Reflections: McCain't

I was watching "Morning Joe" over a cup of same a bit earlier today, and I saw and heard Joe Scarborough, in response to the suggestion of an Obama supporter that McCain doesn't understand the situation in Iraq, loudly questioning over and over again, "You say that a man who spent five years in the Hanoi Hilton doesn't understand foreign policy?!?"

To that, I say "Huh?"

I mean, can somebody please explain to me how sitting in a POW cell in Vietnam provides a person with "foreign policy experience?" What wisdom does McCain bring away from that ordeal other than, "Don't get shot down and captured by the N. Vietnamese?" That should be pretty easy for Obama to accomplish.

How does being a bomber pilot train one to negotiate with foreign governments? McCain may know how to BOMB foreign governments (although he was clearly not that good at it), but does he know how to talk to them? What does being a warrior--somebody who is deployed by somebody else, after diplomacy has failed--necessarily teach one about being a statesman--or even, for that matter, a Commander-in-Chief?

In so far as he is a "war hero" and Obama is not, what is McCain's actual edge here? I don't see it.
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Friday, June 13th

Tim Russert, R.I.P.

We have all just learned, as of this afternoon, that Tim Russert has suddenly died. He died with his boots on. He died way too young. The comments section of this post are open to thoughts anybody might have concerning Russert's passing.