Prediction
In an Obama presidency it will once again be “cool” to spit on U.S. troops as they return from overseas deployments.
Especially if you have “23 year Army veterans” helping change the public mood on that point.
A prominent local Barack Obama backer bashed John McCain’s military record Monday, calling the Republican presidential candidate a “self-promoter.”
In a nearly-half hour speech, Democratic congressional candidate Bill Gillespie praised Obama, his party’s leading White House hopeful.
For one thing, the closest this guy ever got to combat was when he stabbed himself with his butter knife in the mess hall.
I get to say that. I was once the “senior logistician” for the 24th Infantry Division. (That and $4.50 gets me a grande latte at Starbucks.) So I know exactly what this tool’s “wartime” military job entailed and I know the only “dog of war” he ever heard bark was a Chihuahua. Color me underwhelmed. There are no front lines anymore? Puh-leeze, support types are not even remotely placed at the same level of risk as those whose job it is to kick in doors in Ramadi every day.
There is an unwritten rule in the Army when it comes to discussing the relative contributions of combat arms types (armor, infantry, artillery, engineers, aviation, spec ops) and those of support types. The combat arms types understand they carry the burden of doing the actual fighting, bleeding and dying out of proportion to their numbers. The support types understand this also and agree to STFU out of respect for that effort.
So it is especially galling to find a guy who spent most of his career in the “rear with the gear” calling out an actual war hero.
McCain, Gillespie added, was “somebody who needed to stand out, someone that needed to draw attention to themselves and … was usually out for themselves.”
Ah, me thinks this is a bit of projection, no? I mean, how else would a mere candidate ever get noticed by the big dog – the Obamessiah himself – unless he did something noteworthy, or said something particularly outrageous? Maybe Bill is trying to score some of that DNC cash here to help in his race. This would certainly get him noticed, right? This rube is counting on the fact civilians cannot tell an actual hero from a poseur. Come to think of it, on the political left, that’s probably true.
This seems to be a pattern with Obama supporters – the return of disdain for the military. If it is not outright disdain, then it is outright surrender on the part of the candidate himself. Jim Geraghty notes this over at The Corner and (UPDATE) Hotair has the laundry list. What’s worse is in this case it comes from someone who knows, or ought to know exactly what McCain did and why he ought to honor not only what happened to McCain, but also the man himself.
Here’s some advice Bill, attack his policies, not who he is. Especially when your own record is not much to write home about. Again, you’re counting on the fact no one who knows anything is going to point out where your own record comes up short. So if you can’t shut up, at least try not to beclown yourself.
Oh, and if y’all really want to tell Gillespie how you feel, go leave him a note on his blog.
You just watch, over the next few years Thomas Paine’s quote will gain a lot more currency.
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.
- Entries
As for McCain, I'm reminded of what Drew Carey said about figher pilots: Of course they're arrogant assholes, that's what we pay them to be.
For that matter, people who fly into the world's most heavily defended airspace day after day have earned a bit of arrogance, I think.
My point - other than Gillespie is a shameless, self-promoting tool - is that he lacks the moral authority to be calling John McCain out (a) as a shameless self-promoter and (b) as a combat soldier.
In the first case, because Gillespie is clearly a shameless self-promoter (check his bio in detail) himself, and in the second because his own record cannot even touch McCain's both as a soldier and as a serious politician. Say what you want about Maverick - and I've said it all myself on many of his positions - you cannot assail his service to this country. The fact Gillespie thinks otherwise only points to his complete lack of gravitas....and class.
Gillespie, whose career highlights include many sleepless nights in the Division G-4 cell watching his clerks dominate the PlayStation, lacks the record to be making any of the statements about McCain's record that he has made. Bob Kerrey can make statements like this, and I might just listen. But you'll note that the Bob Kerreys of the world pointedly avoid criticism of McCain's service record (and John Kerry's too I might add).
It is surely the case here that up close and personal combat gives you a different perspective on the world - a more serious mein - and reminds you of your own small place in it. In fact, many combat vets who have seen serious action say exactly that.
Which is another good sign Gillespie's mouthing off means he is a moral midget.
I left a pretty scathing comment on Gillespie's blog, but it's moderated, so it probably won't appear. There were no comments on any of his posts, so either no one is reading/approving them or no one is saying anything positive to be approved. I suspect the latter.
Gillespie is a scumbag. Anyone that denigrates honorable service (such as McCain's), when his own service is nothing to brag about, is.
Attacking McCain's votes/actions while a politician is one thing, but attacking his honorable military service (unlike John Kerry's) is the lowest. Coming from another Vet, it's a disgrace.