Submitted by Jay (not verified) on Mon, 06/30/2008 - 18:20.
So he has 22 years of military experience, I know lots of people that have been in the same job for 20 plus years and they are still incompetent. I know other people in the same profession that are only 1 year out of college that are amazingly competent. No doubt experience helps, but it is far from the sole criteria for determining competence. We've got a couple of Chicken Hawks running the country right now and they have been micro-managing the whole war. Maybe we'd be better off with a president that is willing to exhaust every reasonable option before making the decision to go to war rather then one who's spent a large part of their life in the military and is all to comfortable with the idea of going to war? Maybe a president that hasn't been intimately involved with the military or the military industry would be more inclined to let the military professionals fight to win the war while he fights to win the peace?
As far as what happened during his time as a POW only McCain knows. Other POW's have given different versions of McCain's time as a POW but I give their versions as much credibility as I gave the Swift Boat Veteran's for Truth, which was none.
Who knows what he did or didn't give up while being tortured, does it really matter? After enduring years of torture there is no telling what damage was done to his mind. My point is that I want a president that I am confident has a 100% sound mind. PTSD is nothing new and soldiers can experience flashbacks and panic attacks when under stress their entire life. Some experience these problems frequently, others rarely, many work through it over time and don't experience any problems. Unfortunately there is no test to determine who will have problems again. Furthermore, enduring constant torture does not "show show any qualities", it's not something he persevered in, it's something he was subjected to. Being subjected to torture does not develop any qualifications for President that I can think of. I'd trust McCain with almost any job, but I would not trust him having his finger on the button.
If you re-read what I said, I DID NOT compare him to a terrorist, you just did that on your own. I have complete respect for the Vietnam veteran's just like I respect for the Iraq veterans, it was our leadership then and now that got us into both ideological wars and they are the ones that deserve every-ones contempt. Just to clear up a point, terrorists are what attacked the World Trade Center. Most Iraqis however view their fighters as patriots defending their country just as we would view Americans defending our country if we were attacked. Just because Bush calls them all terrorists, doesn't make it so. What I had asked was how you would feel about an ex-detainee of Guantanamo being elected to lead Iraq. Someone that has been held prisoner and tortured would clearly harbor a deep hatred for their captors. Would they be able to put the past aside as their countries leader or would it color everything they did? Might they be inclined to use their position to lash out, hurt or punish those that may have been involved in their mistreatment? Would a Guantanamo detainee hate all Americans, all westerners, all democracies? I don't know. Does McCain harbor hatred of the Vietnamese, Asians, the Soviets, communists? Once again, I don't know, and that is where the problem is.
BTW, why is that so many Republicans (sorry fiscal conservatives, I don't mean to lump you in with this bunch) resort to insulting anyone that doesn't agree with them? You called me an idiot twice because you think McCain is more qualified to be president. Is the lack of civility a trait of Republicans or are the derogatory comments your attempt to win points with bluster? Have you been listening to too much Rush or watching too much Fox news and now you mimic their tactics? I simply stated my opinion with supporting arguments, are you incapable of formulating intelligent counterarguments to present your opinions?
Experience does not equal competence
So he has 22 years of military experience, I know lots of people that have been in the same job for 20 plus years and they are still incompetent. I know other people in the same profession that are only 1 year out of college that are amazingly competent. No doubt experience helps, but it is far from the sole criteria for determining competence. We've got a couple of Chicken Hawks running the country right now and they have been micro-managing the whole war. Maybe we'd be better off with a president that is willing to exhaust every reasonable option before making the decision to go to war rather then one who's spent a large part of their life in the military and is all to comfortable with the idea of going to war? Maybe a president that hasn't been intimately involved with the military or the military industry would be more inclined to let the military professionals fight to win the war while he fights to win the peace?
As far as what happened during his time as a POW only McCain knows. Other POW's have given different versions of McCain's time as a POW but I give their versions as much credibility as I gave the Swift Boat Veteran's for Truth, which was none.
Who knows what he did or didn't give up while being tortured, does it really matter? After enduring years of torture there is no telling what damage was done to his mind. My point is that I want a president that I am confident has a 100% sound mind. PTSD is nothing new and soldiers can experience flashbacks and panic attacks when under stress their entire life. Some experience these problems frequently, others rarely, many work through it over time and don't experience any problems. Unfortunately there is no test to determine who will have problems again. Furthermore, enduring constant torture does not "show show any qualities", it's not something he persevered in, it's something he was subjected to. Being subjected to torture does not develop any qualifications for President that I can think of. I'd trust McCain with almost any job, but I would not trust him having his finger on the button.
If you re-read what I said, I DID NOT compare him to a terrorist, you just did that on your own. I have complete respect for the Vietnam veteran's just like I respect for the Iraq veterans, it was our leadership then and now that got us into both ideological wars and they are the ones that deserve every-ones contempt. Just to clear up a point, terrorists are what attacked the World Trade Center. Most Iraqis however view their fighters as patriots defending their country just as we would view Americans defending our country if we were attacked. Just because Bush calls them all terrorists, doesn't make it so. What I had asked was how you would feel about an ex-detainee of Guantanamo being elected to lead Iraq. Someone that has been held prisoner and tortured would clearly harbor a deep hatred for their captors. Would they be able to put the past aside as their countries leader or would it color everything they did? Might they be inclined to use their position to lash out, hurt or punish those that may have been involved in their mistreatment? Would a Guantanamo detainee hate all Americans, all westerners, all democracies? I don't know. Does McCain harbor hatred of the Vietnamese, Asians, the Soviets, communists? Once again, I don't know, and that is where the problem is.
BTW, why is that so many Republicans (sorry fiscal conservatives, I don't mean to lump you in with this bunch) resort to insulting anyone that doesn't agree with them? You called me an idiot twice because you think McCain is more qualified to be president. Is the lack of civility a trait of Republicans or are the derogatory comments your attempt to win points with bluster? Have you been listening to too much Rush or watching too much Fox news and now you mimic their tactics? I simply stated my opinion with supporting arguments, are you incapable of formulating intelligent counterarguments to present your opinions?