McCain Flips At Legit Question

I've been running VoteVets.org for a couple of years now. In 2006 and in 2008, we've endorsed a number of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for Congress. It's still a story that the press is largely interested in, and when they call me to talk about it, I always -- always -- get the same first question:

What is it about their honorable service in Iraq and/or Afghanistan that qualifies them to go to Congress?

It's a legit question, and neither I, nor any of the candidates, take any umbrage at it. As veterans of the current conflicts, they have a unique perspective on the wars that should be part of the debate on the floor of Congress, and a vote that helps shapes our security policy.

Yesterday, John McCain was asked basically the same question by a brave reporter at ABC News. The reporter, not falling for the hysterics and mock-outrage of the McCain camp over General Wesley Clark's comments simply asked what John McCain's experiences in Vietnam did to prepare him to lead the largest military on the face of the earth.

McCain's response?

"Please," he said, recoiling back in his seat in distaste at the very question.

Uh uh. That's not good enough. You would assume that given all the whining over General Clark's legitimate point, that John McCain had some obvious answer to the question. Instead, he refused to answer the question, and let Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham come to his defense, babbling to the reporter about character, but not a word about qualifications.

The fact of the matter is that General Clark was absolutely right. McCain's service, while heroic and honorable, is not very relevant when it comes to preparing him to be the military's ultimate commander. His experience didn't involve executive decision making in the military, or global strategy. Very few candidates for the presidency have had the experience in life that prepares them for that role. In fact, McCain said it himself in 2003, that some of our best Commanders in Chief had no military experience at all.

That's why the McCain campaign went into all-out outrage mode over General Clark's comments. It wasn't about being offended. It wasn't even about General Clark. It was about lashing out so strongly that the media would cower in fear, and not even think about putting a question like this to McCain -- a question to which he has no answer, and is afraid of being exposed on that point. And, for most of the week, that strategy was successful, as the press wimped out, and repeated the McCain talking points.

The reporter from ABC News didn't fall for it, and did his job. But he didn't get an answer. Maybe now, reporters will stuff their guts back in their bodies and keep asking McCain this legit question -- a question I get a version of all the time from the same reporters.

It's a legit question, and it's a question for which the American people deserve an answer.

Follow Jon Soltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jonsoltz

Comments

[Binx101]

This is all political theater.

The entire Republican presidential campaign is about John McCain (or Mike Huckabee) being the Party Stooge and the scapegoat. There are only a handful of politicians that actually believe this is a legitimate candidate or they wouldn't be so desperate in everything they say or do. Have you listened to Lyndsay Graham lately. Chances are this will be his last term in the Senate so he's going for broke. Same with Lieberman.

John McCain - possibly the most deluded human on the planet. The accidental hero. Sorry, I respect his service and the ordeal he went through. He was tortured. That is no excuse for unleashing his disconnected - disjointed, hardly resolvable circular logic on the American public. Shame on AZ for electing this fraud in the first place.

Wait until the military procurement, real estate and other banking regulatory shady deals get really examined. McCain is AZ's version of Sen. Ted Stevens.

Binx101
The Almost Daily Binx
http://binx101.wordpress.com

[TheBrizz]

This guy's lack of preparation, indignant attitude, incoherent verbal stumbling and excessive flip-flopping are all going to come to light once the one-on-one debates start... Obama's gonna crush him.

[Alexandro]

So why exactly did McCain just say "Please," ?
Not only because he was not prepared but in addition he very well knows that there is no such thing as automatic qualification - same as automatic delegates. All made up!
He knows it, we know it, but obviously most of the Media doesn't call his bluff yet. While i think that Military service can, but must not necessarily, contribute to ones ability to lead the country and the Military it can not be the sole qualification - furthermore i believe that at some point it is better to have someone from "the outside" than from within to bring in new ideas and approaches to problems. McCain noted that as well in 2003 as you rightfully mentioned.

[JJeff88]

Sometimes "how you say it" is even more important than what you say.

Wesley Clark was right. Unfortunately, by the time he completed his statement, no one was listening - they were all in shock over what they thought they heard first; namely that "McCain's heroism didn't qualify him to be President."

Which is not what Gen. Clark said nor meant.

