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Hillary’s Wrong: McCain’s Not Qualified to be Commander-in-Chief |
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Hillary Clinton lost me for good when she said that John McCain has crossed the commander-in-chief threshold but suggested that Barack Obama has not. She shouldn’t be so quick to concede that McCain is ready to be commander-in-chief. Perhaps Clinton is awed by his military background (certainly, the media gives McCain a free pass), but the rest of us should be able to consider the question soberly.
McCain claims that his military experience qualifies him to be president during war time.  Has anyone bothered to question this piece of received wisdom? McCain deserves credit for his service–but the war he served in ended 33 years ago. Saying McCain’s service n Vietnam qualifies him to be commander-in-chief in 2008 would be like saying a World War I veteran’s experience qualified him to be commander-in-chief during the Korean War.
Things have changed a bit since 1975, when the Vietnam War ended. The war McCain fought in was waged in the context of the Cold War, which has itself been over for nearly 20 years now. The conflict with Al Qaeda (from which Iraq is a distraction) will not end with a peace treaty or surrender by either side. It is not a traditional conflict between governments. McCain does not understand the nature of this conflict–sometimes he doesn’t even understand who we’re fighting against. He believes the struggle between Sunni and Shia in Iraq can be stopped if he gets both sides together and tells them to “stop the bullshit“.
McCain believes that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror–in fact Al Qaeda has established a safe haven in Pakistan, not Iraq. McCain still believes that it was a good idea to invade Iraq–even though the reason he gives for going to war turned out to be incorrect (Iraq had no WMD). Generals who have served in recent years flatly disagree with McCain and say the war itself was a mistake.
McCain likes to argue that his experience qualifies him to be commander-in-chief–and Hillary Clinton apparently agrees. But what good is “experience” in the abstract? Experience only matters if it leads to wisdom and good decisions. McCain’s years of experience led him to support a misconceived war against a country that didn’t attack us, a war that distracted us from dealing with those who actually did attack us, a war that has gone for five years already and shows no signs of ending.Â
Call me crazy, but the qualities I’d like to see in a wartime president are good judgment and good decisionmaking. Sound judgment is what allowed JFK to pull us back from the brink of nuclear war during he Cuban missile crisis (when generals were urging Kennedy to use nuclear weapons).  The decision to invade Iraq was a terrible mistake, as even some Republicans and former supporters of the war concede.
John McCain exercised poor judgment when he supported the war. in Iraq He continues to exercise poor judgment in failing to recognize that the war was a mistake.Â
Temperament also matters–we want a commander-in-chief who is steady, who inspires others to follow him or her, and who doesn’t have a hair-trigger temper.  This isn’t just what I think–this is what military leaders say matters. Several military leaders question McCain’s temperament. One retired general says he has “tremendous respect for McCain, but would not follow him.” Another says “I like McCain. I respect McCain. But I’m a little worried by his knee-jerk response factor. I think it’s a little scary. I think this guy’s first reactions are not necessariy the best reaactions. I believe that he acts on impulse.” Several Republicans, menbers of McCain’s own party, echo this sentiment, saying McCain’s termper “should disqualify him” from the presidency, and the thought of McCain as president “sends a cold chill down [one senator's] spine.” Â
Hillary Clinton may be ready to concede McCain’s qualifications without actually examining them. I think we can do a lot better than this. Fortunately, there is one candidate who showed the right judgment about Iraq, and continues to show the right judgment. I hope Obama, unlike Clinton, won’t concede on McCain’s qualifications to be commander-in-chief, because there is a lot to question here.
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Pure age is why I’m concerned. This guy can’t be thinking clearly all the time, as evidenced by his actions. That’s dangerous.
yes, I can’t wait to see him in a debate–unless he manages to pull off a granfatherly Reagan routine, he won’t make a great impression–especially in contrast with Obama