Clark: McCain a hero, but lacks command experience

[Psycho4Bud]

WASHINGTON (AP) â?? Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate now supporting Barack Obama, said Sunday John McCain's military service does not automatically qualify him to be commander in chief.

Underscoring during a national television appearance a position he has been expressing for several weeks, Clark said performing heroic military service is not a substitute for gaining command experience.

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in 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," Clark said. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded â?? that wasn't a wartime squadron."

Moderator Bob Schieffer, who raised the issue by citing similar remarks Clark has made previously, noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied.

In a March conference call with reporters while he was still backing Hillary Rodham Clinton, Clark said: "Everybody admires John McCain's service as a fighter pilot, his courage as a prisoner of war. There's no issue there. He's a great man and an honorable man. But having served as a fighter pilot â?? and I know my experience as a company commander in Vietnam â?? that doesn't prepare you to be commander in chief in terms of dealing with the national strategic issues that are involved. It may give you a feeling for what the troops are going through in the process, but it doesn't give you the experience first hand of the national strategic issues."

He reiterated that position last week in an article on The Huffington Post Web site.

"If Barack Obama's campaign wants to question John McCain's military service, that's their right," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said after Clark's appearance Sunday. "But let's please drop the pretense that Barack Obama stands 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."
The Associated Press: Clark: McCain a hero, but lacks command experience

What would be worse than going after McCains age? That's right, his military record! Might be in Obama's best interest to tell Clark to STFU!!

Have a good one!:s4:

Psycho4Bud Reviewed by Psycho4Bud on 06-30-2008. Clark: McCain a hero, but lacks command experience WASHINGTON (AP) â?? Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate now supporting Barack Obama, said Sunday John McCain's military service does not automatically qualify him to be commander in chief. Underscoring during a national television appearance a position he has been expressing for several weeks, Clark said performing heroic military service is not a substitute for gaining command experience. "In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter Rating: 5

[texas grass]

wheres the queston of military service. it seems they are giving him prays. their just saying because he was military doesnt make him right for president.

[BigWeed]

WASHINGTON (AP) â?? Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate now supporting Barack Obama, said Sunday John McCain's military service does not automatically qualify him to be commander in chief.

Underscoring during a national television appearance a position he has been expressing for several weeks, Clark said performing heroic military service is not a substitute for gaining command experience.

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in 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," Clark said. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded â?? that wasn't a wartime squadron."

Moderator Bob Schieffer, who raised the issue by citing similar remarks Clark has made previously, noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied.

In a March conference call with reporters while he was still backing Hillary Rodham Clinton, Clark said: "Everybody admires John McCain's service as a fighter pilot, his courage as a prisoner of war. There's no issue there. He's a great man and an honorable man. But having served as a fighter pilot â?? and I know my experience as a company commander in Vietnam â?? that doesn't prepare you to be commander in chief in terms of dealing with the national strategic issues that are involved. It may give you a feeling for what the troops are going through in the process, but it doesn't give you the experience first hand of the national strategic issues."

He reiterated that position last week in an article on The Huffington Post Web site.

"If Barack Obama's campaign wants to question John McCain's military service, that's their right," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said after Clark's appearance Sunday. "But let's please drop the pretense that Barack Obama stands 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."
The Associated Press: Clark: McCain a hero, but lacks command experience

What would be worse than going after McCains age? That's right, his military record! Might be in Obama's best interest to tell Clark to STFU!!

Have a good one!:s4:

I agree. Leave Mccains war record out of this he cant win that way. I respect Mccain and what he gave for this country. His war record should be left alone.:rasta::rastasmoke:imp:

[Psycho4Bud]

I agree. Leave Mccains war record out of this he cant win that way.

DAMN BigWeed....this is becoming more of trend as of late.

Have a good one!:s4:

[dragonrider]

What would be worse than going after McCains age? That's right, his military record!

