Free Advice

When the Iraq sand gets good and wet from a couple days of rain it forms a thick pasty dark brown mud that clumps in the tread of your high-speed DCU suede boots. Mix in a couple rocks and you’ve got a real mess. Going from the muck onto pavement or a wooden floor is a real joy, because suddenly you’re wearing shoes that make you off balance. Fortunately among the other ton of gear I was issued here I‘ve got a very slick DCU pattern Gortex rain coat big enough to fit over top of my body armor with plates in.

We’re too many hours off of east coast US time for me to stay up watching election returns here, though by the time I wake up polls will still be open on the west coast.

There’s a bit in the book Last Full Measure about members of the US Army during the election of '64 helping secure the victory for Lincoln. I emailed the author discussing the similarities of that election to this one - a rabid anti-war faction willing to abandon the effort, gloom in the papers, a president not at all popular with a large percentage of the electorate...

Jeff Shaara took the time to respond, but declined to discuss the political issues. It was not his intent for any of his writings to be seen as political. Fair enough, it wasn't my intent to politicize his writings, just found the comparison with then and now to be rather amazing. And likely the impact on history to be so too.

The military (veteran and active) had a huge and unrequested (we certainly didn't ask anyone to use us) impact on this election. More than just being a time of war, it's inarguable at this point which candidate wanted to pass himself of as a "war leader" and what the result of that attempt would be. If all other things were equal, I'd want the outcome of this election to be a Bush victory for this reason alone: at last a generation of proud Vietnam veterans would have some satisfaction, will have achieved a payback to one who did more than most to vilify them over the years. The media often portrayed the Swift Vets and so many countless other veterans groups against Kerry as not letting the wounds of Vietnam heal. The truth was just the opposite. The indelible image of the campaigns for me will be this one ; two proud vets turning their back on their betrayer. The quote that went with it says all that need be said of JFK as CinC: "He turned his back on me when I was in Vietnam in 1971," said Hill, a former state commander of the Massachusetts VFW. Hill said he had prayed for the day when he could protest against Kerry before a national audience.

Hopefully tomorrow the healing will begin.

Roger Simon makes a pledge to not be overly jubilant in victory.Sage commentary - I agree for different resons. If there is a clear winner tomorrow there will be a possibility of blogs claiming a bit too much credit for whatever that outcome may be. I'll not make friends in the blogosphere for this statement but it's worth noting now: the Left Wing blogs were very much Dean backers, virtually one and all, and their combined influence couldn't get their boy a close second to the party nomination. Remember Dean? Given that the media was in Kerry's camp from Iowa on it's also worth noting how willing they were to switch over and become mere echo chambers for that same media. Yeah! What he said! With expletives!

Given their willingness to roll over for the legacy media storyline the lefty blogs neutered themselves in this election. (Face it - they had no choice.) Since it was the center-right blogs that were the counters and fact-checkers to a conventional media in this one a Kerry victory would display for all concerned that blogs are impotent at this point in time as a political force. Read that carefully: Impotent. No "r" in the middle.

And look at the power of blogs on the right. RatherGate! Well done - easily bloggings finest hour. And look what's become of Dan as a result.

He's the anchor for CBS News.

Heh - I kid. No matter how you slice it there's a piece of the pie that rightfully belongs to the bloggers on the right.

Assuming a Bush win. Because, after all, how often is a sitting President re-elected in time of war?

Almost always.

So there you have it, my fine blogging friends, a bit of ammo to use against each other should your side lose and the other choose to dance a victory dance you find personally offensive.

I have mud to clean from my boots and a bed that needs me on it. Tomorrow I have to help rebuild Iraq some more. We're Americans, that's what we do to defeated foes.

No noise while I'm sleeping. Don't make me have to get out of that bed and come back over there and smack you.

Vote.

You’re welcome.