Obama: I Will Never Question Others' Patriotism

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Monday he will never question others' patriotism during the race and blames his own "carelessness" for some criticism of him so far. Obama sought to reassure voters about his commitment to the country, choosing the aptly named town of Independence as his backdrop.

Questions about his patriotism were raised during the Democratic nomination fight, and Obama recently started wearing a flag pin on his lapel in one attempt to answer them. But a weeklong focus on American values in the run-up to Friday's July 4 holiday represents his most concerted effort so far to do so.

Obama said he chose the topic in part because of his experience during the race, even though he has always considered his love of country a given and his inspiration for running for office.

"I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged _ at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for," he said before a crowd of a few hundred people at the Truman Memorial Building here. "I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine."

Obama also sought to tamp down controversy surrounding comments over the weekend from a supporter. Retired Gen. Wesley Clark said in a television appearance that the Vietnam War-era military service of John McCain, Obama's Republican opponent, does not necessarily qualify him to be commander in chief.

McCain was a fighter pilot who was captured and held as a prisoner of war for more than five years.

Obama said that patriotism "must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice" and sought to distance himself from Clark's remarks without mentioning them.

"For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country _ no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary," Obama said. "And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides."

The comment drew loud applause.

At a news conference in Harrisburg, Pa., McCain was asked about Clark's comments.

"I think that that kind of thing is unnecessary," McCain said. "I'm proud of my record of service, I have plenty of friends, leaders who will attest to that.

"The important thing is if that's the kind of campaign Senator Obama and his surrogates and supporters want to engage in, I understand that. But it doesn't reduce the price of gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence or make it come any closer. Doesn't make any American stay in their home who's at risk of losing it today. And it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges Americans have in keeping their jobs, homes and supporting their families."

Separately, in a statement, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "As he's said many times before, Sen. Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by Gen. Clark."

Comments

[bison2]

10:02 AM on 07/01/2008

Didn't McCain question Obama's patriotism when he didn't answer the question put to him during the press conference yesterday? Where was MSM with a follow up question?

[bison2]

10:00 AM on 07/01/2008

In the press conference on 30 June 2008, McCain didn't answer the question put to him about Obama's patriotism­. He gave a response, but he did not answer the question. Why was there not a follow up question from MSM?

[Liberoservative]

11:49 PM on 06/30/2008

I watched MSNBC this evening...­. I can only assume that CNN and FN were worse or worser on the coverage..­.. what I noticed this evening was that it was all Obama... MSM may say they are neutral but they paint Obama on the defense all of the time... I am sick and tired of not hearing McCain on the defense of his stands on the veterans, the iraq war, the economy, the stupid tax cuts on gasoline, his military experience­, his adulterous nature....­. where is the fracking vetting of McCain on the MSM??? I haven't heard a word of his upbringing or his war record....­. MSM, do your fracking jobs!

[LaFilleEnRose]

09:38 PM on 06/30/2008

As many have said, you can honor McCain -- and we should -- without making him commander in chief. That's all that Clark is saying and Obama should toughen up a little. Saying he'll never question anyone's patriotism­...that's not what Clark is saying is it. He's not questionin­g anyone's patriotism­. Just his ability to run this country, exactly what we're supposed to be evaluating him on.

[klo]

07:53 PM on 06/30/2008

He's still trying to stay above board with these people. And they are playing a very different game.

Gen Clark was right but BHO would be made to appear to be smearing JMcC if he were to say that serving in the military (including flying a fighter jet, being a POW, being a navy commander) does not make you better qualified to be C-I-C.

[tbone99]

04:33 PM on 06/30/2008

patriotism "must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingnes­s to sacrifice"

So Senator , you are willing to sacrifice' the American people and the Constituti­on ? How noble of you.

[justobserve]

04:43 PM on 06/30/2008

Twisted!

[bmsrosmuc]

04:53 PM on 06/30/2008

yes, very twisted

[lazywhiteamerican]

05:33 PM on 06/30/2008

You mean senator McCain right? The guy who does not believe the constituti­on is adequate for upholding law right? The guy who was a prisoner of war but thinks torture is now OK, right?

[Nardwilly]

04:18 PM on 06/30/2008

Where is the rebuke of MoveOn ?

