Barack Obama Folds on General Clark
By Larry Johnson on June 30, 2008 at 10:08 PM in Current Affairs
We know this much about Barack–when the going gets tough he runs like Forrest Gump from the perceived trouble. The list of friends and supporters (not to mention policies) dumped by the Golden Child of Illinois is growing by the week. Wright, Pfleger, Meeks, Ayers, Grandma, FISA, NAFTA. . .ok, you get the drift. Now add to that list Wesley Clark.
I find this funny on so many levels. Let’s start with Wesley Clark pandering his ass off by trying to tout the “leadership” experience of Barack Obama by calling into question John McCain’s actual experience as a commander. Clark had this exchange on Sunday with CBS correspondent, Bob Schieffer:
The retired general Wesley Clark said McCain had not “held executive responsibility” and had not commanded troops in wartime.
McCain’s experience in Vietnam, where he was a prisoner of war for five years, has seemed at times almost to grant him invulnerability to criticism of his security background. But on Sunday he was assailed by a fellow military man, a highly decorated one who was once the NATO supreme commander.
McCain frequently points out that he led “the largest squadron in the U.S. Navy,” but Clark said on CBS television that that was not enough to support a claim to the presidency.
“He hasn’t been there and ordered the bombs to fall” as a wartime commander, the general said on CBS. Clark is mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, although he originally supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
When the interviewer, Bob Schieffer, noted to Clark that McCain had been shot down over Hanoi, Clark replied, “I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.
Clark is right about one thing–McCain does not have much “command” experience.
In fact, I have several friends who are Vietnam era veterans who have made the same comment. They respect McCain’s courage while held prisoner and his refusal to accept favorable treatment from the North Vietnamese. But they share Clark’s view that getting shot out of the sky says nothing about one’s leadership abilities or qualities. It is simply bad, fucking luck.
The military guys who are combat vets have a pretty interesting sense of humor that does not always translate well to the civilian world. Clark’s remark probably strikes most civilians as thoughtless. (My boss at State Department, who retired from the Marine Corps after serving 30 years and commanding the 5th Marines, called the purple heart earned in Vietnam, “The NVA Sharpshooter’s Medal.” Since he spent two tours in Vietnam I think he is entitled to make jokes about whatever he wants.)
Here’s the other funny part from the Schieffer/Clark exchange–watching Clark, with a straight face, trying to burnish the leadership experience of Barack:
When Schieffer then asked what executive responsibility Obama had held - the Democrat’s résumé includes work as a community organizer in Chicago and eight years in the Illinois legislature - Clark said that Obama was running on the strength of his character and good judgment.
Judging from Barack’s behavior in the aftermath of Barack’s comments, Clark may be having second thoughts. The North Vietnamese tortured John McCain for years but he resisted until he was physically broken and scarred for life. What did it take to make Barack crack? Some pointed criticism from Republicans. Barack was not hung by his arms and beaten by bamboo. Nonetheless, in a quintessential display of cowardice as a leader, he sold out Wesley Clark. Note to Clark–nice try General, but it is time to realize that Barack does not stand and take the fire. He cuts and runs. He is a coward.
Barack could have said something clever (e.g., just because my opponent could not command a North Vietnamese missile not to shoot him down does not mean he is not qualified to be President) and noted that Clark, as a decorated veteran, is fully qualified to offer his opinions on these matters. Nope. That would have required courage. Instead, Barack joined Republicans criticizing Wes Clark. The Obama campaign issued the following statement:
As he’s said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain’s service, and of course he rejects yesterday’s statement by General Clark,” said Obama campaign spokeman Bill Burton.
This is world class irony boys and girls. The General trying to make the case that the junior Senator from Illinois is more of a leader than the grumpy Naval aviator from Arizona gets sandbagged by the kid he is trying to convince America is ready to be Commander-in-Chief.
Here’s what a good friend of mine who is a an active duty officer sent me today. The picture and caption tell the story:
Barack had a chance to stand up to the Republicans today. Instead, he wimped out. And he wants to be President? Isn’t that special.
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By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
Run Bambi Run
Larry - good comparison.
Could you post the newest Just Say No Deal poster with the information on the July 4th pay the debt?
PUMA$ Who Donate Rock!
You know its true that McCain hasn’t command experience but he did take a boatload of classes on how to be a commander. That command knowledge and the understanding that quick decisions are how you live or die are courses given in military training.
Pilots are pilots because they can make quick decisions.
Obama makes quick decisions because that is how you maintain long term lies.
Character is what matters. McCain and Hillary have it, Obama is trying out different “characters”. So far, looks like somebody from the Sopranos.
Obama has become the Sybil of the Democratic Party.
Clark would never have said something so incendiary without permission from David Axelrove. In fact, these kinds of personal attacks are a staple of the Obama campaign. As Bill Clinton said of the candidate, “He gets other people to slime Hillary.” Now they’re doing it to John McCain. No difference. We should be attacking Obama for the backstabbing creep that he is. (For more reality check on him, please see the article I’ve posted by clicking on my screen name.)
John McCain was quickly promoted to Captain and commanded the largest fighter squadron in the Navy, crushing all predictions that he would never regain flight status to what were thought to have been debilitating injuries. Soon, he was sent to the Naval War College and subsequently as an attache in the US Senate. He flourished in the role, and realized that he could make an effective legislator. The Navy offered him an Admiral’s star on the next review, but rather than remain in the uniformed service, McCain chose instead to leave with intent of pursuing office. That’s not a “reward for surviving.” The US Navy does not hand out Admiral’s stars.
Schieffer should have asked Clark about his Vietnam experience, which wouldn’t have made a pimple on the ass of a 331 in Iraq BTW.
IMS his time in Vietnam was little more than a month.
He’s a fucking perfumed prince with bad judgement like McPeak. Thought McCaffrey is probably the worst of the lot in that department.
This clown was so bad in running the Serbian war, he almost started a war with Russia because the Russians had a cruiser in the Adriatic that was monitoring events. And what does our perfumed prince do? Ordered his subordinate to launch a airstrike against the cruiser and sink it.
Thankfully his British subordinate had more brains than to follow a order like this and instead kicked it upstairs to the Pentagon and Clinton who gave the order that its ok to disobey orders from Clark if they are strange. Like starting WWIII because it offended Dear General.
Later he was put in a position where his bad judgement and temper couldn’t get anyone killed.
Thats the real Clark and explains why he became a stooge for Obama and disgraced himself on national TV. The guy has all the sense of a shithouse rat on crack.
You know what — Clark was only in Viet Nam for a short time because he got four bullets in him, and still managed to command his troops to victory in that engagement.
Perfumed prince is not accurate either. Do some real research on the guy — those are some old character assassination talking points from his 2003 White House run — it is crap.
You have totally misstated actual events.
That “almost starting a war with Russia” b.s. was touted by none other than lefty loony Katrina Vanden Heuvel. Do your homework. This is not accurate. A British three star general had a hissy fit on an airfield, that was it. There was never any danger of any attack by the Russians.
Oh, well. If Clark was so great, he wouldn’t have got shot four times. (snark.)
Does anyone think there is something strange about every former Clinton supporter coming out for Obama makes some kind of faux pau that hurts him? This is just too much and I am not ready to write Gen. Clark off until I understand completely what the hell is going on. Even his own friends do it to him. Wright and Phleger are not stupid, are they? Yet both, with seeming disregard for his candidacy, said things he had to explain. Center For American Progress today had a speaker, made smilier statements about McCain at the same time Obama is making a speech about his patriotism and wearing a flag lapel pin Does anyone believe Hillary helped him unite the Party with her appearance? I understand there is pressure on
Bill Clinton to appear with him and why would
anyone in his campaign think that’s a good
idea? Clinton is without a doubt, the most
intelligent president maybe since Jefferson and
maybe the best communicator since William
Jennings Bryant. Then there’s Rendell with his HOUNDS. It’s just weird to me.
I think BO has A LOT of enemies and some of them look like his friends (e.g. Wright and Fr. Phlegm).
I think Father Phlegm is a garden-variety freak desparate for the limelight. However, Jeremiah Wright is MUCH more interesting. JW is a con-man and a VERY good one. He is BO’s father-figure and mentor. However, he didn’t mentor him in matters of faith (that’s just bulls#@t to both of them). He is the master con-man, BO was the apprentice who stabbed him in the back. BO’s ego is big (real big), so he now believes he’s smarter than Wright. I don’t think he is…we haven’t seen the last of Rev. Wright.
That is because Oblame-o gets someone else to do his dirty work for him.
Clark was just being a loyal Democrat and defending Obama. In fact, the campaign admitted they had discussed what he would say but then distanced themselves by saying they did not tell him to question McCain’s patriotism - which Clark definitely did not do. So reading between the lines, they told Clark what to say (where else do you think he got the dopey talking points he used to defend Obama?) and then when it became controversial they threw him under the bus with the rest of us.
