Monday, March 31, 2008
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RE: The Legacy Debate
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Posted by:
Mary Katharine Ham at
2:05 PM
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I, like you Matt, can claim no admirals in the family, but most of what I know of the grandfathers who passed before I was born is wrapped up in the flags that draped their coffins. They were good men, veterans who served their country and loved their families, and taught my parents to do the same.
For a lot of Americans, admirals or no, those are some of the most potent family remembrances, the war stories that get passed down, the medals and folded flags passed on from generation to generation. So, yeah, I think there's connection for many Americans where their lives intersect with McCain's and admiration where they don't. It should also be noted that McCain's rather good at telling stories that hint at the family's imperfections and a persistent rebel spirit that make his legacy simultaneously more charming and less potentially boastful than it would be if it were spit-polished at every point.
For instance, his picture of his granddad in today's speech:
He was devoted to the Navy, but in personal comportment, he was anything but regulation. He was a rumpled, informal man, who wore a crushed cap with the crown removed that the wife of one of his aviators had given him; kept his shoes off when he worked in an office; tobacco leavings were always scattered about him, as he rolled his own with one hand; possessed a mischievous sense of humor, and was unusually close to sailors and junior officers who served under him, and revered him. They called him, “Popeye;” his family called him, “Sid;” and his fellow officers, “Slew,” for reasons I never learned. What but the flaws of great men to convince us that we too can be great? It's relatable, and Mac has a knack for painting these pictures.
I agree with Matt that McCain's personal story is stronger even than his dad's and granddad's because is speaks to what we need to know-- how he will lead. But there's no doubt that drawing the straight line from George Washington's soldiers to World War I and II's sailors, to today's Senator is a good start.
Karl Rove has said again and again that McCain has to reintroduce himself to the American public. He began today, and each speech will help us "get" McCain a little more, becoming progressively more focused on how his history predicts his future, I'd wager.
I like it so far, and it makes a very uncomfortable target for liberal fire, so to speak.
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We get that he's committed to illegal aliens and their employers getting amnesty for the myriad of laws broken. We get that he has Smilin' Juan Hernandez on his campaign, with his "Mexico First" agenda. We get that he has no intention of enforcing the laws or securing the border.
I hope that he gets that I'm not voting for that.
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As a son of true war heroes, I was brought up with a strong sense of pride for our country.
I struggle to overcome my contempt for Senator McCain's efforts to conceal information relative to our Vietnam POW/MIA's. I am insulted by those that demand that I give Senator McCain my undying respect simply for him being a POW, when other more deserving POW's share my contempt.
I also recognize that Senator McCain's position on the PRESENT STATUS of the Iraq War is far more enlightened than the political prostitutes on the "other side", but I find his continuous trips across the line to that other side as anything but conservative or loyal to the Constitution.
I will wish him well in his attempts to "reintroduce" himself to the American public, but I remain disgusted with the Republican Party for putting me in this most difficult situation of "voting against" instead of "voting for".
Now, as for you, I think you are a peach. I truly enjoyed meeting you last week to have dinner with Governor Bobby Jindal, and I hope you will find the time to ask your readers/fellow bloggers to leave our Governor the hell alone about this VP nonsense.
It would be an absolute disaster for the state of Louisiana to have Mitch Landrieu ("Katrina Mary's" brother) takeover the Gov.'s office, and I refuse to believe that Governor Jindal would be so cruel as to abandon those that have been punished for far too long. I have no problem with "Jindal for President - 2012", and I will gladly relieve him of his promise to me to do so, but for now, please, let him finish the miracle he has so obviously begun.
I hope you and your readers can tell by my article how proud I am of Governor Jindal and how much hope he has instilled in the residents of a state that is finally being drawn out of the abyss.
Dinner with Governor Bobby Jindal
louisianaconservative.com/?p=467
Your friend always,
Deryl Bryant
“4unionparish”
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As a son of true war heroes, I was brought up with a strong sense of pride for our country.
I struggle to overcome my contempt for Senator McCain's efforts to conceal information relative to our Vietnam POW/MIA's. I am insulted by those that demand that I give Senator McCain my undying respect simply for him being a POW, when other more deserving POW's share my contempt.
I also recognize that Senator McCain's position on the PRESENT STATUS of the Iraq War is far more enlightened than the political prostitutes on the "other side", but I find his continuous trips across the line to that other side as anything but conservative or loyal to the Constitution.
I will wish him well in his attempts to "reintroduce" himself to the American public, but I remain disgusted with the Republican Party for putting me in this most difficult situation of "voting against" instead of "voting for".
Now, as for you, I think you are a peach. I truly enjoyed meeting you last week to have dinner with Governor Bobby Jindal, and I hope you will find the time to ask your readers/fellow bloggers to leave our Governor the hell alone about this VP nonsense.
It would be an absolute disaster for the state of Louisiana to have Mitch Landrieu ("Katrina Mary's" brother) takeover the Gov.'s office, and I refuse to believe that Governor Jindal would be so cruel as to abandon those that have been punished for far too long. I have no problem with "Jindal for President - 2012", and I will gladly relieve him of his promise to me to do so, but for now, please, let him finish the miracle he has so obviously begun.
I hope you and your readers can tell by my article how proud I am of Governor Jindal and how much hope he has instilled in the residents of a state that is finally being drawn out of the abyss.
Dinner with Governor Bobby Jindal
louisianaconservative.com/?p=467
Your friend always,
Deryl Bryant
“4unionparish”
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