Letters to the Editor
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The 3 a.m. concept is flawed from the get-go
I fear that those who make their presidential decisions based on the concept of a "ringing red phone" are making such a decision based on some flawed expectations.
Of course I don't know the exact workings of the president's communications apparatus, but I feel confident in suggesting that there isn't a red phone on the president's nightstand that rings in the middle of the night with a voice on the other end demanding that the president to make an immediate tactical military decision. Unfortunately, the recent discussion and debate seems to reinforce this idea, with the Clinton campaign specifically trying to make a case that whomever answers a 3 a.m. phone call in the White House will be required to make very important military and security decisions based on a limited information while wearing his or her pajamas.
A much more plausable scenario is that the next president, when faced with such a crisis, would need to immediately convene the appropriate brain trust and make their decisions based upon the information presented by the military experts with the actual knowledge and real experience pertinent to the issue at hand.
To me, that's the real question - who do we want at the head of that table? Someone who is convinced that their long "experience" has given them a special insight that will allow them to magically make the appropriate choice in any possible scenario, or someone who is willing to make their decisions based on the recommendations of people who know more about the situation than they do?