The Red Brick Times

With the exception of a few posts in this last week I've resisted my impulses to post anything election oriented. Not that I've really had that many. Overall my feelings toward our national government are, um, let's just say disrespectful and let it go at that, so cheering on one side or the other doesn't come naturally to me. I vote, but never can shake the feeling that I'm always selecting the lesser of two evils, something that over time dampens one's enthusiasm for the whole process. In that spirit I offer this link, an Op-Ed from the NYT that, at least to me, sums things up rather nicely.

P.S. PayPal has been giving me some grief lately about tRBT account there. I think it's suspended for the moment. I'm not sure what exactly they want but until it's all sorted out please try to resist any overwhelming urge to donate that way (you may send a check, or gold bullion would work too ;-).
Posted 4:58 AM by whatley (1) comments

       Comments:

Last night I was asked by a friend, "Aren't you a Vietnam veteran?". I said, "Yes." Then he asked, "Do you think McCain's service in Vietnam makes him better than you?" I said, "No it does not." Later I pointed out there is no glory in getting caught. Apparently someone forgot to mention that McCain, like many of us, had had SERE training (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape). He managed the first, barely, failed miserably at the second, third and fourth elements. While I appreciate he was injured there is some question in my mind how he allowed himself to come to ground in Hanoi.

So does getting caught make you 'better'? I think not.

Related issue, military command experience (McCain's is VERY limited) is nothing like civilian leadership. The former has the attribute of institutionally enforced compliance without debate or dissension permitted. The latter requires much more, more than McCain has demonstrated.

Being a 'maverick' is not being a leader.

At end, is he qualified to lead innovatively? I propose the answer is NO.

# posted by  jeichenlaub : September 08, 2008 9:11 AM
 
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