GREENVILLE, S.C. -- John McCain seems like a natural presidential pick for veterans in South Carolina, a decorated POW of the Vietnam War in a military-friendly state.
The Republican senator has been running campaign ads that touch on his war record. His "No Surrender" tour spent days here in the fall as he focused on the Iraq war. And many veterans are in his corner.
But, in keeping with the volatile primary season, the veteran vote is just not that simple. The economy and health care are factors for military retirees, and most say they vote for a person — not a uniform. Plus, and hold on to your green berets, some are Democrats.
"Veterans have a lot in common with other voters in this state and that makes it hard to pigeonhole them," said Danielle Vinson, a political science professor at Furman University. "In the past, the veterans have not been a consistent voting bloc."
This is just stupid. The unpredictability of veterans' voting patterns has nothing to do with 2008 being a particularly volatile primary season.
The circumstances of the lives of veterans are too varied to consider them to be a consistent voting bloc. They aren't one-dimensional figures. They don't align themselves with candidates based on their military backgrounds alone. Ask John Kerry.
How could anyone think that vets would automatically vote for John McCain just because of his military service?
That's as silly as assuming that men obsessed with their hair would vote for John Edwards.
Or, women who wear pantsuits would vote for Hillary.
Or, people who enjoy a tasty fried squirrel would vote for Mike Huckabee.
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