[bmsrosmuc]

04:51 PM on 06/30/2008

Why rebuke MoveOn?> As an orginizati­on goes, they are great but not perfect! Obama called out their ad that wrongly called General petreaus , General Betrayus. It was part of the overall theme that neither side is with out our own faults in slamming each other's motives

[Gary47]

11:41 PM on 06/30/2008

The Betrayus ad was great! But whatever you think of it, the word "betrayus" is now forever associated with the bush administra­tion. A good and just thing. Can't ask more of an ad.

[Syco]

04:13 PM on 06/30/2008

don't expect your opponents to do the same

[justobserve]

04:45 PM on 06/30/2008

True, but he just wants to set the tone for himself. He can' t control others.

[UCFJayBird]

03:53 PM on 06/30/2008

Unfortunat­ely for Barack, he's been running a campaign that he is "above" the typical political attack lines. He's above petty attacks and smear campaigns. This is unfortunat­e because if he went this route he'd most likely bury McCain by showing that his military record is not impressive­, and is not qualificat­ions to be POTUS. But by running the campaign he is, if he does that McCain will just point and say "see, he's nothing more than a good speaker" and bury Obama in the process.

Obama has to continue to run the "i'm better than this" campaign and convince supporters and voters that he's not about to stoop to smear campaigns and will run on the basis that he is better prepared to run this country based on his judgement.

Though I think Obama would do well to let supporters question McCain's experience and qualificat­ions, but he can't let Clark make remarks like these that are just a little too touchy. even if they are 100% legit.

And seriously, a guy that graduated what, 5th from last in his class at Annapolis? We really want another guy who just got by in school? I thought this country was ready for a well educated person to run this country and enough with the stuttering stanley's that can't prenounce words correctly.

Jason Hussein Obama

[hank48188]

04:21 PM on 06/30/2008

Maybe Obama can have a Patriotism Tour, Obama can get all his Patriotic friends to tour with him, William Ayers, the WEATHERMEN TERRORIST, Rev. "God Damn America" Wright and his good friend and Spirtual Advisor Father Mike, thet can even bring Michelle "I've never been proud of my Country" Obama too! Obama could bring a Flag so his good friend William Ayers can stand on it for a photo op, as he did for Mag article about him in the NYT.

[justobserve]

04:48 PM on 06/30/2008

"Michelle "I've never been proud of my Country" "?
These are your words , not Michelle's !

[klo]

07:46 PM on 06/30/2008

How sad that we've become a nation where questionin­g the judgment and actions of those we vote into office is now a bad thing. I wonder, is it unpatrioti­c for those people who cast votes for the current administra­tion whose actions have caused pain for so many to now question the administra­tion's actions? Is it unpatrioti­c for those who didn't vote for them to question their actions?

It's obvious that there are some who are still angry and expect that anyone BHO knows (or has ever known) to never have disagreed with some of the actions of our country's administra­tions on foreign and national issues.

[DallasMike]

05:17 PM on 06/30/2008

UCFJayBird­,
5th from the bottom in Annapolis is the same as the upper 10% in most colleges.

[sirclown]

03:42 PM on 06/30/2008

1. Clark may have been correct but the question is how you say it and emphasis. Why not kiss McCain's ass even more? Say he's an American hero every 5 seconds while saying every 6 seconds that someone can be both a hero for their sacrifice and have awful judgment not befitting a Commander-­in-Chief (while also failing to support the GI bill). Same message communicat­ed but you look nicer getting him.

2. Another stronger point to be made is that our military efforts in Iraq and Afghanista­n are deeply connected to winning the cooperatio­n of the local population­. Obvious. Being a good Commander-­in-Chief requires understand­ing the region (knowing Iran and Al Qaeda are enemies not allies for example) and how to use diplomacy to assist military effort.

No one is qualified to be Commander-­in-Chief if they fail to see, as McCain apparently does, that talking about US military bases in Iraq for 100 years stirs up anti-Ameri­can sentiment, puts our troops at greater risk, and truly undermines our military efforts.

For the current, modern conflicts we face, John McCain is less qualified than Barack Obama to be Commander-­in-Chief.

[lazywhiteamerican]

05:46 PM on 06/30/2008

I am kind of angry at our man Obama. I have been supporting him fully, he should not be wimping out on this. He should be getting right behind every word Wesly Clark said. Wesly Clark is a smart guy, is absolutely right and is in both an intellectu­ally authoritat­ive and a moral position and a to say what he said from both from the standpoint of his experience right on the ground as a foot soldier in harms way to a high ranking officer.

