Mr Clark i applaud you!
NOCODE#1
Posts: 1,477
"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark said in reference to McCain.
EX fucking ACTLY!
EX fucking ACTLY!
Let's not be negative now. Thumper has spoken
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such a stupid quote. who said that McCain was running for president because he was shot down. this is just sad that a person who i like said this. if he wants to say anything abotu McCain it should be that just becuase McCain was in the army does not mean that he is the expert at Mitary matters. that i can understand.
- Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me."
- Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980)
I agree... the comment while maybe not untrue, was said in a way that comes across (at least out of context) as a political cheap shot.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
This comment aside, I've heard this talking point repeatedly over the last few weeks, and no one ever explains it any further... Are new politics something were no one can say anything negative about an issue or an opponent? Should McCain get a free pass to say whatever he wants to say or do whatever he wants to do without being called out on the bullshit?
Obama (and McCain) have both done a great job so far of elevating this campaign above the Karl Rove-type whisper campaigns and swift boat crap that has make our past campaigns a joke. This is the new politics that Obama has talked about while campaigning.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Obama preaches this 'change' and 'hope' message and says that Washington needs new blood and that his lack of experience is good because he isn't the 'same' as the rest there. Yet look at all of the people causing him problems. Wright, Pfleger, Johnson, Rezko and now Clark have all done things that echo the crap in politics that makes people tired of it. Obama has also already played his race card and he is showing that he is no different than anyone else in Washington. The only thing different is his name and the color of his skin, and that alone should not be reason to vote or not vote for someone.
When exactly again has Obama played the race card?
And what exactly have Wright & Pfleger done to reflect on Obama's political approach? Wright made stupid comments years ago that resurfaced in this campaign, and while Obama's association with him can be scrutinized, what wright has said over the past two decades really has nothing to do with this campaign or politics at all. And Pfleger? what a reach that was... if it didn't happen at the Trinity church, it would be a total non-story (as it should be)...
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Congratualtions on being an idiot.
It would be swift boat if they made claim that McCain shot himself down. There's a big difference here in the claims made.
exactly... the swiftboaters were claiming that Kerry didn't deserve any medals and that his whole service was pretty much a hoax and a way to get attention for future political dreams.
Clark didn't question McCain's service (actually he praised him as a hero to him and millions of other soldiers), but in a response said that being shot down isn't a qualification to be president.
Like I said, it wasn't wrong, but it's not a good thing to say when you are supporting a candidate with no military experience.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
You're missing the point...it's an effort to minimalize his service...in an effort to take away McCain's greatest strength over Obama...his service to his country.
It's the same premise as was behind the swift boat..take your opponents strength and marginalize it or make it his weakness. It does show the Dems have learned how to run a presidential campaign though...worked for the repub before
That's actually the real point. Nobody on Obama's team better talk about qualifications based on experience, because if one wrote out Obama's in one column and McCain's in the other, the scales would tip pretty heavily McCain's way between his time serving the country in the military, and the time spent as a leader in the Senate. Obama played a political game to get elected to his state senate, and is now a junior US senator who can't be bothered to show up to vote, and when he does vote it is usually "present" rather than "yea" or "nay" so that we don't know where he stands.
I'm not voting for McCain or Obama, but I'd suggest to Obama's campaign that they stick to the vague message of hope and change, and leave the "experience" message for those who have it, since that's something that can be objectively evaluated.
If your claim of such leadership ability is being reflective of your service as a pilot, then, yes, it deserves to be questioned. They can't throw it out there, then hide behind, he's a hero; he is off limits in this area. I find that disrespectful because there is a whole Wall of people who never heard support the troops and never knew they were heroes for serving their country. McCain can't have it both ways.
You're right, I was embellishing. But McCain has a much longer voting record with actual votes cast, so you know where he stands, like him or not. The point remains, Obama should not compare experience - There is no way he wins that fight.
Exactly. Shot down or not at least he served. I said the same thing about Kerry vs. Bush. Heck Bush has more military experience than Obama.
Then... why did you ever vote for him?
Hail, Hail!!!
Good points.
Bottomline - Clark's remarks were silly/foolish/bizarre. John McCain isn't qualified to serve as president because he was merely shot down and held captive for several years. McCain is qualified to be president because of his entire resume'. Like him or not, McCain is more than qualified to be president. He has a great military record and post-military record. If there was ever any candidate qualified to be president, it's John McCain.
I can't understand why Clark and the liberal wing of the democratic party want to try and pick this particular fight. McCain has a definite advantage over Obama in this regard. Obama and his surrogates need to stay off trying to find something questionable with McCain's military service record, because as we say in Alabama, "That dawg won't hunt."
Gibson Amphitheatre (Los Angeles): 10/7/09
Not really. Nobody really has the qualifications to be president or even know what they are.
I want someone smart and passionate who shares many of my ideals. George bush wasn't smart or remotely gifted enough to be president and it overwhelmed him.
McCain, McCain circa 2000 maybe, but his long resume only proves he is really really old now and is COMPLETELY out of touch w/ todays reality.
http://securingamerica.com/node/2993
...
"Bob Schieffer: Well you, you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote, and these are your words, "untested and untried," And I must say I, I had to read that twice, because you're talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war. He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He's been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years. How can you say that John McCain is un- untested and untried? General?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it-'
Bob Schieffer: Well-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: ' -it publicly.' He hasn't made those calls, Bob.
Bob Schieffer: Well, well, General, maybe-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: So-
Bob Schieffer: Could I just interrupt you. If-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Sure.
Bob Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean-
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President.
Bob Schieffer: Really?!
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: But Barack is not, he is not running on the fact that he has made these national security pronouncements. He's running on his other strengths. He's running on the strengths of character, on the strengths of his communication skills, on the strengths of his judgment. And those are qualities that we seek in our national leadership.
...
Taking ons sentence without the context in which it was said is a typical 'news' trick to gain airtime. It works, regardless of the person making the statement.
And remember... this is the SAME American style 'journalism' that puts Britney Spears shaving her head or Paris Hilton getting released from jail as 'Breaking News'.
Hail, Hail!!!
The goal of everyone, including Mr. Clark, should be to make sure that no matter what, that there is not a Republican in the White House past January. Agree with the comment or not.... it didn't help achieve that goal.
True... it was a poor choice of words.
John Kerry's 'Reporting for Duty' and McCain's comments about having combat experience helps were equally wrong. Just because you served in combat is not a qualification the be President. Hell, we are in a war started by George Bush, who never was combat duty (even in a period where we were at war) and Donald Rumsfeld. And Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and John Ashcroft who never served... period.
Combat duty is not a qualification for President and Presidential candidates need to quit pretending it is.
Hail, Hail!!!