McCain Flies His Campaign Past Obama
by Michael Barone
John McCain was trained as a fighter pilot. In his selection of Sarah Palin, and in his convention and campaigning since, he has shown that he learned an important lesson from his fighter pilot days: He has gotten inside Barack Obama's OODA loop.
That term was the invention of the great fighter pilot and military strategist John Boyd. It's an acronym for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.
"The key to victory is operating at a faster tempo than the enemy," Boyd's biographer ...
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6 Comments | Post Comment
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Posted by: Bill M
Comment: #1
Mon Sep 15, 2008 6:01 AM
Great comments. (Minor editing notes: The word you want is "home", not "hone". The latter means to sharpen. Also, the correct quote is, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities.")
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Posted by: Diane Peske
Comment: #2
Sat Sep 13, 2008 2:47 PM
Yipee Michael! Someone else has written, with far greater news-spreading-ability, what I said the first SECOND I heard about McCain's pick of Sarah Palin.....
'NEVER PICK A FIGHT WITH A NAVY FIGHTER PILOT! THEY WILL WIN EVERY TIME!"
We are very familiar with the 'warrior' culture of our Naval Officers. My husband is USNA, Class of 1972 and we currently have a Second Class Midshipman there now, Class of 2010, an Arabic major with plans for a Marine Commission.
Over the years we have been exposed to this culture of men, cut from a cloth of a depth of inner strength, personal sacrifice, fierce patriotism, an incredible risk-taking sense and a tender, humble sensitivity that seems to bring what appears on the surface as an impossible combination of one's personality together in what our modern military calls our Fighter Pilots, SEAL Teams, Special Forces and the like.
The Obama people have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to face the person John McCain is.
Thank you Mr. Barone for your brilliant essay!
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Posted by: jewels
Comment: #3
Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:49 AM
The best article I have seen so far... and I have read many from both sides. Jewels
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Posted by: Peter Watt
Comment: #4
Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:38 AM
Richard Fernandez, one of the best and most underrated bloggers, has been across this for weeks. Check out http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2008/08/06/boyd-versus-alinsky/
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Posted by: NWTurtle
Comment: #5
Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:43 PM
This is a complete waste of space and the reader's time. What does this column have to do with McCain's stance on the issues that affect the country? We are fighting two wars, suffering through an economy in free fall, and facing long-term environmental problems. Instead of discussing any of this, Michael Barone is writing puff pieces. It's the media again, focused on superficial issues instead of serious ones. The issue in this election is not whether John McCain is an honorable man -- no one questions this, or at least no one did until he started defending a running mate who voted for the bridge to nowhere before she voted against it. The issue in this election is which team has the best policies to guide this country. There's plenty of room for debate -- but this column doesn't give us any new material to make informed decisions. It's the sort of journalistic cheerleading that gives the media a bad name.
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Posted by: James A, Sweeney
Comment: #6
Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:09 AM
Re: NWTurtle; Sir... Let me digest this article for you... What the Mr. Barone is telling you is that audacity is a tactic of victory. It is not; but it is a delay of defeat. R.E. Lee was audacious. He was a lifer, and he knew better than most that victory over the Union was impossible, and he told of what sacrifices were required to make even stalemate possible. But Mrs. Palin is beyond audacity. She is Mccain's Gettysburg. She wants to pre-empt the message of change. She wants the woman's vote. I think most women can tell a man in panties when they see one, and so can a lot of men. And she will have the religious right because they are reflex voters, and the devil in hell could get their vote if he could only ring their bells. Ultimately, she is a polarizing figure, far worse than Mrs. Clinton. And here, just as at Gettysburg, audacity is not the right tactic, but interior lines, and a good defense, which Mccain has ruined by putting a novice in line for the presidency. She is an insult to the office, and it points out how right the founding fathers were to leave that as a consolation prize. With Mrs Palin, this election left issues behind to marry up with ideologies, and ideologies have been running this country for far too long. Ideals are no substitute for the sort of rational pragmatic leadership the democrats can offer. The time for a fixed offense, based upon fixed ideals that is the offensive sort of campaign Americans have grown to hate should be behind us forever. Like the Campaign Mrs. Clinton ran, it is meant to spoil the election, to spoil change, and to spoil the country. It is not aimed at a victory we can all enjoy, but at a defeat the whole country must suffer. We know, if the republicans win, we all lose. We just have to hope that the working people of this country do not hate blacks and attorneys enough to shoot themselves to hit one of them. And I don't think that is too much to ask... Thanks... Sweeney
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