Yes, I know. John McCain was a prisoner of war and he survived to tell his tale. It's fortunate he survived and I commend him for his service, but as president he won't prevail. He's dangerous. He's delusional. And he lacks the emotional stability and maturity for the job. Yes, he lacks the maturity for the job! He's another privileged son of another privileged family who believes he's entitled to the job. Well, he's not!!
True, McCain suffered greatly as a POW, but to his good fortune when he did arrive home he was cloaked in his celebrity, provided every resource, and protected by his family -- a decidedly different scenario from the isolation and lack of services lesser known vets are forced to endure. Their fates frequently result in homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, and an inability to secure adequate medical and mental-health services for years -- even decades to come. Not so for John McCain.
John McCain, the Admiral's son, may have been a hero in war, but he'd been a self-indulgent party-boy long before he served -- and a self-indulgent POWER-boy once he got back home. In truth, the moral high ground that Senator McCain feigns to tread has fallen by the wayside often in his life. His post Vietnam affair with current wife Cindy resulted in a divorce from his first wife and a cushy marriage to an heiress [Cindy], whose well-connected father not only employed McCain, but introduced him to Arizona's elite -- which included such notables as Charles Keating, Jr., the convicted mastermind of Lincoln Savings and Loan that bilked 21,000 mostly elderly victims out of their life savings, and from whom Senator John McCain took money and gratuities.
John McCain, the son and grandson of Admirals, was one of the infamous "Keating Five," in a despicable case of white collar crime that riveted America for months, but for which the fortunate son (and son-in-law), received only a slap on the wrist. Oh, the luck of the ENTITLED!!
The fact is, despite McCain's heroic military service during the Vietnam war, the quality of his character over the forty years since warrants scrutiny of the most critical kind. McCain's life of power and privilege so closely resembles that of George W. Bush that the prospect of a John McCain presidency is cataclysmic. Though he lays claim to high moral standards, McCain, like Bush, will do anything to win -- even if the result is the tragic death of innocents. John McCain, like George W. Bush, chooses warfare over negotiation and blood over words. It's the Bush-McCain commandment of Thou Shalt NOT Speak which devolves into thus Thou - SHALT - Kill. They simply undo the "NOT."
For those who doubt the similarities of Bush & McCain, let's take a closer look:
- Bush & McCain both come from families of power
- Bush & McCain both were "partying" youths
- Bush & McCain both were low performing students
- Bush & McCain both had powerful fathers and grandfathers
- Bush & McCain both went to excellent schools because of their families
- Bush & McCain both pursued the careers of their fathers and grandfathers
- Bush & McCain both were given jobs through their families
- Bush & McCain both are sarcastic
- Bush & McCain both relish power
- Bush & McCain both like to dominate
- Bush & McCain both are quick to anger
- Bush & McCain both make reckless statements-"Bomb Iran"/"Bring It On"
- Bush & McCain both have dominant mothers
- Bush & McCain both are ruthless competitors
- Bush & McCain both want to win at all costs
- Bush & McCain both refuse to negotiate
- Bush & McCain both want to attack Iran which can cause the Third World War
Now compare Bush & McCain to Obama:
- Obama came from humble beginnings
- Obama barely knew his father
- Obama went to high school on scholarship and loans
- Obama admitted "partying" as a youth
- Obama became an stellar student
- Obama went to University NOT because of his family
- Obama went to the top of his class
- Obama got jobs on his own merit
- Obama worked at the community level
- Obama struggled with student debt
- Obama married a woman of humble means
- Obama was elected to office without family help
- Obama is measured and steady
- Obama is not quick to anger
- Obama believes in negotiation
- Obama wants to preserve the peace
- Obama believes in war as a LAST resort
- Obama is an adult
Obviously, anyone reading this piece can fault me on the subjective nature of my comparisons. Nonetheless, the similarities between Bush & McCain are undeniable -- as are the differences between Bush & McCain and Barack Obama. Watching Obama's calm, measured and thoughtful responses lead me to believe that he -- the youngest of the three -- is clearly the more adult.
For the past seven years the United States has been led by George W. Bush's juvenile American exceptionalist ideology -- which is similarly shared by McCain. America cannot survive another President with this dangerous, counterproductive and childish mentality. America desperately needs an adult.
That adult is Barack Obama.