TALK TO THE DADDY

Hello. Come on in. The daddy writes about current events, literature, music and, once in a while, drops something on you from back in the day to make you pause and ponder, stop and stare, and begin to wonder. Who knows? You may start to pace the floor, shake your head from side to side, then fall down on bended knees in a praying position and cry, "Lawd, have mercy! What is this world coming to?" Check yourself! But this blog is NOT about the daddy. It's about you: your boos, your fam, your hood, your country...our hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. So let's make a pact: the daddy will put it on the track if you'll chase it down and hit him back. Together, we can definitely take it to another level. Shall we?"

Monday, October 13, 2008

Question: Is John McCain All There?

Tonight, the daddy was watching a clip from a Sen. McCain speak from last week and he didn't call the people in the audience "my friends" as he usually does. He called them "my fellow prisoners." The daddy thought that was weird...and sad-- the fact that we have a person running for president of the United States who may not be all there. Then, considering the numerous gaffes he has made on the campaign trail, considering his rude behavior toward Obama, his disjointed, uneven campaign, the daddy has become even more questioning.

Now, the daddy just read an article by Mary Shaw (a writer based in Philadelphia and an activist for Amnesty International) which wonders the same thing. Specifically, she wonders if his experience as a POW in Vietnam not only does not qualify him for president. She's wondering if that experience affected him to the point where he does not have the temperament or steadiness that should be required of any serious candidate for the highest office in the land. Here's the article.

Is John McCain Still Trapped in Vietnam?

by Mary Shaw

Senator John McCain has become notorious for playing the POW card in his campaign for the presidency, as if that somehow qualifies him for the job. But, in McCain's case, I think his status as a former POW would actually detract from his ability to lead this nation effectively.

You see, he doesn't seem to have recovered from his POW experience, or the Vietnam war in general. He seems to be lacking closure. And this appears to be affecting his foreign policy.

What else could so clearly explain his desire to remain in Iraq for 100 years or more, if that's what it takes to "win" an unwinnable occupation? He needs to take care of the unfinished business in his psyche. He needs to win Vietnam, even if it's in Iraq.

What else could so clearly explain his eagerness to "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"? He needs to take care of the unfinished business in his psyche. He is still in a cage and he needs to lash out. He needs to keep fighting.

What else could so clearly explain his recent claim of "I know how to win wars"? After all, we did not win the Vietnam war. But maybe he hasn't gotten there yet. He needs to take care of the unfinished business in his psyche. To McCain, the Vietnam war is not over. He needs to win it -- even if it is a proxy war -- or else be a failure in his own mind.

What else could so clearly explain why he recently addressed an audience not as "my friends", as usual, or "my fellow citizens", but rather as "my fellow prisoners"? He has a way to go to take care of the unfinished business in his psyche. On some level, he is still at the Hanoi Hilton. And we're all there with him.

And what else could so clearly explain why McCain -- himself a torture survivor -- would vote earlier this year against a bill that would ban the CIA from using torture, even though he had previously spoken out against torture? Fight it as he may have for so long, ultimately he needs to take care of the unfinished business in his psyche. An eye for an eye -- no matter whose eye.

Deep down inside, he needs to get even. He needs to win that war in Vietnam, however symbolically, and whatever the cost to our troops, this nation, the world, and his soul.

And, in doing so, he can also appease the conscienceless, selfish, and bloodthirsty base -- the same base that has controlled George W. Bush for the past eight years.

Neither motivation is a very good excuse.

Neither motivation is healthy for this nation.

And neither motivation will bring the kind of change that we all want and need so desperately.

We need a president who can learn from the past, not dwell on it -- or in it.

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Question: Do you think Sen. McCain is all there?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well I have been saying for a while, that he seems a few cards short of a deck. I do wonder if his quest to be president is in fact tied to his experience in war.. honestly that scares me. Then when you look at his running mate and realize she has even less cards in her deck, it has the makings for a scary situation should these 2 be elected.

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

blackgirlinmaine: Good points. I'm so hoping this guy doesn't get elected. I actually have friends who have checked out moving to Canada if he's elected. I haven't gone that far, but I'm feeling anxious about it.

rainywalker said...

Sorry to use this expression daddyBstrong, but John McCain "is crazy as a shit house rat."

Vigilante said...

Another way to put it, Rainy, is that McCain is still a prisoner of war.

Anonymous said...

My husband is a Vietnam veteran and he suffers from PTSD . I imagine being a POW (McCain) for 5 years creats permanent psychological damage that we can only imagine. McCain has all the symptoms and displays them every day. You can see his illness in his temperament (not looking at Obama, not shaking hands with Obama, picking Palin :) and the list goes on. McCain has serious issues and need to sit his POW down. I love my husband, but he's not presidential material

Lenoxave said...

I question his mental, physical and spiritual strength. It simply isn't there Daddy. It just isn't. The more I watch him, the more disturbed he becomes.

His temper and patience are not what they should be for a man seeking this particular office.

John McCain is NOT what leadership looks or sounds like.