Sen. Jay “The Original Big Oil” Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama, made the following statements in a WV newspaper interview:
Rockefeller believes McCain has become insensitive to many human issues. “McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit.
“What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.”
Where shall we begin to pick Rockefeller apart? Hmmmm… Let’s allow U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Orson Swindle (ret.) the honor. (Note: CNN improperly refers to Swindle as a “former Marine.” One can retire from the Marine Corps, but any Marine will tell you once a Marine always a Marine — there is no such thing as a “former Marine.”)
The McCain campaign issued a statement from supporter Orson Swindle, who called Rockefeller’s remarks a “smear against John McCain’s character and military record” and called on Obama to denounce the “insult to all the men and women who are serving or have served in America’s military.”
“Had Senator Rockefeller served himself, he would appreciate and understand that most who have been to war emerge with a much deeper concern for humanity than they otherwise might,” said the former Marine lieutenant colonel. “If he knew what he was talking about, he would know that John McCain wasn’t dropping laser-guided missiles at 35,000 feet in 1967.”
Swindle was a prisoner of war in Vietnam with McCain.
Let’s recap Rockefeller’s errors –
Fighter pilot? McCain flew the A4 Skyhawk, an attack aircraft, essentially a light bomber.
Laser-guided missiles in 1967? I don’t think so.
35,000 feet? Skyhawks normally did low-altitude bombing.
Long gone? Shot down and spent six-years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Far from long and certainly not gone.
And what about the military men and women of today who really are dropping laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet? In Rockefeller’s estimation, do they not “care about the lives of people,” either? Isn’t he slighting our fighting forces of today with such rhetoric? Ladies and gentlemen, the mask has been pulled off of today’s Democrats. That is precisely what they think about our military.
Filed under: 2008 Elections, Democrats, John McCain, Military, Teleprompter Barry
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