At last someone else says it

After Wesley Clark was soundly excoriated by all near and far for "impugning the heroism of John McCain" by questioning how being shot down was a qualification for the presidency, it's been mandatory to laud McCain's service to his country if you want to then question his political record or his policies. And even that hasn't been enough, as Camp Grandpa Simpson has played the POW card every time their guy has been criticized for any reason whatsoever. I'm not sure that even the video I posted yesterday in which Dr. Philip Butler, a veteran who was also a POW right alongside John McCain, is going to make a difference. He'll no doubt be portrayed by the right as a traitor, a Viet Cong dupe, a man driven mad by his captivity, while Shining Hero John McCain emerged from his captivity stronger than ever, wearing a Superman costume. After all, as we saw in 2004, military service only counts if you're a Republican. And then a cushy gig in the stateside Air National Guard where you don't even have to show up makes you more of a war hero -- if you're a Republican -- than a Democrat who saw combat.

But you don't have to question McCain's war record to question his judgment. McCain's mantra about Barack Obama's record on Iraq is to disclaim "I don't question his patriotism, I question his judgment." Today the New York Times turns it back on McCain:

If John McCain wants voters to conclude, as he argues, that he has more independence and experience and better judgment than Barack Obama, he made a bad start by choosing Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

Mr. McCain’s supporters are valiantly trying to argue that the selection was a bold stroke that shows their candidate is a risk-taking maverick who — we can believe — will change Washington. (Mr. Obama’s call for change — now “the change we need” — has become all the rage in St. Paul.)

To us, it says the opposite. Mr. McCain’s snap choice of Ms. Palin reflects his impulsive streak: a wild play that he made after conservative activists warned him that he would face an all-out revolt in the party if he chose who he really wanted — Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

Why Mr. McCain would want to pander to right-wing activists — who helped George W. Bush kill off his candidacy in the 2000 primaries in a particularly ugly way — is baffling. Frankly, they have no place to go. Mr. McCain would have a lot more success demonstrating his independence, and his courage, if he stood up to them the way he did in 2000.

[snip]

For Mr. McCain to go on claiming that Mr. Obama has too little experience to be president after almost three years in the United States Senate is laughable now that he has announced that someone with no national or foreign policy experience is qualified to replace him, if necessary.

Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who has been one of Mr. McCain’s most loyal friends, said Tuesday that he was certain that Ms. Palin would take the right positions on issues like Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Georgia and Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. That seemed based largely on his repeated assertion that Ms. Palin would be tended by Mr. McCain’s foreign policy advisers. That was not much of an endorsement.

Some of the things Ms. Palin has had to say in the recent past about foreign policy are especially worrisome. In a speech last June to her former church in Wasilla, Ms. Palin said the war in Iraq was “a task that is from God.” Mr. Bush made similar claims as he rejected all sound mortal advice on how to conduct the war.

[snip]

Mr. McCain’s hurdles are substantial. To start, he has to overcome Mr. Bush’s record of failures. (The president addressed the convention Tuesday night and now, McCain strategists fervently hope, will retire quietly to the Rose Garden.) That record includes the disastrous war in Iraq, a ballooning deficit, the mortgage crisis — and the list goes on.

To address those many problems, this country needs a leader with sound judgment and strong leadership skills. Choosing Ms. Palin raises serious questions about Mr. McCain’s qualifications.