Obama: Don't Call Wes Clark A Swiftboater

At a media availability in Ohio today, Obama says that the part of his patriotism speech read as a response to Clark was written months ago, and that there are more important things to worry about.

REPORTER: "I wonder what you what you think about General Clark's comments both Sunday and today and even further I'm wondering if you can say if you really think those kinds of comments are much different from the Swift Boat types of questions that Senator Kerry faced about his Vietnam experience?"

BARACK OBAMA: "Well, I don't think that General Clark had the same intent as the Swift Boat ads that we saw four years ago. I reject that analogy. But, what I've also said repeatedly is that Senator McCain deserves the utmost honor and respect for his service to our country. I've said that repeatedly. I've said it all the time. I notice that I think in at least one publication it was reported that my comments yesterday about Senator McCain were in a response to General Clark. I think my staff will confirm that was in a draft of that speech that I had written two months ago. So, you know, I have repeatedly insisted that Senator McCain's service is heroic and that he deserves our respect for that. Now, I have differences with him on policy and I will vigorously debate a lot of the decisions that he's made when it comes to national security that I think have weakened our capacity to meet the threats and challenges of the 21st century, but that certainly doesn't' detract from his past service to America."

(WATCH)

Obama also dismissed a question about whether Clark owes McCain an apology:

REPORTER: "Do you not feel that General Clark owes John McCain an apology?"

BARACK OBAMA: "I guess my question is why, given all the vast numbers of things that we got to work on, that that would be a top priority of mine? I think that right now we're here to talk about how we can make sure the kids in Zanesville and across Ohio get the kind of support that they need in communities that are impoverished can start to rebuild. I'm happy to have all sorts of conversations about how we deal with Iraq and what happens with Iran, but the fact that somebody on a cable or on a news show like General Clark said something that was inartful about Senator McCain, I don't think is probably the thing that is keeping Ohioans up at night."

(WATCH)

Comments

[mom2sons]

General Clark is like Alan Ladd when he beat the poop out of George Peppard. He is a real fighter. I'll take him anytime. "You want some more of me". General Clark is a man's man and a lady's man. :) He could still make VP.

[Ramirez]

from Ann Coulter, a political moderate:
****

Under Clark's command, the U.S. bombed the Chinese embassy by mistake, killing three Chinese journalists. Other NATO air strikes under Clark mistakenly damaged the Swiss, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian and Hungarian ambassadors' residences. Despite the absence of ground troops, Yugoslavia took three American POWs, whose release was eventually brokered by Jesse Jackson. America was standing tall.

Clark's forces bombed a civilian convoy by mistake, killing more than 70 ethnic Albanians, and then Clark openly lied about it to the press. First he denied NATO had done it, and when forced to retract that, Clark pinned the blame on an innocent U.S. pilot. As New York Newsday reported on April 18, 1999: "American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the staff of Army Gen. Wesley Clark, the NATO commander, pointed to an innocent F-16 Falcon pilot who was castigated by the media for blasting a refugee convoy." Eventually, even a model of probity like Bill Clinton was shocked by Clark's mendacity and fired him.

At the end of major combat operations led by NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark, arch-villain Slobodan Milosevic was still in power. (At least Clark won't have to worry about any embarrassing "mission accomplished" photo-ops coming back to haunt him.) Today, almost a decade and $15 billion later, U.S. troops are still bogged down in the Balkans. No quagmire there!

****
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/coulter011504.asp

[JimR]

You lost me at:

"Ann Coulter, political moderate"

Funny.

[MiraMcB]

"At the end of major combat operations led by NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Wesley Clark, arch-villain Slobodan Milosevic was still in power. (At least Clark won't have to worry about any embarrassing "mission accomplished" photo-ops coming back to haunt him.) Today, almost a decade and $15 billion later, U.S. troops are still bogged down in the Balkans. No quagmire there! "

Haha! Actually, there may be a quagmire of sorts. Ole Wes got on CNN last night and said of his accomplishments in the Balkans, "But we won...!!!!­" Doh...

[murphysgirl]

It seems as though McCain is intent on fanning the flames of this faux controversy. Now he's saying that Obama should cut Clark "loose" from his campaign. Clark is simply a surrogate with enough military executive experience to openly criticize McCain.

I'm so tired of McCain coming off as the victim on this. I thought war heros were supposed to be tough.
Instead you have all of these Republican pundits and reporters just so "outraged" that someone has the audacity to question a candidates military service as a qualification for president. There are many presidents in our history that have not served in the military, and McCain in the past has shared those sentiments.

The media needs to stop placating McCain. Yes, he sacrificed for our country and I am very thankful for that, but there should come a time when the media will have to take off the kid gloves and vet McCain as scrupulously as they do Obama.

