Clark blasts McCain's military service

Josh Kraushaar

Gen. Wesley Clark, acting as a surrogate for Barack Obama’s campaign, invoked John McCain’s military service against him in one of the more personal attacks on the Republican presidential nominee this election cycle.

Clark said that McCain lacked the executive experience necessary to be president, calling him “untested and untried” on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” And in saying so, he took a few swipes at McCain’s military service.

“He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron,” Clark said.

“I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.”

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), also on CBS, was equally uncharitable towards Obama’s record on foreign policy as he continued to distance himself from his former party.

“Sen. Obama, unfortunately, like a lot of the Democratic leadership, continues to take a position that we ought to withdraw ... even though the new policy is working,” said Lieberman. “If we had done what Sen. Obama asked us to do for the last couple of years, today Iran and Al Qaeda would be in control of Iraq. It would be a terrible defeat for us and our allies in the Middle East and throughout the world.”

Meanwhile, the opposition narratives for the fall election campaign appeared to be in full force on ABC’s “This Week,” with Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) calling McCain a flip-flopper, while Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty accused Obama of not working in a bipartisan fashion.

Emanuel attacked McCain for changing his position on offshore oil drilling, President Bush’s tax cuts and his relationship with the evangelical community.

Quipped Emanuel: “If flip-flop was an Olympic sport, John McCain would be the first to win a gold medal.”

But Pawlenty cited McCain’s record on immigration and his support of increasing U.S. troop presence in Iraq as ample evidence that he bucks his party on account of principle — and then challenged Emanuel to name one piece of legislation where Obama has worked across party lines.

“The question really remains, when has Barack Obama stood up and taken on his party
on anything of national significance?” Pawlenty asked. “It's not leadership to jump in front of a parade. And I think Barack Obama's book 'The Audacity of Hope' perhaps should be retitled 'The Audacity of Hypocrisy.'”

...

Third party

Both third-party presidential candidates appeared on the Sunday talk show circuit, with each offering an ample helping of criticism towards the major-party nominees.

Ralph Nader, who said Obama was “talking white” to appeal to voters earlier in the week, continued to attack the Democratic nominee on ABC’s “This Week,” accusing him of being too cozy with an assortment of corporate interests.

“Look at the positions he’s taken on that corporate America is very congenial to. If you want to cover everybody on health insurance ... go to single payer. He's opposed to single payer,” said Nader.

Meanwhile, former Republican Georgia Rep. Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party’s nominee, had harsh words for both McCain and his former party.

“What's wrong with John McCain is symptomatic of what's wrong with the Republican party in these first years of the 21st century. They talk one thing but do something different and that's become very obvious to the American people,” Barr said on Fox.

Barr said he is the only candidate offering the combination of a crackdown on excessive government spending along with concern for civil liberties.

But he had to distance himself from past congressional votes in support of the Patriot Act and for legislation authorizing the war in Iraq — positions anathema to much of the Libertarian Party base.

“I certainly was wrong, along with a lot of others in Congress, and now realize that the vote in support of military operations in Iraq was not what the administration intended. They intended to occupy the country even though they didn't tell us or the American people that at the time,” said Barr.
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That's gonna piss off the pseudo-patriots.

I agree with both of you; and I have posted on the old RRMB that McCain is not a hero but a victim of the war.

Glad that Gen. Clark put McCain in his friggin place.

Ah yes, I agree...but you should see how MSNBC is spinning this. With sarcasm and the back of the hand to Wes Clark and propping up McCain all morning. Andrea Mitchell and Little Mika " Please run all over me Joe" Brezenski , have been particularly snarky and nasty. This war hero, maverick meme is in full swing...I don't know if people can parse this whole thing. By the way, still almost zero mention of the McCain's tax problems with their property in California. I still think the media is in bed with McCain big time!

I have to disagree. It's the sort of statement that can piss off almost anyone. By this logic Retired Vice Admiral James Stockdale would have not have been able to use his military service as backround experience as a Vice Presidential candidate.

