Like John McCain, I too am a retired military person. Frankly, I can’t stand the guy or what he stands for, and will be voting against him. You see, John McCain is a former officer, and as such, he was supposed to lead his subordinates by setting the example, telling the truth, and putting them first. Much has been made of his POW experience, but these 5 lost years are less than one third of his military career. During his non-POW years did he learn nothing about leadership? The biggest negative to John McCain is his desire to cast everything as a military campaign, a tactical or strategic move. In my military career observations, the types of leaders who looked at everything in terms of cause and effect on THEM were the worst of the lot. That not leadership, that’s satisfying your own ambitions.
John McCain’s entire thinking is based on the idea of personal victory, conquest, and honor. I truly believe that is the basis of his gambling habits, winning, gaming and beating the system. In truth, sometimes there is no personal victory, but a true leader has to be able to take pride in victories on behalf of those he leads. Sometimes a true leader gambles with himself and does not care if he wins, but cares if his followers win. In my mind, John McCain is no maverick, but just another lame guy who says the right things to give the appearance of leadership. In the military, we called those "ticket punchers", People who talked the talk in order to advance their own agendas.
Let’s look at his life since coming to public office. Mr. McCain SAYS he a maverick, but when it comes down to it, that’s like saying you are rich, with 2 dollars to your name. What really counts is not that he says he’s bucked G Bush on many occasions, but that on the record, he agreed with him 90% of the time. That in military terms is called a "brown noser", "ticket puncher", and oftentimes a "cheese eating rat". These term are used to describe someone who would sell you out for their own personal advancement, glory, or advancement. In life, what counts is what you do, not what you say. On Iraq, Mr. McCain professes that he wants to come home in "honor", "victory". What’s that look like? If w came home with our troops tomorrow, leaving behind a working Iraqi democracy, isn’t that honorable? Again, if you’re going to say something, define it, that’s leadership. Every soldier and voter wants to know what the end-state looks like, what’s "mission accomplished". I am sure that military families would like to know when their loved ones might be coming home. Catch phrases from John McCain give us no clue. In his personal interactions we see another glimpse of his militaristic thinking. If you are the press or a public figure, failure to agree with John McCain is a sort of treason, a subversive in his eyes, and will get you booted from the campaign bus, or labeled as being "in the tank". The press should not bite their tongues for fear of any McCain retribution or recriminations. If more than one organization is saying it, can they all be in the tank? To quash dissent is undemocratic, and a sign of failed leadership.
Finally, a true leader owns up to mistakes. In picking Sarah Palin, Mr. McCain once again demonstrated a pure distain for his followers, the community, and our security, in favor of his own agenda. Look at the recent bailout bill. J McCain was quick to take credit for it, but when it failed, he passed the buck. In fact, he went on the attack against Obama, who had no hand in its failure. The Democrats met their obligation. As Hillary Clinton once pronounced, when the 3 a.m. phone call comes, do you want a person there who will make a decision based upon how it makes him look, or whats right for the country? Besides, if Joe Lieberman is not there to explain what country he is being contacted about, we might end up bombing Germany or France. Throughout his career, Mr. McCain has made his mark not by supporting us, but by advancing his own personal ambitions to greatness. We should tell him in a single and strong voice that we are tired of war, tired of hype, and want a better future for our families. If war is necessary, so be it, but it should not be our primary focus. Security, prosperity, and diplomacy are our highest priorities, but my feeling is that Mr. McCain will only lead us into more wars of personal preference. We need new leadership, so let’s relieve John and get a new chain of command.