Home
Refresh   Tag(s): ; ; ; ; ;
Add to My Group
October 27, 2008 at 17:42:50

Must Read 9   Valuable 4   Well Said 2   View Ratings | Rate It

Promoted to Headline (H2) on 10/27/08:
Interview: McCain Fellow Hanoi Hilton POW & Naval Academy Dorm-mate; Why He Won't Vote For McCain

by Rob Kall     Page 3 of 8 page(s)

www.opednews.com


Tell A Friend

Kall:   You know, you've talked about him being--engaging in brinkmanship and in wild, crazy kind of behavior, how do you think that would translate into his functioning as a president? 

Butler:   Well, that's a problem I have. Like I said, I really respect him and I have to say that I like him very much. He's a funny guy if you're ever around him, he's got incredible wit, he's funny, he's likeable; if you're with him for a few minutes, you're immediately going to like the fellow. 

Kall:   Yeah, the guy you'd like to have a beer with-- or a couple. 

Butler:   Yeah, exactly. "To have a few drinks with, and interesting…but for me, the only problem I have is that electing a person to be the President of the United States of America falls into a whole different category. It obviates anything like a former friendship or a former liaison or partnership, or family member or anything else; it has to be somebody with special qualifications. I don't see that John has those qualifications; he has a personality that concerns me were he to become president of the United States.  

And the other thing is that it's not just his military service, but what has John done, how does he actualize, how does he take lessons from his military service in terms of how he sees the world today, and I think it's all wrong; I think his lessons from Vietnam are all wrong; he's helped lead us right back into another Vietnam in the Iraq War.

He's a bellicose kind of a guy, he's aggressive, he's a black and white thinker. He doesn't see nuances, just like George Bush doesn't see nuances; he thinks that things are black and white.  

He does his campaigning-- the other day he was being interviewed asked a couple of questions, and he answered, "yes, yes and no." and then everybody clapped, but that's the wrong kind of thinking than we want in the President of the United States; we want somebody who sees the complexity of the World Order. 

Kall:   I'm curious. In his role in the Navy. Did he ever play a role as a leader? 

Butler:   When he came home, I understand that he was the Commanding Officer of a training squadron, a replacement aircraft squadron on the east coast; I believe that it might have been in Jacksonville, but in that squadron he was a squadron commander. And I understand that he was well thought of as a squadron commander. But there again, that job doesn't translate to President of the United States. 

Kall:  What's it involve being a squadron commander? 

Butler:  It's like being a CEO. They probably had multimillions of dollars worth of aircraft and supplies and material goods under his command and maybe a couple of hundred people, so it's tantamount to the military version, if you could draw somewhat of a comparison to being a CEO. 

Kall:   Of a medium sized company, maybe. 

Butler:   Yes, I would say so. 

Kall:   and his reputation was that he did a decent job there. 

Butler:   I heard that; I wasn't there to see or hear; I'm on the west coast, but I heard that he was pretty well received. 

Kall:   And before, you mentioned that he had a couple of crashes or accidents before he was captured? 

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8

 

Rob Kall is executive editor, publisher and site architect of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, more...)
 

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author Contact Editor View Authors' Articles

 

Book Recommendations for "Anger"
How to Take the Grrrr Out of Anger (Laugh And Learn)
by Elizabeth Verdick

$8.95
Lowest New Price $4.34

Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing

The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships
by Harriet Lerner

$13.99
Lowest New Price $7.93

Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks

The Anger Workbook: A 13-Step Interactive Plan to Help You... (Minirth-Meier Clinic Series)
by Les Carter

$16.99
Lowest New Price $6.71

Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

The Anger Trap: Free Yourself from the Frustrations that Sabotage Your Life
by Les Carter

$15.95
Lowest New Price $7.89

Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Jossey-Bass

View All Book Recommendations

Share this page: (what's this?)                   Tell a Friend: Tell A Friend

FACEBOOK      DIGG THIS      Add This Page to Mr Wong!           NEWSVINE      DEl.ICIO.US      Looksmart Furl      NETSCAPE      My Web      Tag!RawSugar      Blink List     (More...)
Comments: Expand   Shrink   Hide  
7 comments


Thank you, Rob.

