Changes

I think the relevancy of the military record of a candidate depends on his role in the war. If the person was a regular soldier (I am not familiar with rank so excuse the layman's language, I believe it is the rank of Private, but am not sure) then honestly, no I don't think it does. I am not in anyway trying to lessen the sacrifice that privates make in battle; I respect them 100% for the sacrifices they make. These sacrifices, however, do not necessarily translate into superior ability to be commander in chief. A private in the military makes no strategical decisions in the larger picture, that is the job of majors, generals etc. A commander in chief is chiefly concerned with overall strategy. Thus a private really has no greater advantage in this situation. If the candidate, however, was a a major or general or some other strategical position, then yes, in the context of commander in chief, it does matter. That record as a strategy decider, however, cannot be the only attribute that makes a candidate successful. Being commander in chief is only one of the many responsibilities of a president. In a way, it is almost of slightly lesser importance (before you all scream, hear me out). As commander in chief, the president (once in a declared war in congress) has the ultimate authority on strategy. Thus he can listen to his advisors and generals and such, make a decision, and have it enacted. Domestic and foreign policy, however, must go through congress. A president needs tremendous political skill to work a plan through congress (vis a vis FDR). In policy decisions, the president must work with congress and satisfy congress. In military strategy, the president has practically free reign. My 2 cents --[[User:AndrasK|AndrasK]] 19:28, 8 September 2008 (EDT)

I think the relevancy of the military record of a candidate depends on his role in the war. If the person was a regular soldier (I am not familiar with rank so excuse the layman's language, I believe it is the rank of Private, but am not sure) then honestly, no I don't think it does. I am not in anyway trying to lessen the sacrifice that privates make in battle; I respect them 100% for the sacrifices they make. These sacrifices, however, do not necessarily translate into superior ability to be commander in chief. A private in the military makes no strategical decisions in the larger picture, that is the job of majors, generals etc. A commander in chief is chiefly concerned with overall strategy. Thus a private really has no greater advantage in this situation. If the candidate, however, was a a major or general or some other strategical position, then yes, in the context of commander in chief, it does matter. That record as a strategy decider, however, cannot be the only attribute that makes a candidate successful. Being commander in chief is only one of the many responsibilities of a president. In a way, it is almost of slightly lesser importance (before you all scream, hear me out). As commander in chief, the president (once in a declared war in congress) has the ultimate authority on strategy. Thus he can listen to his advisors and generals and such, make a decision, and have it enacted. Domestic and foreign policy, however, must go through congress. A president needs tremendous political skill to work a plan through congress (vis a vis FDR). In policy decisions, the president must work with congress and satisfy congress. In military strategy, the president has practically free reign. My 2 cents --[[User:AndrasK|AndrasK]] 19:28, 8 September 2008 (EDT)

:There used to be a thing called the art of character building. Whether you started out as a regular enlisted rank or a wet behind the ears 0fficer just out of some elitest college doesn't matter a lick. What you do with what you have does. Showing progress and staying out of trouble is more relevant than the worthless opinion of an elitest establishment looking down their collective noses at the lowly elisted ranks. Let me repeat what I've already said before in the vain hope of it leaving an impression on someone. Unless you've actually served in the military, you really don't understand the level of sacrifice being offered by those serving or having served in the military. You will never understand the relevance it will give you in understanding others sacrifice in going into harms way today, tommorow or even past conflicts. If you think community service is like military service then you've proven my point. Progressing through the ranks and obtaining an Honorable Discharge is more relevant than to whether they obtained a high enough rank to qualify for an executive position. A candidate for any job will be asked what type of discharge and what rank was obtained. In the position of President of the United States of America, the Commander in Chief never has free reign with military strategy. The Chiefs of Staff will outline the choices to be made, A through Z, which the Commander in Chief then chooses from. Only dictators, or monarchs have free reign in such matters. Thank God we live in a Republic here in the U.S.A.--[[User:Roopilots6|Roopilots6]] 10:00, 11 September 2008 (EDT)

:There used to be a thing called the art of character building. Whether you started out as a regular enlisted rank or a wet behind the ears 0fficer just out of some elitest college didn't matter a lick. What you do with what you have does. Showing progress and staying out of trouble is more relevant than the worthless opinion of an elitest establishment looking down their collective noses at the lowly enlisted ranks. Let me repeat what I've already said before in the vain hope of it leaving an impression on someone. Unless you've actually served in the military, you really don't understand the level of sacrifice being offered by those serving or having served in the military. You will never understand the relevance it will give you in understanding others sacrifice in going into harms way today, tommorow or even past conflicts. If you think community service is like military service then you've proven my point. Progressing through the ranks and obtaining an Honorable Discharge is more relevant than to whether they obtained a high enough rank to qualify for an executive position. A candidate for any job will be asked what type of discharge and what rank was obtained. In the position of President of the United States of America, the Commander in Chief never has free reign with military strategy. The Chiefs of Staff will outline the choices to be made, A through Z, which the Commander in Chief then chooses from. Only dictators, or monarchs have free reign in such matters. Thank God we live in a Republic here in the U.S.A.--[[User:Roopilots6|Roopilots6]] 10:00, 11 September 2008 (EDT)