The McCain Platform

Elizabeth Edwards asked Join McCain a question about health care and “preexisting conditions.” She also made the point that he’d had pretty good government health care, i.e., through the U. S. Navy. McCain called it a “cheap shot.” Carpetbagger did a serviceable job of taking him apart on that one (link), but I want to look more closely at the precise language of the response: He said:

“MCCAIN: It’s a cheap shot, but I did have a period of time where I didn’t have very good government health care. I had it from another government.”

So, this is going to be the all-purpose answer, is it? Senator, where is your wife’s tax return. I was a prisoner of war. Senator, do you want to privatize social security. I was a prisoner of war. Blah blah.

I know: it’s early in the campaign yet, but I say, if this is his approach, then bring it on. I assume everyone admires John McCain for the courage and grace with which he sustained his experience as a POW. But even on this one, I suspect that voters are likely to get bored after a while. Recall Bob Kerry, who lost a leg in Vietnam (link). Hi, I’m Bob Kerry and I lost a leg in Vietnam” – may be a conversation-starter, but as a campaign program, it got nowhere.

Aside from becoming a bore, I’m not at all persuaded that McCain’s perspective as a former pilot and POW is good prep for the Oval office. As others have pointed out, his Senate colleague, Chuck Hagel, might have gotten a far better understanding of the war from his role as an infantry grunt.

But set that aside. The immediate point is that McCain seems to be angling for some sort of affirmative action card here. McCain no more “deserves’ to be president because he was a POW than Clinton “deserves” to be president because she is a woman, or Obama “deserves” to be president because he’s black. Oh and by the way, I assume he McCain is getting VA care now, too. Again, I think he is welcome to it, but he’s living testimony to the fact that government health care can achieve a high degree of consumer satisfaction.