[JimR]

How DARE General Clark say this about McCain! How DARE he!

"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."

[Plowboy]

Obama didn't saay Clark was wrong either if you bother to notice! So much for his having rtepudiated him.
Reporter4s of America, I have a few modest suggestions:
(1) Why don't you get the story right somnetimes?
(2) Why don't you get the right stgory sometimes? (Do you really think fist bumps, flag pins, and such are what we so desperately need to hear about? Where in heck do you keep any important issues: war, economy, energy, education, justice here and abroad -- or are those beyond your capacity?)
Here is a list of good books for us to buy and send to the media personnel:
The Audacity of Hope -- Obama
The Assault on Reason -- Gore
A Time to Fight -- Webb
America: Our Next Chapter -- Hagel
You Have the Power -- Dean
Saving Graces -- E. Edwards
Leading by Example -- Richardson

Perhaps those would give our "reporters" something to think about if they have the capability of that.
Or they might try "My Pet Goat"!

[Nardwilly]

I did not believe the stuff on Monday and Tuesday that Obama rejected Clark's statement on the irrevelance of fighter pilot and POW experience to being President. The statement is so factually true that to disputing it is irrational.

This should help us all understand that the press reports their interpertation of facts as facts. Obama has praised McCain's or Clinton's service in nearly every speech. It is never a comment on the most recent flare up in the press. It is his path to criticizing the proposed policies of McCain. He is saying the same thing as Clark; The service is honorable. Tthe judgement is wrong.,

[legoh]

This is the reason why I will vote for Obama:

BARACK OBAMA: "I guess my question is why, given all the vast numbers of things that we got to work on, that that would be a top priority of mine? I think that right now we're here to talk about how we can make sure the kids in Zanesville and across Ohio get the kind of support that they need in communities that are impoverished can start to rebuild. I'm happy to have all sorts of conversations about how we deal with Iraq and what happens with Iran, but the fact that somebody on a cable or on a news show like General Clark said something that was inartful about Senator McCain, I don't think is probably the thing that is keeping Ohioans up at night."

[thefooligan5]

I don't think there is anything Barack will do or can do over the coming months that will increase my respect for him. Of course he has been doing an alright job at damaging and of course he could make up for that but the mere fact that after graduating law school he decided to work in community service as opposed to the far more common route to becoming a partner in some firm is enough for me. That shows me the type of character he has. He's been so intrenched in the political system of the US over this past year + that I tend to ignore most of what he says as political mumbo jumbo because he's in pander mode. And I can understand that he needs to be. He can preach day and night about changing american politics but the fact of the matter is nothing has changed yet and thus he panders. It is and always will be what Barack did before the world was watching that deserves respect.

[Ramirez]

From the milblog "Blackfive":
*****

Let's compare the two:

John McCain was so loyal to the men he was imprisoned with he endured torture on their behalf.

Barack Obama associates with those who can help his career, and throws them right under the bus when they become inconvenient to his aspirations.

That single issue of character matters more than all the others combined. You can trust John McCain. You can trust Barack Obama to use you as a stepping stone. The banty Clark fails to understand this in any way as he is a man of much mmore ambition than character himself. Let us not forgot this man's judgment was bad enough he ordered a British General to attack Russian troops who were on their first mission as our purported allies. Clark's unwarranted ego almost caused WWIII. Yet his voice sounds right off key with the rest of Obama''s clueless chorus.

Obama is a feather blowing in the political breeze. McCain is a rock.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/07/why-mccains-cap.html

[rasthedestroyer]

No, McManiac is a nut.

[FirstShirt]

Very insightful of you. Although somewhat lacking in FACTS.

[katzooks]

All of our news seems to revolve around non-issues such as this. It is tragic that our presidential campaign is given the same treatment, with the important issues ignored, while the petty minutia is tried in a court-of-cable-TV, people lapping it up 24-7.

Meanwhile, the media doesn't report on the fact that Bush-Cheney are preparing for war in Iran -- a war that carries the real potential of becoming World War III. Bush has stated that he's not ruled out bombing Iran's nuclear power & research facilities, which could release nuclear fallout of catastrophic proportions, killing millions of people, possibly affecting worldwide populations. http://vodpod.com/watch/842099-kucinich-iran?pod=canarypapers

Without the benefit of a truthful media, it has been a difficult task to any individual or group to offset the Bush-Cheney propaganda we've been fed for the past few years in the lead-up to this war.

Physicians for Social Responsibility has been working to educate the world on the consequences of such a war, and has been pressing our leaders to pursue resolution through diplomacy, not bombs. Is any one listening? http://www.psr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=NoWarOnIran

So Wesley Clark says that being a prisoner of war does not, in itself, qualify a person to be president of the U.S.? Ask me if I care.

