General Shillton

Steve Gilliard talks about General Hugh Shelton campaigning for John Edwards:

That’s the real news. I would bet you could count on one hand the number of Dems Hugh Shelton has voted for. He can’t stand Clark, but I get the feeling a lot of military people are going to turn against Bush. The thing about Clark is simple: there are those who think he’s a liar and untrustworthy, others think he’s the brightest soldier they’ve ever met. Shelton is of the camp who considers him the Courtney Massengale of his generation. That’s a name which comes from Anton Meyer’s Once an Eagle, about two officers who rise to general from WW I to Vietnam. One, Sam Damon, is beloved by his men, the other Massengale, is seen as willing to do anything to get ahead. To earn that sobriquete is a short hand verdict on your character and it’s a bad one.

But I’m stunned that Shelton would jump into Democratic politics at all. That’s a bad sign for Bush.

Maybe I’m cynical, but to me it’s obvious that Shelton’s “jumping into” Democratic politics isn’t bad for Bush, it’s on behalf of Bush.

Shelton knows that Edwards is highly unlikely to win the nomination. It’s a move to stop Clark in South Carolina where he probably needs to win outright. And regardless of whether he succeeds in helping to tank Clark, once the Democratic nominee (who isn’t Edwards) becomes known, Shelton says that he simply cannot vote for someone who believes in XYZ and he has decided, after all, to vote for Bush.

Nice ‘n tidy.

As for whether Clark’s the Courtney Massengale of his generation, it seems to depend upon who you talk to. I have no doubt that he was highly ambitious. Most generals are, including Shelton. And I would expect that only movie stars and politicians can compete with the higher reaches of the military for sheer volume of ego per square inch. To get 4 stars probably means leaving a certain amount of carnage in your wake and a long line of fans and enemies.

This is one of those issues for which there will never be an objective consensus of opinion amongst his fellow generals. Too much psychology, competition and subjectivity is involved. The officer corps of the military can sometimes more resemble a bunch of hissing junior high school girls angling for a slot on the cheerleading squad than a group of heroic, granite jawed warriors. Backstabbing and bitchiness, as well as long term strategic alliances and friendships, are part of the game, so you can only draw so many conclusions from the opinions of peers in this highly competitive club. At the end of the day, the only thing you can really say is that it’s extremely difficult for anyone to reach that pinnacle and leave it at that.