Retired General Wesley Clark, failed presidential candidate in the 2004 election, was on Face the Nation yesterday, making a fool of himself.
Even host Bob Schieffer seemed stunned by the way Clark simply dismissed John McCain's military record.
Transcript
SCHIEFFER: With us now from Little Rock, Arkansas, retired General Wesley Clark. He was for Hillary Clinton during the primaries. Once Hillary was out of it, he announced that he was supporting Barack Obama.
And let's get right to it here, General. You heard what Senator Lieberman said. He said that Barack Obama is simply more ready to be president than Barack Obama.
General WESLEY CLARK (Retired; Obama Supporter): Well, I think--I think Joe has it exactly backwards here. I think being president is about having good judgment, it's about the ability to communicate. As one of the great presidential historians, Richard Neustadt, said, `The greatest power of the presidency is the power to persuade.' And what Barack Obama brings is incredible
communication skills, proven judgment. You look at his meteoric rise in politics and you see a guy who deals with people well, who understands issues, who brings people together and who has good judgment in moving forward. And I think what we need to do, Bob, is we need to stop talking about the old politics of left and right and we need to pull together and move the country forward. And I think that's what Barack Obama will do for America.
SCHIEFFER: Well, you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote, and these are your words, "untested and untried." And I must say, I had to read that twice, because 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 lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is untested and untried, General?
Gen. CLARK: 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 of millions of others in the 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. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, `I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it publicly?'
SCHIEFFER: Well...
Gen. CLARK: He hasn't made those calls, Bob. So...
SCHIEFFER: Well, General, maybe--could I just interrupt you?
Gen. CLARK: Sure.
SCHIEFFER: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean...
Gen. CLARK: Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.
SCHIEFFER: Really?
Gen. CLARK: But Barack is not--he is not running on the fact that he has made these national security pronouncements, he's running on his other strengths. He's running on the strengths of character, on the strengths of his communication skills, on the strengths of his judgment, and those are qualities that we seek in our national leadership.
I can't believe that this is an intentional strategy by Obama and his flunkies. Downplaying and belittling John McCain's experience in the military is not smart.
Schieffer did a good job of exposing the sheer stupidity of Clark's statements.
I think it was great that the McCain campaign responded to Clark's remarks shortly after he made them.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers issued a statement saying Obama’s campaign is proving Obama does not stand “for a new type of politics.”
“The reality is he’s proving to be a typical politician who is willing to say anything to get elected, including allowing his campaign surrogates to demean and attack John McCain’s military service record,” Rogers said.
“John McCain is proud of his record of always putting the country first — from his time in the Navy, in Vietnam and through to today. And on the biggest question we’ve faced in recent years, the war in Iraq, the facts on the ground show that John McCain was right, as Barack Obama is about to find out after failing to visit there in over 900 days,” he continued, and reiterated the standing offer to appear at joint town-hall meetings with McCain.
Clark really stepped in it. He was absolutely shameless.
If Obama is going to claim to be ushering in a new era in politics, he has to walk the walk, and so do his supporters. Anything less is hypocritical.
Frankly, this notion that Obama transcends politics as usual is a load.
It's part of the fairy tale, new Camelot thing that only serves to reveal Obama to be a fraud, an empty suit.
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