Attacks on McCain’s Military Record are Deplorable
June 30, 2008
Just because the Republicans did it to the Democratic candidate four years ago doesn’t make it right for the Democrats to do it to the Republican candidate this time around.
Barack Obama needs to stop abandoning the principles that made me so gung-ho about him in the primaries and come out unequivocally against smears on McCain’s military experience.
This is an opportunity for Senator Obama to show the American people that he can truly rising above the deplorable politics of the past eight years. It’s an opportunity he needs to take full advantage of.
Oh please. Clark just made a reasonable statement: just because you’re a prisoner of war doesn’t qualify you to be President. That’s not “swift-boating”, that’s just common sense. McCain has various qualifications and experiences, but getting shot at isn’t any more a qualification for McCain than it was Kerry.
i don’t know why there’s such a big upset over obama’s “change” in character like what he’s doing is really surprising. i think he is just as shrewd and calculating as the next politician. his primary campaign only proves how galvanizing a talented campaign manager and a silver tongue can be–it really didn’t reveal anything about his character. it would be nice to think that there is someone that exists who is as idealistic and can actually execute those ideals as obama promises he can, but i think now obamaphiles are starting to see the obama everyone else saw all along.
on another note, i agree to an extent with daniel k: i don’t think that getting shot at is singularly the best qualifier to be president–i know plenty of morons who have served in the military and of those, some who are getting involved in politics who really shouldn’t be. i respect and honor their service so i don’t have to fight and because they keep me free, but the fact remains that for some their heads are just not screwed on straight.
that said, i DO think that having leadership experience in the military and going through an experience such as mccain’s lends an individual the ability to think clearly, effectively prioritize and execute decisions dispassionately while under incredible duress–practical leadership qualities that would serve a president well. while others may share those qualities, i can only imagine that those skills can only be further honed in the crucible of combat and/or being a prisoner of war.
of course, we must weigh those qualities with the rest of the individual’s character. for example, i think kerry’s character outweighed any benefit his military service brought to his campaign. i think in mccain’s case that it complements it well. let’s not also forget that military experience does come in hand when dealing with security issues. i know it’s not popular to say it, but in a realistically it does help to know first hand how the military operates. i’ve learned a lot about the politics even within the military just from listening to friends and family’s experience in the military. i’m sure that mccain’s experience in the military has taught him a thing or two about strategy, loyalty, integrity and other essential lessons that civilians who have never volunteered for the military can only speculate about.
in the end, i would not be so quick to dismiss mccain’s military service or compare it to kerry’s.
I agree with Daniel on this, being shot at or being a prisoner of war doesn’t make you automatically qualified to be president. While I do respet McCain for his service and the daunting nature of being a prisoner of war, Im not sure that even gets him presidential points in my book. Spending 5 years in a torture camp can’t do anything good for ones head.
As for Obamas principles that Obama stands for, I too, am not so sure. In the end, they’re all politicians, not saints. My biggest thing about Obama is that he can get through a whole sentence in the english language. The last 8 years have lowered my standards something terrible.
In case you haven’t seen this ridiculous set of news reports. You want deplorable? This is the kind of media frenzy and distortion that makes me sick:
Dan: Thanks for sharing. YouTube embeds don’t work unless approved by a moderator, so I approved the embed and deleted your later comment linking to the video.
I agree that Wes Clark’s comments by themselves are pretty innocuous, but when taken in the context of some of the truly despicable attacks on McCain’s record that are circulating on the fringes, they take on a new light. I think it’s important that all Obama supporters proceed with caution.
We should all be bending over backwards to commend Senator McCain for his sacrifices and for his service. There are no two ways to slice it.
Bending over backwards? I wouldn’t put it that way. We honor his service and sacrifice, ‘nuf said.
Daniel: But if we bend over backwards, we can diffuse the argument that Obama and his supporters don’t get the military thing.
Wesley Clark is speaking out of his ass. I’m not sure if he’s supporting Obama or not, but he’s really just trying to say “Hey, I was a good military leader…does anyone remember?” Everything that Clark recites McCain as having not done, is something that Wesley Clark has done, he just some to recognize that. He’s being a crybaby. Yes Wesley, we remember, now stop talking. I assume this was an effort by Clark to be considered for the VP slot. Barack Obama could complement his campaign greatly by taking on a running mate with an accomplished military background, as that is among the biggest things (if not the biggest thing) people can distinguish from the candidates. Sen Obama with a strong military running mate - what’s McCain to counter that with?
