Fighting Dems

Media Girl has a discussion on the "fighting Dems." She quotes Dadahead:

Witness the fascination, especially among bloggers, with Democratic candidates who have military experience. Why anyone would think that being a veteran is an advantage for a Democrat, after the the flame-out of Wesley Clark and the swift-boating of John Kerry, is beyond me. But the delusion that Democrats can neutralize the GOP's advantage on 'national security' by running candidates who have worn a uniform persists.

Her contention:

I fear...a desire for a stereotypical "military man" to be the Democrats' version of the "strict father" leader. To me, that goes against what we need and plays right into the skewed frame the Republicans have set up.

I don't believe that Democrats are looking for veterans to assume the role of a Lakoff-esque "strict father." Instead, I think that Democrats are attracted to veterans because we believe that, having experienced the horrors of war, veterans would be less likely to commit American troops to combat before exhausting diplomacy, and would not embark on military adventurism based on questionable rationale.

I also disagree with the contention that Wes Clark "flamed out." There is no question that Clark made a rookie mistake by listening to bad advice and failing to contest the Iowa caucus. Being an Iowa farm boy myself, I know that Clark would have had a broad appeal among Iowans, and would have been a formidable challenger to Kerry and Edwards.