I agree; well said.

I have to point out, though, that almost all officers of any branch attend college before receiving their commission. Most of those do not attend service academies. I went though college at the University of California, where I learned all about arguing with professors (mostly in political science and economics classes), and a quick perusal of my posts here will reveal that I'm hardly marching lock-step with the party line. :-)

In fact, I do agree with Clark. Military service alone does not qualify one to hold any position anywhere outside of one's own specialization within the ranks, and sometimes not even there. If we're going to judge McCain on anything, it needs to be relevant to the office to which he aspires; such as his political record. Were I to run for office, I wouldn't assume that my service has given me any special knowledge about politics. By the same token, I know what a Nash equilibrium is and that it gives me some insight into certain political situations, but I know that it doesn't qualify me to employ Harpoon missiles effectively. Why would it? The prinicples of strategy might be nearly universal, but their employment in such diverse fields requires specific training.