John McCain's campaign slogan is "Country First."
I'm not exactly sure what that means, and suppose it is deliberately vague so you can read what you want into it. But it strikes me as typical Republican uber-patriotism - similar to "America right or wrong" and "You're either with us or against us."
It signifies all those things Republicans demand of leaders: wearing a flag pin, being for a Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, insisting on victory in Iraq and anywhere else America fights, supporting the troops, never criticizing your country, never opposing war, etc.
None of these things - except supporting the troops who are being abused so terribly by this administration - are important to me. None of them help any of my fellow citizens solve their problems. In fact, some of them actually create problems for my fellow citizens. Demanding "victory" in Iraq, for instance, which is something McCain does, is simply an excuse to keep troops on endless rotations in that god-forsaken country, because no one has any idea what victory actually means. And I guess it is something different from "Mission Accomplished."
But then I'm a Democrat - a defeatist, a blame American first person, according to Republicans.
Actually, as a Democrat, rather than putting "Country First," I put people first.
This government we cherish does not exist to protect a configuration on a map or an ideal in the minds of Americans. It exists to protect the people of that land and to help solve their common problems. It exists to provide both safety and prosperity for all the people, or as the Preamble to the Constitution puts it so well: to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." To do those things, one must put people first.
So, while McCain's supporters wave signs saying "COUNTRY FIRST," Obama's supporters might legitimately carry signs saying "PEOPLE FIRST."
Because that's what the Democratic Party stands for: putting people first.
