He'll know how to win a war.

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.

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So, If You Can't Find The Wounded Vets.....

you must be....A WITCH! (Sorry for the Monty Python humor there.)

This is truly classic, and a highly unusual blunder that the Republicans aren't expected to make at a convention.

You know that fancy 'mansion' like looking picture with the big green lawn that was behind John McCain during part of his speech last night? Made him look like he had a 'green screen' behind him on the close ups? Well a number of people were wondering what it was.

To your right you see first a picture off the RNC's own website last night. Following it is a picture of Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California. Yup, that's definitely Walter Reed Middle School.

If you are wondering why they would show Walter Reed Middle School, you are not alone. You also no longer have to wonder.

They meant to show Walter Reed Medical Center. Yup. That's right. Now that's trying to say "We won't screw up like the last guy!" by screwing up. They are, apparently, already pointing fingers at one another. Even Andrew Sullivan has picked this one up.

Seriously, you really can't make this stuff up!

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

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McCain and the POW card

First. Shame on NBC. On their 'short clips' of the tonight show they fail to include the part that a great number of us wanted to see: The question and answer about the houses. (I can embed the short clips, not the full episodes.)

The following, I did find. Hopefully, it stays up on YouTube. The comment in question is right at the beginning:



Now, I am not going to post the whole thing. If you would like, you can visit the NBC site and view the entire interview here.

The reason you may want to do this is the context. The comment in question came just after the break. McCain had been joking around the entire time before this about all sorts of subjects including his age. Coming out of the break he decided to get serious by using the POW line in response to a question that he has failed, repeatedly, to accurately answer.

Now this was actually a logical point in the interview to get serious. Which leads me to question the timing of when the question was posed.

Exactly how much Jay and his staff coordinated the timing of the question with McCain and his staff? Seems rather convenient that McCain gets to try to slough off the question. Even worse, with that same POW thing he pulls out whenever he gets in trouble. It's like his own personal "9/11".

Sample interview:

Why does your economic plan make no sense for working folks Senator?

Well....You know I spent five and a half years sleeping on a bamboo mat in Hanoi...

George W. Bush used 9/11 the exact same way in 2004.

It increases suspicion that NBC did not include that part on the short clips. It isn't like they didn't already know that it would be viewed. Nora O'Donnell and Rachel Maddow were ripping into McCain's use of the POW thing again on MSNBC 2 hours before The Tonight Show aired on the east coast!

Someone, anyone, really everyone needs to call John McCain on the POW thing. Yes, we know you were a POW. We are sorry that you had to serve your country in that way. We all wish that you had never had to go through that.

Guess what, John? You have lived an extremely privileged and pampered existence for the last 25 plus years while married to Cindy. Don't ask us to feel sorry for you.

And NO! Being a POW does not qualify you for being President of the United States.

Wesley Clark said it well several months ago:

I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.

He got ripped for that line but it made it no less true.

It qualifies him for our sympathy. It qualifies him for a even larger amount of our respect for his service to our country than he would have gotten otherwise. It does not qualify him to be president.

He must stop using it as a crutch or suffer the consequences. And if he doesn't start to suffer the consequences, well, then, shame on us.

Update

Here is some video from Morning Joe on MSNBC:



Maybe he will get called on it.

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

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Do you know about The Surge?

From 236.com:



Don't know whether to laugh or cry? Me neither. It's okay, it'll all be over in a couple of months....I hope.

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

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Cluster Munition Accusations Continue

Russia continues to deny the use of cluster bomb munition in it's operations in Georgia despite continuing and growing evidence to the contrary.



Human Rights Watch is dogging Russia on this but it isn't getting a whole lot of press coverage outside of the occasional NPR mention. That seems rather odd given our media's general record on human rights. Heck, it would seem to be a great opportunity to grill McCain and Obama about their thoughts on the use of such horrible weapons!

• Georgia: Russian Cluster Bombs Kill Civilians
• Georgia: Civilians Killed by Russian Cluster Bomb ‘Duds’

I think Russia would do well to fess up and help with the cleanup. It might even help to foster some international goodwill. Of course, Russia is not usually amenable towards ideas that I come up with.

---

Russia also continues to drag it's feet on withdrawal from Georgian territory but has reportedly finally started to do so, at least from some positions.

As with most conflicts, just about every party here seems to deserve some blame. Georgia for being idiotic enough to use force in South Ossetia. Russia for it over the top reaction and for their own human rights abuses during their 'response.' Even the leaders in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia deserve some blame as they have not helped to defuse anything and seem more intent on fermenting further bad feelings.

The United States seems to deserve some blame here as well. There is some reason that Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili seemed to think he would be backed up with his action against South Ossetia. There is some reason why he thought we would come to his aid, militarily, when Russia moved against Georgia. That reason is not simply that Saakashvili suffers from delusions (which is not beyond the realm of possibility.) He was given some type of assurance from someone. Whether it was someone within the government or someone he had reason to believe knew the intentions of the government is the question.

There is a story here that hasn't been told yet. Perhaps the story has started to be told at TPM and the Washington Post? John McCain better hope that this is not the start of the story that will be told. That would work out badly for him.

Look for it though. The rest of the story is coming. It's out there somewhere and it won't be pretty. It is disgraceful that so many had to die and be injured because of it.

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

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Medvedev halts Russian attacks in Georgia

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced that he has ordered a halt to the Russian military offensive in Georgia.



Obviously, he would like to appear to be magnanimous in this situation. Since French President Nicolas Sarkozy is already in Moscow to negotiate with Medvedev, it is obvious that the Russian President (and/or Prime Minister Vladimir Putin) does not want to appear to be strong-armed by the European Union. Perhaps he will save the announcement that he is pulling his troops back for after the meeting with Sarkozy?

The Russian demands aren't entirely out of reality but the idea of forcing a democratically elected president of a sovereign nation to resign as one of the terms of a ceasefire and withdrawal will be anathema to the west.

President George W. Bush said yesterday, "Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century." This is true.

MSNBC has this:

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States of hypocrisy in a tough statement that reflected both the measure of his anger at the West.

This is also true.

See George? This is why, by acting unilaterally throughout the first six years of your presidency, you cut yourself off at the knees on being able to criticize others when something like this happens.

Does that make Medvedev and what Russia has done right? Absolutely not! Nevertheless, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown and the other European leaders who have similarly low approval ratings will be the ones with the moral authority here. It will not be, nor can it be, given his record, our president.

Doesn't it just make you weep.

Both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain made statements condemning the violence in Georgia over the last few days.



I remain hopeful that regardless of who wins, they will restore our voice in international politics.

Comments welcome,

Pat McGovern

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