The Observation Deck

Stephen Eisel wrote:On military experience, the edge goes to McCain big time.. You can make light of what John has accomplished. But that does not change the fact that Obama does not have any military credentials.

Only an idiot would argue that, Stephen. But what voters need to decide is whether a mindset that says the military is the answer to every foreign policy situation is what we need right now. And I recognize that there are arguments to be made on either side of that issue.

McCain happens to be the guy who made it through the primaries, so for Republicans, it's all about military service. If it had been Romney, it would have been all about private sector experience. If it had been Huckabee, it would have been about who loves Jesus more. For Democrats, it comes down to one thing - is McCain going to continue the autocratic, anti-civil liberty, aggressive and poorly-thought-out policies of Bush or not? My Magic 8-Ball says 'All signs point to yes'.

as political campaigning becomes more like Professional Wrestling, voters become more like the audience of Professional Wrestling.

Only an idiot would argue that, Stephen.

LOL... So you would hire some one with out any military experience for a job that requires dealing with military issues on almost a daily basis? Talk about learning on the job.. yikes.. Now who is the idiot? Have you been awake for the last 8 years?

McCain happens to be the guy who made it through the primaries, so for Republicans, it's all about military service

I am not a republican nor am I a big McCain fan... just fyi

most mayors were never police. most governors were never....state highway patrol officers...

Between Biden, McCain and Obama, Palin is the only one of the four with executive experience...

ryan costa wrote:most mayors were never police. most governors were never....state highway patrol officers...

and the job of being Governor is equivalent to being president but on a smaller scale..

ryan costa wrote:most mayors were never police. most governors were never....state highway patrol officers...

most apple pies were never cherry pies... milk shakes were never french fries

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Quincy Adams were never members of the revolutionary military or national military. They did ok. Adams had to deal with the quasi-war with France and frontier wars with the Indians. Jefferson also had to deal with small frontier wars with the indians. Madison had the war of 1812 to deal with.

Woodrow wilson was never in the military.

Franklin D.Roosevelt was assistant secretary of the navy. Theodore Roosevelt was also assistant secretary of the navy and a colonel in the cavalry. In the old days people from wealthy families could basically show up and become high ranking officers. I don't know if this was a lack of formality or different standards of professionalism, or different realities of war, but it seemed to work.


Reagan and Nixon had light-weight jobs during world war II.

recently Geogia invaded South Ossetia. the U.S. had been arming and training Georgia for a while. fortunately we don't have to be responsible for them invading South Ossetia. Nor was this any diplomatic failure in fully recognizing or clarifying South Ossetia's independence. the important thing is a semi-cold war with Russia again. This gives more people stuff to do, so it is good for the economy. It will be confusing at first because neither party are communists or islamic extremists.

Stephen Eisel wrote: most apple pies were never cherry pies... milk shakes were never french fries

but milk shakes and fries do go well together.

Stephen Eisel wrote:

Only an idiot would argue that, Stephen.

LOL... So you would hire some one with out any military experience for a job that requires dealing with military issues on almost a daily basis? Talk about learning on the job.. yikes.. Now who is the idiot? Have you been awake for the last 8 years?

Yes, I would, Stephen. The baseline is this - I don't care how many bullet points a person has on their resume. If they demonstrate to me a lack of judgement, prudence and depth of thought, I don't want them in charge of any of the nation's resources, including the military. That's the lesson that I've learned during the waking nightmare of the past eight years.

Stephen Eisel wrote:Between Biden, McCain and Obama, Palin is the only one of the four with executive experience...

Maybe the mayor of El Paso could be president. He/she is an executive governing roughly the same population as Palin, with, I'm willing to bet, fewer government handouts.

Here's a good article about her executive experience...

Danielle Masters wrote:

Stephen Eisel wrote: most apple pies were never cherry pies... milk shakes were never french fries

but milk shakes and fries do go well together.

Agreed.. There is nothing better than dipping your fries in a milkshake... Shamrock shakes and fries are like heaven..

Brian Pedaci wrote:

Stephen Eisel wrote:

Only an idiot would argue that, Stephen.

LOL... So you would hire some one with out any military experience for a job that requires dealing with military issues on almost a daily basis? Talk about learning on the job.. yikes.. Now who is the idiot? Have you been awake for the last 8 years?

Yes, I would, Stephen. The baseline is this - I don't care how many bullet points a person has on their resume. If they demonstrate to me a lack of judgement, prudence and depth of thought, I don't want them in charge of any of the nation's resources, including the military. That's the lesson that I've learned during the waking nightmare of the past eight years.

Brian, Bush was not the first President to put Iraq in the crosshairs.. The case against Iraq started long before Bush took office. The war against Iraq was going to happen regardless of who was elected in 2000. (certainly, you have seen the clips of Al Gore pre-2000 pointing out the dangers of Iraq having WMD's and ties to Al Qaeda) The subprime melt down, spiking oil prices, 911, Enron and many other events over the past 8 years could not have been prevented by electing Al Gore in 2000. (this is just my humble opinion) By a miracle of God, Buddha,Maya and etc unemployment, the stock market, and many other financial indicators have not gone totally into the tank (again my humble opinion). Yes, people are suffering right now but the solution is bigger than politics.

You've rather deftly missed my point. I'm not at all interested in re-arguing all the failures of the current administration. McCain's capitulations on torture, the religious right and offshore drilling; his famously quick-trigger temper; his unnecessarily inflammatory rhetoric on Russia; his bizarre VP pick (a secessionist fundamentalist Dominionist) - all of these things add up in my opinion to a recipe for an administration that will continue this administration's worst habits.

P.S. I'm away from the keyboard for a long weekend of camping and technology deprivation, so don't expect any further reply from me.