Thanks for getting this interview! I'll post this on my little blog in a bit. . smithonpolitics.com

by Nicholas Smith (17 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 10 comments) on Monday, Oct 27, 2008 at 6:32:28 PM

Recommend  (0+)

Hard to believe

My niece graduated from the Naval Academy, as did her husband and both are officers and have served in Iraq.  They are so proud of the Academy and everything they were able to learn there - it is a part of who they are now as people.  It is hard to imagine that anyone who graduated from the Naval Academy could have any respect for the way McCain treated this amazing opportunity (paid for by us, the taxpayers) as a joke.  It certainly says something about his character and the difference between really working for it and being the Adm. son.

by Laurianne Manchester (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Monday, Oct 27, 2008 at 6:50:53 PM

Recommend  (0+)

it's the ability to see nuances

that defines the differences between the candidates of the major parties. Seeing the complexities is almost a definition of "liberal", and is something tested on IQ tests, and what got Al Gore in trouble with his well thought out answers. Simple minds long for simple answers, and the fact that his base cheers McCain's yes, yes, no, says something about them also. People who are afraid or abused also long for definite, swift answers and leaders who give them. Is McCain stupid, or abused? It's not clear, but you can bet that the Neocons and power elite are not stupid and hope to have a front man--or woman-- like Bush, whom they can control. May we not become so afraid that we go for the simplistic, hair trigger answers and leaders who claim to have them.

by MJ Creech (11 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 24 comments) on Monday, Oct 27, 2008 at 7:24:58 PM

Recommend  (0+)

wow

this is insane. how does anyone have any support in a man who used his silver spoon fed privileges to try to break every rule in the book at school!

Rob, thanks a lot for this interview.. I wish we could get a little more publicity on this. I don't want another D+ student in the white house

by Jeremy Nino (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Monday, Oct 27, 2008 at 9:29:50 PM

Recommend  (0+)

Fighter Pilots in General

When I was in the patrol bomber VP Navy during the Vietnam era, I learned that fighter pilots were not wanted by civilian airlines because of their hotdog tendencies.  A B-52 pilot friend of mine feels the same way about fighter pilots from his Vietnam experiences.  They are picked to fly fighters because of their aggressiveness and he would never vote for one for president.  Basically, you can be so good at one job that it disqualifies you for another.  Considering the fact that other fighter pilots considered McCain to be wild says a  lot.

by John Hanks (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1760 comments [39 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 at 12:15:04 AM

Recommend  (0+)

This solidifies

and confirms my gut feelings about Mccain and why I won't vote for him, either. He's a scary little man who is becoming more and more maniacal and illogical as this too long presidential race grinds on. I believe he has PTSD that is coming out from the stress of campaigning. Thank you, Rob, for posting this interview.

 

 

by Hope Hofmann (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 17 comments) on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 at 12:27:40 AM

Recommend  (0+)

Contrarian or maverick?

The interview with CDR Butler points up an important difference between being a contrarian and being a maverick, McCain style. 

A contrarian is a person who sees things that others miss – opportunities, connections, or relationships they fail to apprehend or dangers they overlook.  Warren Buffett is a good example; so is John Maynard Keynes. 

A maverick is one who goes his own way just for the sake of being different, flouting orthodoxy or conventional wisdom, or flaunting his independence.  “I am a force to be reckoned with,” says the maverick. 

Successful contrarians have a track record of being right much of the time.  In the end, such people often become known as visionaries. Mavericks don’t have to be right; they just have to be different.  In the end, such people often become known as jerks.

by Richard Wise (35 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 88 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2008 at 4:03:05 AM

Recommend  (0+)

 
Want to post your own comment on this Article? Post Comment


 

Most Popular Articles
in the Last 2 Days
(by Recommend Emails)

Photo Essay: Thoughts for the Fourth of July: Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk for Peace by Mac McKinney

Rothschild's Federal Reserve Must Be Abolished by Allen L Roland

Health Insurance Exec Whistleblower Wendell Potter Testifies Before Congress by Wendell Potter

McKinney Relocated from Israeli Prison by Meryl Ann Butler

Israeli Embassy Correspondence Concerning Spirit of Humanity Capture Clarifies Centuries of Conflict by Meryl Ann Butler

Obama Has No Legal Authority For Afghan War by Sherwood Ross

Dept. of State Spokesman Addresses McKinney's Capture by Meryl Ann Butler

Hypocritical Repugnicans Owe WJ Clinton an Apology by David Gray

Torture on the 4th of July by Lawrence Gist

Our Nation has a Great Deal to Learn from Phillip Butler about Morality, Law, and Torture by Lawrence Gist

Go To Top 50 Most Popular

 

Tell a Friend: Tell A Friend

Copyright © 2002-2009, OpEdNews

Powered by Populum