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01/15/2007
- They were never as smart as they pretend and sure as hell ain't that smart now.
What is it they think they know that results in such a surprising position that insists in the face of disaster that the iron
can still be pulled out of the fire?
McCain's toadying to the party hard-core power base looks for all the world like compromising his prior image and principles
in the name of political expediency.
It's a continuation of his hat-in-hand olive branch to the radical religious right. (BTW, note that Dobson has said he would
not vote for McCain under any circumstances.
The issue with McCain, Lieberman, and the pretend party moderates like Lindsay Graham who debated Barbara Boxer on Lehrer
last week is in fact that they may be Veterans, but they are Veterans lacking legitimate military strategic training despite
being privy to national security information.
- which then is the only difference between them and politically active veterans like me. We all have a general lack of large
scale military strategic/tactical training, experience and skill and had no careers as military tacticians.
Not even McCain's veteran status suggests that he is any kind of military genius and/or tactician. His strong opinions about
the military's tactical and strategic need of more boots on the ground has not been established nor vindicated by his personal
bigographic credentials that compare to any of our current generals, or retired generals like Clark. He's no more gifted on
strategy than Murtha whose suggestions are as legitimate as McCain's.
Where was John McCain when Shinseki was singing the same song Johnny now bleats about albeit too little, way too late and
but needed in order to secure a presidential nomination from those party hacks who can deliver?
McCain was subordinating himself to the pretend wisdom of Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld whom he must have assumed were themselves
more intelligent than he about military strategy and tactics.
If back in 2002-2003 McCain, Lieberman, Graham and other Republicans deferred to Wolfie and Rummy - who ultimately lost their
strategic, tactical and logistical credibility (long after their lack was apparent to amateur politicals like us) - what does
that say about current Republican wisdom when it supports blind Bush ignorance and self-destructive stubbornness?
The only difference between McCain's veteran opinion and my veteran opinion regarding Clausewitz-like wisdom, is that his
vocation is as a politician with a politician's perspective and priority.
Mine is that my vocation is social work and a social justice perspective.
Neither of us are experts on military stragedy but one of us is flirting with military tragedy.
© Arthur Ruger 2007
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