Wesley Clark: Obama Lap Dog & a Disgrace in General

[Slamfire]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/29/clark.mccain/index.html

This bothers me a great deal...  Wesley Clark comes out and endorses Obama -  and then has the gall to say McCain is "not qualified" to be Commander in Chief of the US armed forces.

McCain's Father, and Grand Father were both Admirals - and McCain graduated from the US Naval Academy and saw combat first hand.  He came "from the brass" and "fought in the trenches" - I can't think of a more well rounded profile for a Commander in Chief.

How dare he go there !  Especially considering Obama has never even so much as joined the Cub Scouts ! 

What, pray tell, Mr Clark, has Obama done, to make you think he'd make a better Commander in Chief ?

[Bodhi]

Clark sure sounds awful from those quotes.

[AWMac]

Pfffft who in their right mind would name a Son Wesley...

 

[SOB]

Clark sounds a lot like a politician.  Ya know... full of it.

[Delirium]

In the interview, Clark said McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, was "untested and untried."

And Obama has lots of experience in both foreign diplomacy and combat? Clark's stock went way down, in my opinion... all Clark had to say was, "I agree with Obama's philosophy and views on what America should be." To make the above comment is pathetic...

It is really too bad we don't have a 3rd choice, both parties are pathetic as hell and they get worse everyday.

[SOB]

It is really too bad we don't have a 3rd choice, both parties are pathetic as hell and they get worse everyday.

Agreed.

[SteveBailey]

It is really too bad we don't have a 3rd choice, both parties are pathetic as hell and they get worse everyday.

Ya, I'm willing to be that neither candidate repesents the majority of his respective party. It really is pathetic,

[Slamfire]

Ya, I'm willing to be that neither candidate repesents the majority of his respective party. It really is pathetic,

it's all turned into... American Idol.   We've on the ledge of a great precipice, and we have two imbecilic talking heads up for the job of "who'll take the first step".    

[REP0MAN]

Pfffft who in their right mind would name a Son Wesley...

 

Excellent people.....

My middle name is Wesley......Jerk

[rpm]

The dust-up began with Clark's appearance Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," where moderator Bob Schieffer asked him about his interview with the Huffington Post earlier this month.

In the interview, Clark said McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, was "untested and untried."

When Schieffer asked to explain the comment, Clark said he was referring to McCain's experience, or lack thereof, in setting national security policies and understanding the risk involved in such matters.

"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 the armed forces, as a prisoner of war. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility," said Clark, a former NATO commander who campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.

"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," Clark said.

Schieffer noted that Obama did not have any of those experiences, nor had he "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."

"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark said.

OK, what about this is untrue or insulting? Sounds to me like Clark made valid points (and I'm leaning towards voting McCain). If getting shot down is an important qualification, then why do you republicans drool all over Dubya? How long did Reagan spend in a POW camp?

You guys have drunk the Dubya Kool-Aid so long you can't be objective anymore. All you can do is point and spit.

[DiabloTX]

I don't think this has one iota of having to do with Dubya at all, RPM.  To compare and contrast the resume's of both McCain and Obama was Clark's initiative and he failed mightily at that.  If McCain has only flown combat missions, graduated from Annapolis, had to have been in charge of men at some point in his military career and had to push the buttom to drop bombs from his Skyhawk, what has Obama done?  The 2 aren't even close.  And conservative kool-aid tastes just like liberal kool-aid.  Remember that.

[rpm]

Diablo, what I'm saying is Clark made valid points. To jump out and call him a disgrace is ludicrus. McCain did honorable service above and beyond, but he never held combat command or made combat command decisions. That's what Clark was saying. That puts McCain and Obama on equal experience turf in this area.

To say that combat command experience is a major factor for a candidate, just look at the last election. Bush had zero combat experience but republicans didn't seem to think it mattered.  Reagan never left Hollywood, yet is considered one of the greats by republican standards. They do not look at the facts, just the hate spin. That's the point I was making.

As I said, I'm leaning toward McCain at the moment. I need to see who he picks for a running mate before I commit.

[DiabloTX]

I see your point.  Mine is I don't think combat experience nor military experience is a prerequisite to the CINC job.  But according to Clark it is.  The things he said McCain hasn't done Obama has come nowhere close to doing.  If anything McCain is closer to Clark's ideal candidate than Obama could ever dream of being.

As for me, well, it's another situation of "choosing the lesser of 2 weevils"...I mean evils for this election.

[Tarmac]

OK, what about this is untrue or insulting?

"He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall."

That line is completely untrue, or at least a gross mischaracterization.  McCain HAS been there, no question about that, and as for ordering the bombs to fall... he was the guy in the cockpit, making the decision firsthand in the moment to push the "pickle" button.  As an O-6 (O-4 at the time he was shot down) he surely has ordered someone else (wingman, squadron mates) to do it alongside him... but more importantly, he took accountability, led the way, and did it himself too.

I can't believe that a military man (let alone a general with a background in armor/infantry ops) would say that someone who has flown a fighter in combat "hasn't held executive responsibility."  Executive = to be responsible for execution... and as a fighter pilot, McCain has just a bit of experience executing the objectives laid out by planning types.  I'm curious what Clark thinks is "executive experience" if McCain allegedly doesn't have any from his time in the military. 

[rpm]

Tarmac, could you please educate me on what outfit McCain was CO of?

I agree he has the experience of combat, but he did not hold a command other than being senior POW. Clark actually has more command experience than McCain and I'd listen to what he has to say. I'd actually prefer to see Clark as the nominee.

Slamfire is pulling quotes out of his 6 when he said "has the gall to say McCain is "not qualified" to be Commander in Chief of the US armed forces." Did you see that anywhere in the linked article? I sure did'nt. Squeakfire is making spin, that's all. Don't forget Dubya vs McCain in South Carolina. Now THAT was a disgrace.