Hillary Won the Popular Vote
18 million Democrats
voted for Hillary Clinton
18 million Democrats
voted for Hillary Clinton
McCain is right and Obama was wrong about the surge. It is working. Last month the lowest American death rate of the entire occupation. And if we left prematurely there would be an outbreak of violence and civil war which we would have unleashed there by avoiding our responsibility. We broke it. Now, we have to try to fix it. Perhaps we should not have gone there at all, but we did and now that we are there we have a great responsibility to curb and eventually stop that violence with the force only we have the capability to use there to restrain and defeat the many sided insurgencies. We have no choice. The alternative is much worse and would be irresponsible.
We also have an obligation to Iraqis and to Israelis and others in the region, to stop the Iranians from carrying out their subversion and prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons.
When we turn our back on aggression we become the targets of aggression. That is historic. We have the power and we must exert that power, not with weakness but with resolve. That has been American policy and we cannot now change that policy; it would be self-defeating and we could never recover if we surrender. To negotiate with terrorists is not to understand the nature of terrorism. To make concessions, which negotiation is, is capitulation to terrorism and that never works; it never has worked - and it makes for a much more dangerous world.
We cannot afford the inexperience which Obama would bring to the presidency. Obama has changed his tone on Iran in his speech to AIPAC naming Iran as a threat, but after previously saying it was was not a huge looming threat. It is dishonest to craft speeches to fit the audience, nor should he be the nominee who learns on the job. The concerns are too serious to tolerate on the job training. A presumptive nominee must bring a higher level of experience and understanding than he now demonstrates if he is to become president and Obama doesn't have it. Hillary did. McCain does.
McCain is Still Right
McCain was right. McCain is still right. He is the candidate who will provide the highest level of safety and insure America's security in the face of these new challenges in the 21st century. And he is the candidate who will mount a full assault on global warming.
John McCain has the best record on the environment. Only Hillary was as good but Hillary is not supported by her party in spite of getting more votes - still a small percentage of the overall available vote because a majority of Americans did not vote. Hillary was betrayed by superdelegates, Howard Dean, the Democratic Party, party leaders, so Hillary supporters should now have no reluctance to turn their back on the Democratic party which disenfranchised voters and chose a nominee who received fewer votes and a candidate who will not represent the working and middle classes, seniors, and women, the disabled, veterans, and Israel, and U.S. national interests, like she would have if the Democratic party had been truly democratic. It is not.
Obviously there is much I do not like about McCain's policies and very much of Obama's policies are not sufficient and thin on real substance. The best candidate didn't get selected and I suspect she will soon be an operative again in the Democratic Party but none of her supporters should capitulate to the least favorable candidate simply because he is a Democrat. Anyone who supported Hillary should be more concerned with the country than the party and for that reason should be independent of the party. If McCain is our best hope for security against terrorism and awful threat of climate change, then there should be no hesitation for supporting John McCain.
Lt Commander John McCain,
Prisoner of War
Lieutenant commander, John McCain flew missions over Vietnam until he was shot down on October, 1967. He was then incarcerated at the "Hanoi Hilton" prisoner of war camp until 1973.
John McCain was among 300 American pilots held in the notorious Hoa Lo prison, which was referred to as the "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War.
"I put the war behind me when I left. The memories I have are of the wonderful people I had the privilege of serving with," said McCain, whose habit of screaming obscenities at guards earned him a total of three years in solitary confinement during his 5 1/2 years in detention." (Greg Myre, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - April 27, 2000, AP)
In spite of those unforgettable beatings and lack of medical care and food, John McCain, five years ago, worked to re-establish formal diplomatic ties with Vietnam and the U.S.
Dave Everson shared a cell there with McCain for 15 months.
"He learned a lot in captivity - we all did," said Everson. "They say that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I think there's truth in that." (Lori Sturdevant, Star Tribune - Minn. Feb 17, 2000)
"Everson, an Air Force major, was incarcerated at the infamous Hanoi Hilton in March 1967; McCain, a Navy lieutenant commander, arrived the following October. Both had been injured as they ejected from planes shot down during bombing missions. Everson's back was broken and his knees damaged. McCain broke both arms and one leg. Both were beaten with rifle butts, paraded for civilian abuse, bound in contorted poses and interrogated at exhaustive length before landing in solitary confinement." (ibid)
"Everson's isolation lasted a year and a half. His captors spiced his routine by beating him or binding his feet to his bed and one wrist to his ankles, then leaving him in twisted discomfort for days." (ibid)
"McCain had it worse. He was in solitary confinement for two years. The North Vietnamese offered McCain early release in 1968 when they learned that his father, Adm. Jack McCain, had been appointed commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific. When the younger McCain refused, citing the code of conduct that POWs should be released in the order in which they were captured, he was beaten savagely." (ibid)
"It was his intellect that distinguished McCain. The prisoners passed time by teaching each other what they knew of languages, literature and mathematics. McCain held forth on Roman history. He drew sharp, well-reasoned analogies between the decline of the Roman Empire and the threat that moral decline posed for the United States." (ibid)
"McCain was also the senior officer's choice for some undercover work involving information transfer from one cell to another. It was dangerous business, but McCain was never caught." (ibid)
"Everson remembers a man who knew the value of discipline and dignity as only someone who had clung to them for survival could. He remembers occasional displays of temper, like the day Everson teased that his Viking ancestors and McCain's Irish forebears might have known each other intimately. But mostly, he recalls a good soldier." (ibid)
"Being in prison made John more steady. It taught him self-control. It gave him focus. When he left that prison, he knew what he wanted," said Everson.
"McCain became a moderate Republican..." (ibid)
McCain has the loyal support of most veterans
including this one.
(former) Post Commander Hank Roth (Post 780)
Jewish War Veterans
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Today is Friday November 21, 2008
Hank Roth (on the Internet since 1982)
While I don't use a standard blog (weblog software) mostly because I've been doing this too long - having been there with Ike when the precursor to the Internet, Arpanet got started and every step of the way since, I can't get into all the many fads over the years (now it is social networking), but I have been an observer and participant in events which shape the world since my time with NSA and with Army Security and as a voice security cryptologist in the White House for the President, and the War Room at the Pentagon for the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff plus two wars. You could say this site is one of the better kept secrets [grin] on the InterNUT. You are invited back as often as you would like to see what I and others, I trust, may be saying.
-- Hank Roth