By THOMAS BRENNAN owns a public relations firm in Santa Monica, and he loves the U.S.A.
DENNIS MILLER IS THE MOST RABID cheerleader for George W. Bush and John McCain in the entertainment industry. Miller said this about Ronald Reagan in 1984: “When he is sworn in, Ronald Reagan will be 72. This is the guy who’s going to have the nuclear football. I don’t know about you, but my grandfather is 72 and we don’t even let him near the remote.”
My uncle was a navigator on a bomber in WWII. My cousin recently e-mailed me the sad message that my uncle had died. This message arrived the week of the Republican National Convention. My uncle served on 37 bombing missions over the heart of Nazi Germany.
On one mission, his plane was shot down. He and a couple of crewmates survived and were rescued in bone-freezing north Atlantic waters. The survivors suffered hypothermia and various serious injuries, and were hospitalized for a long period.
I bring that up because my uncle had one singular and striking difference with John McCain. My uncle viewed “Country First” as a solemn and a silent devotion, not an endless noisy chatter.
He did not spend his life talking and talking about his WWII experiences. Although my uncle is a hero, never in his life did he call himself one.
Although my uncle served with distinction and valor and received medals to acknowledge this service, his service and his medals did not constitute a wall of superiority between him and others. In fact, as a child I would pester my uncle to tell me his story. He would not talk about it. The loss of crew members was harrowing to him and the memory of war was harrowing to him. He taught me that those who truly serve with distinction never talk about it. My father served in WWII as well, also as gallantly, and he too never talked about his experiences.
If you want to maintain a level of sanity and balance, turn off all TV election coverage right now. The candidates are playing to the media only. McCain choosing Palin to get media approval is only one giant example.
There will be nothing of substance, and only media moments of no consequence. From now until election day, the race will be a manic-depressive steeplechase. Like an NBA game, the lead will change hands minute to minute, and the day before election day, whoever has the ball (the news cycle) will try to determine the emotion of your voting booth experience.
If the media clamor the day before that Russia is on the move again, McCain will get that foreign policy fear bounce. If there is a good day on Wall Street the day before, the media will give McCain that hope bounce. Since McCain is the administration candidate, whatever “news” the Bush Administration puts out the day before Nov. 4 will be geared to help its candidate. This election is not about day one. This election is about the day before!
Before Ronald Reagan was chosen as “The Saint of The Republican Party,” true Republicans called Barry Goldwater their Standard Bearer.
No Republican leader was ever more respected by both parties. Barry Goldwater never liked John McCain. His son Barry Goldwater, Jr. is for Barack Obama. Susan Eisenhower, the daughter of the only true great Republican leader in war time, Dwight David Eisenhower, is also for Barack Obama. It is good to know that those who truly belong to the Republican Party legacy have already decided who would be a better president for our country.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2008. Read the original PDF.