To All:
The American electorate has a chance to determine the nation's course
during the presidential election later this year. The two main
issues will be the economy and the war in Iraq. The most serious of
the two is the war, which begs the question if the USA can afford to
continue or start another war anywhere in the world.
Given McCain's stated policy on the Iraq war, IMO he is showing a
preference for war rather than diplomacy. In common parlance, he has
the tendency to shoot from the hip. It is not good for the American
people to follow this man. I hope that the American public has the
capability to see through this man's character.
Regards,
John R.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
It is not difficult in Washington to find high-level military
officials who have had close encounters with John McCain's temper,
and who find it worrisome. Politicians sometimes scream for effect,
but the concern is that McCain has, at times, come across as out of
control. It is difficult to find current or former officers willing
to describe those encounters in detail on the record. That's
because,
by and large, those officers admire McCain. But that doesn't mean
they want his finger on the proverbial button, and they are
supporting Clinton or Obama instead.
I like McCain. I respect McCain. But I am a little worried by his
knee-jerk response factor, said retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who
was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004 and
is
now campaigning for Clinton. I think it is a little scary. I think
this guy's first reactions are not necessarily the best reactions.
I
believe that he acts on impulse.
I studied leadership for a long time during 32 years in the
military, said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, a one-
time
Republican who is supporting Obama. It is all about character. Who
can motivate willing followers? Who has the vision? Who can inspire
people? Gration asked. I have tremendous respect for John McCain,
but I would not follow him.
One of the things the senior military would like to see when they
go
visit the president is a kind of consistency, a kind of
reliability,
explained retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, a former Republican, former
chief of staff of the Air Force and former fighter pilot who flew
285
combat missions. McPeak said his perception is that Obama is not
that up when he is up and not that down when he is down. He is kind
of a steady Eddie. This is a very important feature, McPeak said.
On
the other hand, he said, McCain has got a reputation for being a
little volatile. McPeak is campaigning for Obama.
Stephen Wayne, a political science professor at Georgetown who is
studying the personalities of the presidential candidates, agrees
McCain's temperament is of real concern. The anger is there,
Wayne
said. If McCain is the one to answer the phone at 3 a.m., he
said, you worry about an initial emotive, less rational response.
Most recently, Wayne has been studying Clinton's personality. I
just
gave a presentation on Hillary's temperament for the presidency. I
came to the conclusion that it is not really a good presidential
temperament, with one caveat -- if you compare it with McCain's.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/03/06/commander_in_chief/
