Staring at South Carolina

4:45am: Only 46% of precincts reporting in so far. McCain at 33%, Huckabee at 29%. I've been hitting my browser's refresh button since my shift started at 0400. I imagine there's other work I should be doing right now but I have trouble pulling myself away from this.

450am: 54% reporting, 34% to 29% and one of our platoons is back from its patrol. Another quiet night out in sector.

So, yeah, what about the rest of the guys? Well, there's alot of minimal to non-interest, like most of America, especially in regards to the primaries. The officers tend to be more conservative than the enlisted men. And alot of the guys would just like someone strong on national defense issues that won't threaten their gun rights.

But one of the more interesting and common feelings I've encountered thus far is the overwhelming distrust and dislike of Hillary Clinton. Not that that's all that surprising. I don't much like her either (sorry, Jenn), as she inspires an overwhelming sense of say-anything political opportunism without seeming to stand for anything (that all said, while she, as a person, might make my spidey-sense buzz, I think she would do a fine job as Commander-in-Chief and I have substantial worries over her potential policies).

504am: 67% reporting, 34% to 29%.

What I find surprising about the anti-Clinton feelings here is the reasoning, which is little based on dishonesty, manipulation, opportunism, or any of the myriad character flaws - real or simply perceived - that seem to bedevil many when they ponder Hillary. And while some of the more educated gun enthusiasts (Doc DeMike, our Company Med and compatriot in BSG-viewing), fear her less than gun-friendly views, the vast majority of my coworkers seem to dislike any Clinton because of one simple reason - President Clinton greatly downsized the military.

520am: And we have a winner!! Woohoo! Go McCain! And now on to Florida!

Now maybe it's because I remember the Berlin Wall coming down, or because I'm a fan of history and politics, or because I paid attention in some classes back in my high school days, but I seem to remember some Cold War ending as being a big (and justifiable) reason for our military being downsized. Why this doesn't seem to hold water with alot of my coworkers, including some of our brightest and well educated officers, I don't really understand. The Soviet threat had come to an end, the Red Hordes weren't about to roll thru the Fulda Gap, and a conventional Army of Cold War-size proportions really didn't make as much sense anymore. Downsizing, from a historical perspective, seemed perfectly sensible and justified, I would think.

5:38am Just gave a 2-minute "Why I Like John McCain" to SSG Hull, one our best. Result: "Sounds pretty awesome...guess I like him, too" as he left, patting my shoulder. If only it were always so easy.

But if I had to hazard a guess (and guess away, I will), this revulsion over downsizing is amplified here because I'm serving in an Infantry unit. We're (and really, they, I'm a glorified commo jockey nowadays) the door-kickers and ground-pounders that make up the front-lines (as front as they get nowadays), tasked with clearing buildings and rooms and destroying the enemy. It's the job of macho men, many of whom come from a line of macho men. Their fathers served and their fathers' fathers served. They grew up in military families and befriended others from military families. The military was and is part of their blood, part of their culture. But suddenly, with the arrival of President Clinton, the military was no longer a pillar of reliability and consistency, its pre-eminent importance in the strategic world eclipsed by free trade and economic pacts, dollars and down-sizing trumped divisions and deterrence. And, I suppose, much like the union-hands of Detroit, they found themselves and their families, their culture and history in a strange new place, in a different reality than before, making the the difficult and uneasy transition, and facing that dreadful thing that humanity seems to so often fear - change.

It's 6:26am here and I'm getting long-winded and babbly, folks. Sorry 'bout that. Off to the chow-hall for some strawberry milk and a granola bar (Sundays = no chow until brunch at 1030. Sad indeed).

Hope all's well back home.

PS. An O'Hanlon piece on the down-sizing. Wish I could say I read it but I've no password. Generally, though, I'm an O'Hanlon fan.
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20031101faessay82612/michael-o-hanlon/clinton-s-strong-defense-legacy.html