the mccain problem, part 3b--the angry man

[continued from part "a"]

ok here's the deal--even with an abundance of juicy tidbits on the national political plate this week (i.e., spitzer and ferraro, to name just a couple) crying out for commentary, i haven't posted a fucking thing since that lame-ass cat post on, what was it, monday? yeah, monday (i mean, it may say "tuesday", but that's only because the tuesday in this case happened merely to be a drunkenly drawn-out continuation of monday, so technically it really was monday).

and would you like to know why i have this week so flagrantly and egregiously broken my pledge to post something--anything--every single day? well, i'll be happy to tell you why: it's all john mccain's fault.

see, i've been putting off finishing up "the mccain problem, part 3b" because, frankly, i'm over it--i'm sick of thinking about mccain right now--but i had committed to a certain course, and i felt that i simply could not yet again promise and not deliver as regards mccain (thank you, rob); therefore, by that logic i had to finish this post before i could move onto anything else. but the bottom line is, i just flat fucking didn't wanna--so effectively, john mccain had become the liver i must eat before i could have dessert. and, true to my nature--and not only to my detriment but that of my eleven readers--i've been putting off eating my liver all week.

well, enough already--i'm hungry for dessert so let's choke this down and get on with it (and i think i'll wait for awhile before continuing "the mccain problem" series, although god knows there are several more parts).

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Briefly [and just in case you didn't get it from the last mccain post, the new guttermorality convention is to properly upper-case when going for credibility and/or incorporating big chunks of upper-cased material from other sources--happy now, scott?], here's the the thing: Seeing as how John McCain's entire political (and hell, overall) identity is all wrapped up in his "war hero" image, you'd think that the upper echelons of the military establishment would be cheering his candidacy, right?

Well, you'd be wrong, because--having in most cases achieved their respective exalted rank by dint of, among other things, the prodigious development and exercise of calm, cool, discipined-under-pressure judgment, these people above all others know the importance of this quality in a leader--and they just don't see it in our boy. Salon ran a rather interesting article recently, a few excerpts from which illustrate this point:

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.

Retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, who has been a Republican his entire adult life, but who now supports Obama, put it this way about facing a national security crisis: "When everybody else goes nuts, the president of the United States needs to get cooler and cooler."

And you know what? I believe these guys; what they're saying jibes completely with what I've observed about McCain. This is a man who absolutely cannot abide his will being challenged in any way, and who, if he thinks he can get away with it, allows himself to go into complete knee-jerk childish-temper-tantrum mode at the first sign of such an occurrence.

For instance, watching one of the recent debates, I vividly remember his reaction to a question about his massively-unpopular illegal-alien-amnesty bill of last year--you know, the one which he supposedly repudiated this year in order to become president. When asked if he would sign it in its present form if it came across his desk as president, his jaw clenched, his body tensed and he started to redden--I mean, you could fuckin tell how much effort it took him to restrain himself from screaming at this impudent questioner of his wisdom--but in the end he could not come out and say "no, i might've misjudged that one" [and this, of course, is where I was throwing things at the tv and screaming at Romney to sieze the moment, jump in and push a few buttons, trigger an eruption for America, but, alas, no--which is one more reason that sorry bastard'll be but a footnote to history--but, i digress].

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Look, people (and understand, I'm talking to those who are still pro-McCain): Despite what Hillary might say, seriously--is this the guy you want answering the red phone at 3 a.m.?

And if the answer is still "maybe", then (a) remember the point I made previously: if this is the way he acts now, can you even imagine the license he will allow his temper if he becomes the leader of the free world and thus fears rebuke from no one; and (b) make sure to check in for future installments in this series--including "part 4--the genius", "part 5--ethics reform, my ass", and, last but not least, "part 6--one scary trigger-happy motherfucker" (and hell, depending on my mood there may even be "part 7--do we really want cruella de vil as first lady?").

and now, having paid my dues for the moment, on to more fun stuff.