Qualifications for President

[elleng]

"Due diligence should also not escape McCain himself, the age issue aside, since he is aiming for the presidency. Gen (Rtd) Wesley Clark, who had served in Nato and the Kosovo war, had wondered aloud how being shot down in a warplane qualifies someone for the presidency.

McCain had played on his wartime experience of being a prisoner of war in Vietnam in building his “war hero” image. Indeed, McCain is better known for being in prison during the war than fighting the war, in a conflict his side eventually lost anyway.

It might even be asked how that qualifies anyone to be a war hero. His supporters may say he was tortured while in prison, but others have said he had cooperated with the enemy.

With all the doubts and questions that linger, is there no group like a “swift boat veterans for truth” any more to check the records? That group formed to sabotage John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid has disbanded, but there is a need for a more reputable effort today.

This presidential campaign should be a fact-checker’s and whistle-blower’s dream. Anything uncovered can only be good for news reporting and history, if not for every candidate.

Until now, McCain’s best campaign platform is his wartime experience in Vietnam. But would that still represent his “best side” if more from that period were known?" >>>



http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2008/9/7/columnists/behindtheheadlines/22261445&sec=behindtheheadlines