same Glamour Magazine article in July of 2008. Everything he mentioned in the article in support of women was reiterated at the Democratic National Convention and made it into the platform. Besides being 100% pro-choice, it is important to note that Obama is a huge supporter of Equal Pay for Equal Work.

In response to the question, "If you were going to give a speech laying out some of the challenges facing women and what your presidency would do to address them, what would you focus on?", Obama said, "Well, I think I would actually start, when it comes to women, with economics...Equal pay for equal work, making sure that women with similar qualifications are getting treated similarly in the workplace. Making sure that...when it comes to child-rearing or caring for an aging parent, there are supports in place so that that does not become a crushing burden and a huge disadvantage. I think those are issues that are absolutely critical." He went on to say, "There's also a cultural shift that still has to take place...I want us to have a country where my daughters have the exact same life chances as somebody else's sons do...We still have to make certain that responsibilities for child care are equally divided. That requires government action to make it easier for families, but it also requires, I think, attitudinal changes, and hopefully that's something that I can project as President."

Having attended the Democratic National Convention, let me just say, Equal Pay for Equal Work was discussed everywhere...including in Obama's acceptance speech!
Now that is "change" we can believe in!