You are correct. I mispoke. I meant to say McCain ‘has little or no applicable experience with the military.’ I don’t think his experience in the military is particularly relevant to him becoming president.

And the link is…

How convenient. The claim was made in a NY Times article. The author confirmed the claim with former Navy Secretary John Lehman and two other naval officers. Duros is referring to a hatchet job written Jeffery Klein that was long on innuendo and short on facts. As for the other claims, they’re all true and easy to confirm. Your “forgive me if I doubt your other claims in this area” is another one of your convenient excuses to use as a way of not admitting you’re wrong.

He’s running on his military record, yet he has no combat experience while in a leadership role. Being a fighter pilot, even a good fighter pilot, offers almost no experience that would be a major benefit to the commander in chief.

But that’s not what you said. You said McCain “has little or no experience with the military.”

Now you’re saying he has no combat experience while in a leadership role. That’s two completely different things.

Exactly so. My question from the very beginning. The civilian leadership sets the political goals, the military leadership formulates a strategy for achieving those political goals, and the military rank-and-file perform the much more dramatic (unless you’re Aaron Sorkin) but ultimately less mentally taxing role of completing tactics to achieve the strategy.

McCain’s military record, like Kerry’s in ’04, is two steps removed from experience relevant to a commander-in-chief. Had his role been of leadership (delegation, organization, etc.) it would have been only one step removed, and therefore much more relevant. I have seen no legitimate reason yet not to discount McCain’s military service (as I did Kerry’s in ’04, and Gore’s in ’00) as a reason to vote for him.

Yeah… as Duros said, the evidence regarding this claim is simply not strong enough evidence to believe it is true. Forgive me if I doubt your other claims in this area.

Like this one…

“and mocking his class rank – which was due largely to his questioning the higher-ups and nothing to do with performance”

McCain admits he wasn’t the best student. So, who should I believe? You or McCain?

“how in the world can any person with functioning brain cells actually believe that McCain has “little to no experience” with the military?”

He’s running on his military record, yet he has no combat experience while in a leadership role. Being a fighter pilot, even a good fighter pilot, offers almost no experience that would be a major benefit to the commander in chief.

Actually, I agree with this statement.

He retired as a captain in 1981 after turning down the prospect of being made a rear admiral

i thought that meme was largely discredited by now.

McCain obviously has an impressive military record (Obama has been praising him from the beginning on this, showing a lot of class that Republicans were unable to display with regards to Kerry). He also has a pretty weak track record on foreign policy. “Touring” Baghdad with a huge military escort was not his finest moment.

Because your claim is asinine on its face. There is nothing to counter.

You couldn’t find a single person who comments on this blog that would agree with that claim. I can’t imagine anybody stupid enough to agree with you. Let’s just look at part of your claim.

You’re saying (seriously which is just hilarious) that John McCain has “…little to no experience in important areas like military…”

John McCain:

Attended and graduated from the Naval Academy
He flew ground attack aircraft from aircraft carriers
He flew in twenty three bombing campaigns during Vietnam
He was held as a POW for 6 years.
After his release he became the CO of a training squadron in Florida, turning the unit around and won the squadron its first Meritorious Unit Commendation
In 1977, he was the Navy’s liaison to the US Senate
He retired as a captain in 1981 after turning down the prospect of being made a rear admiral
He’s been a member of the Senate Armed Services committee for the better part of the last 20 years
He was the recipient of the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal

Now, with a resume like that, (and mocking his class rank – which was due largely to his questioning the higher-ups and nothing to do with performance – and the fact that he was shot down is just childish) how in the world can any person with functioning brain cells actually believe that McCain has “little to no experience” with the military?

Maybe, maybe not. Nobody has really determined how well the president ought to know internet economics. He should have at least a working knowledge of how things move, in my opinion.

I guess reading comprehension is really not your strong suit, CS. I made no claims about McCain’s experience in any of those areas. I just said that those issues were more important that a candidate’s ability to go online and surf the web.

