LA Times Hit Piece on John McCain

My good friend Ed Morrissey had a great post yesterday at HOTAIR on the LA Times story attacking John McCain because he collects a disability pension from his Navy service. Senator McCain spent five and a half years in a North Vietnamese Prisoner of War camp. Injured when he ejected from his aircraft, beaten often in captivity, add neglect of his injuries by his captors, and you have a man who deserves the disability payment he receives. I'll gladly raise my hand in objection to the LA Times. I too have a service related disability from my three wars and 30 years of service, but not to the severity of John McCain's.

Let's look at why this story was written. There is an attempt by the Democrats, led by Howard Dean, to portray John McCain as too old or frail for the job of Commander in Chief. I find his age to be irrelevant since we are seeing people living longer as a current trend thanks to our medical advancements. John McCain has had skin cancer issues, but he has opened his medical records for review and everyone agrees that he does not currently have any problems.

Dean's attacks strike at a larger issue. Using Dean's standard, two of the Democrats most heralded former Presidents; John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt would not meet Dean's muster. It is time that Dean and other Democrats denounce this type of character attacks that causes so many of the electorate to be turned off by the political process. Could it be that the Democrats are afraid to wage a campaign on the actual issues facing our nation? I would suggest that Howard Dean spend more time trying to salvage his divided party and less time attacking a real war hero and wounded veteran. This issue does more to unite veterans behind McCain and shows the Democrats for the anti-military party they have become since the 1970's.