Harkin Suggests Military Background Makes McCain Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is catching grief for suggesting John McCain??s family history of military service makes the presumptive Republican presidential nominee unfit to be commander-in-chief.
Harkin, who has a history of embellishing his own military record, told Iowa reporters last week that McCain??s background as the son and grandson of Navy admirals creates a ??dangerous? situation because he can only view the world through the prism of the military.
??He has a hard time thinking beyond that,? Harkin said, according to The Des Moines Register. ??I think he??s trapped in that. Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous.?
The paper also quotes Iowa??s junior senator telling reporters, ??It??s one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that??s just how you??re steeped, how you??ve learned, how you??ve grown up.?
Military service is not a foreign concept to U.S. presidents. In the post-War War II era, Bill Clinton is the only president to have not served in some branch of the military.
McCain, who touts his family history on the campaign trail, was a Vietnam War pilot who spent five and a half years in a prisoner of war camp rather than accept the North Vietnamese offer to release him ahead of his fellow troops because he was the son of an admiral.
On the stump, McCain often discusses the need to continue operations in Iraq until the country can securely manage its own affairs, and has suggested that the U.S. could leave a presence there for as long as 100 years if the country is secure.
In a recent speech, however, the Arizona senator laid out a vision of his administration that included removing U.S. troops from Iraq by 2013.
McCain??s campaign has blasted Harkin for suggesting that a long military career is a bad thing. Elsewhere, the right-wing blogosphere and pundits have suggested that Harkin is out of touch.
??It??s perverse,? said National Review editor Rich Lowry. ??He has this family history of serving the country in the most risk-taking way possible, and that somehow disqualifies you to be president of the United States? That??s insane.?
Democratic strategist Kristen Powers, a FOX News political analyst, said Harkin??s comments make it harder for Democrats to claim the moral authority on foreign policy.
??I think it??s a problem. I don??t know why he would say something like that, and it reinforces this idea of Democrats not respecting military service ? it??s a noble calling, and I don??t know why he would say something like that,? she said.
Harkin Suggests Military Background Makes McCain Unfit to be Commander-in-Chief - America??s Election HQ
Three Oddly Similar Criticisms of McCain's Military Service
One:
"McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit," Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. said.
"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."
Two:
Republican presidential candidate John McCain's family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, "and he has a hard time thinking beyond that," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said Friday.
"I think he's trapped in that," Harkin said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous."
Harkin said that "it's one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that's just how you're steeped, how you've learned, how you've grown up."
"But now McCain is running for a higher office. He's running for commander in chief, and our Constitution says that should be a civilian," Harkin said. "And in some ways, I think it would be nice if that commander in chief had some military background, but I don't know if they need a whole lot."
Three (hat tip, RedState):
A prominent local Barack Obama backer bashed John McCain's military record Monday, calling the Republican presidential candidate a "self-promoter."
In a nearly-half hour speech, Democratic congressional candidate Bill Gillespie praised Obama, his party's leading White House hopeful...
"Admirals' sons," Gillespie said, unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District held by Republican Rep. Jack Kingston, "were treated like royalty. They were privileged people. They were given a silver spoon. Their careers were prepared for them."
Gillespie, a former Army officer who served in Iraq, said McCain was the kind of admiral's son who became a "maverick."
McCain, Gillespie added, was "somebody who needed to stand out, someone that needed to draw attention to themselves and ... was usually out for themselves."
He said his "heart grieves" for McCain's suffering as a POW.
"After that," Gillespie said, "he was somewhat of a celebrity and it went to his head. ... I think he was a self-promoter for the last four years (in the Navy.)
Asked to cite specific examples, Gillespie responded, "I don't have one right now."
To quote Auric Goldfinger, "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
Which is worse ?? that Democrats across the country are spontaneously choosing to cite McCain's military experience as a drawback or weakness, and a reason to not vote for him? Or that this is some sort of coordinated message effort?
The Campaign Spot on National Review Online
Trying to attack McCain, a war hero, on this issue is really the wrong way to go.:twocents:
As for Harkin......assclown extraordinaire!
Have a good one!:s4:
