Winners and Losers

Listening to McCain - we don't want to "lose" in Iraq. This leads to a simple question, that the DFH (dirty fucking hippies) keep hoping somebody will answer.

McCain insists our military must "win" the war in Iraq. We cannot leave until we "win". The question is, how long do you keep trying to "win"?

On my teevee, the talking heads keeping using the word "Serious". I don't know anybody who is not "Serious" about their views, whatever they are, about Iraq.

Is McCain a "hero"?

The issue of McCain's military service is well known. He was a pilot in Vietnam, was shot down, and spent a number of years in a NVA prison camp. He was treated quite harshly.. probably rising to the level of torture.

There are a lot of ways to define a "hero". A police officer, or fireman can be a hero. A parent can be a "hero". There seems to be an issue about the degree of ones heroism.

A soldier that serves in combat, defending our nation, could be said to be more of a "hero" than a good teacher that made a difference in your life.

My father served in the pacific theatre in WWII. He was awarded a Silver Star (that's a big deal), a Bronze Star, 2 Purple Hearts, and other assorted salad. He was never captured by the enemy, and apparently was very skilled at fighting them. On the scale of "heroism", he's more of one than John McCain, who was apparently not skilled enough to avoid getting shot down so he could continue to fly missions.

The larger point, however, is that a person's level of "heroism" is not relevant to politics. Politics is purely about policy and integrity, and McCains military service, while noble, is not somehow a qualification beyond what a person who did not serve could have.

That said, it's important to accurately understand the candidates history. It's important to know exactly how McCain served, and honor that service as we would for all of America's service members. Unfortunately, John Kerry was not afforded that dignity when he was a candidate for President. Kerry's service didn't make him more qualified than anyone else, but the conservative attacks on his service certainly do merit derision. I know that's just how they work, but it's still "cowardly".

It's also rather dishonest to start limping only when the cameras are rolling.

He really was incredibly handsome, wasn't he? Not my type.. but he wears the flight suit better than George Bush (in all his cod piece glory) ever could. If that McCain were candidate right now, he'd have a much better chance of winning.

Time sucks.. aging sucks..