The Politics of Heroism

Hey Otto the fool,

People said the same things about another president over 20 years ago. Boy I'm sure glad the majority of Americans never though Walter Mondale would have been a better Comander and Chief than that crazy old actor that was so old he couldn't remember anyone's name. I'm sure my Comrade Otto does not agree. Many years ago O'Bama was attending an ivy league university on the taxpayers dime. John McCain served in the US military, he is a 20 year plus US Senator. O'Bama is a one term Senator, whose vast experiance includes a short time as a state lawmaker. The differece between Obama and McCain is like the differece between a boy and a man. I'll pick the man anytime. Get your head out of books and get a grip on what is real. Stop being a parrot of other peoples thoughts.

The other day McCain commented, "I don't have to tell you I hate war."
Well, stop the press. The most self serving, necessary, politic statement to
date. I figured then he had gotten a new handler. As a career militarist
of dubious virtue, he makes a fine hero, and Arizona senator. When his
record is examined critically, he could make a very scary head of state.
Too much the hawk, not enough home and hearth. His diplomatic prowess
is probably at division strength. He will tell us anything to achieve his
ambition, but he needs to be told what to tell us.

Just read this author's biography and you will see she does not have the education or the background to indicated she has any real education other than running her mouth. Her biography curiously leaves her education blank, why?

See this author's biography and note it does not mention her education at all. Her "experience" is simply ... "Clift began her career as a secretary to Newsweek's National Affairs editor in New York. She was one of the first women at the magazine to move from secretary to reporter." She has been a White House correspondent - we all know what honestly that position entails, and she is a FOX contributor - need I say more.

Eleanore dear, you are a top notch truth spinner and that's about all.

Happy Independence Day! God bless our country.
Have a good holiday everyone.

I do not agree with you Eleanor. We all know exactly what he meant. All of a sudden, everyone gets stupid. Give me a break.

Give up on this inane chatter already. As a veteran myself, I know that being a "war hero" is a sobriquet too easily bestowed on almost any military person these days. Aside from that fact, to be absorbed in events of long ago while avoiding the facts of today; that being our nations economic crisis and environmental challenges, along with our worsening failures in foreign policy, is to meander about in inane fatuousness.

mindless.

The media dogs are loose. Check mediamatters.com and find out just how full of holes this article is.

Also, I find it laughable that Newsweek tries to distinguish itself from the "cable news chatter" as she glibly puts it, when in fact they are regurgitating and propagating the same misinformation as nearly every other mainstream print and cable news source in the country. This is FoxNews without the invective.

The media dogs are loose. Check mediamatters.com and find out just how full of holes this article is.

Also, I find it laughable that Newsweek tries to distinguish itself from the "cable news chatter" as she glibly puts it, when in fact they are regurgitating and propagating the same misinformation as nearly every other mainstream print and cable news source in the country. This is FoxNews without the invective.

The media dogs are loose. Check mediamatters.com and find out just how full of holes this article is.

Also, I find it laughable that Newsweek tries to distinguish itself from the "cable news chatter" as she glibly puts it, when in fact they are regurgitating and propagating the same misinformation as nearly every other mainstream print and cable news source in the country. This is FoxNews without the invective.

This is democracy and it is election year. We can debate Clark's comment, but we cannot debate Clark's freedom of speech. Clashes of opinions is better than clashes of guns. But in the end, 'greater love hath no man than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends.' McCain risked his life for us and that tells something great about him. Obama can only give big speech to prove his patriotism. Words vs Works.

As a Iraq Veteran & former Army psychiatrist, I have some idea of what heroism and isn't. Many legends of great heroism turn out to be myths. Some are mutually concocted stories to make a clique of soldiers look like heroes when the real truth is too shameful to tell. I doubt that we will ever know the real truth about McCain. However, what makes McCain a fair target is that he wears his hero medals on his sleeve.

Did or did John McCain confess to bombing innocent women and children, a war crime, on a 60 Minutes Program in 1997? Of course, he did confess to war crimes to his Vietnamese torturers. No one blames him for that althouh I have heard that at least one of his fellow prisoners though it cowardice.

Clark's mistake is that he didn't understand the rules of the right wing media.
1. Even a chicken hawk Republican is more of a hero than any Democrat vet no matter how much of a hero he was and this applies 10 fold if he's up against a Republican hero
2. When a Republican roars on security and national defense, the Democratic establishment usually scatters in terror which is why so Democrats appeased the Bush administration during the build up to the war on Iraq

Most heroes commit acts above and beyond the call of duty. Grunts on the ground are in combat 24/7 and risk their lives just by being there. Actions such as those by Alvin York, Audie Murphy, and a few others were exceptional acts--they became actualized and with complete disregard for their own lives they rose above themselves. All veterans have empathy for the POW's in every war, but that is no reason to vote for a candidatecandidate for president. The voter must consider the candidat

Well, as a pilot, I guess he could safely fly Air Force One safely to the next airport if the pilots had two heart attacks at once. That's about all the piloting experience is good for. That would be a vote for safety in Air Force One, and that's it for piloting. If graduating from Annapolis is a qualification, then Jimmy Carter is just as good as Mc Cain there. If being a prisoner qualifies him to be a president, then why haven't we been recruiting them from Leavenworth if prisoners have some special talent for the presidency?

Our president is just about as good as the reasoning of voters when they cast a ballot. Hard to see how the ship of state has floated so long with such a big leak.

This article is yet another example of how mainstream media is not only failing in its task, but making our society worse for it.

Both John McCain and Bob Scheiffer have glorified what it means to be a POW, inappropriately using it as a tremendous advantage to McCain's campaign. Scheiffer was saying that if both candidates lack executive experience, John McCain wins because his plane was shot down.

What an idiotic argument. Clark effectively said, and rightly so, that that fact bears no relevance to becoming president. And it doesn't.

The end.

I have questions.

First of all, I understand why people categorize all servicemen (and women) as heroes since going into battle, any battle, is heroic in itself. And military people protect us and our way of life here in the U.S. We are indebted to them.

However, if one goes into battle, gets captured, but instead of reciting his name, rank and serial number, he negotiates US military intelligence for special treatment. Is that heroic?

I read somewhere that John McCain, in some book he's credited as writing, said he gave up military locations and other intel to receive medical attention after he was captured. That he was taken to a hospital and treated by real physicians due to his name -- since his father and grandfather were both Admirals. Because of this, they believed he was knowledgeable and he was given special treatment in exchange for information, whe he stated he provided.

But while McCain received medical treatment, his comrades were tortured.

Is this true or not? And if it is true, how is he considered a "hero?" Wouldn't his actions be considered criminal? Wouldn't he be considered a traitor?