McCrony & The Old Boys Network

From the Times of L. A., our favorite parts from the first of two parts on "The Post-POW Yrs." of Senator John Sidney McSame. (If Sens. Clinton & Obama are too busy sniping at each other to take on McCain, we guess it falls on our already-burdened shoulders. Figures. By the way, is Johnny the first presidential nominee w/ a "Mc" name? The possibilities for juvenile joking are endless.) All colorful bold-face emphases ours, & ours alone.

With a ferocious determination to fly again and a tough physical therapy regimen, he got his wings back and not long after was awarded command of the Navy's largest aviation squadron, VA-174, at Cecil Field in Florida. Blue-chip connections in the Nixon administration helped. [...] He first angled for a position at the prestigious National War College, but the Navy balked because he was only a lieutenant commander. So McCain gained entry by appealing directly to John Warner, then secretary of the Navy and a close friend of McCain's father, an admiral commanding Pacific forces during the Vietnam War. "John wasn't the only one who got some consideration," said Warner, now a Republican senator from Virginia. It was Pentagon policy to assist returning POWs in reestablishing their careers. [...] When Ross Fischer, an instructor pilot, helped talk down an injured student pilot to a safe landing, McCain said: "I owe you one." Years later, when Fischer was leaving the Navy and searching for a pilot job, he received a call from McCain, then the Navy's liaison officer in the Senate. "Continental Airlines will call you in a few hours with a job offer," McCain told him. He had arranged the job through Continental's lobbyist, Fischer surmised. [...] Flight hours, a key measure of operations, declined by 27% from 1975 to 1977. And the squadron trained fewer pilots, dropping from 117 to 98 over the same period, according to annual histories of VA-174. McCain's tenure as commander ran from July 1, 1976, to July 28, 1977. A statement issued by McCain's office said any decrease in performance during his command "is explained by factors unrelated to the senator's performance as the commanding officer of that squadron."

Excuse us, but isn't the CO ultimately responsible for everything? Are we going to get this kind of cop-out if McBush is cheated into office?

The squadron history for 1976, also kept at the naval center, mentions a number of programs, milestones and official communications but does not note McCain's spare parts program. A Meritorious Service Medal later awarded to McCain does cite the unit's morale, training and his spare parts effort. It was signed by longtime McCain family friend Adm. Isaac C. Kidd Jr., who had worked under McCain's father in politically sensitive matters.

Nice to have friends in high places, isn't it? Personally, we at Just Another Blog™ hate suck-ups like this, probably because our mental problems prevent us from being a suck-up. (What kind of fucking awful society considers not being a suck-up brown-noser a mental problem, we ask.) Last & least:

"It speaks for itself," McCain said in a recent interview. "You implement the principles of leadership."

What in the name of whatever does "implement the principles of leadership" mean? You, uh, lead? That's mighty far from any "straight talk" we've ever heard. Sounds like MBA-speak, & we don't need any more of that double talk anywhere on our benighted planet, & especially not in the Whitey House.