Why I am unimpressed with the phrase McCain doctrine

[karynnj]

The main reason is that there is NO doctrine in the McCain doctrine.

doctrine n. A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group

I think he is referring simply to increasing the number of troops. That's a strategy, a plan etc, but how is it a doctrine. (You could make a stronger case that there is a Kerry doctrine - to never go to war unless you exhaust diplomacy...)

The Bush doctrine says that we (and we alone) can attack first even without provable cause because others are out to get us. This is a despicable, paranoid, illegal doctrine but it is a doctrine.

[ray of light]

1. I liked the kos diary title, "McCain Macarana" better!

[ProSense]

2. Good one. Another suggestion:

McCain Mood Swing

[karynnj]

5. I love that

(and I do realize that Edwards DID a nice job in attaching McCain's name to an unpopular policy. Although I think he was already identified with it - because for the last year of so he has been saying it.

What it does signal is that the press is very happy to praise him.

[sandnsea]

3. Thinking of Vietnam

I would say the McCain Doctrine would look something like Nixon's say peace and continue the war illegally behind everybody's back. I think McCain is the biggest challenger for 2008 and if we can knock him out now by making people realize he will never implement a withdrawal strategy, then all the better. Granted, he doesn't have much of an Iraq strategy, which means we get an opportunity to frame him first. I kind of thought McCain Doctrine was about the only interesting thing Edwards had to say.

[wisteria]

4. LOL, Edwards should have check on the meaning before declaring

a strategy and doctrine.

[wisteria]

6. Gosh, I have to start proofreading more often. I meant, Edwards should have CHECKED

on the meaning first.

[DrFunkenstein]

7. I Just Think He Was Trying to Associate McCain's "Plan" to

The Bush Doctrine and the Rumsfeld Doctrine as just another nutty GOP adventure.

As for the Kerry Doctrine, his position is pretty much the Powell Doctrine, which I happen to agree with.

In 2004, I tried repeatedly to get the campaign to make the distinction between Bush and Kerry by comparing the Powell Doctrine (diplomacy, then overwhelming multilateral force) to the Rumsfeld Doctine (case-by case allies using small, fast forces) which was completely inappropriate to something on the scale of the Iraq invasion - thus illustrating how these guys were driven by ideology, not reality or even pragmatism.

After months of my begging for them to bring back Tora Bora, they finally did (to great success), but they never made this distinction (to my great disappointment).

You are absolutely right that there is no "doctrine" in the McCain Doctrine. It is purely rhetorical, like Kerry's phrase "Katrina foreign policy."

[karynnj]

8. I'm glad he brought back Tora Bora

Other than his speaking of ieds being thrown at "our kids" that were made from the ammo from the unguarded ammo dumps that was what I remember form the end of the campaign.