Is Senator McCain a Warmonger?
According to a report from Glenn Johnson from Associated Press, “McCain told a rally in Harrisburg, Pa., on Tuesday that he was already tested during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963. McCain was serving on an aircraft carrier near Cuba during that confrontation with the Soviet Union.”
This comment from the part of McCain comes as a response to a comment Joe Biden made that if elected president Obama would be tested by enemies. Although McCain has taken Biden’s remark out of context, the comment was made by Biden to illustrate that Senator Obama would handle such a crisis as President Kennedy did.
As you recall, President Kennedy protected the nation from total annihilation thanks to his even-tempered managing of what could have been a catastrophic time for all people.
It is worth mentioning that John McCain appears to place a great deal of focus on aggressive military solutions to just about every scenario that is presented before him. During his speeches, McCain makes frequent mention of his war scars, and he tends to swell up whenever the topic of national defense is mentioned around him.
Given his background as a military officer it is understandable that he would bring up analogies that would include some military and war imagery, but it appears that Senator McCain has an insatiable appetite for war.
If you look at where he came from and how he was reared, one cannot help but to notice that he was raised to be a warrior. According to his biography, he was born in a naval station to a naval officer. His father and his paternal grandfather both became Navy Admirals. Following on his father’s footsteps Senator McCain entered the Naval Academy. He later served in the U.S. Navy, was shot down over Hanoi and held captive and tortured daily for about 5 years. Even though he we was physically impaired (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain ) as a result of the injuries, and mental and physical abuse that he suffered as a prisoner of war, he refused to retire and continued serving until 1981.
After his retirement, McCain became involved with national politics, but his warrior stance has never left him, in spite of the fact that politics demanded him to focus on honing the skills of a political leader. His inability to adjust to a behavior conducive of a diplomat has been very evident during this presidential race. As a result, of his constant bellicose disposition, many political analysts have commented on his apparent anger during the debates.
If you recall the debates, at times he looked as if he was going to explode. In contrast, Senator Obama was always cool and even-tempered regardless of the amount of pressure that was put on him. Also, recall that whenever the topic of war was brought up, McCain became very involved and passionate, as if he really enjoyed talking about war.
This is something that the voters should notice, since if he is a warmonger, we could be in Iraq for another 4 years. Can you imagine four more years of our young men and women loosing limbs in Iraq? Can you imagine four more years of our young men and women becoming psychologically damaged, or being killed because of McCain’s insatiable hunger for war?
After all, who is to say that McCain’s quest for honor will ever be reached? Who is to say that his standard for victory will listen to the voice of reason? We should be careful not to venture into an era of Napoleon like conflicts that could lead this nation to defeat instead of victory. The severity of our times calls for an even-tempered peacemaker and not for a chaotic warmonger. Therefore, be careful what you wish for when choosing the next president, since the future of our great nation depends on it.