Is John McCain Insane?
The more I learn about John McCain, the more I suspect that he is fucking nuts. I don't mean he is quirky or eccentric. I mean he seems genuinely insane. Sure, he's got his excuses for madness- he was a prisoner-of-war in North Vietnam for five years. But having a reason for your mental state doesn't excuse you from being evaluated fairly. I think it would be fundamentally irresponsible of American voters to allow such a man to achieve the nation's highest office. Of course, a large proportion of our citizenry has a track record of supporting patently unqualified candidates (the proof has never been so obvious as during the last eight years). Still one can hope that a more rational side of the populace will prevail, and we can avoid the pitfalls that await us should McCain prove victorious in November.
One indicator of his mental health is his extreme inconsistency on so many hot button issues. He said he was dead-set against Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, but he's recently pledged to uphold them into perpetuity. He was a leading proponent of the Iraq War before it started. That's no surprise, since he's still rabid on the subject. Yet in the build-up to the conflict he was adamant that Donald Rumsfeld was correct about his estimates regarding troop levels and the Iraqi reception of the American troop presence. Since then he has become well known for insisting that we need to double or triple the amount of soldiers in Iraq. His confidence in the perceived "rightness" of the mission remains unwavering. But he has waffled on a number of other issues- public financing, opposition to the religious right, his stance on gay marriage, etc.
Inconsistency itself is not enough to land McCain in the loony bin. In fact it seems to be an indispensable trait for most politicians. We could judge them for their political expediency, but I'm not so sure I don't prefer a guy who is willing to reconsider his positions over another who is "unwavering" in the manner of George W. Bush. It's just that quality that I find so troubling in McCain's approach toward foreign policy. He seems extremely comfortable with the idea of unending war. His "laid back" acceptance of continuing conflict was amply demonstrated with his public admission that a 100-year occupation of Iraq is "fine" with him. This shouldn't inspire any amount of confidence in his ability to resolve the situation.
Still the problem is greater than his simplistic position on Iraq. McCain has been vocal about extending the "War on Terror" throughout the Middle East. He's exposed both his love of surf music and his admiration of mass indiscriminate killing of civilians by being caught on tape chanting "bomb, bomb, Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boy's "Barbara Ann". And this is the man that the Republican Party is seriously proposing as their candidate for the presidency. He has assured the country that he fully intends to continue using pre-emptive war to stabilize the region and the world. If he becomes the Commander-in-Chief, he would like to form a paramilitary force to prosecute covert operations on behalf of American power. This body would have no Congressional oversight, and would be beholden solely to the dictate of the executive himself.
As problematic as Dubya's insufferable reign has proven, I fear that four years of McCain might be worse. The Shrub has surely been a complete failure as a diplomat. People throughout the world have viewed him with a mixture of fear, contempt, and dark humor. I have no doubt that McCain will simply compound the growing hatred directed at our nation. He's stated that he plans to form a "League of Democracies", which would have the effect of undermining the United Nations in the event that the Security Council votes against the interests of the United States. He is paranoid, impulsive, and notorious for throwing horrific temper tantrums. While many have questioned the judgment of the current president and his administration, few have accused them of being "crazy". But with McCain's apparent instability, he could be the most serious threat to the human race in decades.
One indicator of his mental health is his extreme inconsistency on so many hot button issues. He said he was dead-set against Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, but he's recently pledged to uphold them into perpetuity. He was a leading proponent of the Iraq War before it started. That's no surprise, since he's still rabid on the subject. Yet in the build-up to the conflict he was adamant that Donald Rumsfeld was correct about his estimates regarding troop levels and the Iraqi reception of the American troop presence. Since then he has become well known for insisting that we need to double or triple the amount of soldiers in Iraq. His confidence in the perceived "rightness" of the mission remains unwavering. But he has waffled on a number of other issues- public financing, opposition to the religious right, his stance on gay marriage, etc.
Inconsistency itself is not enough to land McCain in the loony bin. In fact it seems to be an indispensable trait for most politicians. We could judge them for their political expediency, but I'm not so sure I don't prefer a guy who is willing to reconsider his positions over another who is "unwavering" in the manner of George W. Bush. It's just that quality that I find so troubling in McCain's approach toward foreign policy. He seems extremely comfortable with the idea of unending war. His "laid back" acceptance of continuing conflict was amply demonstrated with his public admission that a 100-year occupation of Iraq is "fine" with him. This shouldn't inspire any amount of confidence in his ability to resolve the situation.
Still the problem is greater than his simplistic position on Iraq. McCain has been vocal about extending the "War on Terror" throughout the Middle East. He's exposed both his love of surf music and his admiration of mass indiscriminate killing of civilians by being caught on tape chanting "bomb, bomb, Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boy's "Barbara Ann". And this is the man that the Republican Party is seriously proposing as their candidate for the presidency. He has assured the country that he fully intends to continue using pre-emptive war to stabilize the region and the world. If he becomes the Commander-in-Chief, he would like to form a paramilitary force to prosecute covert operations on behalf of American power. This body would have no Congressional oversight, and would be beholden solely to the dictate of the executive himself.
As problematic as Dubya's insufferable reign has proven, I fear that four years of McCain might be worse. The Shrub has surely been a complete failure as a diplomat. People throughout the world have viewed him with a mixture of fear, contempt, and dark humor. I have no doubt that McCain will simply compound the growing hatred directed at our nation. He's stated that he plans to form a "League of Democracies", which would have the effect of undermining the United Nations in the event that the Security Council votes against the interests of the United States. He is paranoid, impulsive, and notorious for throwing horrific temper tantrums. While many have questioned the judgment of the current president and his administration, few have accused them of being "crazy". But with McCain's apparent instability, he could be the most serious threat to the human race in decades.
Labels: George W. Bush, John McCain, Political Rant, Republicans
posted by Merge Divide at 8:17 PM
2 Comments:
he's been up there for years like hillary,now there gonna fix things right... i love the sheep that follow these people as they follow these nutty ' reverands' and preachers that suck em into they have the answers. if god tapped anyone of them on the shoulder, they,ed drop dead shaking like the fools that follow them.but mccain will fix it now... i'm buying NOT.....
Yeah... it's kind of funny that the most revolutionary thing that McCain has come up with is the "gas tax holiday". That will certainly put us where we need to be.
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