http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/9/11395/45051/59/472856
(with 402 fairly harsh comments and counting)
Hillary Clinton, on the qualifications of John McCain to be President of the United States:
“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.
“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,” she said.
Calling McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee a good friend and a “distinguished man with a great history of service to our country,” Clinton said, “Both of us will be on that stage having crossed that threshold. That is a critical criterion for the next Democratic nominee to deal with.”
Let us leave aside for the moment the disturbing fact that Clinton is praising the presumptive Republican nominee while simultaneously attacking the Democrat who very well may be his opponent.
Let's examine instead the very notion of the "threshold" Clinton presents as a qualification for president.
John McCain served his country in Vietnam. He was captured and was kept as a prisoner of war. He has served on committees in the Senate dealing with foreign policy and military affairs. In short, he has decades of experience with military issues, intelligence issues, and other matters which one may fairly say fall within the "commander in chief" sphere.
But what has been the result of these decades of experience? What does John McCain present today that pushes him past the "commander in chief threshold"?
Is it his joking and singing about bombing Iran? Is it his promise that "there will be more wars"? Is it his belief that the nation's spying apparatus should be turned upon its people?
What proves that McCain has "certainly" crossed the threshold?
His claim that we should remain in Iraq for 100 years? His dishonest accusations that his political opponents want to "wave the white flag of surrender"? Or is it his insistence on sending more troops into a quagmire?
Clinton's "threshold" appears to be more about quantity than quality. McCain has been involved for decades in military or national security affairs, and thus, according to her logic, he apparently crosses the "threshold" to be commander in chief.
This definition of "threshold" though is both troubling and dangerous. Using this definition, Donald Rumsfeld would "certainly" cross the threshold. Colin Powell would "certainly" cross the threshold.
By focusing on the
quantity of years in the national security arena rather than on the
quality of judgment which has been evidenced during those years, Clinton compacts the most important role of the president into a numbers game which is blind to political philosophy or governing ideology.
Yet it is precisely the use (or abuse) of political philosophy and governing ideology which should be the "threshold" for being commander in chief.
McCain brings decades of "experience" to the table, but he also brings a decades-old "us vs. them" mentality and a loyal belief in the unitary executive. It is this mindset which makes Clinton's assertion that McCain is "certainly" qualified to be commander in chief utterly absurd.
To emphasize the absurdity of her statement: let's remember that McCain's commander in chief philosophy is no different than that of President Bush.
Clinton repeatedly refers to Bush's legacy as a "failed presidency." She calls the president's decision to keep troops in Iraq "the height of irresponsibility." And yet, a man who wholeheartedly embraces both the policies of that "failed presidency" and the irresponsible idea of keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years receives Clinton's stamp of approval.
Had the founders desired years of military-related experience to be a "threshold" for commander in chief, they would have drafted such a requirement into the Constitution. Instead, a 35 year old natural born citizen who has resided here for 14 years can assume that role. And the only "threshold" that exists is gaining the approval of the American people, by proving to them that you have the judgment necessary to fulfill the duties of the office.
It is that threshold that qualifies a person to be commander in chief. It is a threshold of trust. A threshold of judgment. And against that threshold, McCain's record shows that he falls far short.
