Defending Wes Clark

The controversy over my colleague General Wesley Clark's comments on John McCain have generated a lot of media comment, much of it negative. I have known General Clark for many years: we served in the same Army and for the same country. He's a patriot. So to suppose that somehow Wesley Clark would denigrate John McCain's service to his country, while praising his bravery during the time that Senator McCain spent in an enemy prison, is absolutely ludicrous. So let's check the facts.

On CBS's Face the Nation, General Clark said that he believed John McCain was "untried and untested." Journalist Bob Schieffer asked him to explain what he meant. How could Clark make such a claim when "you're talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war? He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He's been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for many years. How can you say that John McCain is un-untested and untried?" And here's General Clark's answer:

Because 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. 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. But he hasn't held executive responsibility.

As a retired military officer and a soldier who served his country for over thirty years, I can tell you that there's nothing in what Wes Clark said with which I disagree. He has not only stated the facts, he knows something about them. John McCain was a prisoner of war, an officer who served as a squadron commander, and has been and is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. John McCain can put his service to country up against anyone's. But General Clark has served also -- and with great courage: he was wounded four times in Vietnam -- and like John McCain, he has met and seen the enemy.

Is what Wesley Clark said true? Let's check some other facts: John McCain made claims about progress in security by walking through the streets of Baghdad. But as I recall, he was protected by at least a platoon of American soldiers and helicopters lying overhead. In matters of national security, as General Clark pointed out, "it's a matter of understanding risk," and it's "gauging your opponents;" and it's also a "matter of being held accountable."

So I too honor John McCain. And, like General Clark, I acknowledge his sacrifice for his country. But being a prisoner of the Vietnamese and serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee does not automatically qualify one for the position of Commander-in-Chief -- understanding risks, gauging your opponents and being held accountable does. We must end this glib obeisance to sacrifice and ask deeper questions: is a man who sings "bomb, bomb, bomb ... bomb, bomb Iran" a man who understands risks? Is a man who says that we must keep our troops in Iraq until we achieve an ill-defined "victory" really know how to gauge America's opponents. If we want to hold people accountable, then let's stand behind my friend Wes Clark -- and hold John McCain accountable for what he's said.

Oh, and one more thing: today President Bush signed the GI Bill -- which Senator Barack Obama has unstintingly supported. The bill will spend $63 billion over ten years for increased college aid for military service members and veterans who served after September 11, 2001. Good judgment?

John McCain opposed it.

Lt. General Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, Ret.) is the steering committee chairman of Vets for Obama. Visit their official site or join them on Facebook.

Comments

[Winterwood]

Clark's remarks were simple, honest, and direct. I saw no demeaning of John McCain's record. Who wouldn't be proud of John McCain's extraordinary survival during his war experience? He's a great man!
Unfortunately, the right has taken Clark's appraisal and twisted it to their own warped, hateful, agenda. MSM has reported that Obama has "distanced" himself from Clark's summation of McCain. Why would he need to distance himself? No-one was bad-mouthing anyone! That fact had to be pointed out in this article? People need to CALM DOWN!

[SpectCon]

In my haste, I left out the all important word "advertise­ment." We need former POWs and those injured in war to make a commercial asking Why can't I be President? Don't I deserve 7 homes and 100 million dollars? ....Voice over at the end, Leave the military out of politics Senator McCain.

[SpectCon]

This is the time to go on the offensive versus McCain and his silly POW status. We need fast acting 527s! Where is the with other POWs and injured soldiers asking, "Why can't I be President? Why can't I have 7 homes and a hundred million dollars?" End the ad saying support our troops, don't use military service for political gain Senator McCain.

The GOP has these outfits. Why don't we????

[Citizen54]

Maybe the Democrats should just find one of McCain's fellow POWs and get him to run for President.

