Voting for Commander in Chief: There can be only one...

The Weekly Standard ^ | 6/16/09 | Frederick W. Kagan

[gridlock]

It would be hard to design a better test for the job of commander in chief than the real-life test senators John McCain and Barack Obama have undergone in the last two years. As the situation in Iraq deteriorated during 2006 and the war reached its most critical moment, both senators served on national security committees: McCain on Armed Services, Obama on Foreign Relations. From those positions, with access to classified situation reports as well as the public testimony and private advice of those who knew the situation in Iraq best, each man reached an understanding of the facts on the ground and the interests at stake. And each proposed a strategy. It was as close as a presidential candidate could get to showing how he would respond to a national security crisis without already being in the White House.

(snip)

What would have happened if Obama's bill had passed? There is no way to know for sure, but it seems likely that, facing less resistance, Al Qaeda in Iraq would have continued to gain strength, the fragile Iraqi Security Forces would have collapsed, as would the fragile Iraqi government, militias would have flourished--and the United States would have departed under fire, accepting a humiliating defeat in the war against al Qaeda that would have reverberated globally.

For any voter trying to choose between the two candidates for commander in chief, there is no better test than this: When American strategy in a critical theater was up for grabs, John McCain proposed a highly unpopular and risky path, which he accurately predicted could lead to success. Barack Obama proposed a popular and politically safe route that would have led to an unnecessary and debilitating American defeat at the hands of al Qaeda.

(snip)

[gridlock]

A great piece that lays it on the line.

[BARLF]

Great article, thank you for posting.

[seekthetruth]

McCain is our only choice! Upsetting to many, including me, but McCain will get my vote in November.

[AZLiberty]

Both men's proposals are a matter of public record, available on the Internet. McCain set forth his in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute on January 5, 2007 (at an event marking the release of AEI's "Choosing Victory," which I wrote, outlining a strategy like the one Bush later ordered). Obama presented his in the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 " (S. 433), which he introduced in the Senate on January 30. We also know the strategy the president chose--the surge of forces he announced on January 10, very similar to what McCain described--and the outcome it has brought.

See! McCain is Bush 3. Or maybe Bush is McCain 2. I'm confused.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

What do you think you are doing? You can’t bring up Obama’s record (what little there is). That’s out of bounds!!! </sarcasim>

[gridlock]

I guess we can always HOPE he CHANGEs.

[Little Ray]

This is the ONLY reason I'm considering voting for John McCain: