CLEVELAND — Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas got in a jab at Hillary Clinton’s email troubles on Monday when he listed some traits military members and their families might like to see in a commander in chief.
“Our warriors and their families don’t ask for much. We’re blessed to serve and we’re grateful for the generosity of our fellow citizens,” said Mr. Cotton, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “But there are a few things we’d like.”
Those things, he said, include “a commander in chief who speaks of winning wars and not merely wars,” who “calls the enemy by its name,” and who “draws red lines cautiously but enforces them ruthlessly.”
“And it would be nice to have a commander in chief who could be trusted to handle classified information,” he said.
Mr. Cotton was speaking on the opening night of the Republican National Convention, when the theme was “Make America Safe Again.”
“And we’d like politicians who treat our common defense as the chief responsibility of the federal government, not just another government program,” he said.
“This isn’t much to ask for, but eight years without it is more than enough and another four years is unthinkable,” he said.
“Let me say again — this time directly to our troops — in a Trump-Pence administration and with a Republican Congress, help is on the way,” he said, referring to the likely GOP ticket.
Mr. Cotton also relayed a bit of personal history, recounting how his father volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War against the wishes of his own father, and how Mr. Cotton volunteered for service against the wishes of his family after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“My dad said he felt like God was punishing him for what he did to his dad,” he said. “But God wasn’t punishing them; God had called us to serve. Just as He calls so many of you to serve as well,” Mr. Cotton said.
“My father and his father were willing to fight so that their children and grandchildren might live in peace,” he said. “Sadly, that wasn’t to be. But my generation is fighting, has fought, and will fight so that our children — my infant son Gabriel and the Christmas baby my wife and I are expecting — might one day live in peace.”
“And for that cause, I speak tonight not only to Republicans, but to the millions of independents and Democrats who share that dream and who wish to make America safe again,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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