The last couple of days I've found myself setting the record straight about John McCain with a couple of friends. This brand that he has fashioned for himself, of an independent-minded man of principle, of a moderate who bucks conventional Republican orthodoxy, is stubborn indeed. Yesterday I was talking to my friend, a long time Democrat, and he spoke admirably about McCain's appearance in Memphis yesterday; he thought the fact that he even went there to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's death showed he was a man of principle. I had to call my friend on his knee-jerk reaction to see McCain through a prism of principle, when really he's nothing but a political opportunist, a panderer and a liar. He then said, "oh yeah, you're right" and recalled how much respect he'd lost for McCain when he went to Bob Jones University to make nice with the fundies. OK, one down. Then this morning, a Republican friend insisted that McCain is pro-choice. I told her he didn't have a pro-choice bone in his body and she said "well good, that makes me like him more." I later sent an e-mail to her and another conservative friend to clarify that there are many reasons that conservatives distrust McCain, but choice ain't it.

Anyway, I raise this because this education of the electorate is going to be central to beating him in November, an education that is necessarily somewhat delayed due to the ongoing search for a nominee. That's why outside groups, such as the DNC have been doing such good oppo work on McCain. Today I received a great e-mail from MoveOn setting the record straight on 10 issues with sources that every one of us should be armed with when discussing why McCain is unacceptable to our friends and family (which we should all be doing on a regular basis, by the way.)

From MoveOn's e-mail blast:

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0--yes, zero--from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

You can sign up to be a part of spreading the truth about John McCain over at MoveOn HERE.