Instead of structuring his comment like a CEO (i.e. making his point first and then explaining it with details later) he should have structured his comments like a politician (i.e. laying out context first and then making his point at the end).

That point being: "An ever more complex world will require a leader with a far more varied skill-set than just heroism; however noble that might be."

It might be fitting to make the following closing note - The freeing of the hostages in Columbia without a shot being fired reminds us that sometimes it's better to "fight smart" than to "fight hard and stupid."

[whitewaterwillie]

Not only was it a legit question, it was essentially a softball that would allow McCain to put this recurring question to bed once and for all. It seems that the demos could easily turn McCain's arrogance against him.

[RRonin]

Wonder if the ABC reporter will be re-assigned to the Bob Barr or Ralph Nader campaigns.

[RagingJerseyBoy]

How dare anyone ask John McCain any legitimate questions about how having been a POW qualifies him for the Presidency! I am so weary of McCain's macho Top Gun bullshit, and how the media buys it all and cowers before Apha Male McCain, terrifed by the prospect that he will beat his chest in fury or even tear an unfortunate reporter in two if he perceives that that member of the Fourth Estate has cast aspersions upon his character and violated his honor by actually being critical.

[ranchosx]

Remember the Keating 5. Mc Crook was involved with S and L scandals

[mollysgran]

Without John McCain the Keating 5 would only be the Keating 4.

[DavidWilson]

Grossly missed in the news coverage of the General Clark comment was that the interviewer asked "what about his being shot down and being a POW." John McCain has made his service an issue, so its' fair game. His military service DOES NOT a qualify him in foreign policy any more than my service qualiifies me. That he opposed the recent GI bill shows that he doesn't care about military service beyond using the military as a pawn for political gain.

The fact remains that he lacks character, is ill tempered, and is not fit to be President. When he doesn't know the difference between Iraq and Iran, or Shiia and Sunni, one must question his graps of the issues. When he denies statements he ahss made three days earlier (on numourous occasions), one must question whether he is just a liar, or is that out of touch with his mental acuity. That he now denies he ever said he was not an expert on the economy demoonstrates the latter - he just doen't eat his wheaties anymore.

And the only reason the press doesn't cut lose on his gaffs is because 1) he is on the committee that oversees the FCC, 2) has demonstrated in the past he will use that position to influence decisions, and 3) is ill temptered enough to take retribution.

[serena1313]

David Thanks for the information. I had no idea McCain holds a seat on the FCC. That explains why the media fawns all over him. Shouldn't he be removed at least temporarily due to a conflict of interest?

There are numerous accounts of McCain using his power to influence the outcome of defense contracts, land buys and investigations. However the more damaging of all might be found in the Abramoff investigation led by McCain while on the Indian Affairs Committee .

After collecting over 750,000 pages of documents he released less than 7,000. McCain promised to follow the money, but shut down the investigation instead. Had he not it would have doomed Bush's re-election bid.

Abramhoff's job was moving large sums of money off the books that could be used late in an election cycle to flood the zone and win for the GOP.

The lobbying system Abramoff worked in was designed by Charlie Black, McCain's senior campaign advisor.

Apparently McCain's indignation stems from a sense of "entitlement" considering he is backed by a lot of power: the media, the entire Bush administration and Charlie Black.

[exflatlander]

I too have been puzzled about this "character" adulation of McCain. He divorced his wife for anothre (richer) woan, has been caught messing around with other women, doesn't really support the veterans he so willingly allies himself with for approval. And lets not forget the Keating Five scandal. What character? If he were a Democrat the Republicans would be trying to run him out of Congress, not running him for president.

[eyendall]

Being a POW or serving in combat does not automatically make one a hero. True heroes don't talk about it and certainly don't exploit their record for personal gain nor allow others to do so. McCain and his crew are a disgrace and an insult to all true military heroes who risked, and often sacrificed, their lives for others..

[Daly]

Spot on;

This guy talks about it at each chance as if he is clinging to it and with each opening he rolls it out like a trump card.

[recruitgal]

Not unlike Rudy "9/11" Guiliani. Except this time it's "Noun, Verb... POW"

From this stance on the war and his views on supporting military vets, it doesn't sound like his experiences taught him anything at all.

[petercor]

And what, pray tell, are Barack's qualifications to be Preident?

