pariotism or jingoism

ex-general clark has created a firestorm of controversy by stating that getting shot out of a plane and getting captured does not qualify mccain to be president...and you know what, it doesn't. clark has come under attack, saying that he disparaged maccain's military record and quite frankly, i fail to see how he did that. the point clark was making is that being a prisoner of war may give him insight into the hearts and minds of soldiers but that it does not prepare him to be the one that orders the bombs to fall. mccain has not held that kind of role. during an interview with clark, sheiffer pointed out that obama does not have that kind of experience nor has obama been shot out of a plane and taken captive, to which clark replied by saying that that does not qualify you to be president. this has nothing to do with mccain's military record and everything to do with whether or not he is qualified to lead the country. the mccain camp is making it an issue by saying that clark is disparaging his heroism. this is a smoke screen. in this country, we can no longer say anything negative about a soldier because we have created this cult of war. if we say someone's military record does not qualify them to be president then we are demonized as haters of their heroism and service to country. if we question the war then we are called unpatriotic. it is unsettling that freedom of speech is being sacrificed, along with thousands of men and women upon the altar we have built to the great military war machine. yes, mccain is a hero for the way he handled himself in that horrible situation but i do not believe him to be the best qualified to lead this country and i don't give a damn if that is an unpopular opinion to have.