WHY DOES McCAIN GET TESTY WHEN ASKED HOW HIS EXPERIENCE GAVE HIM SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS TO BE COMMANDER IN CHIEF?
If General Wesley Clark is not qualified to question the relevance of McCain’s experience to the task of the Presidency. then who is?
Clark spent many thousands of hours in combat than McCain’s 23 hours. Clarks valor on the field of battle did actually contribute to the military cause. Clark knows the fuction of of commander-in-chief by training and experience. McCain was a dummy in class and neither efficient nor effective in battle.
Liberalscum Buster 
Perhaps Wesley Clark should have run for President then.
It is not a matter of war qualifying anyone to be President. I would think, however, that those who have engaged in war would be twice as likely to think about a future military engagement as those who have not fought for their country.
I think many see it as an act of patriotism and dedication to one’s country. All who have fought for this country are war heroes, whether dead, alive, wounded, or not. The number of days that one served or what they accomplished while serving is no more important than the fact that they accepted the responsibility to put their lives on the line to do what this country asked them to do. If McCain had flown 1,000 missions, the Left would be criticizing him all the more for the bombs he dropped on “faceless, innocent people.”
Comment by scottymck — July 13, 2008 @ 12:44 am
If McCain had been the paragon of virtue before he was a POW, I would be more impressed.
He accepted the free education and the glory of the Naval Academy. He owed something for that.
I do not think that his time as a POW gives him license.
Don’t put words in the mouths of the Left.
Comment by gasdocpol — July 13, 2008 @ 1:54 am
Hey gasdocpol!
I know you missed me! I did not put words in the mouths of the Left that I have not already heard repeatedly. That is why I said “criticizing him all the more” instead of simply “criticizing.” I’m sure you have heard the hero status questioned numerous times yourself with the reference made to dropping anonymous bombs.
There are far more people that turn down a free education in exchage for a stint in the militqary than those who choose it.
I didn’t say his stint as a POW gave him license. I said ANYONE who serves in the military (whether they got a free education at the Naval Academy or not) deserves the status of “hero.”
My comments were not about McCain or anyone in particular; they were comments of respect for those who have served.
Comment by scottymck — July 13, 2008 @ 4:37 am
Scottymck
I am sorry that I said that you were putting words in the mouth of the Left if they were already saying those things.
There are not more people who turn down an appointment to the USNA than accept it. It is classified as “Most Competitive” It opens doors as much or more as Harvard. Most people do not turn down a free meal ticket like that. Because he had a father and grandfather who were 4 star admirals , the appointment was handed to him on a silver platter. There was some merit on his part but he would not have made it on his own.
Comment by gasdocpol — July 14, 2008 @ 1:54 pm
gasdocpol,
Maybe things have changed since I went to school (it was more than twenty years ago). The Naval Academy was begging many of my friends and myself to enroll, in exchange for the free tuition. Maybe they only go after people with the higher S.A.T. scores or, as you suggest, those who have granfathers who are 4 star Admirals.
Comment by scottymck — July 15, 2008 @ 10:41 pm
scottymck
I take it that you got a high SAT score. I suppose that the service academies have had their ups and downs as far as their popularity has been. Medical schools have had a certain amount of variability too.
Rightly or wrongly, a diploma from one of them opens doors. In the long run, I think that people should go where there is a good fit. GW Bush going to Yale was a waste of everyone’s time. The vast majority of people who graduate from Yale are pretty impressive. I know another son of a very successful Yale graduate who was still as much opf a loser before and after he graduated from yale.
Some of the smartest people that I have ever known did not even finish high school. They could even think abstractly intuitively.
Comment by gasdocpol — July 16, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
What do you know? I agree on all counts gasdocpol!
I always did well on standardized tests; don’t ask me why. School, itself, was ultimately boring, however, and my grades were only above average. That is, until I got to college and professors actually allowed me to think!
Perhaps that is why some succeed in college and others do not fair as well. A monkey can be taught to memorize!
Comment by scottymck — July 17, 2008 @ 2:40 am
The valedictorian of my college class was an engineer and never amounted to much. He is dead now. God rest his soul. The man at the bottom of my class had a much less rigorous major concentration and he did quite well as did most of our class.
Obama was near the top of his class at Harvard Law and McCain was at the bottom of his class at the USNA . In itself that means nothing. (Douglas Feith was also Magna at Harvand Law.)
In my humble opinion, the things coming out of Obama’s mouth are much smarter and more with it than those of McCain.
Comment by gasdocpol — July 17, 2008 @ 3:09 am