James Carville was great defending Clark last night on CNN. He said Clark had said nothing wrong and that Obama should not have backed down. In fact he seemed really pissed which we all should be Clark deserves our loyalty.
No, Gen. Clark (USA ret) does NOT deserve my respect. I set higher standards, and for me, you EARN my respect. And quite frankly, Gen. Clark lost all my respect when he rolled over and became just another loser Democrat, supporting their selected candidate, loyal to the Party, but not our Country.
If anyone should understand Country first, it should be any person who has served our Country. A political party is just that…a party, with its own vested interests. This democratic party has decided, on its own, to go in a “new” direction (actually, they’ve been caving to the far lefties for years) and they wanted to rid themselves of all semblance of the “old” party, which was defined primarily for working people long ago.
Fine. That’s what they can do. And I, as a citizen, can tell them to go straight to hell, as well as all who support this absolutely dangerous nonsense.
I’m not gonna play patty cake with you pal.
Go fuck yourself…maybe twice would be good.
Clarke didn’t lose a man in your misnamed ‘Serbian war’.
And if after you’ve fucked yourself a few times
Shoot yourself four times.
Asshole.
Yeah, he ran the Kosovo War so bad that not a single allied force died in combat. Ignoramous.
Butcher Milosevic supporter.
You’re funny. I needed to laugh. How do you know all this. Are you a military person like myself?
I have written to Clark. I believe he should not embarrass us (the military family) by supporting a candidate who received money from Aiham Alsammarae, a man who openly calls for the insurgency against our troops in Iraq to continue.
Some candidate we have? And to think that this guy is running for president supported by generals? Phew. Where did we go wrong?
Schirete
Tony McPeak is not a surprise for supporting the corporate candidate. McPeak was the corporate general and is known for ruining the Air Force. And I know this because my husband served under him, and he (my husband) didn’t meet a wing commander during that time who thought McPeak was anything more than an idiot.
ROFLMAO.
Stupid is as stupid does.
My name is Barack Hussein Obama my friends call me Barack Hussein Obama.
Good to see Larry, that you are not playing the Islamaphobia card again. No one could ever suggest that you would do such a bigoted ignorant thing. Great non racist pic. Keep them up, they do your Democrat credentials real justice.
Run O’same run.
Thank you Larry.
I keep wondering what my father would say about BO if he were still alive. He fought in Guadalcanal and then spent several more years in the Pacific. A few years later he spent several years in Korea. He then tried to serve in VN, but was told that he was too old.
The guys like my dad were men of few words, but those words cut like a razor. I think he’d have less than a few for the poseur from Illinois.
Larry fantastic post!
Love it!
McCain was hawt when he was young.
Damn, I was thinking the same thing…I must be ovulating.
LOL
Obama is a Coward! look at his record. Need I say more?
He is the epitome of a POLITICAL COWARD…. PERIOD!
I am so disappointed in Wesley Clark. What a turncoat he is! He knows better, but you’re right, he’s pandering and playing “grasping for straws”. Does he want the VP job that bad? I’m embarrassed for him, but then, again, I’m embarrassed for the whole Democratic Party that I was once so proud of. I spit on the whole lousy bunch of them!
PUMA!
I didn’t actually see this panel, but someone over at another puma site posted earlier that the panel on the situation room seemed to think Wes was trying to make a gaffe intentionally to get thrown off the VP list. It is very hard to say no once you are asked, so Governors like Strickland and Rendell have been very adamant about finishing their terms, which everyone knows is their polite way of declining, and there is speculation that perhaps Clark, who would be available to take the VP spot, made an intentional gaffe to get thrown under the bus…
Not sure I buy it, he has been WAYYYY too enthusiastic in his support if it was out of force, but the theory is circulating…
I have been wondering if Rendell and Clark are really on board with the Obama Express.
Me too.
I have that feeling too. I think Wes Clark’s statements was just as calculated the statements Jeremiah Wright’s were on his FU tour.
So were Gov. Rendell’s when he told us that Obama’s 180 on FISA was because the good in the bill outweighs the bad. He meant it was kind of like the FL dems approving the bill moving the date of the primary forward because it contained a good that outweighs the bad (voter paper trails).
So Rendell tells us, we shouldn’t punish Obama at all for supporting the FISA bill which contains immunity for the telecoms and Nancy Pelosi.
This is what I was talking about up thread. Just too weird someone like Clark would make such a statement. And how about Rendell’s HOUND? How often do you think he will be asked to go on cable news again? It’s a joke.
Yeah but there’s no more room under that bus. I’ve read estimates that close to 50% of the US population or ~150 million are under it already.
Wes Clark is anything but a turncoat.
Thank you. . .
No, Clark is far more concerned about this country than you apparently are. If Obama is the nominee, which now seems likely, Clark is positioning himself to be involved in mending our broken military. That’s why he’s doing the hard job of taking McCain’s so-called military hero status to the cleaners.
Yep, that ’so-called’ 5-1/2 years in a POW camp really needs to be questioned. I mean exactly how badly was McCain tortured? And that limp….I mean really, its not like he was a community organizer or something.
Would you like to volunteer to reenact it?
You are one sick son of a bitch!
The above statement is called sarcasm, beebop.
Eh.
“WES CLARK: I MEANT WHAT I SAID”.
Spine.
That is not the Wesley Clark I knew.
“I can no more disown General Clark than I can my GI Joe collection…”
Obama was ridiculous today. Wes Clark was doing him a favor as one of the only dems who can call McCain out on this issue with any sort of credibility. And while I absolutely honor and respect John McCain’s military service, Wes Clark makes a good point - that alone does not qualify him to be President. It is one credential that should be considered, but it alone does not provide qualification. Seems obvious. The Obama campaign needs to neutralize the benefits McCain gets from military service and Clark was helping him do that.
But I think the reason the Obama campaign threw Wes under the buss (besides the fact that he is a coward) is that Clark’s statement opens up all kinds of questions. If getting shot down does not provide any qualification to be President, what does? Community organizing? I think not…the Obama campaign absolutely has to stay away from any discussion that questions whether McCain is qualified for the job, or else they will be challenged about Obama’s qualifications. MCCain has a lot of bad ideas, a lot of awful ideas, in fact, but I think we can all agree that he meets the basic threshold, not so much for his military experience, but also for his long record in the senate…but I don’t think you will see the Obama campaign attacking McCain’s qualifications from here on out, I even think they will stay away from his record (because they can’t draw attention to the fact that Obama has none) and focus only on current policy differences…
Sad situation, both candidates kind of suck…
Sad, but a good point.
Thanks Howard, thanks Donna for giving us someone that McSame can, and most probably will, beat.
Imagine that.
After all this nation has suffered from the ReichWing Donna and Howard found somebody who could lose!
Historians will marvel at it.
Kind of? LOL
Finally got around to listening to the Harriet Christian interview from Larry. Great to hear that.
It really helps to know there are people out there who feel as I do. You both deserve respect instead of the ridicule you get from the cowards who attack you anonymously with their petty jibs and jabs.
Thanks for all you do, all of you.
When I first heard about Clark’s comments, my first thought was he wanted out of the Obama campaign, and wants to screw with Obama. Clark is a smart man, too smart to make comments that he knew would evoke controversy. Especially when he ended with the party line “Obama was running on the strength of his character and good judgment”. Way to go Clark, you just made a case for McCain, and made Obama look like a fool, again.
Yes — he is a loyal Hillary supporter - I suspect this may be possible, too.
Not a mind reader though, so who knows.
I would laugh if no one wants to be Obama’s VP. People start making gaffe after gaffe just to not be around Obama anymore. I’m still convinced this is what Ed Rendell did. He doesn’t want Obama to bother him anymore.
Rendell has come out and said, on multiple occasions, that he is not a good “number 2,” citing his experience as DNC chair when he had to take orders from above. He says that he has been his own boss for 31 years, and do you really think he wants to take orders from the runt?
Agreed!
There is really something pathetic about military leaders and government officials being willing to endorse Barack Obama and then be willing to humiliate themselves just to get thrown off Obama’s campaign. Is Obama really that fearsome? Does Obama really already have such power even before he is nominated? If so, what will it be like if he is elected because even GWB did not have this kind of omnipotent power.
I’m sure that General Clark has faced far more dangerous enemies than Barack Obama so that leaves three options; one, he really believes Barack Obama’s lack of military experience is better for the country than McCain’s actual military experience or, two, he’s counting Obama’s association with Cousin Odinga as “military experience” or three, Obama’s ties to Chicago’s…political underworld makes him a dangerous fellow to be against. Any one of these reasons evoke the specter of the Bush years where intimidation and fear ruled our lives.
