Military Service, Leadership, and the Presidency

I am taken aback that military service has become such a criterion for a "good president" in the public dialogue about the election. True, some of our presidents who served in the military have been good presidents. But presidents who did not serve have also been great war leaders. If I'm not mistaken neither Abraham Lincoln nor Franklin D. Roosevelt served in the military. Both were great leaders in wartime. I suspect I could look up presidential biographies and find miserable presidents who had also seen military service. The point is that there's not a clear relationship. And in a further reflection on the subject of military service, I think it's challenging to see how the mere act of being in the military lends inherent qualities other than marching or following orders. Without question, John McCain's imprisonment and torture in Vietnam indicates courage and fortitude and similar good qualities. However, I find that I know next to nothing about what he did after returning from being a prisoner. I think I read that he was assigned to be a liaison officer to the US Senate on military issues. I don't know that he has experience commanding troops, planning strategy, making battle decisions, solving the logistics problems of supporting military forces. Those are the kinds of things I think people imagine when they cite the importance of 'military service'. As with much else in this electoral free for all, I think there's more smoke than substance. And it confuses the issues.