Wesley Clark, another stupid liberal pri** moron

Unless you're living in a cave in Afghanistan (oops, probably there, too), you may have missed General Wesley Clark (retired Obama advisor) dissing John McCain's service yesterday on Face the Nation. To recap, Clark said:

"It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation?"

He went on to say:

"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President."

So, let's consider Wesley's statements, which seem to center on McCain not holding executive responsibility. True, McCain's experience with VA-174 was post-Vietnam, but it is still executive experience, something, I might add, that Barack Obama does not have. Perhaps some of my aviator readers can help me here, but VA-174, which McCain was both Executive and Commanding Officer of, had 50 and was the largest squadron in the Navy, so this bubblehead figures the command was in excess of 200 people (or bigger than a submarine, which I consider pretty impressive executive experience), the command received a MUC, and McCain got an MSM for his leadership. Let's compare that to Barack's executive experience......that sound you hear is crickets.

As a POW, we all know the stories. McCain led by example. While there is no official record of his holding any executive positions during his captivity, his actions are well documented, and are those of a man leading other men in the absolute worst conditions imaginable. What experience does Obama have that compares to that?

He hasn't been there and ordered bombs to fall, but, what 20th century presidents were present when the bombs fell? Eisenhower, JFK, Teddy Roosevelt. And, of those, only TR and Eisenhower would have been in a position where diplomats would have come in and asked them anything. So, please, Wesley, YOU aren't running for President this time (thank God), Barack Obama is, and he has absolutely ZERO experience with anything to do with foreign policy.

In the same interview, Wesley touts Obama's strengths as:

"...incredible communication skills, proven judgment. You look at his meteoric rise in politics, and you see a guy who deals with people well, who understands issues, who brings people together and who has good judgment in moving forward. And I think what we need to do, Bob, is we need to stop talking about the old politics of left and right, and we need to pull together and move the country forward. And I think that's what Barack Obama will do for America."

Please. I know 8 years of W's attempting to speak have driven us all crazy sometimes, but, when you have nothing to say, it doesn't matter how good your communication skills are. And, Wes, let's face it, Obama isn't running for Dan Rather (oops, Katie Couric's) job, he's running for President. And, who has he ever brought together? He votes with the Democratic caucus about 95% of the time, and has no significant bipartisan bills to point to. If Barack Obama is goign to bring the country together, where is the evidence that he has ever even brought members of the Senate together? None.

As for Wesley Clark, this is a guy who wanted to start a war with the Russians and had to be stopped by a British general, was releived early of his command by Bill Clinton, and said of another Vietnam veteran (one who didn't serve 5 years in captivity):

"John Kerry has heard the thump of enemy mortars. He's seen the flash of the tracers. He's lived the values of service and sacrifice. In the Navy, as a prosecutor, as a senator, he proved his physical courage under fire. And he's proved his moral courage too.

John Kerry fought a war, and I respect him for that. And he came home to fight a peace. And I respect him for that, too.

John Kerry's combination of physical courage and moral values is my definition of what we need as Americans in our commander in chief.

John Kerry is a man who in time of war can lead us as a warrior

He has the moral courage born in battle..."

Like others, I find Wes Clark's comments obscene and not worthy of a retired General. He's an egomaniac and a moron, and, a pri**.

If Obama Wins

With a spate of recent Supreme Court decisions, everyone on the right side of the political spectrum has to ask themselves, what is really at stake in this year's Presidential election. Nothing can change the nature of this country as much as an activist, leftist Court. The last two elections have seen George W. Bush get my vote largely because of the Court. In 2004, I added the War on Terrorism (or the War against Islamofascism) to my list. Those two reasons and the fact that I believe he is tremendously thoughtful and honorable man are why I will vote for McCain this year, despite his heresy on Campaign Finance Reform, Global Warming, and Immigration.

But, what happens if Obama wins in November, and brings with him at least two years of Democrats controlling Congress (and, perhaps a 60-seat majority in the Senate)?