If Clark is in fact supporting Obama, then he totally missed the mark. He claims John McCain has no executive experience - neither does Obama. He says that McCain’s command time wasn’t during a war - so war is what makes a President electable? Obama has neither command time nor war time either. I guess Clark doesn’t think Obama can be President either. He says McCain has never had to order the bombs to fall - what does he think a bomber pilot does? Furthermore if anyone understands the civil impact of bombing a nation - it’s John McCain. He dropped bombs over a nation, then was captured by the very people he bombed; he knows exactly what war means to a nation, on both sides. He’s never ordered the bombs to drop? Yes he has, Obama hasn’t and if that’s another of Clarke’s criteria then he’s doing his supported politician no favors. Everything that Obama criticizes McCain for, are only amplified shortcomings on behalf of Senator Obama. If his point was to demonstrate that there is more to being a President than being a war hero (which there ABSOLUTELY is), he missed the mark.
Daniel and Ian, I’m going to pick on you two because I like to: Yes, as you say, getting shot at and being a prisoner is hardly a qualification but that is a gross understatement of John McCain’s war experience. He was shot down, many pilots were and have been since. However, he was in an extremely unique position.
He was severely wounded in the crash (his aircraft actually hit him as he ejected, more wounded upon capture (he was stabbed several times), wounded further due to medical procedures that hobbled him (random incisions that did little other than sever various ligaments and tendons and improperly set casts that caused his bones to heal wrong), and wounded further still by torture (a common method was to bind the hands behind the back, then lift the prisoner off the floor with rope tied to those hands). In his state of extreme injury, he refused special treatment, refused to be sent home early despite his injuries, and refused to be sent home despite his family status.
His father was the Commander of U. S. Pacific Forces, the equivalent of Colin Powell during the Gulf War. When the Vietnamese offered to send him home early, which they hoped to use as propaganda to demonstrate their compassion and moral standing and to earn possible brownie points with the man leading the war against them, McCain refused. A standing policy among Vietnamese POWs was to refuse release until the man captured before had gone home. By all logic, John McCain should have accepted; death was a very likely outcome for any of the Vietnamese POWs, even more so for those as injured as John McCain or who garnered as much attention (meaning torture) as he did simply by virtue of his name.
John McCain would go on (once released from solitary confinement) to lead the Christmas revolt, where a staged propaganda piece for the Vietnamese had to be scrapped as McCain gave the middle finger to the cameras throughout a Christmas service (for which he was punished). He taught history courses to his fellow inmates. In short, he refused to succumb to adversity until he was released at the end of the war.
He inspired those around him that had little to hope for, he pushed aside personal needs for the values and benefit of those around him, he refused to stop being himself in the face of fear.
I think those are great qualities for a President. That sentence would have been much more impressive had Deb not already said in an earlier comment:
“leadership experience in the military and going through an experience such as mccain’s lends an individual the ability to think clearly, effectively prioritize and execute decisions dispassionately while under incredible duress–practical leadership qualities that would serve a president well.” But you get the idea.
Ian, I’m going to go a bit further and ask you to seek out a Vietnam POW and talk to them a bit. You’ll find that five years in a torture camp hasn’t taken mental fortitude from them. You may think that their experience “can’t do anything good for the head,” but I think you’re wrong. They adhered to a set of values that allowed them to survive, and for the most part, made them stronger. Many of them do public speaking, and I’d bet that one of them will be at a 4th of July function in the Seattle area, considering Whidbey Island is so close. You live near Seattle right?
If either of you are interested, or doubtful of why Vietnam POWs are a special breed of veteran that deserve more than just our casual honor (c’mon Daniel…”we honor him, ‘nuf said” …don’t hurt yourself too much with your honoring there) read “Faith of My Fathers,” by John McCain. If you want to remain candidate neutral, I recommend “In Love and War” by Jim Stockdale, or “The Nightingale’s Song” by Robert Timberg. You can pick up a very good and near complete Jim Webb history if you choose “The Nightingale’s Song”. It’d be like a bonus. Incidentally, did anyone catch the Economist article on why Jim Webb would not be a good VP choice for Obama (Andy I can scan and email it to you if you like - though I’m sure it’s online somewhere, personally I didn’t agree with the article).
I would email it to Teresa, but I know she wouldn’t be interested, being a Republican and all.