Hullabaloo

Sunday, September 14, 2008

 
McCain/Bush/Palin: Completely Unqualified

by tristero

Here are three truly imminent crises this country is facing. John McCain, like George Bush before him, is completely unqualified to grapple with them. In fact, like George Bush before him, John McCain's ignorance, his sheer inability to grasp simple facts, and his propensity to gamble on gut instincts all but guarantees he will make things worse.

We're on the verge of an economic meltdown. Yet, John McCain fully admits he is not qualified to deal with it:

At a recent meeting with the Wall Street Journal editorial board, Republican presidential candidate John McCain admitted he "doesn't really understand economics" and then pointed to his adviser and former Senate colleague, Phil Gramm - whom he had brought with him to the meeting - as the expert he turns to on the subject, The Huffington Post has learned.

And yes, Phil "Nation of Whiners" Gramm is someone McCain still relies on for economic advice.

Then, there's the catastrophe of Afghanistan:

One of the most experienced Western envoys in Afghanistan said Sunday that conditions there had become the worst since 2001.

Let's not forget that John McCain was one of the first to make the mistake to shift focus from Afghanistan to an invasion of Iraq:

Within a month [of 9/11] he made clear his priority. “Very obviously Iraq is the first country,” he declared on CNN. By Jan. 2, Mr. McCain was on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea, yelling to a crowd of sailors and airmen: “Next up, Baghdad!”"

As if the Afghan mission was accomplished.

As for the Bush/McCain invasion and perpetual occupation of Iraq, only a fool such as McCain would point to a situation as dangerously complex as the current mess in Iraq as a success:

A Sunni Arab leader of a citizen patrol group in Baghdad who had been a proponent of reconciliation in his neighborhood was assassinated over the weekend.

The killing of the leader, Fouad Ali Hussein al-Douri, a Sunni mosque imam who directed a group of about 65 guards in the Jihad neighborhood in western Baghdad, is the latest in a string of attacks on members of the so-called Awakening Councils. Relations between the Awakening Councils and the Shiite-led government have become increasingly strained.

Administration of the Awakening program, which is made up of almost 100,000 mostly Sunni men countrywide on the American military payroll, is expected to be handed over to the government starting Oct. 1.

About 54,000 Awakening patrol members in Baghdad will start reporting to the government that day. There are serious concerns that many might be arrested for previous links to the insurgency or denied long-promised jobs in the army and the police.

The Awakening members, whose ranks include many former Sunni insurgents, backed by the Americans to fight militants, are often cited as a crucial factor in the improvement of security in Iraq. But they have long been viewed with deep suspicion by many Shiites in the government.

Mr. Douri’s death is a double blow, given his efforts to promote Sunni-Shiite coexistence in a section of Baghdad especially riven by sectarian killing and displacement. Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador, specifically mentioned Jihad in October as a place that was “critical” for preserving security gains in Baghdad.

It was unclear who was responsible for Mr. Douri’s death. Relatives and friends blamed the government. “The Awakenings are being targeted by the government, Iran and Al Qaeda elements linked to Iran and other neighboring countries,” said Nusayef Jassim Muhammad, Mr. Douri’s cousin and neighbor.

Mr. Douri was killed when a bomb concealed in shrubs was detonated as he drove his car into his driveway on Saturday night.

Needless to say, you don't get to the bottom of a situation like this if you're too dumb and/or too disengaged to understand the basics of what is going on. McCain doesn't grasp the first thing about the situation in Iraq:

He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda. In fact, officials have said they believe Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq.

Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives 'taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back.'

Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was 'common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate.' A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: 'I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda.'

By contrast, I noticed something interesting in this article from Army Times. Now, Josh linked to it because it documents one more egregious McCain lie. But the article also has this to report:

“McCain’s interpretation of Obama’s position is typical of the way in which the Republicans have twisted Democratic views in order to undercut their opponents and at the same time obscure the past positions of the Republicans,” Thompson said. “Future Combat Systems is the centerpiece of Army modernization. However, McCain has been more critical of it than anyone else in the chamber. Obama has been much more detailed and thoughtful in his comments about future military investment than McCain’s very superficial statements.”

And that is part of a pattern. Where McCain blabbers and sneers incoherently, posing - when he's not sequestered in one of his too-numerous-to-recall palaces residences - as a straight-talking man of the people, Obama is "detailed and thoughtful." Not just about Future Combat Systems, but on every single serious issue that faces this country.

If experience - as it should - includes taking the time to study carefully the challenges this country faces as it tries to reverse the catastrophe of Bush's eight-year reign of error, if experience - as it should - includes crafting detailed, practical proposals based upon that analysis, then there simply is no comparison: Obama is the only serious presidential candidate with the experience and seriousness of purpose to lead this country.

Period.

tristero 9/14/2008 11:59:00 PM |