Notes On The Candidates

[poliphilo]

They say old soldiers make peace-loving politicians because they know first-hand how horrible war is, but this doesn't seem to apply to McCain, who has already- and he's not even in the White House yet- threatened to go to war with Russia.  Maybe this is because his military service involved flying above battlefields, not slogging accross them.

I'll say this for Palin: she hasn't pulled strings or called in favours to keep her son out of her holy war.

As for Obama, he's supposed to be hugely intelligent, right? So why in the world did he make that crack about the pig and the lipstick when he- or his minders- should have known that the GOP attack dogs would be all over it? The more I see and hear of him, the flimsier he seems to be.

Comments

[manfalling.livejournal.com]

McCain seems like a total fake to me. A man with no substance to him whatsoever- who jumps from foot to foot with a stupid jester's grin on his face while desperately trying to please and impress whoever he thinks has the power. He's a dumb little lapdog longing to ingratiate himself. There is no chance in hell he will exercise the power of the POTUS responsibly. His POW record? A real man would've taken release, then gone back and forcibly freed the other prisoners. Instead he stayed- because it was the easy way to impress.

'But he was tortured..' people say. 'That shows character.' I completely disagree. Him choosing to stay seems utterly manipulative, an immature attempt to win favor- knowing people back home would respect him for his 'bravery'. In knowing he didn't actually have to 'do' anything other than get by to be thought of as a hero. He wasted 5 years of his life trying to be like Mandela, when the situation was not at all similar.

He's completely empty, and he stands for nothing. He's amenable to coercion. Put him in a room with Obama for 10 days, and when he walked out he'd be cheering for Obama. He's the ultimate puppet-leader. I don't know how he stands it- but then his whole life has been a game, with him playing a part, so why should this be any different?

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Quite so.

Col David "Hack" Hackworth, writing in 2000, described John McCain's "war hero" image as a "very slick publicity campaign that plays on flag, duty, honor and country". Coming from one of the most decorated - and outspoken - soldiers in US history, I tend to trust Hack's opinion

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't like McCain.

But that's not saying very much, because I find it hard to name a politician I do like.

Apart from Abraham Lincoln.

If I had a vote I'd give it to Obama- but not with any very great enthusiasm. My fear is he'll turn out to be the American Blair.