I am sure by now that most have seen the ad where Republican candidate McCain is mocked for non-use of a computer, and the inability to send an email.

Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer explains the ad this way :

“Our economy wouldn’t survive without the Internet, and cyber-security continues to represent one our most serious national security threats,” Pfeiffer said. “It’s extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn’t know how to send an e-mail.”
Read More

In all the discussion over this, one critical point has been overlooked. This argument is essentially the same as, but subordinate to, the argument that the Commander In Chief of the U.S. military should have prior military experience.

In these troubled times, do we need a president that has a gmail account, or do we need a president that has military experience ?

To paraphrase the Pfeiffer comment above :

“Our way of life wouldn’t survive without the military, and international security continues to represent one our most serious national security threats,” Pfeiffer said. “It’s extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn’t have military experience.”

I am very sure that all rational Americans understand that for the job of Commander In Chief, hundreds of hours with Outlook Express pales in comparison to the experience of hundreds of hours at the stick of a carrier based fighter jet.