Dear Lisa,
Yesterday, on Face the Nation, General Wesley Clark spoke honestly and bluntly about what it takes to be Commander in Chief. In doing so, while he said Senator John McCain’s service made him a hero to millions, including Clark himself, that experience does not trump the poor judgment that Senator McCain has shown on some of the most important issues in recent years.
What General Clark said was right, but the right-wing has been in an uproar. And even CNN accused Clark of "swift-boating" McCain. We need to fight back.
I can't find where this happened and as with most of these types of statements there is no reference source provided.
I found this and this which shows how low things are going to go. Suggesting that McCain when a prisoner of war was not loyal is not going to earn more Obama supporters. It's going to rally people to McCain's side and didn't we decry this whole thing when it was done to Kerry? Either it was wrong then and we aren't going to do it or, whatever it takes to win is okay and anything they do is okay too...Which really is the way it is, but very few will admit it. One person's smear is another person's fist bump.
Having Clark go on was a huge mistake because all of the things he claimed were a problem with McCain are not skills/attributes that Barack Obama has demonstrated.
This also once again creates the scenario for Obama's credibility to be questioned:
"If he expects the American people to believe his pledges about a new kind of politics, Barack Obama has a responsibility to condemn these attacks."
While VoteVets is sending out this email, Obama ends up distancing himself from what Clark said:
Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General Clark," Obama spokesman Bill Burton says in a statement.
If Obama doesn't win, maybe instead of trying to blame those of us who have valid questions, the focus should be on some of those who repeatedly go out there and just help the McCain camp...
Chris Cillizza makes some of the same points:
That said, the comments made by Obama's surrogates do him little good in a raw political context. Any day John McCain is able to talk about his military service and remind people of the sacrifices he has made for the country is a good day for the Republican candidate.
The issue playing field -- from Iraq to the economy to health care -- is badly tipped in Democrats' favor. McCain, knowing this, is seeking to turn the race into a battle of resumes -- perhaps the only way he can win in the fall.
Clark's comments allow McCain to do just that.
14 comments:
"If",,,and I mean if - because I can't believe anybody would go so low - Obama goes there? It's a deal breaker and I'll surely vote against him.
Nobody can take what happened to John McCain in Viet Nam and use it against him. That is ridiculous. I'd like to know if Obama could have looked at the open gates and refused to leave the prison camp without HIS men.
I don't know if I would have been able to face being strung up by my arms behind me every day - I just don't know. But that guy did and if that's something Obama would use against him - he has no moral compass and doesn't deserve the Presidency. Hell, he wouldn't deserve to be a dog catcher.
kateb said...
"If",,,and I mean if - because I can't believe anybody would go so low - Obama goes there? It's a deal breaker and I'll surely vote against him.
You, Kateb, and millions of veterans will vote against him. This Viet Nam Vet will vote against Obama for many reasons such as being far too liberal, far too inexpeirenced, plus the fact that he does not work with Republicans in the manner that Senator McCain has always worked with others on the other side of the aisle.
Of course McCain is going to cite his service of country in this election, and he should, it is part of his life experience, it is honorable and many Americans connect with him because of it.
How far reaching though is his experience? If he's going to cite his experience as making him better able to plan and execute a war plan, and engage in diplomacy, then I think it's fair for the Obama campaign to say very respectfully that while they respect his service to our country that they don't feel that in every instance this makes him more capable of conducting a war, or engaging in diplomacy.
In short, if McCain is going to use his service to country in his campaign (which he should) it's really not fair to tell Obama that he can never question the way that McCain uses his service record to say that he is more qualified than Obama.
Note that he is in no way questioning what McCain actually did in Vietnam, just how much of an effect it would have on being an effective president. Contrast this with the Swift Boat stuff of 2004 where they actually questioned Kerry's service.
All that being said, it is possible that this is a political loser for Obama, because of the lack of understanding of nuances in our political reporting. This story is being billed as Obama (or his surrogate) questioning McCain's service, which to me he did not do. Questioning his service would be what the Swift Boaters did to Kerry. What Obama did was question whether or not McCain's service automatically makes him more capable/credible on all issues regarding national security.
From Mark Skeldon...Contrast this with the Swift Boat stuff of 2004 where they actually questioned Kerry's service.
I think Kerry's service in Viet Nam was exaggerated. From what I understand his purple hearts were the result of minor woulds. Kerry, himself, had to prompt his superiors to nominmate him for the medal as is procedure.
Wasn't Kerry's term cut short, less than the year that I and hundreds of thousands did.
True Story: Upon my return from Viet Nam 18 months left and was assigned to defend the shores of Patrick Air Force Base, Cocoa Beach, Fl. We had a Sgt. there who also served in Viet Nam and he proudly wore his purple heart that he earned as a result of stractching his but when he leaped out of bed during a mortar attack.
We called him Sgt. Purple Butt.
To clarify, my comments before were only in regards to the comments made by Clark. I find some of the comments in the articles that are linked to this thread to be totally inappropriate. To somehow question McCain's integrety for anything he did while a POW is ridiculous. Most of us would not have had the strength that he did to make it through.
While I think that Obama may actually share some of Clark's thoughts, I don't think that he shares any of the wacko beliefs of those who try to disgrace McCain's war record by saying he acted dishonorably.
That's the problem though Mark, Bush maintained he had no connection to the Swiftboaters and McCain actually defended Kerry.
This is creating two problems for Obama, those who are upset about the way McCain's record is being challenged and those who are upset that he's not supporting Clark. Over on Kos yesterday Markos said he was not going to donate until Obama did something to "earn it".
Both scenarios would have been avoided had Clark not spoken. All it takes is one mistake to damage credibility that at times can be beyond repair.
Anonymous,
Do you know these things to be true about Kerry, because you say, "from what I understand". You were a soldiar and so you are in a better position than me to question whether someone is exaggerating their experience, but I think many believed the swift boat stuff without really knowing whether it was true or not. I found the swift boaters to be disgraceful.
That was my point, McCain's record is not being questioned by Obama or any or his surrogates, no one is saying he was not really a POW. Just the opposite Obama and his campaign are acknowleding what he went through and thanking him for it.
If you mean "mistake" as a tactical mistake I agree with you.
I was talking about from a campaign standpoint.
While Obama can't control the blogs on the left who are making some of the more outrageous claims, it's still going to have an impact especially if the media keeps covering it.
I don't think Obama can have it both ways. Either he embraces his surrogates or he tells them to shut up and not go on tv and say stupid things. They may not officially be speaking for the campaign, but we all know that they are.
Great blog LisaRenee. I've been reading it for about a week now and enjoy your thoughts.
Thanks Jason, I really enjoy your blog too. This blog is where I'm just a little (smile) more opinionated than I am on Glass City. I started out blogging national politics and I think it will always be one of my addictions.
:-)
I stop by Glass City from time to time also but I'm not familiar with a lot of the local issues. But I really enjoy your writings.
well actually his military experiance should count in his favor because it demonstates great leadership skills. take it from me and I'm not a mccain supporter. i'm going to write in huckabee
conservativevoiceofreason.blogspot.com
conservative voice of reason said...
well actually his military experiance should count in his favor because it demonstates great leadership skills. take it from me and I'm not a mccain supporter. i'm going to write in huckabee
conservativevoiceofreason.blogspot.com
And.........if Huckabee is his v.p. chouce - what will you do?
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