Does Tom Harkin Hate the Military?

The last time we checked on the Harkster he had earmarked $500K for his constituents at The National Council of La Raza". So it’s been a while since the inanity of Tom Harkin has reached a level worthy of wasting valuable blogging space. However, this week Tom again proved why he is the lapdog of the Democratic leadership when he drew the short straw and got the assignment of attacking John McCain’s fitness for the Presidency because he is a veteran. John Murtha ironically got the job of saying McCain is too old. From the Des Moines Register;

Washington, D.C. — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, "and he has a hard time thinking beyond that," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said Friday."I think he's trapped in that,"...

Harkin said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous."…

Harkin said that "it's one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that's just how you're steeped, how you've learned, how you've grown up."…

He said that "I just want to be very clear there's nothing wrong with a career in the military" and that he has friends who are generals and admirals who have served the country well."... (Doesn't qualifying a statement that you have friends in the group you are lambasting indicate a deep seated prejudice? )

But now McCain is running for a higher office. He's running for commander in chief, and our Constitution says that should be a civilian," Harkin said. "And in some ways, I think it would be nice if that commander in chief had some military background, but I don't know if they need a whole lot."

I’m not sure how Mr. Harkin believes we can quantify sufficient military background. In fact neither if the two democratic candidates have any experience. Should we at least make them attend boot camp before they take office? In Harkins own run for the White house he evidently didn’t feel he had enough military gravitas and trumped up his own military record to appear more experienced. For a party that has endlessly laid the chicken-hawk label on the current administration it would stand to reason that in a time of war a military background would be an essential qualification for the job.

Using Harkins reasoning he shouldn’t be allowed to work on farm legislation because he has a background in farming. Hmmm, maybe this does make sense, but I digress.

According to my pocket constitution the first duty of the President under Article II, Sec. 2 states, “The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States” It would seem that familiarity with the military would be a vital attribute in fulfilling that part of the job description. In fact Americans, knowing that security is the main function of government, have consistently elected men with military experience to the presidency. Only ten men that have served had no military experience, seven in the last century. The last guy that didnt have a day in uniform sent the troops into more situations than any previous president. Therefore, at this time it is important that the trend towards military experience is vital.

It would be naïve of me to say that the man has no shame, he is after all a politician, but how can Harkin make this argument with a straight face unless he actually believes it? And...Is Tom Harkin really a reflection of the good folks of Iowa? I don't think so.