After dodging the potential political killer of Hurricane Gustav and solidifying their message of “Country First,” the Republican National Convention finally got going Tuesday evening in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Headliners finally got the opportunity to speak to the crowd to make their case for John McCain and Sarah Palin. 

Former Senator and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson and Demopendapublian Joe Lieberman ended the night with glowing words for McCain and direct shots at Barack Obama.  George Bush joined the party via satellite with an endorsement of McCain sure to have his campaign running from for the next 2 months. 

Thompson went into great detail about the torture McCain went through, making sure to focus specifically on the broken bones and definite pain he endured at the Hanoi Hilton.  “After days of neglect, covered in grime, lying in his own waste in a filthy room, a doctor attempted to set John’s right arm without success…and without anesthesia.  His other broken bones and injuries were not treated.  John developed a high fever, dysentery.  He weighed barely a hundred pounds.”  Matt Stoller joined The Young Turks for play-by-play during the speech and called this long winded description of pain P.O.W Porn. 

I noticed this theme of “he went through so much there, so we should reward him with the Presidency here” as Thompson’s main thesis.  When rhetorical questions were asked about McCain’s ability to run the country the best, I found myself answering the “wrong way.” 

As Thompson put it, “Courage, Humility, Wisdom, Duty, and Honor.  It’s pretty clear there are two questions we will never have to ask ourselves, ‘Who is this man?’ and ‘Can we trust this man with the Presidency?’  These may or may not be things he exhibited while serving in the armed forces, but even if they all are, what does his courageousness while being tortured have to do with his ability to successfully bring this country out of the hole its in? 

In his political battles, John McCain lost his courage when he first shunned Evangelical leaders such as James Dobson before suddenly realizing he must embrace them to gain the nomination of his Party now controlled by the far left.  This courage floundered as he spoke at Falwell’s Liberty University in 2006 after calling him one of the political agents of intolerance.  His humility was vacant when he lost his temper and screamed “fuck you” a Texas Senator John Cornyn while discussing his Amnesty Bill.  His wisdom was nowhere to be found when he followed the Bush Administration’s lead and voted for the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Iraq in response to the terrorist attacks of 9-11.  His duties were left out in the cold when he fervently opposed the 21st Century GI bill that would repeal unfair tax burdens on military families and provide war veterans the benefits they deserve when they return from the useless war. Instead, his duty kicked in only when trying to take credit for its eventual success for his own political gain.  Above all, John McCain forgot about his horrific experiences at the Hanoi Hilton and lost his honor when he supported the Bush Administration’s use of torture tactics against our prisoners.  Maybe he should have listened to the details Thompson went into Tuesday night to remind himself of the horrors of torture before endorsing the decision to do something so un-American. 

So when Fred Thompson asked me “Who is this man?” I noticed that his constant shifting on so many issues for political purposes forces me to say, no.  When he asks “Can we trust this man with the Presidency, I realize that he will not be the one handling the highest office in the land.  I will have to trust people that believe in torture, preeminent strikes on sovereign nations, and support for the richest Americans’ tax breaks over true support for our troops fighting overseas.  So I ask Fred Thompson, “Who is this guy, because I don’t trust him.” 

--JJJ

 

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