You're right, a POW is not a war hero.

You know which Republican congressman really was a hero of the Vietnam War? Randall Duke Cunningham! He was the first American fighter ace in the Vietnam War, and one of the first wave of Top Gun trainees who turned around the air war over Vietnam.

(FYI, you can read the story of Top Gun here: http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/191606-ebook.htm - great stuff if you like military history.)

Of course, these days the Duke is serving out the longest prison sentence ever passed down on a United States congressman for passing out bribe menus to defense contractors and frolicking with whores in the Watergate Hotel.

Seems to me that reminding folks of the Duke might be a good way to puncture McCain's POWs-are-holier-than-thou mantra.

Posted at September 5, 2008 12:46 PM in response to On Bragging War Heroes

You're right, a POW is not a war hero.

You know which Republican congressman really was a hero of the Vietnam War? Randall Duke Cunningham! He was the first American fighter ace in the Vietnam War, and one of the first wave of Top Gun trainees who turned around the air war over Vietnam.

(FYI, you can read the story of Top Gun here: http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/191606-ebook.htm - great stuff if you like military history.)

Of course, these days the Duke is serving out the longest prison sentence ever passed down on a United States congressman for passing out bribe menus to defense contractors and frolicking with whores in the Watergate Hotel.

Seems to me that reminding folks of the Duke might be a good way to puncture McCain's POWs-are-holier-than-thou mantra.

Posted at September 5, 2008 12:46 PM in response to On Bragging War Heroes

The AP has, for all practical purposes, become Fox News Wire Light. With Zell and Murdoch on the AP Board, I'm sure this won't change any time soon.

Posted at September 4, 2008 9:18 PM in response to "McCain's Hero Aura Inoculates Him Against Critics"

Hey, speaking of all the McCain family shenanigans, check out this:

"Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-divorce11-2008jul11,0,6546861.story

Is that even legal? Would love to hear from an Arizona divorce lawyer on this. Poked around on the web, and it does say that you don't need to present an actual divorce decree to obtain a marriage license there. But can you obtain a valid license if you are, in fact, still legally married at the time? (If so, he'll probably be neighbors with Mitt in no time).

Posted at August 21, 2008 3:17 PM in response to McCain Camp Responds On Houses Gaffe: He Was A POW!

Yes, he's incredibly stupid, and incredibly rich ( . . . by marriage).

Even "W" never finished in the bottom 1% of his class.

Posted at August 21, 2008 3:11 PM in response to McCain Camp Responds On Houses Gaffe: He Was A POW!

Well, it's obvious that neither Obama nor any of the other major Dems has enough of a spine to call McCain (or Bush/Cheney) on this, but it really couldn't have been more obvious from the beginning that Iraq was simply the wrong stinkin' country:

http://www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com

And how do the tough guys explain their willingness to let the nation most responsible for the rise of Al Qaeda and the attacks on 9/11 get away with it scot-free? I bet Tom Loeffler knows the answer.

Posted at August 18, 2008 11:45 AM in response to McCain Just After 9/11: "Next Up, Baghdad!"

I have to disagree. Remember, Michael Ledeen was in Feith's shop, and he has his fingerprints all over the forged Niger Uranium documents.

Also, an operation like this explicitly designed to deceive the American public would be illegal for the CIA, but not the Defense Department (or a bunch of random losers scheming in the basement of the Defense Department).

Finally, as Suskind points out, the very idea of this whole plot seems like such a ridiculous hack job, it seems tailor made for "the stupidest fucking guy on the planet."

Posted at August 8, 2008 7:07 PM in response to Suskind's Report About Forged Iraq-Al Qaeda Letter Holding Up Under Scrutiny

"There was no such order from the White House to me nor, to the best of my knowledge, was anyone from CIA ever involved in any such effort."

Remember, the Vice President's Office is not a part of the Executive Branch (i.e., White House), it's just a barnacle or something.

Also, given the report cited above from the American Conservative, I don't think I've seen anything truly inconsistent with the possibility that this might have been kicked around by the CIA, but ultimately dumped on Feith for actual execution. This changes the story (and some of the legal implications) a bit, but not the substance of the reporting. And of course, it fits nicely with Tennet's non-denial denial.

Posted at August 8, 2008 6:57 PM in response to Suskind's Report About Forged Iraq-Al Qaeda Letter Holding Up Under Scrutiny

"Mary" is probably the local DHL rep.

Posted at August 8, 2008 6:44 PM in response to Latest McCain Campaign Claim: Talking About Job Losses Is Exploiting Workers

This all reminds me of those intricate Al Qaeda fundraising networks.

Indeed, can there be any doubt that John McCain is now the Al Qaeda Candidate? He certainly seems hell bent on playing into their hands:

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/04/al-qaeda-2-well.html

Posted at August 7, 2008 12:05 PM in response to Mystery Deepens Around McCain Bundler