By the same token, President Bush41 would also not be able to use his military service in his resume for his own past bid for the Presidency.

Should we now wait for someone to make a statement along the lines of "Leave it to an Army General to lack an understanding that being shot down may not by necessity be the pilot's fault"? How about the fact that this can happen to the best pilots at any time in their wartime careers?

I am surprised at retired General Wesley Clark's purported statement.

Best Regards,

Really Kreskin? Actually, if you had done what Sen. Obama asked you to do, we wouldn't be in Iraq right now and the region would be way more stable! Plus we wouldn't have lost all those troops and civilians for no reason!


And how exactly is he "talking white," my racist friend? Is he calling his wife "lovey" and reminiscing about their weekend in the Hamptons??

Being a prisoner of war for all those years is one of the reasons why he SHOULDN'T be president....mental stability comes to mind...you have to know that damage was done to his psyche...although it isn't his fault, it is still a liability, not an asset.

Would you also argue that Retired Vice Admiral James Stockdale would therefore not have been qualified to have been Vice President on those same grounds?

Best,

...and Ronald Reagan would not have been able to use his military service in Culver City as background for experience as Prez.

Or JFKs PT 109 - or Eisenhower's military career- or Truman's WWI service- or TR's San Juan Hill charge.......

The thing is, the miliatry takes its orders from Civilian Authority. So to qualitfy for a position in Civilian Authority, one has to have military experience? Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest for the pursuit of peace?

"Generals and Majors always seem so unhappy 'less they've got a war."----XTC

Seeing how nine of the last eleven U.S. Presidents have all had some sort of Military experience, I would answer that it is an affirmative qualification but not a limiting one.

Best Regards,

Another reason why Gen. Clark should be Obama's Veep.

mccain is a person who cusses you out if you disagree with him, on the floor of the senate

you want his finger on the button? i dont think so, enough said

Bingo. A responsible media would still be talking about McCain's affair with lobbyist, Iseman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/polit...amp;oref=slogin

(Oh, and I'm starting to wonder about this allegiance with Hillary is such a good thing. Are Hillary and Bill playing good cop bad cop? I wish we didn't have so much infiltration of republican lunatics blurring the lines - can't tell the real Obama haters from the bitter Hillary people.)

This is like the flap over supporting the troops. Fabricated! No one said anything about not supporting the troops it's the war we didn't support. No one demeaned his service they just stated the obvious that his service experiences didn't automatically give him the experience needed to be President. They effectively took that little election tool away from McCain and that has pissed them off, so now they are trying to spin the crap out of it.

In short, yes. I am very aware of the true heroism of the late Admiral's actions while being the highest ranking POW in captivity by the North Vietnamese. However, I am not sure that type of experience translates into much that is essential in civilian governmental leadership. Admiral Stockdale committed self mutilation in order to prevent himself from being used as a tool by his captors for propaganda purposes. He also reinforced his fellow prisoners resolve to try to uphold the "code of conduct". How can anyone argue with that type of REAL heroism? And I would contrast those actions with what many people call the "heroism" of McCain.

Peace

" I still think the media is in bed with McCain big time!"? They have their tongue down each others throats while dry humping on the bed, couch, floor, and back porch. There are atleast 3 or 4 flip-flops, statments, and associations that have not touched McCain but would have been a media firestorm if the shoe was on Obama's foot.

Problem is, the way the media is covering this McCain might catch something from them he can't shake with simple antibiotics. Haven't been able to watch the MSNBC coverage, but CNN trying the Swift Boat angle on this was funny as hell, because now McCain has assembled his "Truth Squad" to fight allegations such as Clark's and a member of that Squad is in fact an SBVT'er. They aren;'t using that much anymore, but they do make sure to run the Obama speech on patriotism immediately before or after the story about Clark, trying to suggest hypocrisy. But look at Clark's comments in an depth greater than that of the kiddie pool and the respect for McCain's patriotism is there. The charge is that the patriotism doesn't equal a qualification to be commander in chief, otherwise Toby Keith would be the frontrunner right now.