How does the rhetoric of the 08 candidates compare...?

I did not originally intend for this blog to get all that preachy, but as it turns out, that’s precisely what has happened. So, what I’m going to do for the next two entries is analyze the rhetoric concerning the Iraq War for several candidates that are running in the upcoming 08 election. I will also compare and contrast their views (as proven by their voting records…in most cases) to my definition of what it means to be “anti-war, pro-troops”.

According to this article, Americans overall find it more comforting that their president have military experience so they would be able “to handle the role of commander in chief”. However, not many war vets have announced their candidacy for the presidency. So far the only “big name” candidate that is a veteran is John McCain (R). He spent 20 years in the Navy, 5 of which he were spent in a Vietnamese War camp. Lesser known candidates with military experience are Senator Chris Dodd (D) (he was in the Army Reserve for 6 years) and Republican hopeful Duncan Hunter who was an Army paratrooper and Ranger. This presidential race is dominated by candidates with no war experience. What this means for our country is that our next president will most likely not have any war experience or even any military experience.

One candidate in particular that has been making some pretty strong statements about the war is Senator Joe Biden (D-DE). He claims that George W. Bush is ignoring advice concerning the situation in Iraq from everyone except for Dick Cheney who is “dead wrong about the war”. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) agrees with Biden.

I like that Hillary Clinton (D) has put forth a great deal of effort towards devising and introducing a new legislation which will help soldiers and vets of the Iraq War and their families. Clinton says “These bills will help our soldiers and their families if they suffer or are wounded, they will help to ensure that wounded soldiers receive the disability benefits they need and deserve”. This is exactly what I would define as being in support of the troops.

John Edwards (D) says on his website that the world’s view of America has been “tarnished” and that America is no longer “respected around the world”. He suggests that the way to restore respect and leadership worldwide is by withdrawing American troops and thus ending the war within 12-18 months (after his election).