Ironic that this July 4 we are facing the same sort of decision as they did in 1776; we’re in a fight to take back our Constitutional government that they fought to create. Which one are you? Rebel or Tory?
BOINGO! Now Clark no longer has to stump for that coke addict Obama! He’s been officially excused!
Amen! And look at what Gen. Clark said:
He is stating fact. That’s what BO is running on. He didn’t say BO has better character or good judgment.
Gen. Clark chooses his words very carefully.
A lot can be gleaned from what Wes did not say.
I’m a long time fan/supporter of Wes Clark. He speaks truth to power.
Yup, Clark has always gotten my ovaries all aquiver…damn, now I know I’m ovulating…where’s my husband? Hoooooneeeeeeeey?
ROFL
I think he just made a stupid comment. It waa either him or Jim Webb. Clark wants the Presidency. I think he was trying to accommodate the Obama camp.
Nope. You don’t know him. He is willing to be Hillary’s VP. How many men would play second fiddle to a woman. Only really strong men.
When Schieffer then asked what executive responsibility Obama had held - the Democrat’s résumé includes work as a community organizer in Chicago and eight years in the Illinois legislature - Clark said that Obama was running on the strength of his character and good judgment.
Yet another Obama supporter stumped by a reporters question. I laughed out loud when The Speaker of House, of all people, could not answer Greta’s question about what has Obama ever done to back up his change speeches. He’s fresh, she said.
This beyond ridiculous.
I hope someone pulls them all together in a video.
Obama has neither character nor good judgment. Everybody here (except for the trolls) has known this for a long time.
Sure got that right.
That would be a great video.
Please, someone! That would be rich.
FRESH? Oh Great…THE FRESH PRINCE OF HYDE PARK.
Yep…please someone make that video. And use the old Kool and the Gang song “She’s Fresh” as background!!
Off topic — is anyone else getting sick and tired of BO pontificating and lecturing us? I almost barfed when I saw the CNN headline about him making a “major speech on patriotism.” Oh for heaven’s sake! How full of himself must he be???
That picture is apparently being e-mailed like mad around the Army, from my military friend. He’s very thoughtful, and said it made a real point with him.
This is the guy who almost started World War III in Cosovo. Thank God a British officer refused his order to attack the Russians. Clark was fired for this.
Top of the class at the Point? Pretty meaningless after that episode.
You like to say this a lot Cofer. You don’t have your facts straight.
Where have you seen me say this before? And what are the FACTS?
that’s Kosovo, unless of course you are ethnic Albanian, in which case it is Kosova.
The British were in command at the airport when that incident occurred. I wasn’t on the spot but my impression was that by the time knowledge of the situation reached Clark’s ear, he was one of the cooler heads that ultimately prevailed.
wrong, he was the hothead
The C/K argument is moot and actually rather silly. It exposes myopia and cultural chauvinism. Slavic/eastern languages don’t have multiple letters for the K sound. Just one. Some of those countries also use a cyrillic alphabet so you’re really out on a limb. And I can hear wood “kreaking”.
This line of BS has been totally debunked and refuted. The BBC did a documentary on this event, interviewed all the players, and you sir are living in an alternate universe.
Clark was a great general and the non-Serbian people of the Balkans love the man for ending so much death and murder. Clark is a hero.
BO can never hold a candle to the gravitas and wisdom of the General.
Bravo, Newport!
Um, that should be a K, there cofer. And please don’t slam Clark, my husband served under him, he’s a good man, even though he tried to buck up the spawn, Obama. Like I said, Clark got himseldf excused from further stumping for Barky.
You might think that he was pandering for VP, and that is a definite possibility, but somehow I think Clark is not quite that tone deaf. He has been a Hillary backer, and this strikes me as a way to land a punch for Hill in a devious way.
In your culture and your language and your alphabet, yes. It’s a convention. For someone with more linguistic cred it’s expected they confuse the use of C/K in American English. It’s really not a biggie, OK?
Wrong. Read his book, Waging Modern War.
There’s a whole chapter regarding the (non)incident at Kristina Airport.
Is this old canard still being passed around? For god’s sake, get up to date. The WW III story about Clark has been debunked a hundred ways to Sunday.
Wesley Clark has just had his Al Haig moment. When O’boy loses in Nov, the pundits will point to this moment as a big turning point.
Laughable!
What about Wright, Ayers, Meeks, Auchi, Rezko, NAFTA, FISA, campaign finance, gun control? ‘
Oh no, blame it on a highly decorated 4star General, AND OF COURSE the Clintons. It’s always THEIR fault. Putz.
I agree. Trying to say Clarke was trying in his way to be loyal and sabotage Obama is laughable in this case. This was a political gaffe.
No, Clark was asked to Stump for Barky, how would you have acted if you wanted to be Hillary’s VP in 2012? Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
What about Rendell, Hope? He couldn’t have looked more absurd with his Hounds. What about Wright and Pleger(sp) his very own friends of twenty years? Strickland said not no how, not no way. Couldn’t there be some subtle sabotage here?
LMAO
The Vets for Freedom posted an open letter to Wesley Clark that highlghted McCain’s command experience after returning from imprisonment Vietnam
http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/documents/GeneralClark.pdf
I hope they can take out full page ads in every newspaper for that. I will be the first in line if they need a donation.
VoteVets has a petition up supporting Wes Clark:
http://ga3.org/campaign/petitionclark
Fuck Clarke. His comment was inexcusably dumb.
Either that or the interpretation was unforgivably hysterical.
Just thinking..
Maybe Clark intentionally made the comments about McCain as payback for how the Obama campaign undermined Hillary.
Rendell sure sounded like it in Philadelphia. Even his Hounds was an attack on Puma people.
Well, the O’boy team has us “Fired Up and Ready to Go” kick O’boys little ass!
Sounds like a good possibility. Clark’s not stupid.
I think there are many hidden land mines waiting for Obama and his minions.
When you treat people with total disrespect don’t be surprised when they stab you in the back.
Way to go Clark if you meant to hurt Obama. You succeeded big time!
Another option would be to have some principles and not back Obama in the first place. Rendell, Clark,any of them; Tthey don’t HAVE to do it. It’s wishful thinking to assume they are doing so begrudgingly.
Think 2012. Rumour has it, Clark was supposed to be Hillary’s VP.
Clark did not have any reason to support Obama but his own ambition.
It could be, but where is the damage then? Passive agressive revenge. They get his supporters off their backs and it would be hard to attack them on the grounds of party unity. If that is the plan, I can’t wait for Bill Clinton.
Perhaps he reckoned with people being smarter than they were.
Yeah, it does sound kinda’ like tongue in cheek, doesn’t it?
I think so. Plus he’s a good friend of Hillary’s? Hillary has to play nice with O right now to get those $0 million - Clark doesn’t. If Clark screws up they can’t blame Hillary, can they?
National BO ad just ran on lifetime during Will and Grace. Got to go drive the porcelain bus I’ll be back.
Hussien obama is such a liar and a hypocrite. I’m sure he secretly agrees with what Clark said.
I said this some time ago that Clark is out for the money for his dahling “WESPAC”. He sent me an e-mail just after the primaries ended that said unite behind Obama and give me money, more money, more money.
Let’s see Obama spent exactly 55 days a year working in the IL Senate that doesn’t add up to much. He has basically been running for president since he arrived in the Senate….he has padded his Senate resume with 19 ammendement that have no purpose until proposed…….
How long has John McCain been doing the US Senator shtick anyways? And not to mention the fact he has worked acrss the aisle. I like the guy….flying jets takes a lot of guts and shows a person’s ability to work under stress.
Zeke above is correct. All Navy people have leadership training both enlisted and officer. It was a requirement for me when I was active duty. All I was an ET1(SW) running her own shop!
Navyvet, WesPAC supports veterans running for Congress and Senate seats. Clark campaigned for more Dems (mostly vets) in 2006 than any other surrogate, including his good friend and Navy Vet Eric Massa.
When the going gets tough, screw your friends and throw them under the bus. This is pathetic.
Profile in Cowardice!
Most Americans would have ended their military career there, but Sen. McCain continued his service and eventually become the commanding officer of the largest squadron in the U.S. Navy. He turned an undisciplined and untrained squadron into one of the Navy’s best, earning the unit a Meritorious Unit Commendation.”
I have more than one MUC from my active duty days. It is quite a feat to earn one for your command.
Hillary would have stood up for Clark. I know she would. She would hit back at McCain hard, just because she can.
Now with BO leading the ship, the Democratic Party doesn’t have any strength to defend itself from GOP attack. It’s such a sad state of affair for the Democratic Party.
Absolutely, because anyone that backs that sham of a candidate loses their own credibility.
