Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has the story.
McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.
Jay Rockefeller is an Obama supporter whose judgment Senator Obama has repeatedly brought up in the primary against Hillary Clinton. Of course, Obama doesn’t seem to know or care how Jay Rockefeller actually voted, but that’s an issue for another day.
In Jay Rockefeller, Wes Clark and Gloria Steinem part of the Democrats strategy for November seems to be to belittle and even demonize not just John McCain, but military service as a whole.
That should go over well.
Orson Swindle says it best in the response at The Political Punch (emphasis mine).
Senator Rockefeller’s statement is an insult to all the men and women who are serving or have served in America’s military. Had Senator Rockefeller served himself, he would appreciate and understand that most who have been to war emerge with a much deeper concern for humanity than they otherwise might. If he knew what he was talking about, he would know that John McCain wasn’t dropping laser-guided missiles at 35,000 feet in 1967. Barack Obama has a responsibility to denounce Senator Rockefeller’s smear against John McCain’s character and military record. The question remains: Does Senator Obama have the courage to stand up and hold himself to the principles of ‘new politics’ he outlined in his book, “The Audacity of Hope?
UPDATE: Rockefeller apologizes….
Tags: Barack Obama, Gloria Steinem, Jay Rockefeller, John McCain, mccain, Military, Senator Obama, Wes Clark
April 8th, 2008
Following up on Matt’s post below on Glora Steinem’s derisive comments, it appears Sen. Clinton’s campaign is now trashing Sen. McCain’s time in the military. Specifically, Wes Clark employs the canard that McCain’s experience as a fighter pilot and POW don’t alone prepare him to be Commander in Chief. I agree. That in and of itself doesn’t qualify Sen. McCain for the job.
Of course, there’s a few qualifications that Clark conveniently leaves out. James Joyner of Outside the Beltway Blog lays out some of them:
But McCain’s experience isn’t limited to that Clark had as a mere company commander in Vietnam; he rose to the rank of captain (equivalent to an Army/Air Force/Marine colonel) and did a tour as the Navy’s liaison to the United States Senate. He followed that with four years in the United States House of Representatives and another 22 as a United States Senator. He’s a former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and is now the committee’s Ranking Member.
Be sure to check out James Joyner’s full post at Outside the Beltway Blog.
Tags: blogs for mccain, experience, Gloria Steinem, John McCain, mccain blogs, Wes Clark, Wesley Clark
March 3rd, 2008
Feminist Gloria Steinem, who has protested in support of closing down Guantanamo Bay detention camp because of ridiculous allegations of abuses, seems to have a much different attitude about actual torture John McCain endured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam… going as far as mocking it.
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem took to the stump on Hillary Clinton’s behalf here last night and quickly proved that she has lost none of her taste for provocation.
From the stage, the 73-year-old seemed to denigrate the importance of John McCain’s time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. In an interview with the Observer afterward, she suggested that Barack Obama benefits—and Clinton suffers—because Americans view racism more seriously than sexism.
Steinem also told the crowd that one reason to back Clinton was because “she actually enjoys conflict.”
And she claimed that if Clinton’s experience as First Lady were taken seriously in relation to her White House bid, people might “finally admit that, say, being a secretary is the best way to learn your boss’s job and take it over.”
Steinem raised McCain’s Vietnam imprisonment as she sought to highlight an alleged gender-based media bias against Clinton.
“Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience.
McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five-and-a-half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly. Referring to his time in captivity, Steinem said with bewilderment, “I mean, hello? This is supposed to be a qualification to be president? I don’t think so.”
So, alleged torture of terrorists is a serious issue, but the actual torture of an American soldier is a laughing matter?
To Hillary Clinton’s credit, her campaign issued a statement distancing themselves from Steinem’s comments… but it did fall sure of a condemnation.
Tags: Gloria Steinem, John McCain, liberal hypocrisy, torture
March 2nd, 2008
