Still Haven't Figured Out What To Think About Ricardo Sanchez Running For Senate

Ordinarily, I'd be all in favor of a retired Hispanic general running for office in Hispanic-rich Texas. That's nearly a perfect fit for the conservative-leaning Hispanic electorate. But it's General Sanchez, and his tenure in Iraq was stormy. Then again, Iraq in 2003 was hardly the Peaceable Kingdom. So, is this a good idea, or a bad idea? The right man at the right time and place, or an accident waiting to happen? Beats me!:

Calling Sanchez a “strong, independent voice” is a major understatement. On October 12, 2007, Sanchez went after the media, saying to a group of military reporters that the media opts for sensationalism and self-aggrandizement. He said he believes reporters were willing to “compromise integrity” to get stories. “The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parents organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas. What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our servicement who are at war. My assessement is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these ethical standards and allowed external agendas to maipulate what the American public sees on TV, what they read in our newpapers and what they see on the web. For some of you, just like politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your preconceived notions, biases and agendas.”

...Then, Sanchez went after the politicians. “There has been a glaring, unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders. As a Japanese proverb says, ‘Action without vision is a nightmare.’ There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight. Since 2003, the politics of war have been characterized by partisanship as the Republican and Democratic parties struggled for power in Washington. National efforts to date have been corrupted by partisan politics that have prevented us from devising effective, executable supportable solutions. At times, these partisan struggles have led to political decisions that endangered the lives of our sons and daughters on the battlefield. The unmistakable message was that political power had a greater priority than our national security objectives. Overcoming this strategic failure is the first step toward achieving victory in Iraq – without bipartisan cooperation, we are doomed to fail. There is nothing going on in Washington that would give us hope.”