McCain's 'Gates Of Hell' Rhetoric 'Equal Parts Incoherent And False'

Over at the Cato Institute's blog, Jim Harper argues that McCain's "I'll follow bin Laden to the Gates Of Hell" rhetoric at the Saddleback Forum gave our terrorist enemies something to cheer about: "What a gift to the recruiting efforts of Al Qaeda! - to have an American presidential candidate declare himself a follower of Osama bin Laden."

A little glib at the outset, methinks, but Harper's goal isn't to get off a zinger. It's to point out that any national leader worth his salt should recognize that America "will be made more secure by deflating the world image of Osama bin Laden and making his movement less attractive."

McCain's "gates of hell" talk is leadership malpractice, and he should stop using it immediately. Calling the threat of terrorism "transcendent" is equal parts incoherent and false. Terrorism stands no chance of defeating the United States or the West unless we ourselves collapse the society. Speaking this way about terrorism thrills our terrorist enemies and draws recruits and support to them. Silence would be much better, presidential campaign or no.

And McCain's lack of silence speaks volumes about his overall foreign policy incoherence, because every time he opens his mouth about the world at large, the man is speaking in nonsensical superlatives. This tendency gets documented well by Matt Welch over at Reason, who correctly notes that melodramatic exaggerations are "a feature, not a bug, of McCainite neoconservatism." Welch puts McCain's recent hyperbolic response into perspective:

Consider another line from last week: "I think it's very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian Empire. Not the Soviet Union, but the Russian Empire."

Let's review what McCain is alleging here: Not only does Russia have malevolent designs on recently detached "Near Abroad" territories within nearby Georgia, Belarus, and Moldova -- a critique, I hasten to add, that I share -- McCain warns that the Bear is also working actively toward re-swallowing all or much of such Russian colonial holdings-turned sovereign states as, oh, Finland, Armenia, the Baltics, a pack of 'stans, and a big chunk of Poland.

It's one thing to look into Putin's eyes and (accurately) see three letters: K-G-B, quite another to base your foreign policy approach on the assumption that the second biggest nuclear arsenal in the world wants to go on the biggest nation-gobbling rampage the globe has seen in over 60 years, devouring a half-dozen NATO members in the process.

Welch notes that this isn't, by any means, a recent phenomenon with McCain either, but rather a two decades-long pattern of hysteria. Matt Yglesias, deploying his typical flourish for summation, puts it like this:

In short, not only is Russia on the march beyond Tbilisi to Ukraine, Finland, and substantial swathes of Poland but that's not even the transcendent issue of our time. And North Korea's nuclear program is "the greatest challenge to U.S. security and world stability today" but that's not the transcendent issue of our time. And Islamism is the transcendent issue of our time, but not a serious international crisis or an especially great challenge to U.S. security and world stability. Now of course there's no way to make sense of that, because it's not supposed to make any kind of sense. McCain just thinks that overreacting is the right reaction to everything. It's a hysteria-based foreign policy.

Yesterday, with an assist from Tom Tomorrow, everyone noted Bill Kristol's backtrack on the whole "cone of silence" issue. But Kristol's response to that "Gates Of Hell" comment bears noting as well. When Barack Obama averred that "evil" must be "confronted," Kristol maintained that this response contained a "high level of abstraction." But things don't get more abstract than claiming you'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell. After all, there's no need: bin Laden is holed up somewhere much less metaphysical, the Afghan/Pakistan border. And for all of McCain's transcendent hysteria, he demonstrates only a tepid interest in going there.

But to McCain and his surrogates, these flights of fantasy represent "tough" and "realistic" talk. I say the next time Michael Goldfarb wants to criticize Dungeons and Dragons, he needs to rid his own house of Dungeon Masters first.

Comments

[BobEvansZombie]

I am so sick of this empty, instant gratification talk when it comes to any kind of problem in this country.
"I'll follow him into the gates of hell..." What a crock of s**t.

[SurrealPumpkin]

blood-thirsy Christians. Surely that's an oxymoron

[dtd]

I'm still waiting for someone, anyone, to tell me where the gates of hell are?! And why McCain is the only one who knows how to find it?

[hardlyhikin]

Probably Cindy could tell you, afterall, she lives with him and that must be hell.

[mscriblerus]

It has a fixed temporal location. I'm thinking we actually passed through gates in 2002.

[UrbanInterloper]

McCain never misses an opportunity to inflame a dangerous situation. He's reckless because he's weak-minded, and he talks so big because deep down inside he's scared. It's all hot air. Note that he only threatens from the safety of a great distance, without considering the repurcussions. Same goes for Giuliani, Bush, and Bush's remaining 29%. McCain may have been unafraid once upon a time, but that was long ago. Now he spouts threats for the sake of cheap thrills. He is living in a fantasy world.

[TonalCrow]

Exactly. He's an impetuous hothead who lacks the judgement to have his finger on The Button.

[stevorama]

When he comes home from W@l M@rt, does Satan have a remote for the Gates of Hell, or does he have to get out of the car and open them?

[stevorama]

I'll bet there's a sign on the Gates of Hell which reads "Solicitors Welcome."

[rwt1138]

Actually, it says "No Cover Charge for Lobbyists"

[Whinger]

Hell, Hades, Sheol, all it means is a hole in the ground or the grave!

This is all very educuational Whinger, thanks!

Ah! It's a pleasure to educuate you John!

[Piatt]

Who's going to lead the newly restored Russian Empire? Has Anastasia come back again?

[Strywever]

Not to mention that although he'd follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, he wouldn't follow him into Pakistan without their government's permission. LOL!

[dadw5boys]

PASTOR RICK !

Put them on the same stage but as each one different questions.

No way for Mc Cain to cheat.

[PATina]

Like most of your articles... I enjoyed this. I don't think I can look at Mc Cain again and not think of him as a "follower of Bin Laden".... hahahahahahahahahaha

[LAB10]

Mac is a follower of Bin Laden and an old nonsensical superlative.

[sdaflm]

John McCain is an irrational, hot head who believes war is the answer in solving every global issue. Is this really the type of leadership we can believe in my friends?

[marymansour]

The old Pop Tart gets funnier by the day. John Mac, the ball park is not even in your vicinity.

[Scarlet57]

You know, a few days ago I might've been laughing too...now I'm just scared...The "gates of hell" might actually be where we all find ourselves if this guy gets elected. He is scary..

[Jaker32]

You're absolutely right, and that's exactly how Obama must portray him, without fail, every day until November 3. BTW, are the gates of hell anywhere near Phoenix?

[Jessegirl]

I am calling upon John Stewart to provide Obama with catchy truth-telling
one-liners and catchy phrases to appeal to those lazy, simple minded voters out there.
Our one-liners from John Stewart would be so much better than the Repubs because
ours would naturally be more witty and "TRUTH-BASED".
Not meaningless like the Repubs.

[Jessegirl]

This is the kind of stuff that works for the simple-minded stupid people.
Like "Bush's Wanted DEAD or Alive".
The Repubs know how to appeal to the lazy voters with catchy meaningless words.
These type of voters still believe 9/11 and Iraq were connected.
These type of voters are falling for McCains prison camp stories as the answer
for solving all of America's woes.
There are a lot of them out there, and they will swing toward "perceptions", not
so much reality in the General.

[whatt]

you are right on the money, jessegirl, it takes too much effort in their part to do a little thinking on their own, how sad we will all suffer for their simple-minded ways.