Eric
I get this, and what was meant as an off hand comment in my post is dominating what I think is the larger point. The thing is that Vietnam was a classic example of two timeless principles. The first is that the Framers had it right when they said only Congress had the power to declare war. The idea being that the people's representative's should collectively make that decision, not just one man, so it wouldn't be Johnson's war or W's war, it would be OUR war.
The second principle is that you never intervene in someone else's civil war. It's like the cops in a domestic dispute, you're always going to lose. In the case of Vietnam, it caused our very own (though much politer) civil war.
The (side) point I was trying to make is that we (the younger generation) see the Vietnam War clinically, as an historical example much like the Spanish American War. The older generation, as is obvious from these posts, still feels it viscerally. We don't. That is the sum total of the point I was trying to make. I do think the larger issue of Meghan McCain's points are instructive however.
FQ13
PS Sorry for any offense in my initial post, either age wise or other wise.It is simply a sign of my impatience with folks either cynically, or sincerely dragging up old wounds for political advantage when we have pressing current and future problems on our plate. All of our current elder generation of leaders took a stand on that war, one way or another. They, and we, are stuck with that. I am a student of history, and I do understand that character counts. I also think though, that there is a lot to be said for not picking at scabs and reopenig old wounds. Vietnam is an experience we should learn from (as I have been reminded). It is not though, something that should dominate our political choices.
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