[10000cranes]

Intelligence. Constitutional scholar. Competency in governing. Ability to communicate effectively. A real change agent determined to restore America's tattered international reputation. A non-torturer. A compassionate person, really, not of the slogan variety of the current President and republican nominee who is running for Bush's third term. A man of the people who comes from a humble background who will work for all americans, not just the oil barons. Just to name a few ...
And your response begs the question: "Did you get the point in this article?" I don't think so. You've missed the point entirely.

[woodguru]

The sheer ignorance expressed by that question says it all. Obama was the president of the Harvard Law Review (not that that would mean anything to you) He has spent years focused on constitutional law, something republicans only know from a how can they get around it angle.

[Liberoservative]

Magna Cum Laude graduate from Harvard..
in case you don't know what that means....
With great praise; an honor added to a diploma or degree for work considered greatly above average.

[pcplz]

He is not a bush-hugger.

[VivaZapata]

the question wasn't what qualified McCain to be president. the question was why getting shot down and becoming a prisoner served as being qualified to be commander-in-chief.

[Bettysdad]

My Dad fought his way up Omaha Beach on D-Day.

I don't believe he felt he was qualified to be President.

[BaileyWo]

I got in a fist fight in 4th grade with Jimmy Haynes. Can I run too?

[TheBrizz]

I heard Jimmy Haynes put a beat-down on you, so no! :o)

[Daly]

Your Dad probably did not think himself a hero either but I do.

[woodguru]

And nobody would be taking away from him the fact that he was a hero by saying he wasn't qualified to be a president.

[obamanation31]

McCain is scary. He can not be trusted.

[lmab]

McCain is an angry man. The party has nothing to stand on so they resort to intimidation and scare tactics. They have no problem trashing Gen. Clarke, a war hero, just as they did with Kerry. They have intimidated the press to the extent that even questioning McCain is off limits. McCain is an empty vessel, with nothing to offer but more of the same failed policies, pushed through with stubborn intimidation. The current administration is a bunch of scoundrels, pushing a middle age idealism, while emptying the pockets of Americans. American is on the verge of destruction, at the hands of a bunch of liars and thieves who think nothing of destroying the Constitution in order to push their corrupt agenda. The press has been complicit in the disaster of the last eight years and is continuing to stand by, even lend a helping hand, while America goes bankrupt, civil rights are destroyed, inflation is out of control and our very security is at stake. It is hard to believe that so many can be distracted and manipulated, against their own interests, by simple tactics that avoid every important issue, leaving it their place, questions about lapel pins, hands over the heart, sound bites and playing on fear, hatred, anger and a desire to divide and conquer.

[billw8017]

Strong words, yet all true. America cannot be bankrupt because we will simply print more money and cover our debts: The collapse of the dollar shows how this works. $4 gas is the Bush tax. The chatter about pushing expenses into future generations is wrong. Future generations can decide how they will handle debt, even (though this might be a bad idea), even pass laws forgiving it. Costs will be met, taxes will be paid TODAY IN THIS GENERATION.

[randakost]

Oooh I love the word scoundrel...however in this case it's a bit cutesy. Better to call them criminals. Nothing they are doing is the slightest bit cute.

[janvoght]

i would be wary of the senator mc cain who protesteth too much! that is likely the type of answers he will be giving if he were to ever reach the white house. after throwing his pablum against the wall and storming out, his VP, would not come to his aid tho...that's where presidential privilege kicks in for this brand.
obama '08 & 2012

[woodguru]

I guess it's only the people who are paying attention to the fact that McCain and the republcan machine does not give answers or reasons for why something is good or bad, simply the statement becomes fact to their mindless dweebs that put them in office. I'm paying attention to the fact that when republicans accuse him of flip flopping he always gives the reasons for his position, there are always underlying reasons that make sense and we can't forget that an overwhelming public support for an issue such as "drilling for oil to reduce the price of gas" can force politicians to place votes against their sensibilities. Millions of ignorant and uninformed people can't be protected against themselves.

Our real hope is a far better informed public. A show such as 60 minutes covering the real behind the scenes issues behind the price of gas would have the same uninformed people advocating drilling pissed off for being played for the chumps they are.

[qdog112]

"simply the statement becomes fact"

And any question becomes an ATTACK.