And how exactly does ‘doesn’t email or go online himself’ equate to ‘totally cluless’? Did you personally run some kind of evaluation or aptitude test on him that allows you to draw that conclusion? By that same logic, if you’ve never served in the military than I can say that you’re totally clueless about all things military.

You say he doesn’t have great foreign policy experience, McCain says he doesn’t have experience in economic areas, and graduating fifth worst in your class and getting shot down hardly qualifies as military experience.

No, I didn’t say that. Again, if you want to make accusation about McCain, go for it. Just don’t try to put your crappy, ill-fitting words in my mouth.

But I have to agree with Jay on this: Your statement “getting shot down hardly qualifies as military experience” has got to be one of the stupidest things I’ve read in a long time.

So what does McCain have?

Who said I was defending McCain? I’m just trying to point out that this is a stupid and petty issue to be hammering him about. Are you really getting that low on material? Or is this just the usual partisan “throw a lot of crap on the wall and see what sticks” mentality? But if you feel so strongly about McCain’s lack of experience, maybe as a contrast you could list Obama’s experience in areas other than sending emails and browsing the web.

If it burns while urinating, you might want to get it checked about by a medical professional. You most likely have an STD.

They’ve worked clueless, projection, & denial to an art form.

And yet, you offer no examples of where I’ve done this or evidence refuting or countering anything I’ve said. I guess when you’re “Reality-based”, that kind of stuff is hard.

Jay: “Do you earn royalties for saying stupid shit? I mean, you must because I cannot fathom why anybody would say something so stupid unless they were earning a living doing it.”

Me: “and graduating fifth worst in your class and getting shot down hardly qualifies as military experience.”

Jay: “CHA-CHING!”

And as everyone can see, you said nothing, FUCKING NOTHING to counter my claim. You merely insulted me.

You’ve complained about me doing the same in the past, even thought you could never back up that claim. That makes you a liar and a hypocrite.

Do you earn royalties for saying stupid shit? I mean, you must because I cannot fathom why anybody would say something so stupid unless they were earning a living doing it.

and graduating fifth worst in your class and getting shot down hardly qualifies as military experience.

CHA-CHING!

…

“My point was that basic knowledge about the ‘intarwebs’ is not nearly as important as other, more critical areas such as the military, foreign policy, economics, etc.”

So you are saying it doesn’t matter that McCain is totally clueless to such an important part of daily life of millions of Americans, because he has little to no experience in important areas like military, foreign policy, and economics.

You say he doesn’t have great foreign policy experience, McCain says he doesn’t have experience in economic areas, and graduating fifth worst in your class and getting shot down hardly qualifies as military experience.

… So what does McCain have?

They’ve worked clueless, projection, & denial to an art form.

More so than you at least.

Oh please. All of this talk about “undercutting” American workers and environmental concerns is a convenient excuse, allowing politicians (as I mentioned) to claim ‘support’ for an issue but in making such demands, water it down to where it becomes meaningless.

Ah, changing the sujbect. I expect no less from you.

I did no such thing. You mentioned competing in the global marketplace. I commented on that.

It’s odd that somebody claims Obama’s vast knowledge of technology is what is going to allow him to understand about competing in a global marketplace, yet his views on free trade are so ar behind the times, he might as well start talking about protecting farmers from the industrial revolution. And of course, all of the people who saw their jobs eliminated because of technology!!

But the free trade issue is what’s going to turn it all around for McCain?

Who said that?

GOOD USE OF TALKING POINTS WOULD READ AGAIN A

I welcome the TV debates between Obama and McCain on the issue of free trade, and the economy in general. McCain is a personal friend of one of the most disliked POTUS’s in history. And gas is close to five bucks per. And our economy stinks. Foreign countries don’t want to bank in US dollars any longer.

But the free trade issue is what’s going to turn it all around for McCain? As he write out his memos in manly long-hand?

LOL.