Thread: Clark on McCain. Agree or disagree?

Clark said some interesting things about McCain, mainly that he prefers Obama's approach to international relations as opposed to McCain's heavy handedness.

However, what I don't agree with is the extreme left attacking MCain's actual military record. I think that McCain's military record is beyond reproach. I also think that criticizing him for his stance on the us of miliatry force is fair game. Here's a link to the story and video.

Is McCain's War Record Fair Game?, Politico: McCain Camp Outraged After Wesley Clark, Liberal Bloggers Target Candidate's Service In Vietnam, Time As POW - CBS News

The highest voltage third rail of this presidential campaign may not be race, sex, or age, but Senator John McCain's military service.

McCain's campaign Sunday issued a pair of outraged statements after retired general and Barack Obama supporter Wesley Clark said he didn't think that McCain’s service as a fighter pilot and prisoner of war was relevant to running the country. Obama has consistently praised McCain's service, and called him "a genuine American hero."

But farther to the left - and among some of McCain's conservative enemies as well - harsher attacks are circulating. Critics have accused McCain of war crimes for bombing targets in Hanoi in the 1960s. Sunday, a widely read liberal blog accused McCain of "disloyalty" during his captivity in Vietnam for his coerced participation in propaganda films and interviews after he’d been tortured.

"A lot of people don't know… that McCain made a propaganda video for the enemy while he was in captivity," wrote Americablog's John Aravosis. "Putting that bit of disloyalty aside, what exactly is McCain's military experience that prepares him for being commander in chief?"

"Getting shot down, tortured, and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience," Aravosis wrote in the blog post, entitled "Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?"

McCain's camp responded sharply to the Americablog posting Sunday night.

Clark is an ass just looking to get a job in an Obama Administration.

Originally Posted by uncommonman

Clark is an ass just looking to get a job in an Obama Administration.

Well UN, that is one precise and interesting political dissertation there. Any thoughts on the actual contents of his words?

Originally Posted by Think for myself

Well UN, that is one precise and interesting political dissertation there. Any thoughts on the actual contents of his words?

Yeah, UN wasn't very clear.

An ass is a donkey, a mammal, the stupid animal the Democrats use to represent their ideas.

Clark is an asshole, and a suck-up. He'll say anything to get the Donkey to stroke him.

Originally Posted by Freedom for All

Yeah, UN wasn't very clear.

An ass is a donkey, a mammal, the stupid animal the Democrats use to represent their ideas.

Clark is an asshole, and a suck-up. He'll say anything to get the Donkey to stroke him.

Way to take Clark to task FFA.

First, I'm not a big Wesley Clark fan. I admire the man for his accomplishments, but he's too opinionated and has a tendency to mischaracterize those he dislikes.

I agree with Clark's assertion that being a veteran isn't a prerequisite for becoming a good President but McCain's outstandinng service record can only enhance his abilities as President and Commander-in-Chief.

Inferring that McCain is a "war criminal" because he bombed targets in N Vietnam is ridiculous and a sign of desperation. Indeed, McCain flew through what at that time was the heaviest concerntration of AA in the world and he bombed legitimate targets.

Actually McCain's military record is a joke. This guy kidded more Americans than any VC single handily did.

One known bumbling misfit goes and sits in a f4 Phantom parked on the deck,for some unknown reason to this day????? He starts moving switches and levers. One switch fires off a Live Zuni Rocket across the deck into a fuel tank of a fully fueled aircraft on the other side. Immediatly starting a fire,400 gallons of burning jet fuel pour down under deck to sleeping quarters,50 americans die,burning in there bunks below deck. Fire burns for 2 days on ship. total loss of life 134 men.

Here..............

Originally Posted by Think for myself

Clark said some interesting things about McCain, mainly that he prefers Obama's approach to international relations as opposed to McCain's heavy handedness.

However, what I don't agree with is the extreme left attacking MCain's actual military record. I think that McCain's military record is beyond reproach. I also think that criticizing him for his stance on the us of miliatry force is fair game. Here's a link to the story and video.

Is McCain's War Record Fair Game?, Politico: McCain Camp Outraged After Wesley Clark, Liberal Bloggers Target Candidate's Service In Vietnam, Time As POW - CBS News

The highest voltage third rail of this presidential campaign may not be race, sex, or age, but Senator John McCain's military service.

