At least I hope so. Talk about a no-brainer. How in the hell can McCain oppose this thing?
Here in Texas we have a U.S. Senate race where the Democrats have a chance to pick up a seat in Bush's back yard. The Democratic candidate, Rick Noriega, is a veteran and still serving in the military. The GOP incumbent, John Cornyn, is a political dud who was lucky enough to run for his first term back in 2002, the year of the "run-up" to the war.
The Democratic candidate in 2002, Ron Kirk, an African_American who had some broad independent and even Republican support, had a chance. In my opinion, he made some mistakes in his campaign but probably did not have that good a chance in that messy year. I think his biggest mistake was taking back his early and prescient comments about the proposed war.
Now we have a chance to avenge what happened in 2002. Obama should campaign in some of these states where there are large military and retired military populations, places like Virginia, South Carolina, and maybe even Arizona.
We've seen these "Support the Troops" bumper stickers for years since 2002, but the reality is that the troops were ill-equipped in Iraq and mistreated and neglected when they returned, many of them suffering from all kinds of disorders, including mental disorders. Suicide is one of those consequences.
So where is the outrage? This is a re-run of what we saw in Vietnam. An ill-advised war, heroic soldiers who did their best and came home to struggle with all kinds of problems. The story is told well in Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July".
I don't think Texas is a sure bet for McCain. I'd like to see Obama campaigning here with Rick Noriega, and in other states like Virginia, South Carolina, etc. on this issue. In Texas, Obama could go to GOP incumbent Cornyn's home town of San Antonio and bring up not only this issue, but McCain's and Cornyn's embrace of Pastor John Hagee. If you believe that Obama has a problem with Hispanics, this could also help Obama in other states having large Hispanic populations.
San Antonio is a big military community and also has a majority Hispanic population. I say take on McCain here--his waffling on the immigration issue and his opposition to the GI bill ought to be powerful. That along with his support for tax cuts for millionaires that he once opposed ought to be a daily soundbite from our side.
It's the lesson we should have learned from Karl Rove--how you need to challenge your opponent on what is or could be perceived to be his or her strongest issue.