Webb Clarifies His McCain "Calm Down" Remark

Senator Jim Webb's staff issued a clarification late Tuesday over comments made by the Virginia Democrat in which he urged John McCain to "calm down" with the discussion of military service in the presidential campaign.

"Senator Webb's comments were not targeted at McCain's military service," said spokeswoman Kimberly Hunter. "He has consistently called for politicians not to insert politics into military service. This is the exact same argument that he used against Lindsay Graham in their Meet the Press interview last year."

Hunter sent along a YouTube clip of that video with the instruction to view minutes 8 through 10:

"Senator Webb has never, and would never, demean the service of anyone who has stepped forward to serve our country," said Hunter. "To the contrary, he was calling on those on all sides of the debate to refrain from implying that their political views are representative of the military writ large."

On Monday evening, Webb appeared on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olberman and weighed in on debate over Gen. Wesley Clark's statement that McCain's military service did not qualify him for the White House.

"John McCain's my long-time friend," said Webb. "If there is one area that I would ask him to calm down on, it's that. Don't be standing up and uttering your political views and implying that all the people in the military support them because they don't, any more than when the Democrats have political issues during the Vietnam War. Let's get the politics out of the military, take care of our military people, or have our political arguments in other areas."

On Tuesday, aides to McCain jumped on Webb's remarks, citing them as a denigration of the Arizona Republicans war record and evidence of collusion with the Obama campaign. Wrote spokesman Brian Rogers:

"If you didn't think this was a coordinated attack on John McCain's credentials before, it's clear now that it is. Barack Obama's surrogates are telling the McCain campaign to 'calm down' about attacks on his military record? Seriously?"

As Greg Sargent at Talking Points Memo pointed out, neither charge seemed true. But Webb clearly was hoping to stem any further fallout that could result from misinterpretation.

Comments

[LiberTLover]

If McCan't and Co are this sensitive about the slightest remark, how would they ever be able to negotiate with foreign leaders who won't always agree with them either? O and Co need to be telling them to 'toughen up'!

[jsinclair]

What "attack"?

Republicans are so good at this sh*t.

[narcoleptik]

webb is a loose canon, fired in the right direction.

[FogBelter]

We have to remember that Vietnam Era Navy Fighter Pilots are beyond reproach ... ask Duke Cunningham.

[mari2JJ]

Well that may be a reaction over the top if you are comparing McCain to that creep. However, the silly idea that the McCain camp is pushing that Clark insulted the mcCain patriotism is really stupid. Makes one wonder if McCain and his cohorts were ever taught to diagram a sentence. If they had been, they would know with a surity that Clark did not malign McCain in any way. Of course knowing how poorly McCain is conducting his campaign (accirdubg to leading Republicans) perhaps any bruhaha is better than no press coverage at all. However, this big explosion simply makes the McCaiiacs look truly stupid. Like some hysterical person unable to even diagram a simple sentence.

well that may be a great exaggeration

[okayigive]

Do reps ever listen and comprehend what someone is saying. This is making a mountain out of a molehill. Just heard they want Sen. O-bama to cut Gen. Clark loose. They are crazier than I thought. Let them rant and rave and make themselves look like fools. Especially when they have that Day character on board.

[DocJerome]

Republican Strategy:

Play the victim.

[Yvaughn]

I *know!* What is with this whiny complaining coming from someone who's supposed to be a freakin' WARRIOR? Nobody has "attacked his military record" -- well, no Obama surrogates, since I know full well that if you search the Web you can come across all kinds of nasty insinuations about McCain's behavior as a POW, insinuations that I hope *stay* on the fringes of this campaign, or simply die away completely. Obama et al are to be congratulated for not going there.

But when they say something as harmless as, "your experiences 30+ years ago don't automatically qualify you for the Oval Office," it's an attack on his record?

Cry me a river, John McCain III.

[LPK]

Old man Mccain is very touchy about his military service and all those planes that he crashed or got shot out off.

[kassandranobody]

WHY IS IT WHEN A PROGRESSIVE SAYS CALM DOWN CONS ACT LIKE SOMEONE HAS CUSSED THEM OUT, BUT DICK C. AND HIS FRIENDS CAN TELL PEOPLE TO F**k OFF AND EVERYONE THINKS HE IS A GREAT STRONG MAN.

BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID OF ANYONE WHO DOESN'T AGREE WITH THEM

WE CAN STAND UP FOR OURSELVES AS DID THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

OR WE CAN LET THIS COUNTRY SLIDE INTO A THEOCRACY OR WORSE

READ THE DECLARATION - THIS IS WHY WE FOUGHT AGAINST THE BRITISH

WE NEED THE GOVERNMENT TO BE AFRAID OF THE PEOPLE NOT THE PEOPLE AFRAID OF THE GOVERNMENT

[TheProverbialMan]

To paraphrase another commentor:

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit"

[lily31]

Great paraphrase!!!! Made my long day ~ thanks, theproverbialman!

[AmericanSinceFeb08]

Now this guy makes sense..... Can we vote for him?

[Zogtastic]

He's a really interesting person to listen to. I hope Obama picks him. And if they hold a VP debate, I'll look forward to watching it, especially if it's against Romney.

[Big0725]

Alas, only if you live in VA.

[Swedishgal]

I do and we're proud of him. Mark Warner will be next in the Senate because he's running against a little cowardly troll named Gilmore, who gave us deficits and caused Mark to raise taxes and shut down some of the DMV offices in out of the way places. The Repubs didn't think he would do it but when he did, they were shocked and gave him what he wanted. Mark's a no b.s., take no prisoners kind of guy too. Virginia is definitely purple despite the number of military bases here.

[openhand]

Weird how there is more Brass on the democrats side? freaky.... and on the GOP side theres just a set of silver spoons.

[patriotic008]

Well said

[Americanium]

Have Republicans become wimps?

[RadCenter]

Become?

[mergina]

Webb is a lose/lose scenario for Obama. Yikes.

[JimR]

BALONEY!!!!!

Webb would be a GREAT VP pick!

[Hemmingplay]

If hypocrisy were a felony, these clowns would all be in jail instead of expensive suits.

[GuyFawkes]

How thin skinned is McDubya? The guy is so arrogant and full of himself, he thinks someone saying "calm down" is an attack on his military service. Is there a human being more locked into Vietnam era thinking than McDubya?

[pupbayer]

LOL If Obama does it, O is brave and courageous and it is good he is jumping on things right away. If M does it, he is think-skinned, arrogant and full of himself.

I'll try to keep that straight, Guy.