The Wesley Clark "Scandal:" Democrats Get Sucked Into the Same Old Republican Trap

General Wesley Clark created a tempest in a teapot during an appearance last Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation. Here's what the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe told host Bob Schieffer about the GOP's presumptive nominee, Sen. John McCain, when discussing his military record as relating to his quest for the presidency:

..."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.....He hasn't made the calls......I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

Now here's what a key McCain surrogate, retired Col. George "Bud" Day, told reporters afterwards:

"This backhanded slap against John as not being a worthy warrior because he just got shot down is one of the more surprising insults in my military history."

But just exactly where is this major diss that Day is so sanctimoniously condemning? Where exactly is the part about McCain not being a "worthy warrior?" Don't waste your time looking, because it's not there. It's simply another "If you're against the war you're against the troops" framing job from the "do as I say, not as I do" crowd. We should remind Day of his own appearances in the morally-repugnant 2004 Swift Boat ads that attacked the military record of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry. "My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971," the good patriotic colonel said of Kerry at the time.

In the wake of Clark's comments, Democrats immediately fell back into familiar patterns of subjugation and appeasement. The party's presumptive nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, was quick to throw Clark under the bus:

"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 show or on a news show like General Clark said something that was inartful about Sen. McCain I don't think is probably the thing that is keeping Ohioans up at night," he said in Zanesville. He then went on, as he's done so many times lately, to lavish such effusive praise on McCain and his military record that he could be on the Arizona Senator's payroll.

It's one thing when Republicans twist and distort the truth, but when Democrats do it to themselves, as Obama did this week, it's a mystery that's only explained by the party's gargantuan inability (unless your name is Clinton) to successfully fight back against the right-wing attack machine. Here's what Obama should've said in defense of Clark:

"I stand behind Gen. Wesley Clark and agree that while my opponent's military record is indeed honorable and courageous, it does not in and of itself qualify him to be president of the United States or commander-in-chief. The right-wing's attempt to distort the General's very clear point is just another example of the Republican Party's desperate need, at any cost, to distract Americans from the harsh truths about the war, the economy and the fact that voters overwhelmingly are signaling they they want change in Washington come November."

Instead, Obama gave us another incredibly frustrating "I voted for the war before I voted against it" gaffe. He gave us his version of Kerry's embarrassing inability to fight the Swift Boat attacks. In what could've been a very seminal moment, Obama donned the familiar wuss-suit and once again demonstrated that Democrats just can't play rough.

You can bet your ass that if the situation were reversed, and it was Obama being attacked by the McCain camp, not only would McCain fail to publicly rebuke his surrogate, but he'd likely pile on for some cheap shots of his own. Why then do Democrats always have to take the higher ground? Why on Earth would Obama feel so compelled to condemn a loyal surrogate like Clark for something he didn't even say? It was as if he wanted so badly to appease McCain and his supporters that he forgot he's in the midst of a firce battle for the presidency. And it was one of those awfully frustrating Kumbaya moments that Democrats are unfortunately famous for. Moments that can ultimately kill an election.

In the past couple of weeks Obama has reversed course on a number of key issues in a centrist ploy to out-McCain McCain. Be careful, Barack, that and a few more episodes in the wuss-suit and you'll be waking up empty-handed November 5th.

Comments

[peterg76]

Nothing like the simple truth to bring out right-wing hysteria.

[DanBest]

Let's lay the blame where it belongs.When a republican politician gets caught with his zipper open, then maybe, just maybe you have a scandal. But when a democrat gets caught with his/her mouth open, an entire greek chorus of rightwing blowhards all start screeching from the same hymnal. The mainstream press wakes up and realizes someone is pissed off and suddenly spills ink and screen time to what the same chorus claims is important. Couldn't the mainstream press actually do to them what they seem to do to every important issue facing America. Roll over and hit the snooze button? Wouldn't you think that crying wolf over and over would some day cause the MSM to doubt the messenger? I guess not, when the boy who cries wolf has so much gold in his pocket.

[SiberianRat]

Yes, yet another opportunity lost for the Dems to have a spine and speak the truth without worrying about politics... Obama should be ashamed of himself for this one...

[researcher]

demos are spineless

obama is no exception

if the demos lose this election they need to disband as a party

[researcher]

war mongering and war heros sell in an imperialist country

always has aways will

besides the repubs can take the demos to the cleaners anytime they want

they are better at slime politics

look how bush jr made nancy and reid crawl to him and fund his war

he has them right were he wants them

afraid of looking easy on terrorists

americans are war mongers and politicans must play that card

the rest of the world sees us for what we are

americans think everything american is best in the world

about to find out just maybe it is not

americans killed one million vietnamese and did not bat an eye

47 million americans without health insurance does not phase most americans

we are truly a me society

[DonnaZ]

Bud Day who would have us all bow down to John McCain, followed up his lie about what was said, by questioning the General's service. That's right. He said that Clark had failed in Kosova. So in Bud Day's world the only people to be honored are republicans.

About Kosova: 1 1/2 million people saved, the country is now independent, and not one American life was lost. General Clark never went to bed until every plane was safely on the ground.

Thank you for trying to set the record straight. And don't miss the clip of Linda Douglas, Obama spokes person who days after the Obama statement you quote, ridiculed Clark on Morning Joe to the delight of Mika.