[Xenopus]

I didn't realize John McCain was to be treated as monarchy who shouldn't be questioned about anything inconvenient. He runs on his military resume but cries when anyone wants to examine it closely, or Lord forbid, questions it's relevance in the scheme of his Presidential campaign. McCain surrogates can say Obama is a tan John Kerry, or McCain can say Obama can't be trusted, or Lieberman can say Hamas wants Obama to win -- and that's okay with McCain. But, John McCain starts whining about his service duties being "so off base" for even suggesting his military service didn't give him experiencein in those areas which would boost his candidacy for President. I think the media is remiss in not examining his service duties and how he carried them out - in areas other than being a prisoner of war. It has been written he was a 'hell-raiser' out to break every rule in the book.

[AzRealProgressive]

Think your comments through. Even if John McCain was a hellraiser, and has a service record that some will try and detract from, how does that compare with Obama, who has none at all? How do you make that fly with millions of people ? How does community oraganizer compare to a Navy pilot for relative experience ??

I think McCain is more wrong than he is right. As to experience, Obama has a problem.

[JustMyWords]

Why the assumption that being a poor Navy pilot is somehow better experience than being a good community organizer?

[Anthrofreak]

" How does community oraganizer compare to a Navy pilot for relative experience ??"

Highlighting McCain's experience as a squadron commander would have been a better argument.

I think serving as a community organizer is more relevant experience than simply learning how to fly a plane. We are talking about public service and organizational management. McCain finished damned near last in his class, and crashed a few planes apparently­.The last time he got caught. If McCain's two immediate paternal ancestors hadn't been who they were, he wouldn't have been let near a plane I suspect.

But more to the point. I think this whole thing is ridiculous. Neither of them has executive experience. They are both untested and untried. How Americans LOVE to argue over the non-issues, while Republicans continue to destroy our country. Every great empire falls. Hold on tight America... It's going to be a bumpy ride.

[Xenopus]

My point wasn't experience per se. Actually, fighter pilot or community organizer - nothing really is definitive as credentials for President.­....My comments were pointing to what type person do we want running this country. John McCain whines about everything that questions anything about him and won't give out his service records or the medical records associated with that service. Obama praises John McCain's service but says he wants to take the country in another direction. So which person is best for the U.S.? The guy who continually whines about anyone doubting anything about him, or the guy that takes stuff in stride and stays on the issues.
I like the Issues guy, not the whiner.

[LinusBern]

First off, McCain is running on his military record, therefore he should expect it to be examined. Obama is running on his policies.

2ndly, the almost universal response from the msm has been shock at the very notion that being shot down in a plane and held as a POW for five years doesn't automatically qualify you for president. The corollary for many of them seems to be that not being shot down and held as a POW disqualifies you.

3rd, being a community organizer seems to have more in common with being a president than being a navy pilot. The next US president will not be required to fly a single plane, but will have to be able to organize things.

[Totto]

The corporate media kisses McCain's ass daily.

[Moka11]

When will this non-story stop??? We get it. The MSM will continue to push this if we keep "defending" it.

[minnehot]

Defend the indefensible? Does anyone really think Clark made these statements without guidance? Not a chance. Clark the straight laced West Pointer doesn't take a #2 without orders. Obama is getting what he deserves with this cheap 'Clintonian: move and don't think the folks here in fly overland haven't noticed. This "New Kinda Politics" baloney is already old and dead. Obama is a charming guy with not a SINGLE notable accomplishment to his name in his ENTIRE life (other than receiving the nomination) and he chooses to attack McCain on his strongest characteristic - his courage and integrity while in captivity. The damage out this episode is huge - Obama and his supporters have now pissed off right wingers and Republicans everywhere with this trick. We are becoming united - Thank You Very Much!

[Totto]

Clark was and still is a strong Clinton supporter who is from Arkansas. Clinton (Bill) said Obama could "kiss his ass" for support. Think the Clintons are done yet? Hardly. This did not start with Obama.

[LinusBern]

I ask you with complete sincerity, and the honest hope of receiving an answer, what exactly was indefensible about Clark's statement?

He said being shot down in a plane and held as a POW did not automatically qualify you to be president.

