I finally listened to the clip. To me, her point was that veterans are getting the shaft, and if we don't start treating them with the respect they deserve people will stop enlisting in the military (already have, frankly) and the only way to keep up a military to get D-Bag Laden is through a draft. In no way did I interpret that clip as him saying "oh yeah, we gotta start drafting people". I'd be surprised if a rational person would view this differently. UNLESS, as radapharoah, implied, he has voiced support for the draft in the past. Ultra-Republicans and Ultra-Democrats are 2 sides of the same coin. They'll both gladly twist something so it suits them. Politics sucks.
I am going to research this one. If McCain might be for a draft I will vote Obama and campaign hard against McCain. Unless of course if I find that Obama might be for a draft. Bummer, now I am going to have to take an interest and really dig into this one issue.
This could be just the news needed to resurrect Country Joe and the Fish's career... Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag (Next Stop Vietnam) Country Joe & the Fish Come on all of you big strong men Uncle Sam needs your help again he's got himself in a terrible jam way down yonder in Viet Nam so put down your books and pick up a gun we're gonna have a whole lotta fun (CHORUS) And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam And it's five, six, seven, open up the pearly gates ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die Come on generals, let's move fast your big chance has come at last now you can go out and get those reds cos the only good commie is the one that's dead and you know that peace can only be won when we've blown 'em all to kingdom come Come on wall street don't be slow why man this war is a go-go there's plenty good money to be made by supplying the army with the tools of its trade let's hope and pray that if they drop the bomb, they drop it on the Viet Cong Come on mothers throughout the land pack your boys off to Viet Nam come on fathers don't hesitate send your sons off before it's too late and you can be the first ones on your block to have your boy come home in a box
I really think this whole Iraq-terrorist messed mission should be aborted. We have gotten nowhere, and thousands of troops are dying by the weeks. Hopefully Obama, if elected, will honor his promise and withdraw those troops as soon as possible.
Lots of great responses. I always wondered what Iraq would have been like if there had been a draft. specially the 2004 election. anyway, some more thoughts for those worried about a draft. A Pundit Not a President Posted by Max Bergmann Matt Yglesias has a great post which really captures a key component of McCain's foreign policy approach - it is rooted in hyperbolic rhetoric mixed with hysterical over reaction. As Matt describes it, Each of those statements from McCain sound like they came from an excited media pundit. Well that’s because they did. McCain’s approach and tone on foreign policy has always been more emblematic of a tv pundit rather than a sober president. While McCain has attacked Obama as the "celebrity" candidate, the fact is that a bad place to be over the last 25 years has been between John McCain and a TV camera. The New York Times on Sunday noted that one of the first things McCain did after 9-11 was go on just about every TV program - where he incidentally called for attacking about four countries. In its biographical series profiling the candidates the Times also noted that McCain was attracted to the celebrity of the Senate with one close associate noting that McCain “saw the glamour of it. I think he really got smitten with the celebrity of power.” McCain clearly enjoys being on television and he has been a constant commentator on the Sunday news shows and the evening talk news programs. But TV appearances encourage sound bites, over-the-top rhetoric, and good one-liners, not reasoned and nuanced diplomatic language. This is especially true from guests who are not in the current administration, since you are less likely to get invited back on Face the Nation if you down play a crisis or take a boring nuanced position. Thus on almost every crisis or incident over the last decade, McCain has sounded the alarm, ratcheted up the rhetoric and often called for military action - with almost no regards to the practical implications of such an approach. The big concern with a McCain presidency – a concern which I am surprised has not been vocalized more fully – is that the U.S. will lurch from crisis to crisis, confrontation to confrontation, whether it be with Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc. The danger is that McCain’s pundit-like rhetoric will entrap the U.S. in descending spiral of foreign policy brinksmanship. Just think about the very likely scenario of McCain giving Iran/Russia a rhetorical ultimatum and Iran/Russia ignoring it. Now we are stuck - either we lose face by not following through on our threats or we follow through and go to war. We can’t afford such a reckless approach after the last eight years. For the next eight we need a president not a pundit. http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2008/08/a-pundit-not-a.html
The draft would only be enacted if needed. I'm not a military guy but if my country needs me to go fight then I will fight. Why are we so afraid to give a little something back to a country that has given us everything? You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. For the record it's not a stupid thing to say you are pro-draft...it's a stance...it's reality. The world is changing and countries like Venezuela and Russia are becoming increasingly more aggressive everyday. We need to be ready to fight an enemy that wants to see America burn.
