Posted on 05/25/2008 12:48:15 PM PDT by The_Republican
Have a kind of empty feeling? Sense that something has been missing these last couple of months? Me, too. Campaign 2008 is completing its fifth month, and we haven't had a vicious fight about the Vietnam War yet.
Vietnam is the only war in American history never to end. The War of 1812 was contentious, especially in the Northeast, but no presidential election was fought over it beyond 1812. The Mexican War stirred great passions and slopped over into the 1848 election but has hardly been heard of since, except if you are taking a course in 19th-century America. World War I was debated in 1916 (mostly as a question of how to keep the nation out of it) and in 1920 (mostly as a question of how to return to normalcy after the war), but its impact on American elections was basically nil.
Not Vietnam. It's been a major theme in six American elections -- a remarkable feat when you consider that not one person who fought the Vietnam War ever has been elected president. Compare that with World War II, which touched seven American presidents (nine, if you count Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman) but which was an issue in at most one election, the contest in 1944, and even then it was not a major point of contention, as Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York, the GOP nominee, didn't substantially question FDR's prosecution of the war.
The question for 2008 is whether America can finally bring the Vietnam War to an end. It has looked that way so far this year. The Democrats conducted 21 presidential debates and hardly a peep was heard about Vietnam. Not only that, hardly a disparaging word was heard about the 1960s, another hardy perennial in American politics.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
The reason society continues to be inundated by things like Vietnam, the 2000 election, etc., is that Liberals are both obsessive and compulsive.
Sensible Americans literally are letting the lunatics run more than half of the asylum, for fear of seeming “intolerant” of their insanity.
With McCain’s primary (only) selling point being that he was a POW in Vietnam, I think the author hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about.
How about Truman’s Korean War?
It set the pattern for Democrats.
It was intentionally a stalemate, and set the pattern for Johnson’s Vietnam war.
How about Clinton’s Bosnian war?
It follows their pattern.
The War in Vietnam may be over for some — but for many of us, there are still traitors to hang.
The men whose names are upon the Wall on the Mall expect no less from us than they gave....
It “ain’t over till it’s over”...
Never Forgive and Never Forget the Traitors.....
Bears repeating.
Rounds on target, fire at will.
Damned Straight!
The writer obviously never heard of the War of Northern Aggression, which was a key factor in presidential races until 1960, and still influences the outcome today.
Where has this author been?
Hillary and Obama are appealling to their base by describing how they want to recapitulate in Iraq what the left did to Vietnam.
McCain’s main selling point is that he doesn’t want to repeat a defeat in Iraq like the abandonment of Vietnam.
Unlike our last Presidential election, we don’t have a “Genuine Imitation” war heroe running for President.
And Atlanta didn't even celebrate the 4th of July again until 1956.
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