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Jim Webb: The Voice of Reason Against the Militarization of American Politics.
John McCain is the architect of the militarization of American politics. He perfected the use of the "military card" to intimidate political opponents like Barack Obama into silence, as was the case recently when he suggested that for all Obama's lack of military experience, he had no business criticizing him. And needless to say, McCain's chastisement of Obama elicited no response from the latter in what clearly was intimidation at work. To that extent, then, McCain had fired the first shot in what promises to be a shameless dragging of the good name of the military into a mess of political bickering and partisanship politicians cannot do without. Thus, Jim Webb is emerging as a voice of reason in this latest "military card" saga as he cautions politicians to "get the politics out of the military"
Comments (2)
Primary
HRC = gender issues
GE
McCain aka "policy-lite"= military
Get ready, the circus is back with a new act.
July 1, 2008 5:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Politics is always already there in the military simply because the military is commanded by and subordinate to the civilian elected leadership: politicians.
Does anyone really think Webb would be a Virginia Senator if not for his military service? For him to admonish McCain on the ethics of using military service to achieve political office kind of reeks of "the pot calling the kettle black."
McCain has as much right to cite his Navy career as does Obama to cite his Harvard Law School degree.
Does McCain's Navy service evince any particular abilities that would make him a wise choice as president? The only one I can think of is courage, an attribute not to be belittled. But on the intellectual side, Candidate McCain has not shown very much that indicates there's anything there.
Obama, on the other hand, oozes intelligence---no one on either side of the fence questions that. And, as an African-American in this country, the very fact that he is willing to expose himself to the dangers of running for president speaks volumes about his courage.
Personally, I prefer Biden to Webb as the vehicle to shore up O's National Security flank as VP choice. Webb kind of has that "loose lips sink ships" quality that McCain has put on public display lately. And, of course, Wes Clark committed political suicide by his poorly worded remarks this week.
July 1, 2008 11:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
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