Draft Peter Pace?

By: Lowell
Published On: 10/1/2007 5:53:34 PM

Apparently, the conservative Republican National Review Online isn't kidding about drafting Peter Pace for U.S. Senate from Virginia next year:

The records of both Davis and Gilmore should give conservatives pause. Both are pro-choice. Although Gilmore, as governor, signed pro-life measures - including legislation to require a 24-hour waiting period and informed consent for those seeking an abortion - he supports legal abortion in the first trimester. Either candidate would be to the left of the irresolute John Warner on Iraq....During his term as governor, Gilmore significantly cut Virginia's unpopular car tax, but anti-tax activists fault him for big spending increases. And Gilmore faces challenges apart from his record: Even his fans acknowledge that his stiff personality could make him a tough sell against Mark Warner, a more popular former governor.

Yeah, Peter "Homosexuality is Immoral" Pace sounds like a perfect fit for Virginia Republicans.  Go for it!

P.S.  Pace retired today and gave his last speech as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

P.P.S. Great quote by Pace regarding former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country"  Apparently, Pace was serious when he said that, although milk and peas were coming out of reporters' noses.  Ha.

Comments



Generals and politics don't mix. (buzzbolt - 10/1/2007 6:37:40 PM)
I've posted a lot of this before but in still applies.  For some reason, since Eisenhower, Generals and politics don't mix.  Eisenhower was pulled into the race and the presidency by his immense popularity following World War II.  MacArthur was just as popular and expected to be president but the call never came.  General William Westmoreland tried to run for Governor of South Carolina and didn't scratch.  Gen. "Pete" Dawkins, All-American Army football star and Rhodes Scholar, retired from the Army early to enter politics and promptly vanished.  Gen. Alexander Haig never got a serious start.  More recently, General Wesley Clark despite his exceptional intelligence and dynamic personality couldn't break the threshold for national office.  The last General that had a chance for office in Virginia was named Lee!


Political Generals ... the Army Sir!! (Tony Mastalski - 10/1/2007 9:34:01 PM)
I always laugh when I rerun in my mind's eye Bill Murray saluting and saying "the Army Sir" as he graduates from boot camp after his "Boom shackalaca" drill team review. John Candy was great as well .... in Stripes!!

Cold War and 20 some years ago.

But there is a sad truism I've witness as I've made my way around the Military Industrial Complex. For the most part Generals in the Army are all "Political". It's a cultural bias I guess only challenged by the career moves Air Force Flag Officers make after retirement.

It is historically FUNK for a Marine General to behave that way ... the way being some Careerist Path toward self aggrandizement. It's not to say that they couldn't or shouldn't be political appointees. Afterall they have a lot of experience and at core ... INTEGRITY. A fine asset when it comes to running an agency as an example. But to go out and "pander" ... they're just not culturally trained for that.

Think about it. Jim Webb who easily could have been a Marine General wasn't exactly a great candidate. He was himself and it was his greatest asset.... politically his biggest liability.

No I would worry if the NeoCon-TheoCon crowd went out and recruited Webb's polar opposite, Ollie North to run again. He's got the ego and the drive to SELF AGGRANDIZE. In Virginia there are plenty of people ready to be misled by a big mouth, self serving Fox News Analyst. Let's just hope they don't see this Blog Post.