The hypocrisy is always present. How can anyone question McCain’s experience, when Barky is the alternative? And the substitute his followers provide is Obama’s judgment. Running on Wright-loving, Ayer’s -cohorting, and Rezko-partnering judgment is laughable.
Absolutely, because anyone that backs that sham of a candidate loses their own credibility.
Like Ted Kennedy. And Al Gore. And Bill Richardson.
Why would they cast the fortunes of their party on such a weak, flawed candidate such as Obama… when Hillary Clinton finished the primary race so strong?
Unless… they thought Hillary couldn’t win in November.
That’s the flaw in the PUMA argument: The party leadership didn’t line up behind Hillary for a reason. And it’s not that she’s a woman.
Suck it, douche bag. Barky threw the most respected left wing general under the bus, he’s an idiot. And so are you.
Yeah, they were too busy lining up behind Baracky to prove that they weren’t “racists”.
The other alternative is that they were afraid that Hillary wouldn’t do their bidding so they needed some wet-behind-the-ears newbie who doesn’t have an original idea in his head that they COULD control completely. (They just didn’t realize that Baracky was an old-skool Chicago politico because they’d been bamboozled just like the rest of the country into believing that he was naïve.)
Wow… Obama is everything you folks need him to be. You slur him as naive and politically weak… then, the next day, as a ruthless Chicago-machine political gangster the next.
If Obama defends Gen. Clark’s gaffe, you’d attack him for demeaning McCain’s war record. Obama rejects Clark’s words, and you attack him for throwing the general under the bus.
These kind of contradictions are rife when a political movement is based wholly on personal hatred, and not on policy distinctions.
Rational thought goes out the cat door.
Listen Mr. or Ms. before Hillary suspended her campaign, she was running ahead of McCain in the polls and was in a position to carry swing states. Mr. Obama has lost support since May and is looking for voters among the Christian conservatives and felons. The supers abdicated their responsibility when they chose a candidate based on the wishes of the DNC and not the one with the best chance to win the general. All in all he is screwing up pretty good and soon the sds won’t care about riots and threats. All the endorsements in the world will not help if he can’t convince voters and it seems he can’t. He can withdraw from his promise to accept public finances and spend millions more money than any candidate has ever spent and he still won’t win.
She wouldn’t be so childish about it.
Lord knows I was very angry with General Clark for carrying the water for Senator Obama in the first place. Obama is an arrogant, inexperienced, dissembling person of the worst order and I will never support him.
Clark is a war hero with a lifetime of service to the military and more medals, knighthoods and who knows what else than you can shake a stick at — not to mention working tirelessly to elect down ticket Democrats and Veterans to office all over the country.
Whether it was Clark’s blind ambition or wish to help rescue the clueless Obama on foreign policy by being his VP — or both — is not my place to say. His initial argument that while McCain is a war hero — he has never been in charge of or responsible for policy formulation is a good one.
Clark made several mistakes however —
First was the statement that just because you get shot down in a plane, that doesn’t qualify you to be President — while that may be true, it flies in the face of what Clark knows all too well — you do not insult a military person’s service or suffering on any level and expect to get away with it.
The second mistake is touting Obama’s “good judgment,” “communication skills” and “ability to bring people together” — do I even need to comment on Mr. Teleprompter with the 20 speech writers who is clueless on the stump, or Mr. Good Judgment who spent 20 years in a racist, divisive church with Revs. Wright, Pfleger, Meeks or closely intertwined with the newly convicted criminal Antonin Rezko, or working for ex- and unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers? Good judgment indeed.
Mr. Uniter? Where have a heard that phrase before. This is a man who has run such a divisive campaign that anyone who does not vote for him is labeled a racist, Archie Bunker, bitter, clueless, Hillary hag, over the hill, about to be swept out to sea — well, you get the drift.
Yet Clark made the mistake of woodenly parroting these talking points — well, what else can he say about the man? Obama likewise hampers all his surrogates because there isn’t much depth there to talk about.
Clark, a brilliant man and Rhoades Scholar, would certainly think of something better if there were anything better to say.
That Obama’s surrogates are hamstrung in this way and have to find any way to dig their way out by ripping too hard at the other guy, namely McCain, is not surprising.
Clark’s biggest mistake, of course, is that he tainted his name at all by allying himself with this newbie Senator — Obama is by all accounts ruthless and will throw anyone under the bus.
Even some of the lefty supporters of Obama are angry with him today for abandoning Clark like this. General Clark was a rare lefty-General who had the courage to speak out against the Iraq war from the beginning and I would think the Daily Kos people and others remember this.
Clark has to take responsiblity for his remarks because he is no newbie in this arena. He knows the risks. But what he also should have been more aware of is that loyalty is not a quality that Obama seems to possess. He will run in any direction like a chicken with head cut off to get away from what he thinks threatens him politically.
Not a good quality in a leader.
General Clark would have been well advised to note these warning signs before endorsing or speaking on behalf of this man.
Like I said, Clark has just fufilled his commitment to the democratic party and can sit this one out. Good move on his part. And I’m guessing this takes him out of the running for VP…thank God.
Thank God is right.
Amen!
Now if Hillary and Bill could get themselves excused for some innocuous reason.
They were the first two to get not only thrown under the bus but run over repeatedly and with intention to kill. “Screw you” would be right.
I can’t see either effectively praising him - what can they say in his defense?
Just words - judgment, hope and change - in a realistic world where a candidate is taken on their true merits, he comes up entirely empty.
He’s “fresh”, he’s got teen-age fanatics who think he is a friggin rock star and they are willing to abandon all principles to elect him?
Clark is no war hero, his time in country in Vietnam was little more than a month before he got wounded.
His awards don’t even compare to a Hackworth or let alone Audy Murphy.
Most of his shiny crap and ribbons are administrative in nature that have nothing to with combat or heroism.
And his judgment? this moron almost started WWIII with the Russians during the Serbian fracas. Clinton later had to demote the idiot because of it.
And you can see what this educated idiot he is by smearing McCain so as to make a lanky racist and America hater look good.
He’s the only man who could make Kerry and Bush look good.
Whoa! Um, he was a great boss to my husband and well respected.
Search posts above for the actual facts. You don’t know what you are talking about re Clark. Clark was never demoted either. He retied as a 4 star general. He received so many medals and knighthoods from around the world as a result of his work in Kosovo, you can’t even count them all.
Go look it up.
Go search the posts above for some actual facts. He got the silver star and purple heart for being shot four times in combat and leading his troops to victory.
He also retired as a 4 Star General and was never demoted and then received the Congressional Media of Freedom from Clinton.
Among his many other medals, he received so many awards and honorary knighthoods from all over Europe for his command in Kosovo that you can’t even count them all.
Go look it up please and stop spreading idiotic b.s.
Search posts above for some actual facts and stop spreading b.s. please.
He received the Silver Star and Purple Heart for beign shot four times in battles and still leading his troops to victory.
He retired with his full rank of 4 Star General and was then given the Congressional Medal of Freedom by Clinton. The only shit Clark endured was because of a Republican Secy of Defense who didn’t want to be outshone by Clark, who got so many medals and knighthoods from all over Europe from commanding Kosovo successfully that you can’t even count them all.
Go look it up.
What utter and complete bullshit. Clark is the most decorated officer since Eisenhower. You are a full-blown serial liar and every one of your false comments has been throughly debunked. Do you think if you keep repeating them someone will believe you? Forget it—there are far too many of us who know Clark and are willing to call you out on your mendacious attacks.
Don’t you think he mentioned the judgment specifically, just to highlight just how bereft Barky is of good judgment. Really, all the evidence that is amassing since the end of the primary season is illustrating just how lacking in judgment he has been with regard to his personal choices and his political ascent in Chicago.
Take a closer look at McCain’s very subdued response. It was controlled, low-keyed, direct and definitive. McCain knows something about how commanders state points in a converse way attempting to contradict the obvious. Clark made that statement knowing full well the value and weight of McCain’s entire career. Clark wanted out and used his position to aid a fellow soldier while he had the opportunity. He did not get thrown under the bus. He never got on, he just used his influence to set the stage for the vacuous accomplishments of stinky to be glaringly highlighted.
Very astute. Thanks.
Reminds me of the PUEBLO…remember that?
All excellent points. Clark should have stayed away from Obama, but there was no rationalizing his imprudent remarks.
you do not insult a military person’s service or suffering on any level and expect to get away with it.
He does know this but the talking points he was given by the Obama camp did not fit with his manner of speaking. Yes he said them and he flat out knows BO has no judgement or experience. So it sounded “wooden” when I heard the audio of General Wes Clarke Ret. speaking.
To equate BO’s judgement and experience with McCains military experience and then have BO fire the CRAP CANNON is just one more victim under the bus.
