Letters to the Editor
-
"Cooler and cooler" in a Crisis Beats Hot-Head and I Am a Fighter
I agree with Mr. Benjamin.
Hot-head McCain and 'I am a fighter' Hillary Clinton are no match for Mr. Cool Obama in a crisis. It takes intellect and good judgment to solve thorny problems.
There was one particular incident in Vietnam where cooler heads prevailed, though just barely,
and our ambush patrol returned to base without injury.
Wellington, I recall, was the British military man who compared 'nature' as in 'your nature' to habit as a virtue in battle. He said, "Habit is 10 times nature."
This is what we get with Barack Obama and only him.
-
Apparently Worked?
What evidence, pray tell, is there that this "negative" ad worked? There are assumptions but no data. And whaat's with this "bloodletting" theme. You can be disagreeably disagreeable.
-
Bush's Temperment
Where were all those skeptical military leaders in 1999 when the Deserter-In-Chief, 'former' alcoholic/drug addict was being groomed to make war on the world? Was there anyone more unsuited by experience, temperment, and reputation than Bush to be leader of the 'free' world? I don't recall any outcry or concern about his uncurious, ignorant approach to economics, diplomacy, international relations.
-
@ rrk1
You asked: "...regarding Bush's Temperment, where were all those skeptical military leaders in 1999 when the Deserter-In-Chief, 'former' alcoholic/drug addict was being groomed to make war on the world?-- rrk1"
The answer, imho, was that he was "a Republican", hence, pro-military, et al; now that our military has had the "benefit" of eight years of that Knucklehead-In-Chief Mr. Bush, perhaps they see a clear and present danger more clearly and much more in the present.
The military must follow the command of the President, so, they're simply making sure that the next President has the competency TO lead them. We only repeat mistakes if we do not learn from them.
I trust that our military has learned quantum amounts from the bastardocracy of Dubya.
-
McCain mystique
Getting shot down on your seventh bombing mission is not heroism, it's just shitty luck. Stoicism in captivity is admirable and I truly respect McCain for that. But neither makes you a hero, a word used so commonly for any former or current member of the military as to have no significance anymore.
I (and I think many other veterans) was always uncomfortable with the "hero" label being applied to everyone serving in the military. A hero, in military culture, is someone who does something so extraordinarily selfless for his comrades, unit or country that it stands out as beacon of exemplary conduct above the simple call of duty.
It's time for all of us, including John McCain, to move beyond this rhetorical device and admit that his military service wasn't all that long or varied and doesn't bestow any special cachet of experience for the office of president.
-
The Brain of an Insane McCain
It's apparent that war criminal, for bombing civilians and traitor for violating the UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice, McCain operates from his limbrick, reptile, brain rather than using his prefrontal cortex part of the brain. His self professed hero status is another absurdity because McCain didn't even protect his own family from the insults and abuses of the Bush gang in 2000. Bush's ringing endorsement of McCain is another example of McCain toadying up to court Bush's favor and promising to continue the Bush presidency. Insane McCain has already declared wars for 100's of years and not even calculating the cost to the American taxpayers.
-
@ keenanjay
You are absolutely right in your post; the word "hero" is thrown around far too casually these days. I believe it springs from the crass exploitation of anything even remotely "patriotic" by the Right and their puppets, the Republicans.
Jingoism and patriotic faux-fervor are the Republicans trite touchstones; painting Democrats as unworthy of being elected because we are insufficiently patriotic or jingoistically-challenged is a canard that has worked in the past. Will they continue to use that tactic? Hopefully, the electorate is much more sophisticated after eight, long, diseased years of George W. Bush's "mission accomplished", "Iraq has WMD's", "John Kerry isn't really a hero", et al. Hopefully.
Remember that the uber-literate Dr. Samuel Johnson said that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel". The cynic Ambrose Bierce amended it with, "I beg to submit that it is the first." Then H.L. Mencken jumped in: "But, there is something even worse: it is the first, last and middle range of fools."
There are real "heroes" in America...whether in uniform or in mufti...who deserve our admiration and respect daily; too bad the Republicans want to be the only ones to designate just who is a hero.
-
This is a response to THINGSWESAID
I've just read your post to this and other articles. Why would you bother to post on Salon with nothing but cliched time worn opinions devoid of any original thought. I dont mind reading conservative opinions as long as they well reasoned and some what original. Your caricatures of both Obama and Clinton are straight from the RNC.
My fondest hope is that once Clinton or Obama takes office they dispatch a black U.N. helicopter to confiscate your computer and Bible.
-
@Tim L
"My fondest hope is that once Clinton or Obama takes office they dispatch a black U.N. helicopter to confiscate your computer and Bible."
Now there's a thought. Does anyone remember the flap about the FBI files that happened during Bill Clinton's presidency? Just imagine how much fun Hillary could have with the new executive powers that will be the legacy of Bush's presidency.
-
CLINTON IS BEST LEADER
First: "If controversial within the Democratic Party for potentially arming McCain against Obama in a general election,..."
SAY WHAT? Why is it that everything she does to him is "potentially" damaging, but nohting he does to her is detrimental to HER general election?
Oh, like nobody on the Republican side can see that Obama is resume-lite on just about EVERY FREAKIN' THING?
Second: I trust Clinton's judgment to Obama's and McCain's. Why? I think the woman will look at every angle and consider all options and choose the most appropriate one. McCain just wants to fight somebody. And Obama will want to keep campaigning and preach them to death!
The choice of yet two more males sitting there this November trying to out-testosterone each other makes me want to puke!