Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

BY TAYLOR MARSH

While I was away all hell broke loose.

In the last
twenty-four hours Wesley Clark called John McCain out on judgment, something that
is correct and a sound shot questioning McCain’s competence on national security.
But what everyone heard and reported was something else, with a little lunacy thrown in by a Hillary hater with too much venom to spare. What Clark said had nothing whatsoever to do with McCain’s
honorable military service, that much is clear if you take his statement in
its entirety.

“Mock outrage” is dead on. Just read the transcript for yourself:

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think Bar- I think Joe has it exactly backwards here. I think being President is, is about having good judgment. It’s about the ability to communicate. As one of the great Presidential historians Richard Newsted said, “The greatest power of the Presidency is the power to persuade.” And what Barack Obama brings is incredible communication skills, proven judgment. You look at his meteoric rise in politics, and you see a guy who deals with people well, who understands issues, who brings people together and who has good judgment in moving forward. And I think what we need to do, Bob, is we need to stop talking about the old politics of left and right, and we need to pull together and move the country forward. And I think that’s what Barack Obama will do for America. Bob Schieffer: Well you, you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote, and these are your words, “untested and untried,” And I must say I, I had to read that twice, because you’re talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war. He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He’s been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is un- untested and untried? General? GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it’s a matter of understanding risk. It’s a matter of gauging your opponents, and it’s a matter of being held accountable. John McCain’s never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. 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 Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn’t a wartime squadron. He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn’t seen what it’s like when diplomats come in and say, ‘I don’t know whether we’re going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it-’ General Wesley Clark on CBS’s Face the Nation with Bob Shieffer

Obama has distanced himself from Clark completely.

“As he’s said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain’s service, and of course he rejects yesterday’s statement by General Clark,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Well that was predicatable. “Rejecting” Clark’s statement is foolish,
unless this is some concocted good cop, bad cop routine. Because there is nothing whatsoever wrong with what Clark said, unless you parse
it, truncate it or are just looking for a faux fight, which is what happened, or you’re a politician ready to serve yourself up as
a paragon of patriotic perfection. Besides, Obama’s criticism simply serves up Clark to the press dogs. Is
that the intention?

But if you want to read something reprehensible, it’s not Clark. Stop over
to see Ben Smith’s
column if you haven’t already.

“A lot of people don’t know … that McCain made a propaganda video for the enemy while he was in captivity,” wrote Americablog.com’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, titled “Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?”

Not having Hillary to hate has obviously caused Mr. Americablog’s last wheel to come off. Joan
Walsh calls it. To add, this is the type of crap that makes people walk
away from being Democrats. It asks the wrong question completely, while taking valid points off the table because the track is so unseemly.

McCain isn’t beyond questioning just because he’s a military veteran, especially
since he backed the Iraq war, the surge, as well as comments like the length
of time he envisions us in Iraq, coupled with the reality he’s yet to mention Pakistan and Central Asia. Wesley Clark was on target. Somebody of stature had to say it and did. We simply cannot cede this ground.

“There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain’s service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear. As I have said before I honor John McCain’s service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation. John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country – but it doesn’t include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area his judgment has been flawed – he not only supported going into a war we didn’t have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America But as an American and former military officer I will not back down if I believe someone doesn’t have sound judgment when it comes to our nation’s most critical issues.” – General Wesley Clark (retired)

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