Face it. The one reality all these people have in common is being under the bus, it matters not how they got there.
Wes Clarke is an honorable man. McCain is an honorable man. BO would not know honor if I shined his shoes with it.
Mr Johnson, that side by side is worth a million votes, wouldn’t you say?
Maybe, just maybe, someone should be pissing on the DNC and other “leaders” for foisting this guy on an unsuspecting and totally clueless public. There’s still time to bounce him off the ticket and the superdelegates needs to finish the job - as soon as they pull the collective heads out of their collective asses.
What was the Alex Haig moment?
Well, kinda sad. My respect for Wes Clark has pretty much fallen in the crapper along with so many others. When he puts Obama’s name in the same sentence as “character and good judgment” it makes me realize that Clark doesn’t possess those traits himself. Politicians who are supporting Obama are literally putting this country at risk—placing it in the hands of a FORTY-SIX year-old who has so little to show for his youth. I don’t think any of those same politicians would be caught dead hiring a contractor who has never built a house, or a mechanic who has never changed a tire. Yet, they have no problem asking Americans to jeopardize the welfare of this nation by once again putting it in the hands of an inexperienced child.
Well said Silver.
He didn’t say BO had good character and judgment, just that BO was was running on those attributes.
The speed at which BO caves appears to be picking up velocity. He just seems to fold, flip-flop, fold, flip-flop…not good.
He, rather desparately, needs to toughen up. If he EVER agrees to debate McCain I have the feeling he’ll agree with everything McCain says.
OMG:
“Clark said that Obama was running on the strength of his character and good judgment.”
If that is not the most laughable (and disgusting…) comment I have read all week, I don’t know what is. Certainly that qualifies him for the presidency right? How in the hell did it come to this? What a joke.
It is also the perfect playbook strategy for the Republicans: How to Win the Election. All they have to do is expose Obama’s questionable character and judgment. Gee…I wonder if that will be hard to do!
You left out Pelosi’s description - “fresh”.
I’m in. Looks like our soldiers will be in Iraq for 200 years if BO gets into office!
PUMA$ Who Donate Rock!
July 4th is Pay “OUR DEBT” for the Hillary Campaign.
The more I learn about McCain, the more I like him, such as his paying women more fairly! It’s too bad that Obama had to take out the best Democratic candidate of my life (she’s better than Bill when he took office with her experience as a Senator plus the years she has lived and made policy since she left the White House).
As for Soros’ money. Where does it come from? I have been pondering this since a young woman insisted that Dean answer this at the California Democratic Election Board meeting held after Hillary had been forced out. The crowd (mostly Dean people who have taken over the California Democratic Party–they did not go gently after the phony media scream) moved in to cordon her off.
I doubt that Obama’s rerun of Axelrod’s Hope+Change(TM) campaign is going to inspire many to continue his cause in the future if Obama doesn’t win. This is an election for the Dem to lose, and no one is stalling at the starting line as splendidly as Obama.
Why did MoveOn push for the pseudo-progressive–the one with more Wall St. money to buy the supers?
Is it true that Soros is a personal friend of McCain? He likes the Maverick. Is Soros’ money (and the Nancy P. push for Obama) a political instrument move to get McCain elected? Nancy P. would have been used, of course. She thinks that Bama will bring in big bucks and lots of new voters.
Hillary would have been a much stronger competitor. She was extraordinary in the face of Party and media opposition. When people saw her, they saw the real deal.
Is this some three-dimensional chess game that only people as bright as Soros and Hillary could comprehend?
If you think McCain treats women fairly, I suggest you do some research into how fairly he treated his first wife. After she endured a horrendous accident and was disfigured and lamed, he tossed her aside to go after a millionairess. It seems Obama isn’t the only one to toss inconvenient people under the bus. The more I learn about McCain the more contempt I have for him.
The real tragedy is that we have two such thoroughly miserable candidates to choose between.
I’m not absolutely sure about this information, but I think Soros began investing in depressed currency years ago beginning with a period of financial turmoil in Great Britain. He has sponsered fundraisers for BO and raise a lot of money. So has Rupert Murdock. Now there are a couple of strange bedfellows.
If Clark doesn’t think that Military Service is an advantage, why is he supporting only vets running for Congress?
You just hit the nail on the head, why indeed? It doesn’t make sense. Or does it? Will Barky have Wes stumping for him after this, the most respected left wing general out there, KOS’s darling, can no longer stump for Barky…brilliant!
Was Clark just thrown under the bus after he was sent to attack McCain?
Yes. And now he can sit the rest of the race out. He paid his dues for the 2012 VP slot.
This is Obama’s strategy. He didn’t wimp out-its how he attacks people. He lets a surrogates make some sick comment about his opponent and then he tut tuts them and says something conciliatory.
He’s a coward who cant do his own dirty work. But don’t be fooled into thinking he is weak-he’s a very destructive person.
Ditto Sam.
Larry, this is going to be something before it’s over.
Your post had me dying laughing, or laughing cynically, perhaps with a few crocodile tears. I don’t know which.
Keep up the good work.
If bambi and McCain are the nominees, just call me
A non-voting or write-in male PUMA.
Viva PUMAs!
test
Remember no vote is a vote for Obama in my book. Do you really want him in the oval office!
Obama is such a lightweight and looks absurd next to anyone with experience. Touting his so-called character is a laugh. He’s got the “let’s you and him fight” game down though. He lets his attack dogs cast slurs and use dirty tactics so he can later appear to take the high road. He does this again and again. It’s getting tiresome.
I love how this comparison of backgrounds is revealing him as the wimp he is. Long Navy career vs Community Organizer. Survived 5 years of beatings and broken bones vs Had to be raised by white Grandparents. Poor little Barak. He has not attained maturity but I can’t say he’s still a boy, not a man. That would be racist.
The convention isn’t until August, lest we forget, Obama can still be “dethrowned” by those who put him there.
I admire Clark and I think his loyalty to Hillary caused him to commit a “gaffe.” I mean, he’s not getting the VP slot after this.
And no, I don’t think Clark would have made the same comment if Clinton had gotten the nomination. Clinton and the sane bloc of the Democratic party would have NEVER diminished McCain’s military record. It’s easier to beat him on Iraq and the economy, imo.
Upon Reflection,
I think Rendell and Clark have both stuck their shivs into the Anointed One and twisted them a bit, in the last several weeks.
Neither Clark or Rendell are stupid, BTW.
This is going to get interesting.
We are of the same opinion as others on this blog, that it was an intentional gaffe. We have met Wesley Clark and were very impressed by him.
Sorry, it wasn’t a “gaffe.” It was a heartfelt and true statement. The gaffe was obama’s.
Let us face it. It is really difficult to stump and give reason to vote for Obama except via blind and empty rhetoric like “Obama represents the politics of the future”.
Choosing between Obama and McCain is not like comparing apples to apples… Comparing raw apple to ripe apple is more true.
And don’t forget, he’s “fresh.”
MY OLD BOSS DURING THE CLINTON YEARS WAS HEAD OF THE POLICY BOARD THAT OVERSAW THE GUARD AND THE RESERVE…oops caps lock..
he had great respect for the way McCain acted AS a POW.
I once did a media event for the opening of the natl park at Andersonville prison (The Natl POW memorial) and had POWS from WW2, Korea and Nam on a pnational radio panel. We also had on McCain. Those other POWs were EXTREMLEY proud to be on the radio with him - they ALL knew the reality behind his war years amd jhow he suffered - not despite his Dad was an Admiral who oversaw the Pacific - but BECAUSE of this….
The Obots who are saying that McCain had it extra cushy make me want to bust some heads… know what I mean?
Yep. Spot on. McCain was a notorious screw off at Annapolis. But he held up under torture as well as one could expect and did not seek to use the situation for his own benefit.
He bent over backwards not to. He knew that his captors wanted to use his getting out as a weapon to demoralize everyone else, to say that the children of the elite had it easier. He chose not to let them do this, and he paid. In spades. This is a man who doesn’t let his own physical discomfort make those decisions for him. I don’t think a single person reading this wouldn’t have leapt at the chance to go home, myself included.
I don’t consider his having broken to be a problem about him at all. Everyone breaks eventually, and he broke a lot later than I would have. He must have been scared out of his mind, and yet he retained clear and logical thinking long enough to realize what he was being used for — and he didn’t permit it.
Colin Powell has been prasing Obama publicly for a while now, though he said June 11 that he hasn’t decided who he’ll support yet. I guess that reveals he’s not sold on John McCain.
This seems odd. McCain’s Senate votes have been aligned with the policies of Powell’s former boss 95% of the time. Powell surely respects McCain’s war record. There must be something on on his mind that he’s not saying.
