You can't make this stuff up. Andrew Rosenthal at the NY Times picked up on a remark by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in which he explained what in his background would prepare him to be Commander in Chief. It was at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Phoenix, Arizona, where Walker responded to a question from Hugh Hewitt - the session was captured on video by American Bridge.
...the final question Hewitt asked Walker was, "Does the prospect of being commander in chief daunt you? Because the world that you describe when you're talking about safety is going to require a commitment to American men and women abroad, obviously at some point. How do you think about that?"
Walker responded that one of his proudest achievements as a youth was attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, something that remains with a person all his life. And...
"America is an exceptional country," Walker said. "And I think, unfortunately, sometimes there are many in Washington who think those of us who believe we are exceptional means we are superior, that we're better than others in the world.
"And to me, much like my thought process of being an Eagle Scout is, no, being an exceptional country means we have a higher responsibility ... not just to care for ourselves and our own interests, but to lead in the world, to ensure that all freedom-loving people have the capacity, who yearn for that freedom, to have that freedom."
emphasis added
I must have missed it when Word Salad merit badge got added to the requirements for Eagle.
Okay, granted that Scouting is supposed to develop character and leadership skills, becoming an Eagle Scout is a real achievement with some theoretical applicability here - although given Walker's record as an adult, via Charles P. Pierce, I really have to wonder how he got past his Eagle board of review. It's slightly less ridiculous than his earlier claim that he'd be able to deal with terrorists because he faced down thousands of angry protestors while crushing labor unions in Wisconsin (as Rosenthal notes.) In point of fact, Walker was anything but 'courageous'.
"If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world," said Walker, wearing his sleeves rolled up, referring to his high-profile face-off with public-employee unions.
Breathtaking, isn't it? He didn't "take on" anyone. He was the invisible man when 100,000 of his constituents came to call. He did everything he could to suppress the free speech rights of said constituents. And, with the abject cowardice and buck-passing that has marked his entire public career, Walker trotted out a sacrificial spokes-drone to "clarify" what he meant when he compared the chanting of middle-school teachers to bloodthirsty barbarism.
Walker aide Kirsten Kukowski issued a statement Thursday clarifying his earlier comments, saying: "Governor Walker believes our fight against ISIS is one of the most important issues our country faces. He was in no way comparing any American citizen to ISIS. What the governor was saying was when faced with adversity he chooses strength and leadership. Those are the qualities we need to fix the leadership void this White House has created."
Look, I get what Walker is trying to do here. He's not claiming his time in uniform as a Boy Scout makes him a military genius - he's trying to make it all about character and show that he embodies Scouting values deep within his heart. As the saying goes, "It's all about sincerity - if you can fake that you've got it made."
And Walker is nothing if not a faker.