Character and the Candidate

Character, originally uploaded by DeHoll.

W. Brad Johnson and Gregory Harper have taught at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. They have written the following:

" The linkage of men's ethics, reputations, and fates can be studied in even more vivid detail in prison camp. In that brutally controlled environment a perceptive enemy can get his hooks into the slightest chink in a man's ethical armor and accelerate his downfall. Given the right opening, the right moral weakness, a certain susceptibility on the part of the prisoner, a clever extortionist can drive his victim into a downhill slide that will ruin his image, self-respect, and life in a very short time.

To succeed as leaders, midshipmen learn from day one that integrity is nonnegotiable. Evidence of lying or dishonesty is grounds for separation. No argument."

John McCain, presidential candidate has two things in common with this statement:

1) He is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate.
2) He is a former prisoner of war who came home honorably after five years captivity.

My points here are that there is no room for partial truths, no room for anachronistic positions that place an opponent in a light that has little relationship to the truth.

Have we become so cynical that the codes one embraces as a way of life in youth become obscured when we don the suit and pin of privilege of a U.S. Senator? Do we completely forsake the Code of Honor of U.S. Military Officers when we run for president?

if so, I think that's sad.