thoughts from a brokenSoldier

All the effort McCain has exerted to separate himself from the wildly unpopular current President may have just been undermined by spokesman Tucker Bounds in a discussion concerning McCain’s recent gaffe in saying that he would fire Chris Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  First, he grievously miscontrues the President’s role in the SEC Chairman’s employment, saying:

"The regulators were asleep, my friends," McCain said. "The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president. And in my view has betrayed the public trust. If I were president today, I would fire him."

He serves only following the nomination of the President, which only materializes if the President’s nominee is then approved by Congress - the true authority behind such governmental appointments.  He most certainly does not serve at the pleasure of the President, which was what McCain’s insinuation in his statement conveyed, considering that he asserted that he could fire the SEC Chairman based on his own evaluation of the official’s job performance.

Then, Tucker Bounds provided definitive proof that supports the idea that McCain’s way of doing business lines up nicely with that of George W. Bush.  This is his quote:

Asked how McCain would fire Cox if the president does not have the formal power to fire the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the McCain campaign pointed to former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt who resigned in 2002 when it was made clear to him that he had lost the confidence of the Bush administration.

"Not only is there historical precedent for SEC Chairs to be removed, the President of the United States always reserves the right to request the resignation of an appointee and maintain the customary expectation that it will be delivered," said McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds.

This logic is obviously flawed, because it was Pitt’s choice to resign - he was not legally forced or "removed" from office by those that installed him, but rather he succumbed to the pressuring of an elected official that had absolutely no authority to fire him.  President may very well reserve the right to request the resignation of such an official, but contrary to McCain’s assertion, the President most certainly does not have the authority to simply fire such an official should he think it necessary.  If the President did in fact have that power, he would not have requested the resignation - he simply would have fired him.  And because of that, he definitely does not have the right to maintain the "customary expectation" that such a resignation would be delivered.  I mean, what would your reaction be if you worked for a company and the HR executive in the personnel office told you that he personally expected your resignation, and that you should submit it regardless of whether or not your boss - the one with the actual authority to remove you - agrees with his request?

His statement betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of how our government works on the executive level, which is only enhanced by the fact that he has previously told voters that there will be multiple openings on the Supreme Court Bench in the next President’s first term.  Here’s the direct quote from the Huffington Post article from August 12th, 2008:

Earlier today, John McCain gave one of his famous Straight Talk Express Town Hall Extravaganza Applesauce Chat Revival Shows in York, Pennsylvania, and during the Q&A section, said something jarring with regard to his "conservative stance" on issues. Seeking to reassure the questioner that he has only the best intentions for fans of hardcore conservative judicial activism, he told the questioner that there were going to be two-to-three vacancies on the Supreme Court soon. This was, in McCain’s words, "According to people who decide these things."

Since SCOTUS justices serve lifetime appointments, the only entity that "decides these things" is the very entity that determines when we all will die.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t think our country can afford another term under a President who believes he speaks directly and specifically with his God - the only entity that I can think of that McCain’s "Judeo-Christian" centered mind would be referring to here - on political issues.

Back to the topic, McCain’s demonstrable lack of understanding of how our government operates would be alarming even if he hadn’t spent the last quarter of a century inside that very system.  Considering that he has spent that much time within the inner workings of our national government - not to mention being a senior member within it - his ignorance is not only astounding, it is patently dangerous.