05-22-2008, 04:27 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Senator Harkin inserts foot in mouth.
Quote:
Harkin: McCain too 'military'
Washington, D.C. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, "and he has a hard time thinking beyond that," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said Friday.
"I think he's trapped in that," Harkin said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous."
Harkin said that "it's one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that's just how you're steeped, how you've learned, how you've grown up."
A McCain spokesman said Harkin's remarks were offensive and showed that Democrats are out of touch with Americans' values.
"Senator Harkin's comments are an affront to the many thousands of Iowans who have served our country so valiantly for generations," said spokesman Jeff Sadosky. "This sort of attack shows just how out of touch Democratic leadership has become with the values that have made our country so great."
This is not the first time Harkin has commented about McCain. In April, Harkin said McCain's temper was "scary," and Harkin questioned whether "flying off the handle" might affect McCain's judgment in the Oval Office.
McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958 and served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot.
He was shot down in 1967 and held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam from then until 1973. McCain continued to serve in the Navy until 1981, when he retired and successfully ran for election to the U.S. House in 1982.
He was elected to the Senate in 1986 and currently serves as the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee.
McCain has pointed to his military background as an asset in his campaigns for the presidency, and has talked about it at length. But Harkin, discussing the impact of military service on the viewpoints of lawmakers, said that "different people draw different conclusions from their service."
Harkin also served as a Navy pilot during the Vietnam era but was not in combat.
He said that "I just want to be very clear there's nothing wrong with a career in the military" and that he has friends who are generals and admirals who have served the country well.
"But now McCain is running for a higher office. He's running for commander in chief, and our Constitution says that should be a civilian," Harkin said. "And in some ways, I think it would be nice if that commander in chief had some military background, but I don't know if they need a whole lot."
Sadosky said that Harkin's comments demonstrate that Democrats are gearing up an "attack machine" even before their nominee is certain.
"Our country's all-volunteer military does not serve because of a 'distorted reality,' they serve because they understand they can play a role in keeping Iowa families safe," he said.
"At a point when John McCain is calling on Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves like so many have before, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's attack machine is gearing up to tear down someone who has served his nation throughout his life. Certainly not the 'new politics of hope' that we've heard so much about."
Neither of the Democratic presidential candidates served in the military.
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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...0330/1001/NEWS
This is about as stupid a set of comments as John Kerry's comments in 2004 about not having a good education and the military.
The Democrats (esp Obama) have enough problem being viewed as not very supportive of the military as it is.
I bet Harkin will come out and apologize sometime in the next 24 hours but the damage has been done.
Last edited by DuH2; 05-22-2008 at 04:30 AM.
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