Bomb Bomb McCain in his Temple of Doom

As a military aviator, Bomb Bomb McCain crashed three aircraft. As a professional politician seeking the presidency, Bomb Bomb crashed in three separate presidential debates. We probably never will know whether Bomb Bomb was shot down over Hanoi because of bad luck or his failure to follow procedures to avoid surface-to-air missiles. But there is no question he has personally contributed to the shooting down of his quest for presidency of the US.

Bomb Bomb has lost key elements of the Republican intelligentsia mainly because of his campaign decisions. They now treat him as an embarrassment. His worst mistake was the selection of Sarah Palin as VEEP. She is down to about 32% approval rate – that is just about the percent of the Christian Right in the Republican Party. So win or lose, he has shored up his base, but in the process he opened himself to being irresponsible. Ms. Palin has ethical problems with her abuse of power in Alaska. Her apparent shallowness and her husband's association with anti-American Alaskan successionist movement further illustrate her unpreparedness to assume the presidency.

Some have speculated that Palin's husband could not even qualify for White House security clearance.

Bomb Bomb's reaction to the economic crisis was inept – he was a man with his hair on fire and initially did not recognize the problem. He said the US economic fundamentals were just fine. He then rushed to Washington, allegedly to suspend his campaign. He made no impact as the first bailout bill failed. He subsequently voted for the second bailout bill that was loaded with earmarks, undercutting his own campaign. Bomb Bomb even threatened to not to attend the second debate. His foolish panic was contrasted sharply with Obama's cool methodical approach to the problems. Bomb Bomb acted like one of the Marx Brothers in Harum Scarum.

Bomb Bomb's temperament has become an issue. He comes across as a cranky old fart. Obama's coolness drives him crazy. He cannot resist sarcasm. He grits his teeth and rolls his eyes. He blinks his eyes as if he is sending semaphore signals. All this is compounded by the fact that old age is not pretty in the US; it is a society obsessed with youth.

With the economic crisis mushrooming under Republican leadership, and GW Bush colossal failures, Bomb Bomb has to swim up stream. Under most circumstances Bomb Bomb would have difficulty winning, but his goofiness plus his bad judgment with the selection of Palin has jeopardized the election of even safe Republican congressional seats.

Efforts to destroy Obama through guilt by association has backfired. Net result is that Bomb Bomb inadvertently went Kamikaze – so what is new? He is one of those who waves the red flag and then charges it. As president, one can expect the same weird conduct by him. Colonel Robert E Bartos USA Ret.