Not my hero

John McCain hangs his presidential hopes on a remarkable act of courage. Americans love a war hero. McCain might even be “swift boat-proof,” as John Kerry wasn’t. My best guess is that the Democrats won’t trash talk McCain’s war record like the Bush people did Kerry’s. Still, if McCain stubbornly clings to this Iraq madness into infinity and doesn’t separate himself from Bush, he will lose big.\nMcCain is a good man. He served his country well. But wartime valor does not automatically morph into wise presidential decision-making. He is not above playing the fear-war game. He appeased the Hawks when he jokingly sang, “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.” McCain’s famed staying power may come in handy if, as he says, we could be in Iraq 100 years. I am an old, unrepentant liberal Democrat and a veteran of another Asian war about a decade before McCain’s Vietnam experience. After the shooting stopped in Korea, my batallion commander called the troops to an award ceremony to give me and another soldier medals. If I asked my Republican friends if my military record makes me eligible for the presidency, I already know their answer.