McCain is Finished. A lot of people thought Senator John McCain was thoughtful and open-minded, especially for a Republican. They were wrong. In this column in the NY Times, McCain repeats many of the lies and distortions that have gotten us into this mess in the first place. While the whole column is terrible, this part is the worst:
Many also mistake where our government's primary allegiance lies, and should lie. The American people, not the United Nations, is the only body that President Bush has sworn to represent. Clearly, the administration cares more about the credibility of the Security Council than do other council members who demand the complete disarmament of the Iraqi regime yet shrink from the measures needed to enforce that demand.
First, the president is sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He is not, technically speaking, sworn to represent the American people (nitpicking, but McCain has clearly distorted this on purpose--the oath says :--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."). The Constitution says that treaties, such as the UN Charter, are the "supreme law of the land." (Article VI) So breaking the principles of the UN Charter by attacking a country which has not attacked us is violating the Constitution, and hence Bush's oath of office, even if there are complaints with the actions of the UN.
And, of course, McCain's complaints about the UN are spurious. The "complete disarmament" concept is one of those big lies. The UN resolutions say that certain types of weapons are prohibited and calls for inspectors to identify these and direct their destruction, with Iraq's assistance. Nowhere in 1441 does it call for Iraq to bring everything to a parking lot and destroy them there, as Bush said in his press conference last week. McCain knows this--he is joining in the lie. The measures needed to enforce the demand have been and are taking place. No weapons that indisputably violate the UN resolutions have been found, and those that are disputably in violation are being destroyed. How France, Russia and other Security Council members can be portrayed as shrinking from the measures needed when those measures are actively underway is beyond my comprehension. To claim that you care about the credibility of the Security Council and then ignore its decision based on ridiculous arguments like these is total hypocrisy.
Many also mistake where our government's primary allegiance lies, and should lie. The American people, not the United Nations, is the only body that President Bush has sworn to represent. Clearly, the administration cares more about the credibility of the Security Council than do other council members who demand the complete disarmament of the Iraqi regime yet shrink from the measures needed to enforce that demand.
First, the president is sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He is not, technically speaking, sworn to represent the American people (nitpicking, but McCain has clearly distorted this on purpose--the oath says :--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."). The Constitution says that treaties, such as the UN Charter, are the "supreme law of the land." (Article VI) So breaking the principles of the UN Charter by attacking a country which has not attacked us is violating the Constitution, and hence Bush's oath of office, even if there are complaints with the actions of the UN.
And, of course, McCain's complaints about the UN are spurious. The "complete disarmament" concept is one of those big lies. The UN resolutions say that certain types of weapons are prohibited and calls for inspectors to identify these and direct their destruction, with Iraq's assistance. Nowhere in 1441 does it call for Iraq to bring everything to a parking lot and destroy them there, as Bush said in his press conference last week. McCain knows this--he is joining in the lie. The measures needed to enforce the demand have been and are taking place. No weapons that indisputably violate the UN resolutions have been found, and those that are disputably in violation are being destroyed. How France, Russia and other Security Council members can be portrayed as shrinking from the measures needed when those measures are actively underway is beyond my comprehension. To claim that you care about the credibility of the Security Council and then ignore its decision based on ridiculous arguments like these is total hypocrisy.
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