I agree. Leave Mccains war record out of this he cant win that way. I respect Mccain and what he gave for this country. His war record should be left alone.:rasta::rastasmoke:imp:

How do you guys see this as an attack on McCain's war record? I didn't see where Clark attacked McCain's war record at all. This is what he said about McCain's war record:

"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 this:

"Everybody admires John McCain's service as a fighter pilot, his courage as a prisoner of war. There's no issue there. He's a great man and an honorable man."

Sounds to me like he was praising McCain's war record but questioning how it qualified him to be President, which is a vaild question. I don't see this as a very strong point that Clark was raising, but it's definitely no attack on McCain's war record.

Maybe you saw something I didn't. What in that article did you see as an attack on McCain's war record?

[Psycho4Bud]

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

That was a VERY condensending remark about his service to his country. Here's another example on how the left wing is shooting Obama in the foot:

"Getting shot down, tortured and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience," Aravosis wrote in the blog post, titled "Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?"
Some on left target McCain's war record - Yahoo! News
This is something that the GOP will be licking their chops on for months to come....put down a man that went through hell the way McCain did. So much for that vet vote.

Have a good one!:s4:

[texas grass]

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

That was a VERY condensending remark about his service to his country. Here's another example on how the left wing is shooting Obama in the foot:

"Getting shot down, tortured and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience," Aravosis wrote in the blog post, titled "Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?"
Some on left target McCain's war record - Yahoo! News
This is something that the GOP will be licking their chops on for months to come....put down a man that went through hell the way McCain did. So much for that vet vote.

Have a good one!:s4:

as stated clark praised mccain for being a vet

so where is it stated that mccain was attacked

just because he was a war vet doesnt mean hes fit for president. infact both mccain and obama arnt fit for president. their both corrupt ignorant retarted assclowns


and about the vet vote, its funny that ron paul got more military votes than any other candidate even mccain

[cornish_dope]

With this post i really do not wish to offend anyone it is not my intention, But living in the UK i don't rely understand America, what is it with military service, patriotism and such like when the wars America has started are just evil and unnessecerry, your country your goverment locks you up for smoking herb. I really can't see how anyone is proud of america, maybe when it was first formed but not now. And all this land of the free stuff??? the US has the highest incarceration rate in the devoloped world. how is the country free.

I feel nothing for my country i feel no pride nor patriotism, I hate what my country stands for and could happily shit on the union jack. I rely could not careless for patriotism or national pride i don't feel proud when I hear my national anthem Infact i loathe it, it sickens me the queen the old fashioned traditional crap I hate this country and what goes with it.

[dragonrider]

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

That was a VERY condensending remark about his service to his country.

Well, I suppose McCain can take it personally if he wants to, but I don't see it as an attack on his war record.

The fact is that the McCain campaign promotes his war service as a reason for him to be president, so they open up the issue. It would not be right to attack his war record, and I do not see that happening in this article. But if his campaign wants to tout his war record as a reason why he is fit for the presidency, then they need to be open to having that reasoning challenged without getting pissy and whiney about it.

The same was true for John Kerry. If someone wanted to question why his war experience made him any more fit for the presidency, then that would have been acceptable. But to question his actual wartime experience was low. Clark is not pulling a Swift Boat-style attack on McCain like what was done to Kerry --- he is questioning why McCain's war experience makes him a better president, which is a fair question.

[birdgirl73]

It's not an attack on his war record nor a condescending comment. Not by a long shot. It was questioning his quals, which is valid and fair in an election year. I think Clark must be lobbying hard for a tap as veep--or trying.

John McCain is said to have one of the most well-developed super-egos on the planet, an assessment repeatedly given to him by military psychiatrists over the years who've followed him for PTSD after the prisoner of war period and which he himself has talked about on frequent occasions.

With that level of overconfidence and the fact that he lacks command experience, which he does, I think his qualifications are a valid concern. To be fair, it's a concern anyone who reads would have on both sides of this election, dems and repubs alike. I want a person who's wise enough to listen to his people at Defense and to the counsel of the joint chiefs and the branch commanders.