Letters to the Editor
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Bill and Monica at 3 a.m.
Attack ad I expect to see from McCain: Bill Clinton and/or an updated female intern answering the phone at 3 a.m. while Hillary is asleep (again), oblivious to what is happening under her nose, let alone what is happening in the trouble spots of the world.
A readiness to take a life, to "push the button"--which the 3 a.m. ad claims Hillary is willing and capable of doing--is what really seems to sell with the majority of American people. Unfairly, Michael Dukakis, Bush Sr., and John Kerry all had to contend with the "wimp factor," proving to the electorate that they were "man enough," (i.e.the killer instinct) to be President. Dukakis rode his tank in 1988 but he looked too intellectual. Draft dodger W. proved he was a tough guy by executing as many people as he could while Governor of Texas, including the genuinely repentant Evangelical convert Karla Faye Tucker. Anti-war War hero Kerry had to kill birds in Ohio in 2004, but it was obvious his heart wasn't in it. We know McCain can kill, though from 30,000 feet, but he can dump a wife better than Giuliani. Somehow Obama will have to show he is more macho than Hillary...no small task. But as macho a cutthroat as she seems to be, as a woman Hillary will have to compensate even more to show she is willing to kill and won't "go wobbly." Just assassinating Obama's character won't be enough. She needs to "push the button" and kill Bill. If she divorces him between now and November, she's a shoe-in. If she isn't strong enough to lose him, we'll see Bill and Monica Drudged up 24/7 between the convention and election day.
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Not Hillary, Either
Wrong on Iraq.
Wrong on Iran.
Refuses to speak with Raul Castro.
Obama right all three times.
Does judgment count for anything?
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Psychological Trauma
I am not quite sure how the experience of being a Prisoner of War makes you highly qualified as a decision maker on principles of Natioanl Security.
Survival in a Prisoner of War situation generally requires a certain malleability in the mindset, and certainly the results of being tortured or at least competely under the control of captors is going to warp your mind. McCain had to endure that kind of psychological warping for more than 5 years, if anything it would make him a less stable individual, and I can't see how people use this as a means for making him seem MORE capable of handling the 3AM phone call.
Neither however would I say Obama or Clinton are people I would trust in such a situation. I don't think being the wife of an ex-President makes you highly qualified, I don't think being a new Senator does that either. They ALL have deficiencies in this regard.
I would suggest we just set up a Voice Mail to handle the 3AM Phone Calls, with a Tree of choices.
If you are going to bomb the White House, please Press 1.
If you are going to dust Washington with Anthrax, please Press 2
If you are Horny, please press 3, or Dial 1-800-Bill Clinton.
This should cover most of the important 3AM Phone Calls to the White House.
Jim Possible
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Dangerous regret
I have been married to a terrific guy for almost 40 years who has a similar hair- trigger response much to his own dismay as well as mine. Like McCain he too has always been quick to apologize and is sincere when he does so. But I was forced to develop many careful approaches if I had disturbing news but sometimes even they failed to stop an explosion. In this volatile world to have a president who requires these kinds of kid gloves does not make sense. Unpredictable responses also cause deep anxiety it in those who work for this kind of person. As young children my kids did not know what to expect from their dad. One day an action on their part was fine, another day it could cause an explosion. This made them wary and overly cautious. Do we want a president whose staff will draw straws to avoid being the one who goes in the Oval office when bad news must be presented?
Can you imagine being the person putting through that 3AM call if the man answering is someone who will slice you through with his anger before he stomps down to the crisis room? Many times in the wake of his anger my husband found much to his deep regret he had said things or taken action he could not readily repair. McCain as president could start an irreversible march to war with his uncontrolled quick response.
We know of McCain's volitilty and we have seen Senator Clinton's visible anger in the debates. THe one candidate who seems to remain cool and rational is Senator Obama. I will take his kind of personality and intelligence over the other two absolutely.
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McCain's Military/Defense Credentials
Who would be best at defending America and "answering that red phone at 3am"? Here's a look at McCain's defense and military credentials. You decide:
" John Sidney McCain III has admitted that he disliked the life of a midshipman at Anapolis; accordingly, he was a lackluster student and received many demerits. He graduated in 1958, and joked that he had followed the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both of whom had graduated very low in their respective classes at Annapolis. McCain graduated 894th out of a class of 899.
He will be 72 by the time the elections roll around in 2008, making him 3 years older than the oldest elected president Ronald Reagan, but he has dismissed concerns about his age and past health concerns (malignant melanoma in 2000), stating that his condition was “excellent.” Should McCain win in 2008 and subsequently win re-election in 2012, McCain will be the oldest president to serve leaving office in January 2017 at 80 years old.
One area where McCain has largely won support from conservatives is in his aggressive defense of the Iraq War. However, he once fought against funding the construction of a new aircraft carrier, saying the money should be spent on the 12,000 enlisted families who were on food stamps. He supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and his speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention centered around that theme.
McCain has been a strong supporter of the U.S. decision to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, of a continued military presence, and of Bush’s “hawkish” foreign policy in general Despite offering support for war, McCain has urged the Bush administration to make “significant policy changes” in the Iraq War; yet, “stay the course.” He criticized the Pentagon several times, most notably concerning low troop strength in Iraq, and has called for a diversification of Iraqi national forces to better represent the multiple ethnic groups contained within the country. He stated that the United States government must do more to keep public support high for the war, stressing that “America, Iraq and the world are better off with Saddam Hussein in prison rather than in power and we must honor their sacrifice by seeing this mission through to victory.
McCain has also said that he could see US troops "staying in Iraq for the next 100 years!”
(All data is taken from race42008.com, JohnMcCain.com, straighttalkamerica.com and wikipedia.com.)