Is that wrong? Do you think anyone who has gone through that is automatically qualified to be president? If one of McCain's unfortunate comrades from that period came home from his incarceration, fell into heroin addiction and joined the communist party would you be saying that he is also qualified to be president?

[esky]

Keep drinking that kool-aid

[janvoght]

Wes Clark is one of our great american heroes, that not unlike many soldiers in the viet nam war, returned home on a stretcher, healed his wounds, and quickly re-deploying. not that i do not believe fully what sen barack obama shared in his speach yesterday, but i listened to the entire conversation with we clark, and he was not trying to de-value sen mc cain. it is clear that no one wants their patriotism questioned, and that must be respected! should that mean a great american hero like wes clark cannot weigh in on whether or not that war record ensures the entitlement to the presidency? retoracle. of course sen mc cain's war record does not entitle him to the presidency, and that being truth..we can move on and continue addressing the issues, (which the american people deserve), and leave the senator's war record where it belongs, in the history books. :-)

[CaptainVideo]

Wesley Clark is like the boy in "The Emporor's New Clothes" who shocked everybody by blurting out the inconvenient truth that "The Emporer is Naked."

Being a fighter pilot does not qualify one to be commander in chief. Fighter pilots have to make many TACTICAL decisions, such as do I swerve sharply to the right, do I dive, or do I climb, to evade the missle? But the do not make, as a matter of fact they are not allowed to make, STRATEGIC decisions, such as should be at war with this country or should we negotiate a peace treaty with it?

Wesley Clark stated an inconvenient truth and the lemmings in the corporate media just don't get it.
It is the blogger on the Web who are going to have to get this point across to the public.

[maryyooch]

Gen. Clark only stated what many of us have been thinking all along.

If you were a prisoner on death row, then had your sentence commuted to life in prison, would that make you a Johnnie Cochran or F. Lee Baily? I think not.

Then you have to consider that McCain graduated very close to the BOTTOM of his graduating class at the Naval Acadamy. Kinda like Bush, probably cheated all those college years.

You do have to respect the man for all that he has been through in Viet Nam. But that should be as far as it goes.

If he was the same person he was in 2000, I just MIGHT give him a look. But, then again, he's always been kind of untrustworthy.


OBAMA 08!
(although, he's starting to disappoint me, too)

[katheyquilts]

Okay...I just tried to to to barakobama.com to complain of
my disappointment with his remarks on Wes Clark...an­d you can't
contact him..unles­s you want to donate...
My generation spent many lives in Viet Nam. And I too wore a POW
bracelet. My guy didn't come back. But if he had..would that make him
eligabile for Commander In Chief?
John McCain did a good thing, he was a strong "GI" and has made his
nation proud. So did lots of others. But McCain needs to remember William Nolde. The LAST American killed in action in Viet Nam. His family is PROUD...bu­t I'd bet they would trade it all to have him here and walking around instead of in the history books as "The Last American Killed in Viet Nam"
Again, If any body can pass this on to Obama..tel­l him I'm disappointed.

[AtlantaBill]

"Gen. Clark only stated what many of us have been thinking all along."

I think what you mean is "all" but the MSM. The MSM automatically confers hero status on McCain without asking any appropriate and probitive questions. It seems the MSM would explore questions of McCain's career beginning with the days he was a naval academy student to and including his time spent in the pow camps of vietnam. Will they explore the degreee to which McCain's service met the test of being honorable or not. Lots of underground press point to a less glamorous conclusion.

[Sixtwo]

Tnank you Lt. General for adding your voice to the voice of truth! I am so sick and tired of the media and bloggers who consistently let McCain off the hook when he demonstrates the use of poor judgment and show evidence of other weaknesses as a potential commander-in-chief. Without exception, immediately viewers are reminded of McCain's POW and Foreign Relations Committee experiences--as his most qualifying experience. Years in Washington does not guarantee that a candidate is the best qualified person. The QUALITY of that experience is a major factor, coupled with his/her integrity and commitment to the American people and not to themselves (personal gain).

