Governor Sarah Palin, from the New York Times transcript:
I think tomorrow morning, the pundits are going to start do the who said what at what time and we'll have proof of some of this, but, again, John McCain who knows how to win a war. Who's been there and he's faced challenges and he knows what evil is and knows what it takes to overcome the challenges here with our military.
He knows to learn from the mistakes and blunders we have seen in the war in Iraq, especially. He will know how to implement the strategies, working with our commanders and listening to what they have to say, taking the politics out of these war issues. He'll know how to win a war.
I bring this up for a simple, politically incorrect, reason. If you watch the video, and see the context, it is clear that Sarah Palin is inferring that John McCain knows how to win from experience. Unfortunately, his military experience came at a time that did not demonstrate any great military success for this country.
Now, this is no fault of his, or any other person who served with him at that time (at least at his level). But where the hell does "he knows how to win" come from?
His grandfather and father? Certainly they both were exemplary in their service to their country and helped us win the most important war this country has ever been in. But does that really qualify John McCain as someone who "knows how to win" this war?
His service in the Senate during the Gulf War possibly? By that logic Joe Biden knows how to win just as well!
I refuse to accept the idea that John McCain knows how to win this war because he served in Vietnam. Why the hell didn't the country elect John Kerry four years ago if that is the case?
Vietnam taught us how to lose a war, not win it. It taught us to be wary of what we are getting involved in and why. It is the reason a very sizeable chunk of Americans opposed going into Iraq in the first place. It did not teach anybody how to win a war though.
If that is why he "knows how to win" this war then you just opened up a can of worms, lady. Because a lot of us would like to know why it is that John McCain didn't take the same lesson a lot of the rest of us did away from Vietnam. Caution in committing our young men and women to battle. Prudence in deciding whether put their lives in jeopardy. Heck, how about a plan for removing them from harm's way if the proverbial cow pattie's hit the fan, or even if they don't. We still have images of our exit from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon embedded in our memory. There was a flawed/non-existent exit strategy there too.
John McCain does not seem to have learned any of these lessons from his service in Vietnam. When combined with the fact that we did not win Vietnam either, it makes one wonder exactly where in Senator John S. McCain III's past this overwhelming experience to become Commander in Chief actually occurs?
I had a great deal of respect for John McCain before this campaign. I still respect his service to his country. I respect that he suffered, greatly, and still does, for his country and countrymen and women. I am sorry though. As worthy of respect as his service and suffering are, neither are necessarily a qualification to be President of the United States of America. Sorry John, I'm not buying anymore. That may not be politically correct but it makes it no less true.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
It's got electoral votes. It's what politicians crave. Sphere: Related Content
