Roger Simon Gets It Wrong Again
Last week it was the skewed story on Fred Thompson. this week it is a story about John McCain in the wake of the Benazir Bhutto assassination. He was wrong then and Mr. Simon is wrong now:
Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated in Pakistan and the political conversation in America had changed. ...
Some were thinking about who might be the best leader in an international crisis, and John McCain says he can fill that bill.
“My theme has been throughout this campaign that I am the one with the experience, the knowledge and the judgment,” McCain told reporters after a speech to an overflow crowd at an Elks Lodge here. “So, perhaps it (i.e., the turmoil caused by the assassination) may serve to enhance those credentials.”
It doesn’t matter to McCain that 99 percent of Americans probably could not find Pakistan on a map. What matters is that most Americans can understand what it would mean if the wrong people in Pakistan were suddenly in charge of that country’s nuclear weapons. So will McCain get a boost from the assassination of Bhutto?
“What the assassination does is focus people on international issues,” David Roederer, McCain’s Iowa chairman, told me. “Having foreign policy experience, I think, becomes more paramount in people’s minds.” ...
“My experience and background for 24 years in Congress and 22 years in the Navy qualifies me more than having done a fine job in a post-crisis situation,” McCain told me in a phone interview Thursday night.
McCain said he liked Giuliani and respected him, but that Giuliani’s “post-crisis” experience in dealing with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York really did not equal McCain’s knowledge and experience. Giuliani’s experience has “very little to do with national security issues,” McCain said after the rally in Urbandale.
“As far as I know, Mayor Giuliani has never been to Iraq,” McCain added.
It does not matter of Mayor Giuliani has been to Iraq or not. But for Mr. Simon to focus on John McCain and paint a picture of a man with foreign policy experience when the person virtually has none is just slightly disingenuous.
Yes, John McCain served this nation. He is a good American. But twenty-two years in Congress does not make you a foreign policy expert, nor do you have the opportunity to engage in foreign policy matters the way a president does. A president sees foreign policy briefs daily, and has to make decisions based on those and the advice of his inner circle.
When was the last time John McCain made a foreign policy decision. Oh, yes. He has not because those in Congress do not make those decisions.
When we choose our president it should be based on their overall experience. I can assure readers that we will not be choosing someone who has been riding a desk in Congress. It will be someone with extensive executive experience, and that is something John McCain simply does not have.
Marcie
Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated in Pakistan and the political conversation in America had changed. ...
Some were thinking about who might be the best leader in an international crisis, and John McCain says he can fill that bill.
“My theme has been throughout this campaign that I am the one with the experience, the knowledge and the judgment,” McCain told reporters after a speech to an overflow crowd at an Elks Lodge here. “So, perhaps it (i.e., the turmoil caused by the assassination) may serve to enhance those credentials.”
It doesn’t matter to McCain that 99 percent of Americans probably could not find Pakistan on a map. What matters is that most Americans can understand what it would mean if the wrong people in Pakistan were suddenly in charge of that country’s nuclear weapons. So will McCain get a boost from the assassination of Bhutto?
“What the assassination does is focus people on international issues,” David Roederer, McCain’s Iowa chairman, told me. “Having foreign policy experience, I think, becomes more paramount in people’s minds.” ...
“My experience and background for 24 years in Congress and 22 years in the Navy qualifies me more than having done a fine job in a post-crisis situation,” McCain told me in a phone interview Thursday night.
McCain said he liked Giuliani and respected him, but that Giuliani’s “post-crisis” experience in dealing with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York really did not equal McCain’s knowledge and experience. Giuliani’s experience has “very little to do with national security issues,” McCain said after the rally in Urbandale.
“As far as I know, Mayor Giuliani has never been to Iraq,” McCain added.
It does not matter of Mayor Giuliani has been to Iraq or not. But for Mr. Simon to focus on John McCain and paint a picture of a man with foreign policy experience when the person virtually has none is just slightly disingenuous.
Yes, John McCain served this nation. He is a good American. But twenty-two years in Congress does not make you a foreign policy expert, nor do you have the opportunity to engage in foreign policy matters the way a president does. A president sees foreign policy briefs daily, and has to make decisions based on those and the advice of his inner circle.
When was the last time John McCain made a foreign policy decision. Oh, yes. He has not because those in Congress do not make those decisions.
When we choose our president it should be based on their overall experience. I can assure readers that we will not be choosing someone who has been riding a desk in Congress. It will be someone with extensive executive experience, and that is something John McCain simply does not have.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 4:45 PM
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