[kfblanko]

What a great response, so far he's exceeding my expectations. Obama all the way!!!!!!

[rasthedestroyer]

For all you weak hearts who said Sen. O. thru the Gen. under the bus yesterday, maybe you should have a little more faith in YOUR chioce for president.­. A new kind of politics from a new type of politician. Very smart move on the part of the King and his first knight. Now if only the Bishops in senate would get on board and stop acting like B#@!!. A nice show of power Sen., never do yourself what you can have others do for you. Check.

[FirstShirt]

This isn't new, genius. It's politics as usual. Those of you so enamored with BO will be disillusioned. He is already going on record as something akin to republican lite.

[Piatt]

I am way tired of the expectation that we all must genuflect at the altar of John McCain's sacrifice. Many presidential candidates and Presidents (G.H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, George McGovern) served and sacrificed. None of them exploited their experiences as shamelessly as McCain has.

I am more interested in stopping the mindless, needless sacrifice that Bush and McCain are eagerly exposing young American men and women to in Iraq...a stupid ideologue's war, sold by lies and prosecuted with incompetence. Meanwhile, the Taliban regroups in Afghanistan where 28 Americans were killed last month and Osama roams freely.

So Senator McCain, instead of putting your own sacrifice front and center and self-righteously questioning the patriotism and/or motivation of anyone who questions you, why don't we focus our energies on stopping the needless sacrifice that you and Bush started and are ever so eager to continue? "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran!"

[naschkatze]

Woo woo, I couldn't agree more. Shouldn't we be focussed on the men and women who are sacrificing right now? I s McCain our one and only totem for serving in the armed forces?

[politicalgenius]

WOOF...Add­itionally, people talk about McCain's service to his country and yet he voted against the GI Bill that would have expanded the education benefits of returning troops and then he and the P(resident of 1600 Penn Ave.) try to take credit for Jim Webb's bill and we're supposed to trust the Conductor of the Double Talk Express? Meanwhile, we have intelligence supporting a resurgence of al Qaeda in the tribal areas on the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Ramirez (see above post) calls Barack Obama *a feather blowing in the political breeze and says that McCain is a rock*, it's McCain who has changed his position on every issue for political gains and his answer for why is the same "$4/gallon gasoline" and they call Obama supporters crazy. I'm sorry that I'm not sorry for not kissing the @$$ of the Conductor of the Double Talk Express, and Gen. Clark is right, being a POW makes you a hero and the service should be praised, but harping on that as "experience" is no different that HRC harping on her husband's legacy as president and calling it experience - we saw how that ended.

OBAMA '08, 2012

[openhand]

You might want to see this, Christopher Hitchens being waterboarded for article in Vanity Fair to see if it is tortue.
Video and article. Pity it wasn't Rumsfeld or Coulter.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/video/2008/hitchens_video200808

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/hitchens200808

[kamenwati]

It's torture for the rest of us if Hitchen's survives.

BTW, they can't be using water on him. Given his tastes, it's probably a single malt scotch.

[openhand]

amazing what a man of no faith can find on the way to Damascus.

[Heavenhelpusall]

McDodger, Show me the records! We have hundreds of detainees/POWs at Gitmo, are they heroes?
There are 600 pages that could speak to McCrybaby's service, let's see them. How many planes did he crash?

[uvymopkq]

While many are still deciding who should be president, by 52 percent to 45 percent they would prefer having Obama than McCain to their summer cookout, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Wednesday. Now we know the qualities that Wes "swiftboat" Clark looks for in a president.

[SEQUOIABISON]

OBAMA/CLARK

A solid winning ticket.

[Ramirez]

From
Wesley Clark: The Guy Who Almost Started World War III
by Stella Jatras
August 23, 2003

posted at Anti-War.com
***

"At the beginning of the Kosovo conflict, CounterPunch delved into the military career of General Wesley Clark and discovered that his meteoric rise through the ranks derived from the successful manipulation of appearances: faking the results of combat exercises, greasing to superiors and other practices common to the general officer corps. We correctly predicted that the unspinnable realities of a real war would cause him to become unhinged. Given that Clark attempted to bomb the CNN bureau in Belgrade and ordered the British General Michael Jackson to engage Russian troops in combat at the end of the war, we feel events amply vindicated our forecast.

"With the end of hostilities it has become clear even to Clark that most people, apart from some fanatical members of the war party in the White House and State Department, consider the general, as one Pentagon official puts it, 'a horse's a.......'

http://www.antiwar.com/orig/jatras12.html

[dsbsh]

Clark is obviously still a political novice, with his praise of the enemy, then making a valid point about experience. THIS is how you swiftboat someone. Thanks for demonstrating.

[AnotherTry]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4RgIc02QY4