ya think? really?

58 combat carrier takeoffs, 56 landings, with the incident at ChiChi Jima in the middle (not long after the forced ditching where all three aboard were rescued). I just have trouble calling that guy a coward and a friend-killer based on what we know. So let’s argue his politics, where you can call me an idiot and i’ll often smile and agree.

{chuckle}

I think it is very easy to misunderestimate and/or overlook just how badly handicapped Hillary Clinton was, by her last name. As the article says, her campaign began by heavily emphasizing EXPERIENCE and depth of understanding (such as only an “insider” would have)…

and 20:20 hindsight now tells us that this was a doomed effort, in a heavily CHANGE-oriented year, wherein the contest is for an office already held by the scion of another president!

Hillary defined herself as the establishment candidate, and succeeded in that effort —

The End.

What i’m not up for is leading the search party for truth so far into the weeds we all get lost. I’ve read enough on both sides to say that John Kerry probably made some mistakes during his time in service, and how he described his service, but there’s not enough there for it to be worth overriding the conversation about what Kerry wanted to do this year. It’s beyond doubt that Bush-lite got a little help, even if no one asked for it, from folks wanting to be nice to the family, getting into his ANG unit — as did Quayle, but instead of the safety Quayle and Robertson found behind full metal typewriters, Bush-Dubya got into a crappy fighter jet … probably because he needed to prove something to Daddy-Poppy.

Like all of us haven’t done stupid things to prove ourselves while doing selfish things to protect ourselves, especially in our twenties.

And Obama has shown amazing focus and discipline getting into the political game and knocking off opponents with a fair degree of ruthlessness — exactly what James Madison said we’d be creating with the political system they cooked up at the Constitutional Convention, so we needed to hedge such strivers around with checks and balances, to blunt the edge of popular passions (see the South Sea Bubble and the Tulip Craze for what made the Framers tick). The Electoral College, the Sherman Compromise (yeah, slavery was in there too, but that’s not the whole argument), balance of powers between the branches — they’re all built into the system because an electoral representative democracy will draw people running for office like the candidates we’ve got.

Once we’ve confirmed they aren’t unindicted felons or delusional psychotics, i say let’s look at what they propose and dispute heatedly about that. And i say again, heroism doesn’t make good presidents, so Bush Sr. could have choked and McCain could have cracked under pressure, Obama may be an opportunist more than altruist and Kerry may be a compulsive exaggerator. So what.

Just read Liebling’s “Run, Run, Run, Run,” and i’m in the mood to give the benefit of the doubt to Bush on that canopy. If someone who flew alongside of him feels differently, that’s their call, and i respect that, but it doesn’t help me make political decisions.

Catherine, the sexism vs. racism question is so complicated that I get tired just thinking about it. Am going to try to figure out what it is I think I want to say. If I succeed, I’ll let you know!