HE IS FUCKING BLACK… THAT’S THE ONLY DIFFERENCE… WAKE UP….
The judgement of a man like Collin Powell wouldn’t be clouded by the matter of race.
While yours is apparently totally blinded by it.
how about the judgment that led Colin Powell to lie at the United Nations?
Powell has no credibility now. He was the one man who could have stopped this war and he didn’t.
If that;s the judgement you want, you deserve Barky obambi.
Colin Powell? Judgement? The date was Feb. 6, 2003, the place was the United Nations. The result? The Iraq War.
The judgement he made was to lie his ass off at the UN. Of course, Powell was uniquely placed in that, unlike Bush or Cheney, he had stature and credibility. He lost both permanently that day.
You are a very low-information ‘bot.
I would be interested in hearing General Colin Powell’s thoughts about the candidates, but what he says or who he endorses will not influence me.
Wes Clark opted out of the VP running? yes indeedy
Tonight on Fox, Dick (yes, he is) Morris said the best choice for BO’s VP is Richardson, who’ll get that latino vote.
Yes, yes, please, please let it be that corrupt, womanizer, judas bastard who couldn’t get the latino
vote for himself, let alone BO!
General Clerk just got what we have having been telling you all along: that Obama is a back stubbing prick. Obama has zero principles, no guts, faithless and a lying bastard. The general went out there to sell Obama to CBS…..and look at where Clerk landed, at the bottom of the bush with Rev. Wright(Wrong).
Clark is a very good man. I confess that I wasn’t happy to see him support Obama, but he is one of best and most intelligent leaders this country has ever had. He also was one of Hillary’s most active surrogates.
He almost died in Viet Nam, so he has earned the right to speak out about anything he wants.
Let’s see…if Obama is really running on the strength of his character and his judgement, what does this say about the man? Tony Rezko, Pastor Wright and his association with that church for twenty years,, Rev. Pflegler, Farrakhan, Ayers…let’s see, all those “present” votes, his support for private management of subsidized housing for the poor in Chicago (a disastrous experiment in my view), his reneging on his promise to only use public funding for the general election, his patronizing remarks to the reporter he called “sweetie”, his cowardice when he asked the women wearing muslim headscarves to remove themselves from the front of the stage during his televised rally, …and on and on…these things tell me all about his character. The man is arrogant, sexist, an opportunist who only cares about his own ambition and what’s best for the country be damned and he has demonstrated a lack of good judgement time and time again and also that he can’t be trusted. “Change We Can Believe In.” I think NOT!!!!!!!!!!!! What was Wes Clark Thinking when he decided to back this guy!!!!
Why on earth has Wesley Clark criticized John McCain’s service to our country? I’m having a hard time with this one folks. And then Obama says he doesn’t agree with his surrogate Clark? Jesus what liars!
Wesley Clark didn’t criticize John McCain’s service to his country. He didn’t diminish it in any way. He only pointed out that John McCain’s military record doesn’t automatically qualify him to be president.
When the McCain campaign implies that it does, it’s legitimate for someone to point out that this isn’t necessarily the case. That sort of point is best made by another respected soldier.
Wes Clark was a very enthusiastic supporter for Hillary. As he pointed out, BO is running on his character and “good” judgment. I did NOT hear Gen. Clark say BO had character or good judgment.
Gen. Clark is trying to be a good Democrat and support the “nominee.” He is not enthusiastic about it. And…he was saying similar remarks about McCain when he was campaigning for Hillary. She didin’t “reject his statements.”
The Hero or the Zero.
No choice.
Barack Obama:
AFRAID to sit down with Bill O’Reilly
AFRAID to allow Hillary Clinton a primetime speech at the convention.
AFRAID to allow Hillary Clinton’s name to be placed into nomination for a roll call vote.
AFRAID to challenge the service and sacrifice of John McCain, so hides behind his designated surrogate Wesley Clark.
Barack Obama: Unqualified and Unfit to be Commander in Chief.
HUFFPO: Gen clark stands by what he said. Bravo and it wasn’t bad what he said at all.
McCain never refers to himself as a war hero. That is something others have called him. He has been humble about his service. He has reserved his praise for the others who have served and died.
I believe General Clark has served this country honorably and I am grateful for his years of service to this country. However, I absolutely disagree with his characterization of Senator McCain’s military experience.
CLARK: 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.
Think surge General. He visited Iraq, spoke to the troops, spoke to the military leaders, assessed the risk, assessed his opponents, and he took the very politically unpopular position of supporting the surge. He placed his country before himself and his political ambitions. Time has proven he was correct. The surge has brought significant improvements, military and civil, in Iraq. The voters held him accountable. His party elected him to be its nominee.
CLARK: 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 — that wasn’t a wartime squadron.
I hope General Clark is not suggesting that military service during peace time is not important. Senator McCain could have retired from the military after returning from Vietnam, but he continued service to his country. He might not have led his men in war, but he prepared them for war. That is also leadership. I think General Clark might have confused Senator Obama with Senator McCain. Obama has been Chairperson of the Subcommittee on European Affairs but has made an official trip to Europe or held an oversight hearing on Afghanistan. He has not visited the Middle East for almost three years.
I believe, having faced gunfire, having been a POW, Senator McCain understands, in a way few people can, the dangers, sacrifices, and character of the military men and women and the price and sacrifice of both war and peace. He will take the decisions pertaining to war and peace seriously, thoughtfully, and with full consideration for the men and women of this country. Two of his sons are in the military. One older son had been a navy pilot. It is not rhetoric for him.
ca anyone tell me what Obama has commanded other than wrong votes because he couldn’t figure out how to vote..or present votes??????/
This man hasn’t even held one hearing on Nato and Afganistan..and last i knew..The Afgan war was for retribution of 9/11 wasn’t it????????????
What a frigging joke has been perpetrated against the American people by the Dem Party ..what a damn disgrace..
McCain will get my vote..although my husband was an MP in the Army and never was sent to Nam..he served..that is more than freaking Obama can ever say!
I represented my airline in Dallas many many years ago, when Mr.Love, ( Love Field Dallas…) Had a private dinner to Honor two POW’s and gave them Gold revolvers, with Ivory handles..in beautiful boxes..I honor anyone who served this nation ..
And i will have to trust McCain as he served this nation..and i do have to believe he would never deliberately hurt this nation..that he fought for..
and sacrificed for ..and left 5 years of his life behind for..
and suffered..for..
that is a hell of alot more than Obama can say he ever did..he is a wimpering coward in my book..and having lost my co-workers on 9/11 ..i wouldn’t trust my dead dog with Obama!
I will trust Mccain to do right by this nation and our National security to someone who left his blood on the battle field for this nation..not the coward and cheater..who had to steal my vote to get a nomination!
No Obama ..you will never get my vote..you never earned it..
McCain earned all his medals..McCain earned my respect.
I may not agree with him on many things..but one thing is for certain..i respect McCain.
Oh and during the Vietnam War..my boyfriend Flew the Thud..In Nam.
fly
NOBAMA!
Mr. Clark how many split infinitives must we have to read?
I can’t stand any of the “original” obamabots on TV Richardson is the worst lol
Wesley Clark is definitely not to blame. He used his chance to put backspin on McCain’s career and get it in play against stinky, as well it should be. Now it’s out there and will be discussed from all angles.
A very wise move.
Wise move? He might have said to the Republicans “BRING IT ON!”. You think there won’t be serious repurcussions in making these ridiculous statements?
On the other hand, if it makes “stinky” vunerable then more power to it all.
Exactly. It was Clark’s calculated move to get away from stinky and draw a sharp contrast against McCain achievements.
I respect McCain for his service but it is a shame he stands with Bush on everything-not the McCain of 2000.
Thank you Larry for making me sick to my stomach after looking at that horrific Obama in that pic above. I can hardly stand to look at it. And to think that ridiculous child might be POTUS. Surely, we will into irrelevance as a nation should this come to pass.
How many more years can a nation remain cohesive with this kind of mediocrity at the helm?
I hope you all saw Clark on Dan Abrams’ show.
What Clark didn’t say spoke volumes to me.
Exactly right, Sue.
I’m guessing it was like watching a well calculated chess match. One move setting up moves three steps down the road. He wasn’t a Rhodes Scholar for nothing…so was Bill for that matter.
Hillary/Clark08
???????????????????????????????????????????
Obama’s mother’s original Social Security Number Application
http://webofdeception.com/obamamother’sssapplication.html
I agree that military experience does not necessarily a President make. However, if we had heeded Ike Eisenhower’s warning we wouldn’t have the mess we have today (see Haliburton, KBR, and Blackwater). He warned about the mix of big business and the military. He was right.
How much more do we have to see and hear before we all roll up our sleeves and start working to make sure that there is a roll call vote in Denver in August?
