Prediction: A Quite Unannounced Secretary of Defense Hopeful?

Background

The Secretary of Defense is number 6th in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury.  

Senator Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham is running for POTUS on a peculiarly, practically one-plank military security platform.  Senator Graham faces a very embarrassing problem, however:

"South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wants voters to understand he would make the best commander in chief, but not even those in his home state agree with him. According to a poll by Public Policy Polling, 78  percent of South Carolina Republicans want Graham to stop running for president. Fifteen percent want him to keep running, and 7 percent were unsure."  source

Little acquaints the nation with name recognition for a senator from an obscure state better than a presidential run.  This retired Air Force colonel (JAG officer) had recently received unfavorable press for his military rank progression with less than usual merit:

"Since leaving active duty in 1989 and joining the Air Force Reserve, Mr. Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who is running for president, appears to have performed very little substantive work for the Air Force. Yet, he rose in rank to colonel and remained in the service until his retirement in June, which entitles him to a monthly $2,773 pension."  source

Additionally, John McLaughlin of The McLaughlin Group predicted at then end of his September 18th broadcast taping that Lindsey Graham would be the next Republican candidate to drop out of the race.   So, one might naturally wonder:  

• What has John Mclaughlin heard from inside the beltway sources?  

• What was Graham's real aim in entering the 2016 presidential race? 

• Has Graham's real aim been largely achieved at this point?

Suppose Graham had obtained Hillary Clinton's (and/or Jeb Bush's, or Rubio's, etc.) assurances that he would be appointed Secretary of Defense in their prospective cabinets.  Nothing highlights a Bronze Star award for a retired Air Force colonel like the national publicity of his presidential campaign.  Moreover, his campaign identifies Graham as Republican (in his home state political primaries are open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation).  

Republican party affiliations are often seen as a political necessity in administrations perceived as militarily weak.  President Obama retained George W. Bush's Defense Secretary, Republican Bob Gates (former Air Force officer), and later appointed another republican, Chuck Hagel (Army infantry sergeant, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge).

Graham has consistenly denied suspected liberal preferences during his lifetime of unmarried, unattached and aisle-crossing public service.  If Graham does drop his campaign, it could be an indication he knows the legal weight of Hillary's accumulating baggage will block her eventual nomination.  In that case, any hopes of embellishing her administration's popularity with liberal support as the first SECDEF to come out of the Republican In Name Only (RINO) or (other) closet would be derailed by an aborted Clinton campaign. Time will tell...

M.E. Predictions

1 - If Graham ends his campaign before April 30, 2016, expect Hillary to abort hers shortly thereafter.

2 - If Graham stays in through April 30, 2016, expect him to have some very laudatory things to say about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

 

Quote of the Month 13 NOV 2013

Background

April 2013
"It only takes being wrong once and I don't want to be the secretary of defense that was wrong once,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on April 4, explaining why the military deployed missile batteries in Guam as a defensive measure against North Korea.

Nov 4, 2013
(Reuters) - North Korea sailors killed when ship sinks during 'combat duties'
At least 19 North Korean sailors were killed when a naval vessel sank during "combat duties" off the east coast last month, state media said, a rare admission by the impoverished and reclusive country.  

Nov 4, 2013
(NYT)  North Korean Sailors Reported Killed in October Sinking; South Says There Was No Clash
SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean naval vessel sank last month, killing an unspecified number of sailors, according to North and South Korean news media.

Nov 5, 2013  - Type 037-class submarine chaser (Losses) Wikipedia
On October 13, 2013, North Korean submarine chaser No. 233 was lost off Wonsan with the loss of at least nineteen of her crew. She may have been in collision with another Korean People's Navy ship.[2][3][4]

Nov 12, 2013
(Baltic Review) North Korea: Our submarine has sunk [color emphasis added]
According to the photos that the media presented, it is seen how the leader goes among more than 12 tombstones of the submarine team ‘chasing submarine number 233’. It can be seen that the date when the submarine sunk is October 13th and the pictures of the sailors with their names. According to the Korean Central News Agency of DPRK, the submarine sunk during a military operation.

According to ynet.co.il, the submarine has been built at the early 60th of the previous decade, and the age of the submarine probably was the main factor for the accident.

                                             ***********

Do we trust dictator Kim Jong-un's North Korean news outlets?  South Korea's, Reuters, New York Times, Baltic News, or none of the above?  Chuck Hagel must know the truth by now, but that must be classified.  Could it really have been a lost submarine?  Which brings up, today's sarcastic quotation...

Quote of the Month

“Never trust a politician. If you want to trust a politician go to live in North Korea, and line up and applaud them and say ‘What a marvellous job, Kim Jong Un!’ - or whatever Kim is currently occupying.” - Eric Jack Pickles,  Move to North Korea if you want to trust politicians, Pickles says, The UK Telegraph, 13 NOV 2013.  (Mr. Pickles is United Kingdom Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, a Cabinet position.)

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Helmetless Persistence, Prediction, and QOTW

Persistence

How many times have we heard someone say after only a few (if that many) failures, "I can't do it!  The 'system' makes it easier for others to compete than for people like me."  Really, or does the truth more accurately reflect the divisive propaganda now taught in U.S. public schools?

A courageous Viking lad gives a useful hint (watch all his early attempts at the end of this incredible video): helmetless persistence 

Prediction

Readers may recall M.E.'s "no-brainer"  prediction that came true 2 hours later.  The latest M.E. prediction, made last month, is much more astounding, and it appears to have firmed up today (only 8 days).  In case you missed it, it's here Mothballing half our CVNs in Near Future

But, if national security is a primary goal, mothballing half our CVNs is hardly compelling.  Yet, some expect that is exactly what SecDef Chuck Hagel is preparing to recommend within the next year, or two. -  July 24, 2013

Question of the Week (QOTW)

Background (The Bad News) - For years many Americans have been warned that their private financial information has been a target of digital thieves. Many of us also received letters from the VA, our state governments, our financial or retail corporations (or all of the above) advising that our individual data was included in files that had actually been compromised by hacking or laptop theft.

Background (The Good News) - While actually mixed news, it is relatively best for Americans:  What is the street value of individual credit cards from a European country, Canada, and the U.S.?  Answer (NBC News):  $10 for US card, $15 for a Canadian credit card, and $50 for a European credit card. Source (@ 01:34 minute).

QOTW:  Why the disparity in street value of stolen credit cards?

Answer:   Sunday, August 18th.

Submarines are always silent and strange.