Clips of McCain at DADT hearings:
John McCain talks to Howie Kurtz:
His explanation [for supporting DADT]: “The Marine commandant is opposed to [dropping] Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I know for a fact the other three service chiefs have serious reservations.” As for their superiors, McCain casually mentions the commander in chief and defense secretary, “neither of which I view as a military leader.”
Chait's eyes widen:
Uh, isn't the message that John McCain does not respect civilian control of the military?
McCain said that troops should get "to make a judgment on who they want to serve with..." No wonder Gates bristled. Bernstein asks for clarification:
Does he really believe that? Does he really believe that troops should get to choose who they want to serve with? Forget about civilian control of the military, and forget about the specific issue of DADT: does John McCain believe in in any notion of basic command structure?
Jeb Golinkin counters McCain's larger point:
McCain points to the Marine Commandant (currently General James F. Amos) as evidence that the nation’s military leadership does not support repealing DADT. Well, General Amos is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But the nation’s highest ranking military officer is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mike Mullen, who does support repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
And then of course, there is the biggest kahuna of them all, General David Petraeus. General Petraeus has told the Senate Armed Service Committee that “the time has come” to repeal DADT. If Senator McCain opposes repeal, fine, but the nation’s top military leaders BOTH civilian and uniformed are in general agreement that it’s time for the policy to go.