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September 19, 2006

The End Of McCain's Presidential Ambitions?

Even with a nuclear Iran looming on the horizon and the prospect that its nuclear weapons will end up in the hands of international terrorists that it has been sponsoring for years, many in the media and in the government that is supposed to protect us have been preoccupied with whether we are being nice enough to the terrorists in our custody.(Thomas Sowell)

Blue Crab Boulevard links to the story that the Washington Post is speculating as to whether John McCain's "principled stand" against the interogation techniques proposed by the Bush administration will hurt his 2008 presidential ambitions. Although one strategist says the issue is manageable for McCain right now, BCB makes the important point that given the leak by al-Guardian of the details of the proposed techniques, McCain has now exposed as the "preening hack" that he is, and that his willingness to put Americans at risk to try to gain votes is going to distance him from any chance at the presidency.

As we posted last night in our piece titled, "About Those Interogation Techniques," our own special ops troops go through far worse just as a warm-up to deployment, and that juxtaposing these techniques with the Islamists' beheadings, disembowelments, severed limbs, plucked out eyes and cut off private parts, America should have no concern whatsoever regarding how the CIA is perceived in the international community. We asked then, has the world's basic sense of proportionality completely gone awry? However, America should first direct that question to Senator John McCain, and further ask him why he is so willing to put his personal political ambitions ahead of the interests, safety, and security of his fellow countrymen.

Has his grandstanding and now the leak of the details of the interogation techniques he is opposing - harmed his presidential ambitions? In stating the obvious that many of us on the right side of the blogosphere have known for some time, the question is moot - and McCain has made himself that as well. When a United States Senator peacocks around and blocks rational interogation techniques such as sleep deprivation, loud sounds and bright lights, grabbing a suspect's shirt, prolonged standing, and hypothermia, in order to score political points, he will find that the memory of the American public will not be short. Is his situation manageable? I think not. The WaPo is being kind.

Blue Crab Boulevard has additional commentary.

Posted by Richard at September 19, 2006 12:44 PM