Doomsday scenarios say he would put us on a fast track to withdraw from Iraq (ensuring defeat), would damage the economy with tax increases (removing the social security cap, increasing capital gains, restoring the death tax to Clinton levels, and raising marginal rates on the highest wage earners), would do little to reduce our dependence on middle-eastern oil (putting us on a path to $10/gal gas while enriching those Arab sheiks who bankroll our enemies and costing us billions in non-productive global warming prevention measures), would likely put the death knell on school choice initiatives, would take control of the health care industry and ensure rationing, and would appoint leftist judges to the Federal bench and Supreme Court, ensuring a further erosion in individual rights for a generation.

But, would all those things really happen?

Some might have made the same arguments when Bill Clinton was the nominee.

Of course, Bill Clinton, after the health care fiasco, realized that he needed to govern more moderately in order to 1)get anything done, and 2)(more importantly to him) get re-elected.

Crucial to #1 was the fact that he didn't have 60 Dem Senators to prevent filibusters. Assuming Obama also doesn't have this, will he, like Clinton, move right to ensure that#2 also happens to him? Reading the tea leaves, do Obama's recent statements in the wake of a couple of Supreme Court decisions give us any indication that he intends to not just govern more centristly, but to campaign that way?

I don't know.

I have to hope that 1) McCain wins, or that 2)If Obama wins that the R's retain 41+ seats in the Senate, or that 3)Obama is not as left-wing as his record indicates.

If 2 or 3 aren't true, we all have to come up with some contingency plans, which will be the subject of another post...

New Hampshire Christened

The USS New Hampshire (SSN-778) was christened today (Saturday), eight months early. Check out more pictures here. CT Representative Joe Courtney has been working hard to bring home the bacon to CT and while he faces a re-election battle with the former SUBASE CO, Sean Sullivan, his ability to get submarines built endears him to me, and likely to voters in Connecticut as well. Not to say that having Sullivan wouldn't also help, but, having members in somewhat unsafe seats in the majority party get a little help from their leadership in getting defense spending sent to their home states, is a good thing, in this case, for the submarine force. Would Sullivan get the same respect and treatment as a minority member in the next Congress? Doubtful. It's the way the game is played in Washington, like it or not.

RIMPAC coming to a state near you...

Since the wife and I are in Hawaii vacationing, I thought I'd provide a little local focus today. RIMPAC starts soon, and the Hawaiians are looking for a little economic boost from the exercise. Participating submarines will be coming from the South Koreans and Japanese, as well as the Key West, Los Angeles, and Santa Fe, according to this Star-Bulletin article.

Oh, here is the obligatory "postcard" shot of Waikiki from Diamond Head:

More UAV's for ASW

In what I consider some interesting news on the anti-submarine warfare front, the P-8 is being developed without magnetic anomaly detection capability, because "Planners became confident that acoustic processing systems will provide adequate sub-hunting capability." Losing the MAD allows the P-8 to shed some weight and lose drag, which are good platform things.

I've worked with P-3 guys over the years, and I honestly have never heard one talk about MAD's capabilities, as we always focus on their acoustic sensors, so I tend to discount its usefulness. In other P-8 news, a UAV, MagEagle, which is a variant of the ScanEagle already in useis being developed for use in ASW. A variant is being developed also that can be launched from a Trident missile tube.

Pretty cool stuff...

became confident that acoustic processing systems will provide adequate sub-hunting capability


More...

Air Force Schooled By Submariners

Two top Air Force leaders were forced to resign today after they demonstrated their incompetence and lack of leadership in controlling nuclear weapons. Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, issued a report which revealed widespread problems and convinced Defense Secretary Robert Gates that senior officials must be held accountable.

Things would be different there if we were in charge...

Miss Virginia

This lucky guy gets to escort Miss Virginia, Hannah Kiefer, around the USS Virginia, in this official Navy photo. The article further informs us that this marked a couple of "firsts," the first time a Miss Virginia had been on any submarine, and her first time on the Virginia. Isn't that the same first?

And, does she have to wear that crown everywhere, or just for pictures?

Perisher Course Series on Sky News

Sky News followed British and one American officer, as they went through the famed Perisher course for prospective submarine CO's. Interesting who the Brits will consider for command of a submarine. I knew the Brits had Engineers and Operational tracks, but never knew they would consider non-career submariners for command of a submarine.

See the series...