Tornoe's Toons: McCain supports the troops in his own way

McCain was an army brat and came from a fairly well-to-do family. This is in stark contrast to many vets of his own generation and the men and women in service to our country now. Look at the outcomes. After WWII, the GI Bill helped contribute to an unprecedented economic boom that made the US a superpower. Vietnam didn't have the same outcomes, to put it euphemistically. Right now we have hundreds of thousands of active duty soldiers who will come home to a $30k educational benefit that will just about cover tuition at a four-year educational institution, and little else. Many of these people, who have serve their country nobly will make the cost-benefit calculation to not attend college. McCain may not have needed the GI Bill to be a success, but not everyone is cut out for a career in the military or public service. More importantly, college is mostly unattainable for many low-wage earning Americans, who disproportionately comprise recent recruits to the armed services. McCain and Bush's argument that the GI Bill benefit is too expensive is pure hogwash when considering what we've spent on the fruitless Iraq War. With the GI Bill we could one again INVEST in the nation's future, rather than just passing the costs of war along to our children and grandchildren. Right now, our soldiers are shouldering most of the costs of this ridiculous and hasty war, and are receiving few benefits for their troubles. Bush's opposition doesn't surprise me, because he takes an oppositional to view of anything that's logical and fair when it comes to public benefits, but I would expect should a view from a chicken hawk like him. McCain's opposition is just shameful.