No Regard For Truth or Integrity

Last week John McCain ventured into Rochester, N.H. for a Town Hall Meeting and before a crowd estimated at 700 people managed to embarrass himself, his party, and his country by accusing his opponent of being a traitor while pretending that his own unremarkable record qualifies him to serve as the Commander-in-Chief of our military and as the Chief Executive Officer of our government.

Senator McCain has earned the respect of a grateful nation for his having endured 5 ½ years of imprisonment and torture in a Vietnamese prison camp. Aside from that, however, he’s done little to deserve the esteem being heaped upon him by a compliant press, although one cannot fail to appreciate how he’s managed to parlay that life-changing experience into a life-long career on the public payroll.

Not quite as flattering is that his military career included the loss of five naval aircraft – one in combat, three during training exercises, and one in an explosion on the deck of the USS Forrestal; or his having graduated 894th out of 899 mates in his 1958 class at the Naval Academy. Nor especially distinguishable was his retirement at the rank of captain after having served over 25 years in the U.S. Navy, a departure prompted by his dim future prospects for promotion.

Although McCain is among the wealthiest members serving in the U.S. Senate, his accumulation of a vast fortune hasn’t been through the dint of hard work, nor derived from the wise investment of his $58,000+ in annual military disability payments and $161,700 annual salary as a U.S. Senator. Rather, he married a wealthy heiress after dumping his first wife, a one-time beauty queen whose physical allure had waned as a consequence of physical injuries sustained in an automobile crash.

As a U.S. Senator, McCain earned attention early in his tenure as the heir to the Arizona seat long held by Barry Goldwater who retired in 1987. By 1989 McCain was embroiled in the Keating Five corruption controversy and admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for having accepted $112,000 in contributions from Charles Keating, Jr. and his associates. Keating ultimately served five years in prison for his role in the collapse of Lincoln Savings, one of the major institutional failures that led to the $125 billion taxpayer bailout of the Savings and Loan industry, and McCain had twice met with federal regulators to discuss the government’s investigation of Keating and his company.

While McCain today admits an error in judgment in the Keating affair, and earned enmity among fellow Republicans and a reputation as a “maverick” for his support of campaign finance reform, he seems to have learned little from the experience. His presidential campaign is run largely by lobbyists and financed by special interest money. According to the Washington Post, over $1.1 million was contributed to his campaign last month by oil and gas industry executives and employees, a propitious windfall that he claims had nothing to do with his recent high-profile split with environmentalists and reversal of his position on the federal ban on offshore drilling.

In an editorial published on Monday, The Citizen was effusive in its praise for Senator McCain’s leadership and “straight talk”. It lauded the senator for his support for the “surge”, neglecting to mention that the senator supported the blockheaded invasion of Iraq and was unwavering in his endorsement of the Bush administration’s execution of the failed occupation of the country.

The editorial offensively repeated some of McCain’s most insidious remarks, showing neither a regard for truth nor integrity. Its purpose was consistent with that of Sunday’s editorial in Foster’s Daily Democrat which attempted to portray Obama as arrogant and imperial. “Obama's grand tour of Europe and the Middle East was the most presumptuous and pompous act in the modern history of American politics,” it claimed.

What appears to be troubling to The Citizen and its sister publication Foster’s Daily Democrat is that Barack Obama emerged from his week abroad looking presidential, while McCain managed only to look pathetic when left alone on the domestic stage. From cruising around in a golf cart with former President Bush to looking befuddled in a grocery checkout line, McCain’s image was hardly senatorial, much less commanding.

One understands The Citizen’s fear that an Obama administration might actually require an increase in taxes to cover the costs of eight years of Bush’s perfidy. With over a half-trillion dollars added to the nation’s credit card to support the failed Bush war policies, an untoward and unconscionable shift of hundreds of billions of dollars of the nation’s wealth to Middle-Eastern nations who are purveyors of terrorism, a crumbling infrastructure too long neglected, a housing crisis that’s wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars of family wealth, and a financial crisis that may end up costing taxpayers a half-trillion dollars, higher taxes do seem inevitable.

The Citizen has no one to blame but itself for having relentlessly supported the Bush administration and the Republican controlled Congress which conspired to create this mess. Now it whines because the Democrats, in their less than two years of having a majority in Congress constrained by the President’s veto pen and Republicans in the U.S. Senate, have not been able to repair the damage.

Contrary to The Citizen’s conclusion, John McCain is not “the kind of leader who can restore the trust and confidence of the American people.” Quite frankly, he’s been a major part of destroying that trust.

Update:

Contrary to what the anonymous commenter asserts, I greatly respect John McCain's service to his country. However, he was not a stellar leader, he did not exhibit even an average intellect, his record suggests that he was reckless with aircraft - each of which cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and nothing in his military record recommends him for promotion to commander-in-chief.

Anonymous is entitled to his opinion regarding Senator McCain. However, he is outside his realm when he attempts to impugn the character or integrity of people about whom he knows nothing.

I've never been one to tout my military experience. Indeed, I was quite happy when it was comfortably behind me. As were my two brothers who served along with me, both of whom suffered serious injuries in Vietnam, and one of whom in spite of being severely wounded twice on the battlefield in Vietnam, returned to the country for two additional tours.

My father and grandfather, along with numerous uncles and cousins were/are veterans, so believe me, I have tremendous regard for those who don the uniform of their country. I don't, however, have much respect for those who attempt to parlay a marginal military record along with sympathy for wounds and indignities suffered into an entitlement for promotion to the highest office in the land.

Most veterans I know, and I know many, served their country proudly and humbly, quite aware of their sacrifice, yet also cognizant of the millions of others who've shared their burden. They really don't talk much about their combat experiences, realizing that their stories are not all that unique. Okay, I admit that I love regaling people with the tale of the woeful indignity I suffered being treated for a piece of shrapnel lodged in my ass. But that only occurs on the rare occasion when someone presses me on my military experience.

Anonymous, for you I'm posting a couple of photos. One is of quite good quality because it's scanned from one of those portrait photos taken during basic training. The other is of poor quality because it's scanned from a well-worn, not well-preserved snapshot.

You may not share my views. But you certainly cannot tell me that I know nothing about serving my country.