the world is like a chess game. someone is always going to lose on something. pretty soon...everyone is going to be losing on something. vote john mccain
I agree. I think maybe some of the blind hatred might be causing some to take this out of context. He should have been more aware of how this was going to be used, but I think his comment was based more towards agreeing that out vets have been treated like s*** by this administration. Then again, he was kind of lying since he voted against the recent GI bill. I will never vote for McCain. I don't trust him. There was something about him back in 2000...until he became a pandering bit** to Bush and his cronies. That said, lets keep things in context. What was the next sentence that video didn't show us?
I think there would be less hesitation to volunteer for military service during war time if people truly believed in the cause. Many people view Iraq as a mistake. Why would they willingly sign up to fight in a war they believe was a mistake?
I have heard him hint around it too many times. I don’t care what anybody say’s this dude is a war hawk and he is dangerous for America. I will bet anybody on this board any amount of money they want, that if this dude is elected we are defiantly going to have a draft. only thing he needed is an excuse, and now he has that. The said part is the republicans are going to follow in lockstep due to partisanship. You guys are making a very big mistake voting for this dude who is going to not just bush 3rd term, but much worse.
You aren't a "military guy" and obviously you aren't remotely old enough to have been subjected to the draft or the draft lottery. You didn't watch your country send over 500,000 troops to Viet Nam into the middle of a civil war turned nightmare. That's over 500,000 troops on the ground at the same time, not rotated in and out of the country. That's over 500,000 troops of which the bulk were draftees. Yeah, I'd like to see you push out your chest and act all holier than thou when you are staring at a draft notice that arrived in Mom and Dad's mailbox while you were at school. Hey, your country needs you to fight RIGHT NOW, so why aren't you draggin' your "patriotic" ass to a recruiting station and signing up? What are you waiting for? Your "stance," your "reality" is a cheap message board chest thump, chump, with all respect due. And we should be worried about an "aggressive" Venezuela? That's hilarious. One of our carrier battle groups could cruise up and down their coast, pounding the country back into the stone age, and they couldn't do a damn thing about it. And you know what? We have a dozen carrier battle groups. Yeah, I'm really frightened of Chavez! You think this post is just a tad strong? You should have seen what I would have typed over 40 years ago, if I had had an internet to mess around with. I had friends come home with patched up holes in them. I had friends come home strung out on the heroin the VC were making sure was available to GI's for next to nothing. I was one of the lucky ones... I got to stay in the Sates and march against the ****ing war. I'll be double god-damned if my 17 year old son will face a draft. He never will while there's a breath in my body to prevent it. Impeach George W. Bush.
Hugo chavez is the devil. He is probably developing a plan to destroy the world at this very moment. Democracy do your thing! =/
We need you in Iraq or Afghanistan right now. Run, don't walk to the nearest enlistment office now. We need more like you. Go. Enlist. Don't wait for the draft. Hurry. Please enlist. Ask for the front lines. We salute you.
Context people... Context! Listen to the whole "question" if you can... This was McCain basically agreeing with everything he heard that was positive... But I'm sure you'll all hear what you want to hear. Spin away.
I don't care how long the woman's statement was, if it included the words " institute the draft", he shouldn't have said he agreed with her if he didnt agreed with everything she said. Add that to the times he has mentioned the draft previously and I dont think it is a stretch at all to say he would institute the draft if he felt it was necessary. If there is anyone in here that has shown to not be partisan, it's me...so don't even pull that old chestnut out here. Im just calling it like I see it from the no-spin allowed zone.
I think a draft is more democratic. If we had an army composed of draftees our society would be way less inclined to see it used for neo-con adventurism. Our army should reflect the country as a whole and not just those who don't have rich mommies and daddies that can afford to send them to good universities and get them oil jobs afterwards. But guys like Deckard remember the Vietnam era draft, which was a really ass-backward policy that kept rich kids out of harm's way, and exploited the poor and middle class. I think a draft creates a more equal society, but the college deferments were really wrong. And why stick to 18 year-olds? We could use more energy traders and trial lawyers on the front lines to bring all their expertise to the battlefield. I would have had NO problem with a draft, if it was equitable, allowed for conscientious objectors and everyone else had to do it. Compulsory military service is a pretty common thing in most democracies and serves, in many cases, as a social equalizer.