I agree to a point, if anyone makes false accusations about John McCain's military service then they are no better than the disloyal Americans who participated in the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry.

McCain's campaign Sunday issued a pair of outraged statements after retired general and Barack Obama supporter Wesley Clark said he didn't think that McCain’s service as a fighter pilot and prisoner of war was relevant to running the country. Obama has consistently praised McCain's service, and called him "a genuine American hero."

I agree with Barack Obama that John McCain is a genuine American hero. While his years in elected office and his military experience in general do lend themselves to being relevant to running the country, I may have to actually agree with Clark (that was hard to type), because I don't think his prisoner of war experiences or status means he would necessarily be a good President... I can't necessarily draw that line of logic. Those experiences do however play into the person he is, and that can be relevant to running the country.

But farther to the left - and among some of McCain's conservative enemies as well - harsher attacks are circulating. Critics have accused McCain of war crimes for bombing targets in Hanoi in the 1960s. Sunday, a widely read liberal blog accused McCain of "disloyalty" during his captivity in Vietnam for his coerced participation in propaganda films and interviews after he’d been tortured.

"A lot of people don't know… that McCain made a propaganda video for the enemy while he was in captivity," wrote Americablog's John Aravosis. "Putting that bit of disloyalty aside, what exactly is McCain's military experience that prepares him for being commander in chief?"

"Getting shot down, tortured, and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience," Aravosis wrote in the blog post, entitled "Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?"

McCain's camp responded sharply to the Americablog posting Sunday night.

I'm not familiar with the blog, but judging from what you've posted here they have absolutely no credibility with me.

General Clark respects John McCain's service, calls him a hero to millions, but notes that experience doesn't make him qualified to be Commander in Chief.

Why?

This wasn't a swift boating, or any low politics. General Clark called McCain a hero to millions for his sacrifice. And, that's a pretty big statement coming from a man who, himself, left Vietnam on a stretcher. But, facts are facts:
• Senator McCain's service and experience, both as a POW and as a Senator apparently hasn't infused him with a dose of good judgment.
• Senator McCain's experience hasn't led him to realize that the war in Iraq and it's continuance has empowered and emboldened Iran, and destabilized the region.
• Senator McCain's experience hasn't caused him to recognize that we're losing ground in Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden is still out there, plotting.
• Senator McCain's experience didn't lead him to support the 21st Century GI Bill -- he opposed it. It didn't even make him feel the need to get back to Washington to vote on this -- one of the most important veterans' bills this Congress. He twice skipped votes on the GI Bill, to fundraise.
• Senator McCain's experience didn't help him empathize with troops are overstretched and overdeployed, when he voted against the bipartisan Webb-Hagel "Dwell Time Amendment," which would have given troops as much time at home as in the field.
Senator McCain is running on his experience, saying it makes him ready to lead right away. By doing so, he is asking people to look at what that experience taught him. By looking at Senator McCain's positions and votes (or lack of them), it seems that experience has not given him the right judgment on important issues of our time. And, while we should all honor Senator McCain's service, that doesn't mean we should necessarily honor it by putting him in the White House to take up George W. Bush's third term.
So, General Clark is 100 percent absolutely right, and he should not back down. I'd hope that some of the so-called progressives on television back him up on this, and not get intimidated by the media and McCain campaign press releases. These are important times, and deserve a blunt and honest debate.
In some circles, that's just called 'straight talk.'

Jon Soltz: Right On, General Clark. Do Not Back Down. - Politics on The Huffington Post


I think Clark is right. Just because McCain was a POW does not mean he is a leader and based on his position on this war, he clearly is a shitty decision maker.

Originally Posted by uncommonman

Clark is an ass just looking to get a job in an Obama Administration.

With what Clark said about McCain on MSNBC, I kinda think Clark might want to look for work elsewhere, unlesss of course Obama agrees with him.
Compare what Clark said about McCains viability/qualifications for POTUS (McCains war/military record) to what he said about Kerrys war/military record qualifing Kerry for POTUS in '04.

CNN.com - Clark endorses Kerry for president - Feb. 13, 2004