08-12-2008, 01:16 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: By their offices ye shall know them.
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Originally Posted by hussein
Hey, it's Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd!
I notice the book on Churchill in McCain's office. All signs indicate that McCain is a major Churchill buff. Even of his videos has scenes of McCain interspersed wih wartime videos of Churchill exhorting Britons to greatness.
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You may be right about his admiration of Churchill.
Here's something interesting on the subject:
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the similarities between McCain and Churchill are striking and instructive. Both men are thought to be/have been mavericks who were/are distrusted by their Conservatives peers.
http://mccainblogs.com/2008/02/26/jo...ton-churchill/
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Both grew up as underachievers in the shadow of prominent fathers and ancestors and then surpassed them in renown. Churchill’s father was chancellor of the Exchequer, a descendant of the Duke of Marlborough who defeated the armies of Louis XIV, while McCain’s father and grandfather were prominent admirals. Both McCain and Churchill were fearless soldiers and prisoners of war, although Churchill escaped Boer captivity after mere weeks while McCain endured more than five grueling years at the Hanoi Hilton. Both have felt most at home in battle, whether in war or political chambers, and have shared a restlessness to advance their own careers and the cause of their countries.
Neither Churchill nor McCain was ever liked much by his colleagues. Perhaps early on Churchill was more liked and his brilliance more respected, but he switched from the Conservatives in 1904 to the Liberals with much newfound partisan fervor, and the Conservatives never forgave him even after he returned to the fold in 1924–even after he won WWII. Churchill’s dispute with the party leadership over control of India (he favored it), Nazi Germany (he was against it), Zionism (he was for it), and other divisive issues, as well as his occasional outreach to Labourites–indeed, he headed a wartime coalition government–did not help his popularity among the party faithful. McCain has always been a Republican, but, without being the partisan warrior Churchill was, he has never been personally popular with his party colleagues. He further alienated the party faithful and establishment by co-sponsoring legislation with Democrats. Both have been perceived by colleagues as erratic, and occasionally harsh in personal relations.
Fundamental to Churchill’s worldview was the belief that priorities had to be rigidly ranked and that the supreme interests need to be vigorously and single-mindedly pursued. Chief among those interests was national security. McCain has suggested a similar approach. Indeed, McCain and Churchill lived and breathed national security issues, and it is in this policy field that their similarities are most pronounced. They both strongly believed in their countries, considering them the chief champions of civilization, and they have been rarities in usually putting national security interests ahead of their political fortunes.
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Who knew? 
I won't call myself a Churchill buff, but I certainly like hearing stories of the old boy, and, God, I wish he was around today to help us though this mess! |
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