Our friends over at National Review clearly prefer Romney, but as Romney's prospects fade that support has begun to mutate in to what some are calling McCain Derangement Syndrome. Yesterday at the Corner, this post questioned McCain's competence based on the fact that he'd lost five aircraft during his time as an aviator. (You can see a description of each incident here, hosted by the ridiculous Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain.) Today, Thomas Sowell takes a turn:
When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back on his record as a war hero in Vietnam. Let's talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal.
The passage speaks for itself, but the point to make here is that if McCain's critics want to have a debate over who would make the best commander in chief, what the candidates did at age 30 is largely irrelevant--and to the extent that it is relevant, it's not a debate that they can win. Still, every time they question his patriotism--which this passage most certainly does--they not only discredit their own arguments, but they play to McCain's strength. And it's just plain creepy.