Attacking McCain's Service Not A Good Strategy

Asserts Alan Stewart Carl, a moderate blogger who is leaning toward voting for Sen. John McCain for president: "There are a lot of legitimate ways Barack Obama supporters can criticize John McCain. But one of the worst lines of attack I can think of is to go after McCain’s military service. And yet, we have Obama surrogates like Wesley Clark belittling McCain’s heroism and major liberal blogger John Aravosis making this ridiculous statement:

“Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?…Getting shot down, tortured, and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience.”

Mr. Carl continues his commentary: "First of all, only the most cynically opportunistic of people would blame McCain for anything the Vietcong forced him to do during torturous captivity. Secondly, I would argue McCain’s time as a prisoner of war sure as hell matters as it shows a level of resolve and ability to survive under intense pressure. I know Harvard Law is pretty difficult too, but, come on… The Obama campaign, which has shown amazing message discipline in the past, should clamp down on this line of attack immediately. Obama’s supporters don’t need to get nasty to win this thing and should be chastised for doing so."

My response: Unlike Sen. John Kerry for whatever reason re: the Swift Boat folks, I know of no military folks who take issue with Sen. McCain's military service. I have a cousin (who is a career military man, and not a political guy) who is leaning toward voting for Sen. McCain because "anyone who can survive being tortured for five years gets my respect." That, and he strongly dislikes Sen. Obama's gun control views.