[juevosrancheros]

Andy,
What would you like to have happen? Do you think Obama would prefer to spend his time debating about supposed 'qualifications' or instead go head to head with McCain on the merits of their policies? I think this exchange was a win for Obama, but naive supporters are doing their idiotic best to turn it into a loss for him. He gets to keep the moral high ground, allows the fallout from Clark's criticism to go where it may, and also lets McCain try to prove himself once someone else has raised this question.

Another thing to consider: do we really think that questioning McCain's military qualifications is going to be an effective route to winning over more voters? Most of us support Obama not because of McCain's lack of qualifications, but rather for who Obama is and what his ideas will do for the country.

[DonnaZ]

The republicans go wild when the press questions one of theirs. That's how they shut down the press.

[gerireig]

The Corporate media is a subsidiary of the Republican Party. Bob Schieffer's fake histrionics was a cue to the right wing to begin the blitz. I agree with Andy Ostrow. Wes Clark was right, and Obama did indeed throw him under the bus. This morning, Bill Press said that Obama could win the election on one issue alone: Leaving Iraq. I agree.

[rudyinbama]

Yep, Obama blew this one.
He's throwing so many people under the bus, he might as well have a trap door insatalled.

[appetite88]

"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 show or on a news show like General Clark said something that was inartful about Sen. McCain I don't think is probably the thing that is keeping Ohioans up at night,"

I really didn't interpret this the same way you did. While I am upset at Obama over FISA right now, this is another example of dumb and useless criticism. Luckily, I have been out of the loop on political news lately, so I didn't even know Wesley Clark's comments have been an issue (I remember the original story about it, but tuned out shortly after). I think the problem with democrats is that they allow us to talk about non-issues like these rather than just ignoring them since they are... well... stupid and meaningless. Obama was trying to say just that in an artful manner. The people who keep these issues in the news will never admit that the comments weren't "inartful". Obama's point is that you can think what you want to think, but most people don't care. And it's true, we don't. The more we get that point across, the fewer dumb fake outrage issues we'll have to deal with.

[Marlyn]

Excellent analysis, Andy.

[sufi66]

Maybe the Democrats are professional election losers. The mystery deepens as I watch Obama drift towards the middle. I am concerned.

[530Rose]

IMHO he's gone way past the middle. He would have been better off not saying anything than to continually distance himself from his supporters. I hope he has some tactical reason for this, and that he will let his supporters in on it.

[MPeter]

Agreed. There is something so terribly dumb about being a democrat. It is like once you become a Democrat you lose the ability to think properly; you become susceptible to being fed shit and believing it! Watching and reading what went down last week, I am disappointed by how foolish and robotic most of us have become. Even the so-called elits are so robotic and amenable to being manipulated that they have become an embarrassment.

[nellie]

What a specious analysis. I have never seen commentators and pundits work so hard to parse and distort every single statement of a presidential candidate. It seems more than "hard working Americans" are having trouble wrapping their brains around the Obama nomination.

This kind of hostile illogic says only one things to me: bias. People's brains are shutting off. So, Mr. Ostroy, let me just say that your preposterous article says much more about you than it does about Clark, McCain, or Obama.

[Gma11]

Good Lord, haven't we been over and over this ad nauseum for a week?!

This is going to get us far, huh? Our candidate has had a fantastic week across the nation. But you'd never know that from HuffPost - doing it's best to lose again.

[metsfan1]

I agree that Obama is making the wrong moves all over the place lately. I honestly feel that the DNC (yes, not the states) picked the wrong nominee. Hillary Clinton was and is a much better candidate.

[530Rose]

He seems to have taken up her talking points in order to recruit her supporters. Hope he's not doing this at the expense of his own. Hope he doesn't pick up her habit of lying about everything but what she had for breakfast.

[sib]

Obama is acting just like Hillary. So what difference does it make?

[juevosrancheros]

Please let that tired line go. Even Hillary asked people not to go down the road of coulda shoulda woulda. Be a smart democratic supporter and understand why Obama is doing what he's doing.

[Marlyn]

Barack will choose her as VP.

[sufi66]

Hillary voted for the war.

[Stirner]

Good insight! With the evident departure of Ron Paul from the Presidential race, by and large his supporters were prepared to support Obama, as to support McCain was in effect to support the continuation of the bloody (and very expensive) stupidity in the Mideast. Well, what has happened, as we know, is that Obama disgraced himself in kissing feet at the recent AIPAC love-in (or should we say "war-in"?). He now offers little hope for those of us who would want our nation returned to us. As he becomes less and less an option for the Ron Paul folk they will be ever more inclined to support the Libertarian candidate, Bob Barr. Obama is now being perceived as perhaps nothing more than another Democratic wimp terrified of the Republican neocons.

[Ramirez]

"We should remind Day of his own appearances in the morally-repugnant 2004 Swift Boat ads..."
***

Good luck with that. But you're not going to reform Bud Day.

"In February, 1971 several American prisoners at the Hoa Loa camp gathered for a forbidden religious service. Suddenly they were interrupted by the enraged enemy guards. As the guards burst into the meeting room with rifles pointed at the prisoners, one of the Americans stood to his feet. Ragged, battered but unbroken, it was George Day. Looking into the muzzles of the enemy rifles he began to sing. The song was "The Star Spangled Banner", our National Anthem. Next to him another prisoner stood. Commander James Bond Stockdale was the ranking American in the prison and he lended his voice to Day's anthem of freedom. Soon the other prisoners joined the refrain, and then from throughout the entire prison camp, came the sounds of others. Stockdale, who would join "Bud" Day in receiving Medals of Honor five years later wrote that, although he was punished for the episode, it was exhilarating: "Our minds were now free and we knew it."
http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/day.html