Why does manhood matter? Because we're at war. What kind of leader do you want when armed lunatics are trying to kill you and your family? Do you need a master of nuance or a leader of men? Do you want Alan Alda or Braveheart? .... To state the crushingly obvious, war is a male thing. Even when directed by the occasional Maggie Thatcher or Joan of Arc, war is fought by men's rules, by men.
I say, it's about time someone came out and said this. Wild Banshee, for one, has not been shy about calling out John Kerry on his manhood. I know, I know, John Kerry served 4 months in Vietnam while George Bush was stateside in the National Guard. But I say that a real man would not have to parade his "band of brothers" around like some show-and-tell prop and would not have to bring up his bronze star in every other sentence. A real man would have the courage to stand up and directly refute those who are now challenging his military record and his honor rather than send out a team of lawyers behind the scenes to intimidate his fellow vets into silence. A real man would not look to the perpetually surrenduring French for guidance in how to conduct military affairs. And, a real man would have reached home plate from the Fenway Park mound -- as President George Bush did in Yankee Stadium in 2001.
Maybe I'm getting a bit carried away here, but I do urge you all to read Mr. Anderson's column.
