Who Would You Rather Have In Charge Of … Defense? (http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/entry/who_would_you_rather_have_in_charge_of_defense/)

I saw this as “Quote of the Day” by Allahpundit (http://hotair.com/archives/2008/03/28/quote-of-the-day-237/) over at Hot Air :
“Who would you rather have in charge of the defense of the United States of America, a group of people who never served a day overseas in their life, or a guy who served his country honorably and has three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star on the battlefields of Vietnam?”

Was it:
A) Hillary Clinton
B) John Kerry
C) John McCain
D) Howard Dean

It was...Howard Dean! March 2004, endorsing John F. Kerry.
Jake Tapper at an ABC News blog adds:
McCain, by the way, has been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Don’tcha just love the irony? http://sayanythingblog.com/images/smileys/smile.gif

Don’tcha just love the irony?

Irony?!?!? :rolleyes:

WTF?!?!?

When Dean posed that particular question, John McCain was not one of the choices for president.

Dean was simply contrast the choice between the two candidates at that time; GW B*sh and John Kerry.

And he was correct, and there was no irony in it whatsoever.

Newsflash: People tend to trump up the positive aspects of the candidate they support, and gloss over the negative aspects. More at 11.

Newsflash: People tend to trump up the positive aspects of the candidate they support, and gloss over the negative aspects. More at 11.

The point here however is to demonstrate how utterly dishonest and laughable it is to criticize Dean for having left McCain out of the comparison, when McCain was not even a candidate for president at the time that Howard Dean --quite correctly-- put forth the comparison and posed the question.

I think the irony is in the fact that the Republicans are going to try to make the same argument this year.

Unfortunately their guy's story as a war hero is far less compelling than John Kerry's was.

I think the irony is in the fact that the Republicans are going to try to make the same argument this year.

Unfortunately their guy's story as a war hero is far less compelling than John Kerry's was.

I disagree with that.

John McCain is a bona fide war hero --if there is such a thing-- in my book. It is impossible to conceive the horrors he must have suffered in the vietnamese prison.

Not that that fact makes me overlook his extreme rightwing positions on foreign policy, and on getting this country into further military engagements, wars and misadventures to the extent that I'd be moved to vote for him.

I'm afraid that what Pat Buchanan said about him will turn out to be true.

I disagree with that.

John McCain is a bona fide war hero --if there is such a thing-- in my book. It is impossible to conceive the horrors he must have suffered in the vietnamese prison.

I never said he is not a war hero, just that his story (getting caught and being a POW) is not as compelling, in terms of leadership, as someone who rushed a sniper's nest and saved numerous of his fellow soldiers.


Not that that fact makes me overlook his extreme rightwing positions on foreign policy, and on getting this country into further military engagements, wars and misadventures to the extent that I'd be moved to vote for him.

I'm afraid that what Pat Buchanan said about him will turn out to be true.

Yeah, I agree his record of selling out his principles on things like torture and his support for wars of aggression is going to come back to haunt him in the general election.

.....his (McCain's) record of selling out his principles on things like torture and his support for wars of aggression is going to come back to haunt him in the general election.

Nah.

It will not 'haunt him'.

It would only be a negative for him in a country with a free Press and an informed, rational electorate.

The mass of dimwitted fucking flagwavers who make up the vast majority of the electorate here will pay no attention whatsoever to McCain's selling out his principles on torture, or his support for wars of aggression.

Hell.......for a huge segment of the RightWingers, his support for wars of aggression is something to be admired.

Nah.

It will not 'haunt him'.

It would only be a negative for him in a country with a free Press and an informed, rational electorate.

The mass of dimwitted fucking flagwavers who make up the vast majority of the electorate here will pay no attention whatsoever to McCain's selling out his principles on torture, or his support for wars of aggression.

Hell.......for a huge segment of the RightWingers, his support for wars of aggression is something to be admired. Sad, but true!