Even the Obots are becoming disenchanted with “the one”. Buyer’s remorse is starting.
Hillary on the first ballet. Yes we will, this August.
Oh dear. That individual (BO) is going to lose SO-O-O-O-O-O badly IF he gets the nom.
Frankly, I don’t see the nom for him happening. I think there are some pretty darn sharp Dems in high places in the party that can play Chicago smackdown just as good if not better than others.
I hope you are right. So, who are they and when are they coming?
For Obama to say he doesn’t agree with Wes Clark is ridiculous. Does he forget that he was the one that said he had more experience than any other the candidates cause he went to Pakistan in 1981 & lived in Indonesia?
I think Wes is pointing out Obama’s lack of experience. I just can’t bring myself to distrust Clark just yet.
SueB, the incident with the Russians you’re referencing took place in PRISTINA not Kristina. elizinsandi, Alexander Haig’s memorable one liner “I’m in charge!” was spoken after Reagan was shot & VP Bush was out of the country…Haig is a retired Army 4 Star & was at the time SecState…it’s hard to explain the humor in retrospect…google him. Good thread, like a drunked night at the bar or a passive/aggressive Thanksgiving dinner, very down home.
While Barack Hussein Obama is throwing people under the bus, he is keeping us folks from asking about his policies. He is keeping us from focusing on why he is going traveling during election time, he is keeping us from asking him why he refuses to debate McCain. He is keeping us from inquiring about his Birth Certificate, medical records, Senate records.
Now then how many millions did Barack Hussein Obama spend on the primaries? How many millions will he spend on the GE? And who has the control of this money? How much of this money will go on “vacation” with him? Did he spend campainge monies in Africa for his cousin?
Smoke and mirrors, folks keep us guessing and ranting about unimportant things while he moves the DNC to Chiago (sorry bad spelling, need more coffee)
Where is Edwards? Richardson? Kennedy?
What makes everyone so sure that the Republicans will use their “527″?
People should be asking about Obama’s policies, and comparing them closely with McCain’s policies.
It isn’t Obama who’s been trying to distract people from doing that, however.
You haven’t noticed this yet? The entire focus is being kept on allegations about Obama’s religion, Obama’s presumed lack of patriotism, Obama’s sexism, Obama’s racism, Obama’s own race, people Obama has known, where Obama was born, etc.
Obama would like nothing better than close focus on a point-by-point comparison of where he and John McCain stand on important issues. Go ahead: Compare where they stand on the War in Iraq, taxation, the energy crisis, education, veterans’ benefits, Social Security, access to health insurance, workers’ rights and the the minimum wage, women’s health care, women’s reproductive rights, etc. See how many times you agree or disagree with each candidate.
If we got away from rumor and down to clearly established fact, if we compared Obama’s entire voting record over his entire political career with John McCain’s over his entire political career, we would find a striking contrast.
People don’t want you to do that. They want you to focus on other things. Because they know what might happen if you actually make the comparison.
Everyday someone is thrown under the bus, now it is Gen. Clark
So who is left to ride the Magic Bus ?
The Magic Bus the Who
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHge4ElsC14
Magic Bus, Magic Bus Bus
Give me a hundred ( Magic Bus )
I won’t take under ( Magic Bus )
Gose like thunder ( Magic Bus)
It’s a four-stage wonder ( Magic Bus)
Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus
I want it, I want it, I want it…( You can’t have it )
Think how much you’ll save …. ( You can’t have it )
I want it , I want it, I want it, I want it ( You can’t have it )
NOBAMA, NOBAMA, NOBAMA… YOU CAN’T HAVE IT
OK for a really good laugh go see what the Obamatrons are doing to backpedal on the Clark thing.
What Wesley Clark Really Said About John McCain
Here’s another one. Geez the bots are strong at Digg.
Right On, General Clark. Do Not Back Down.
Pass the Kool-Aid!
What General Clark did was point out the weaknesses of Obama while pretending to point out the weaknesses of McCain. It’s an argument device common in the Middle East. One compliments a foe to strengthen one’s own position. It’s usually lost on us loutish Americans, but the British are very skilled at it.
Was it intentional? I don’t know, but it’s a diplomatic skill set the General has certainly learned in his career.
I am with you. A pattern is emerging, and its not coincidence. Clark’s comments took all the wind out of Nobama’s Patriot speech. Rendell’s HOUND just bolstered PUMA. Maybe there is an antidote to the Kool-aid? It’s like they are sabotaging their captors. It’s like watching an old episode of Hogan’s Heros. And Big Dawg Bill is next at bat. Woohoo! That will be so much FUN to watch!!
At least Obama is consistent.
Wes Clark would have never had to make the statement if Hillary was the nominee.
No one questions Hilary’s grit and determination or her experience and qualifications.
The problem with Obama is that he is a hard sell because there isn’t anything there to sell. The only way to make Obama look better is belittle everyone else.
After the catchy phrase “character and judgment” we have absolutely no example from anyone of his good character or his good judgement that would actually qualify him beyond any other ordinary hack politician.
Has Gov Richardson changed his tune yet? or is he still chanting that Obama is a “healer and uniter” followed by an awkward silence then quickly changing the subject.
Or, you could make a point by point comparison between John McCain and Barack Obama on every important political issue you care about.
Some people actually care more about those issues than specifically who it is that’s promoting them.
McCain’s voting history during the reign of the George W. Bush Administration has been in support of George W. Bush policy 95% of the time. Do you like the George W. Bush policy, or where it’s gotten America to over the last 7 1/2 years?
Want to let them run with it for another 4?
It isn’t the wrapping on the package that’s ultimately important. It’s what’s inside the box. Compare the candidates on their stated policy positions, their entire voting records, and who they’re beholden to. Everything else is advertising, spin, or the static of deliberate disinformation.
some asshole wrote
“Schieffer should have asked Clark about his Vietnam experience, which wouldn’t have made a pimple on the ass of a 331 in Iraq BTW.
IMS his time in Vietnam was little more than a month. ”
But that asshole is a liar, like so many of you circle jerkers here.
Here is clark’s actual vietnam experience:
“Clark was assigned a position in the 1st Infantry Division and flew to Vietnam on May 21, 1969 during the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He worked as a staff officer, collecting data and helping in operations planning, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his work with the staff. Clark was then given command of A Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division in January 1970. In February, only one month into his command, he was shot four times by a Viet Cong soldier with an AK-47. The wounded Clark shouted orders to his men, who counterattacked and defeated the Viet Cong force. Clark had injuries to his right shoulder, right hand, right hip, and right leg, and was sent to Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to recuperate. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the encounter.[20]
Poor Wes. Under the bus with whitey granny, sweetie.
I respect Wesley Clark, well I did. However, I would not vote for this”braying burro” if John Wayne and the entire U.S. calvary were charging with him! Talk about “herd” mentality!
I really wish Democrats would not go down this path. Next thing you know they’ll be handing out purple heart bandages at the DNC.
Avarosis over at Americablog did a hit piece on Mccain critisizing his service. People post stuff on Obama’s website calling McCain a war criminal. I remember what was done to McCain in 2000, to John Kerry, Paul Hackett, Tammy Duckworth, Max Cleland. I want to see more veterans in congress. If we allow it to become acceptable to attack them for their military service, they won’t run anymore. What the Republicans did was horrible and now it looks like the Dems are going the same way.
Obama is a coward, much like Bush. Bush hid behind the swiftboaters while they attacked Kerry. Obama’s trying to hide behind Wes Clark while also denouncing him.
Are there not a hundred thousand other things to critisize McCain for?
I think it’s amusing how many high-profile, respected Dems are running away from BO. At this rate his only VP choices will be McCaskill and Richardson. LOLOL!!! The best part of GE day will be watching all three of those venomous hacks sobbing and wailing.
Great post, Larry.
I would personally rather put my safety and security in the hands of a man who survived several years of torture and went on to run for president, than a man who hides his state senate papers for fear that his non-existent record will be exposed, or that he served Tony Rezko’s interests more than the citizens of the Southside.
And oh by the way, did Barack ever register for the Selective Service?
wes clark spent all of one month in viet nam.
throwing a fellow soldier under the bus for actually being a hero, while holding up the empty suit as the exemplary one, is definitely kool-aid behavior.
bambi spent zero months anywhere of note. and let’s face it,with Wes now under there, that bus will not be able to roll soon.
kind of nervy of the bambi and surrogate wouldn’t you say, pointing a finger anywhere in the general direction of Sen McCain’s service to his country,of his courage under fire, his background training in leadership via the naval academy and the power of example of his father and grandfather(both war heroes and leaders in the U. S. Navy ).
