Posted on June 30th, 2008 at 11:54 pm by GregM
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about Retired Gen. Wesley Clark challenging John McCain’s military leadership. General Clark said that McCain was not qualified to be President of the United States because he had never led troops during war time - he had only served during war time.
I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn’t held executive responsibility…He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn’t seen what it’s like when diplomats come in and say, “I don’t know whether we’re going to be able to get this point through or not.” CNN.com
This logic makes no sense to me. Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan…none of these men led troops during war time. Why should we hold Sen. McCain to a higher standard?
When asked for a response, Barack Obama said that he would never question anyone’s patriotism. That is what we in communication call a “Red Herring Fallacy.” It sounds like it answers the question, but it actually has nothing to do with it. Sen. Obama was asked to comment on Gen. Clark’s remarks on John McCain’s military background and leadership abilities, but instead he talked about patriotism, which is not the same thing!
Link Here | July 1, 2008,
Excellent catch and a tiny detail most people miss. Obama does this an awful lot and noone seems to be paying attention.
Comment by Flo |
Link Here | July 3, 2008,
Isn’t Red Herring the guy that always gets blamed on a pup named scooby-doo, only he’s never actually the one who did it cause he has an alibi? I’m just sayin’
Comment by Stacy Moser |
Link Here | July 3, 2008,
I think it might be because John McCain is basing his whole campaign on having spent five years in a prisoner of war camp forty years ago. It’s what he says makes him qualified to be our president. You have to expect the Democrats to question that. In fact, I question it myself. Hows does that show that he has the judgment and leadership qualities we should be looking for in a president?
Comment by Len |
Link Here | July 8, 2008,
True, Obama does sometimes answer questions in the same manner.
I myself don’t think that being in the military automatically qualifies you for office, but I do think that sometimes it can be a plus, especially in a war-time situation, as you do have experience. It’s just the same as if the economy is bad, just because you might be a businessman, or economist, it doesn’t mean you are qualified for the position, it just means that you have more experience in such situations (or at least know what is the better choice of actions).
I dislike Barack Obama, and I use to support John McCain until I found someone better, Bob Barr. Anyway it goes, we just need a leader now, and a good one. One who will bring the U.S. back to the top of the world and have everything going for us: a good economy, good foreing relations, civil liberty, real politicians, etc.
Comment by Bradley Hankins |