Wes Clark is saying what needs to be said and is already doing what Obama needs a VP to do. Obama should be begging him to take the position not underminin­g Clark's helpful and intelligen­t contributi­ons to his campaign.

[LanosIceland]

03:23 PM on 06/30/2008

I support Obama 100%, but he runs the risk of appearing like a wimp every time he backs off when the McCain camp becomes squealish. He needs to lay down the law, show some grit: McCain's patriotism is not the issue, it's his ability to lead in the capacity of POTUS, and so in this case Gen. Clark is right, having been a pow does not qualify him for the job. McCain has been wrong on almost every issue that matters, and his lack of judgement is documented from his navel academy days up to the present time. I understand Barack's strategy of letting people like Clark do the dirty work so he appears innocent, but the american people are not going to elect a softie at the end of the day... you don't need to have served to be tough, but you at least need to be consistent in offense and drive hard if you want that touchdown, even if you have to break some bones along the way. McCain is unfit, in spite of his service, not because of it.

[demdan07]

04:06 PM on 06/30/2008

Obama can't point out a lack of leadership ability because the Republican­s will then jump on his lack of experience and leadership­. And as far as him letting people like Clark do the dirty work for him, where is the leadership in that? But it did work for him in the primary, so I guess he figures we will continue to fall for it.

[hank48188]

04:23 PM on 06/30/2008

Obama gets others to do the dirty work for him, he can't get his hands dirty.

[gr8fullib]

03:22 PM on 06/30/2008

Okay..do I have this right? It's okay for the republican­s to question everyones patriotism (Kerry comes to mind) but if anyone makes a valid point about patriotism not translatin­g to credential­s they then get to snivel about their patriotism being questioned­????

I think we just went down the rabbit hole (again)

[harriscrl3]

03:18 PM on 06/30/2008

Thats the wrong statement to make McCain have no experience being President because he couldnt run his little camapign without going bankrupt. He has NO WAY of paying for the taxcuts that he want to make permanent or the wars that he want to continue for 100 years. He didnt pay his property tax for 4 years on one of his 7 homes. Thats what you hit him on not his miltar record. He is NOT qualified because the economy is going down the DRAIN and he himself said that he is not good with Economics. Obama and his supporters need to bring this back to the economy and get off of this national security and patriotism crap.

Carol

[justobserve]

04:51 PM on 06/30/2008

That's right! Attack his millitary record instead of his campaign's management is no good. Anyone who runs a campaign with debt is not fit to run the country.

[Soothsayer08]

03:18 PM on 06/30/2008

I'm an Obama supporter but maybe Barack should question others, as people are always questionin­g his patriotism­. He should not have denounced Wesley Clark's statements because what the General said is absolutely true. McSame will stand by and feign shock when they attack Obama but won't step in and denounce anything his suppporter­s say about Obama. You can't have it both ways and McCain uses that time in the POW camp as a badge to ward off scrutiny of any kind that comes his way.

[heal57]

02:48 PM on 06/30/2008

I support Wes Clark's statement, but I guess I understand Obama shying away from it.

[politicalgenius]

03:08 PM on 06/30/2008

I totally agree. Gen Clark was absolutely right in saying that being shot (essential­ly exaggerati­ng military service) doesn't qualify an individual to be POTUS. Reagan was a straight out of Hollywood, a nice guy - but neither of those things qualifies you to be POTUS, by that logic, Matt Damon is qualified as is every living veteran from an war between WW2 and the second Iraq War. At the same time, Obama can't support the general's claim, no matter how true it is because Obama will then look disingenio­us about his stance on making the election about the issues.

[munjuni]

03:55 PM on 06/30/2008

I totally agree with General Clark.
However, I support Obama denoucing it because:
1. He needs to show by action that he is not going to let this campaign be about stupid things like wearing a lapel pin to show patriotism­.
2. He shows that he is in charge of his campaign and will not let surrogates mess him up. Just what we need in a President.
3. McCain will look like a wimp if he does not have the balls to tell his surrogates they attacked Obama unfairly.
4. This strategy will make any GOP smear attack ads to backfire on them (GOP).

[lazywhiteamerican]

06:06 PM on 06/30/2008

No.

Obama should not waffle.

He should hit the same sore infected tooth that Clark did and should keep the debate alive because he his right and the McCain side is wrong and the more bullshit non-sequit­urs McCain spews the more the Obama side has to use against him.