McCain has been trained in loyalty to his country, and in the skills of leadership, from the cradle.
i just started reading his book “Faith of My Father’s(A Family Memoir)” it’s an interesting read and shows just where the guy came from. makes oblahma’s books look like romance novels.
McCain is a republican, a typically imperfect human politician, and all that yada yada…..
yet. it’s obvious to me that Mac is the one to hire for the job of POTUS. i think that there are a few positive surprises for us all in the John McCain brain.
the oblahma manchurian brain….not so much.
Gotta watch David Bellavia on This Just In with Laura Ingraham from 6/31. How embarrassing, when Jon is asked what Foreign Policy experience Obama has compared to McCain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8-ALlN4FOs
Strange, McCain’s “bravery” was not much in evidence when he folded to the Christian Crazies that he once denounced as agents of intolerance. How about that double twist with one and half flip-flops on Reverends Parsley and Haige? Oh and how about that cave in on torture just a month ago? W did not even have to twist McCain’s arm to get Mr. Straight talk to vote for CIA abuse of prisoners. McCain is every bit as craven as any other ReThuglican pol / reptile slithering around in the fever swamps of D.C.
And by the way Larry how does the 3rd worst graduate in his class in Annapolis get to fly planes in the first place? How does a disciplinary problem gain ownership of a multi-million dollar piece of hardware? How does he get put back in one of those planes after crashing it in a non-combat situation? Why are you not the least bit curious about those items but endlessly curious about Obama’s birth certificate? Oh and how can you support a man like Bob Barr; the man who lead the charge on the pointless Clinton Impeachment proceedings that may have set us up for the Al Queda attack on 9/11?
We of the zoomie persuasion usually looked more kindly upon the guys that brought the airplane back to us. After I considered this for a while vis-a-vis McCain, I had second thoughts.
For instance, this holds with the WWII experience of George Herbert Walker Bush who found out that an Avenger makes a lousy canoe. He went on to screw the pooch as a President so the criterion holds.
It falls apart, though, with his kid, the infamous Dubya who never drilled a hole in the ground with a jet. He has screwed poor old Shep blind during his romp as President so the criterion goes down in flames.
McCain was given administrative experience running that training squadron. That could be worth kudos except that my moron brother-in-law (family gatherings are a skosh tense) retired from a squadron command.
All of this, of course, is light years beyond the experience that Barry has in green jeans.
I would also consider McCain’s four years in the House and 22 years in the Senate as a skosh better than The Prince of Platitude’s experience in government.
Now if only McCain hadn’t disgraced his family and become a goddamn Republican.
How hard is it for an officer in the armed forces to know the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE?
That’s probably at least as challenging for some as the correct spelling of “McCain”.
[...] Johnson, Barack Obama Folds on General Clark, No Quarter, June 30, [...]
Bush need to recall Clark back to active duty, then demote his dumb ass to 2nd lt and retire him again. This clown is an embarassment !!
General Clark let his egotism get the best of him. He wasn’t talking about why Senator Obama would be a better president than Senator McCain. He was talking about why he would be a better president than both of them.
I’d rather have a sane, inexperienced but man of integrity, than a sell-out, insane warmonger, for President.
Oh, please- McCain has sullied his own military service (which Clark went out of his way to praise) by refusing to support the new GI Bill. McCain of the Keating 5, Vicki Iseman, crash test dummy & Bush clone simply cannot be taken seriously in matters of national security, as patriot General Wesley Clark- who would make one hell of a President, I might add- correctly points out. McCain’s military experience, in & of itself, has not prepared him for the presidency.
Unfortunately, and in all seriousness, the torture McCain endured is probably a contributing factor in his seemingly endless ability to endure the torturous machinations of the Republican Party & their minions.
Wes Clark is a national treasure. Furter, he is quite literally the gold standard of the Democratic Party.
McCain is a washed up caricature of himself.
Lanny Davis on Fox …. Clark’s comments insensitive, disregard for service.. it is dumb, McCain’s experience not example for leadership? He keeps talking and digging a deeper whole. What is Clark’s purpose? He’s hurting Obama….. Clark NOT VP .. he is politically tone deaf… he demonstrates tone deafness, he doesn’t belong in electoral politics….
I don’t think Lanny Davis wants Clark considered for VP. I can only guess these Clinton supporters are trying to box Obama into considering Clinton for VP by taking themselves and each other out of contention.
Not exactly saying alot about the judgment of Clark. He could have a point. But it immediately begs the question of Obama’s experience. McCain might not have command military experience, but almost no US Presidents have ever had that so it’s not exactly a valid criticism. McCain’s military career speaks about his CHARACTER, not his experience. And it doesn’t have to. McCain has years and years of POLITICAL experience. The type of experience that DOES qualify one to be President. Obama does not.
Thanks Clark…..for bringing that issue up in dramatic fashion.
McCain is the one who constantly brings up his military experience and his time as a POW. He’s the one who’s made it an issue. He’s the one who has made his POW experience as somehow qualifying him to be president. So to say Clark has denigrated McCain’s service is just plain stupid. And for McCain to bring in Day to tout McCain’s service is downright criminal considering that Day was part of the Swiftboat Veterans for “Truth” slander against Kerry. McCain’s military experience does NOT qualify him to be president. No one’s military experience qualifies them to be president. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Hey ElleninBigD - here’s a question for you, since you seem to be an authority on the subject - what qualifies Obama over McCain to be Commander in Chief, President of the USA, and Leader of the Free World?(and please, Hope and Change don’t count, unless you Hope Obama stops Changing his mind on so many issues) ….
After reading all of these comments, I can see why Obama does not put himself in a position to take hard questions. Without the teleprompter and his script, he would self destruct.
I agree that Obama has no experience for Commander In Chief, hell he doesn’t even have enough experience being a Senator. And he’s been an over liberal achiever at that. And, he Flip-Flops on Issues worse then a Catfish out of water!
But to say that ‘John McCain Suffered Years of Torture Before Breaking’ is Ludicrous! Johnny Boy was ‘Singing’ as he hit the water! John Sang Like A Canary, and you can take that to the Bank! No Torture Was Needed by Hanoi on that!
Rest assured, neither McCain nor Obama is fit to be President and Commander In Chief! Of all the Candidates still in this Race, only Bob Barr from the Libertarian Party, is the better choice, and I am not that crazy about him!
hmm.. thank you very much. usefull information
Cool. It took almost a day to find this info. Thanks! Good job.
Super. It took almost a day to find this info. Thanks, great job.
Yep, that photo and headline tells the story alright: Republicans are uneducated for the most part and don’t know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re.’
Republican business as usual…misinformation and propaganda.
While the sentiment of that picture with caption contrasting Obama bin Biden with “Johnny Top Gun” is great, the grammar, sorry to say, is not.
The wording above the photo should read, “If you’re still thinking about voting for Obama, I’ve got a question for you . . . ”
In this case you should use the contraction for “you are,” instead of the currently-employed “your,” which indicates possession. Also, a comma, not a semi-colon (which would be half-assed), should follow “Obama” (who’s a complete ass), although the junior senator from Illinois’s used to being followed by the half-assed, judging from the persons on his payroll, including sycophantic spokespeople.
OK, I just noticed someone else also pointed out one of these errors I mentioned in the picture’s caption, but that poster’s assertion the mistakes are indicative of a lack of intelligence on the part of Republicans/conservatives is not a correct assumption.
This poster, a conservative and journalist by profession, who received A’s in his high school and college English courses, noticed the errors, BOTH OF THEM, before seeing the other poster’s corrective comment.
While it may have at one time been true that “just because most stupid people are conservative doesn’t mean all conservatives are stupid” (a quotation I think I recall being attributed to the late conservative author, columnist & publisher, William F. Buckley), these days, with a few generations of Bolshevik-brainwashed Baby Boomers and their brood regurgitating knee-jerk platitudes, it may be more the case of liberals & leftists lacking literacy and factual fastidiousness; less celebrated in their cerebral certitude.
In any case, ’twas I who caught the two errors of my fellow conservative’s photo caption, as well the mistake made by his criticizing, liberal poster in neglecting his other error of punctuation. So, a net gain of 1-0, conservatives vs. liberals.
And regarding he alliterative prose of my paragraph twice preceding this, as the distinguished linguist, Dick Martin, once said, “Look them up in your ‘Funk & Wagnalls!’”
By the way, anticipating a poster correcting an error of my just-uploaded post–
The third word in the last paragraph is supposed to read “the,” not “he.” It was an error of dexterity and typography, not of grammar. But I do apologize, nonetheless, for the appearance of imprecision in the written language, the language in this case being “the Queen’s English,” by which you may infer whatever you wish; either the sexual proclivity of this writer’s language of preference, a descriptive term alluding to the gender of the current inhabitant of the throne of Great Britain, or both.
Sodomites for McCain-Palin, indeed.