[TellitLikeItIs]

General Clark was 100% right and it's a crime that someone who has the courage to tell the truth is denigrated the way Clark has been! The blind "rah-rah" mentality of so many in this Country is truly something to be worried about! General Clarks' basic premis that serving in the military does not automatically qualify one to be elected President of the United States, is the truth and it's beyond reproach. The traditional media's love-affair with McCain, and the Republicans' rush to swiftboat Gen. Clark for his informed remarks, are the cause of all the current hoopla. Personally, it's high time that someone challenged the notion that military service is an automatic pass on everything else one does! If the founding fathers had believed that military service was necessary to the office of President, that would have been a requirment of the office. So---- get off Clarks' back and move on to real issues, such as which multi-national oil company is going to make out the best in their grab for the Iraqi oil that the United States military and the U.S. taxpayers have paid so dearly for!

[doofmann02]

Clark was right on the mark. Unfortunately types like Schieffer are littered all over the MSM, and they play into the myth about McCain being beyond reproach regarding either his military or national security intelligence or leadership experience.

Good for you, General.

[JohnnieP]

Barack Obama should heed what Leo Durocher said over 50 years ago: "Nice guys finish last."

Barack Obama + Wesley Clark 2008

[TellitLikeItIs]

I could support that idea. The more I hear General Clark talk, the more respect I have for his bravery and intelligence!

[TheSaudaVoice]

Once again, the MSM is spinning General Clark's statement into something it wasn't - an attack on John McCain's service. That is clearly NOT what Gen. Clark was doing. I respect this man for saying what so many of us Americans have been thinking - i.e. military service alone does NOT automatically render someone the most qualified to be President. If McCain and his supporters are going to tout his military experience at every turn, then I want to know exactly what was it about HIS particular military experience that especially qualifies him to be President. Asking the question is in no way an attack on his patriotism. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. I applaud Gen. Clark for standing up and not backing down from this issue. We understood exactly what you meant Gen. Clark and stand behind you wholeheartedly!!

- The Sauda Voice (Google Me)

[AzRealProgressive]

All right, think your arguement through, what comparable experience does Obama have ? None. He was a community organizer. Sell the American people that a community organizer is comparable to a combat Navy pilot. No matter how much of an untrustworthy hell raiser McCain may have been.

Obama has a vision of hope and change Every presidential candidate has said that when they ran for office last century.

People weigh life experience when contemplating hope and change someone else has in store for them.

[LinusBern]

Does the president have to fly Air Force One or something?

[pacats]

Combat Navy pilot: McCain crashed several navy planes. He graduated 5th from the bottom in his class. He thought singing "bomb,bomb,bomb, Iran" was funny. He did not vote for the GI bill, but accepted credit when Bush mentioned his name as a co-sponsor.

Yes, the miliary guys should discuss his judgement,­leadership skills and character in making sound decisions. The msm are owned by corporations who have a vested interest in keeping this country under the republican party. This is not complicated to follow.

[gulopartisan]

We aren't electing a head general, we are electing a President. If McC*n was a brain surgeon, that wouldn't qualify him for President, even if Obama wasn't one.

[jackinhack]

Thank you. It's about time you generals and other senior officers step forward after keeping mostly silent though out the build up to and conduct of the war. The military is in terrible shape because of the wars costs on men and machinery. And the country has been significantly weaken in the event of an actual threat.

Let's hear from more of you. I respect your opinions on this more than the politicians.

[rcozad]

Just a thought on how far we have come, my father was a WWII vet and when I was very small I went to a reunion of his outfit ( Mountain 10) with him. There was a fellow there that seemed to have no friends and looked like he was invisible. I asked my dad who he was and why everyone was avoiding him. He answered in a very curt and hushed voice he was a POW. They did not have a very high regard for anyone in their outfit that allowed themselves to be taken captive. John McCain is lucky in the sense that times and tolerances have changed.