McCain: Obama Should Cut Wesley Clark Loose.

ABC News (blog) ^ | 7/1/08 | Bret Hovell

[hole_n_one]

ABC News' Bret Hovell Reports: John McCain, taking questions from reporters aboard his Straight Talk Express: The Airplane Edition, said it was time for the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama to cut retired Gen. Wesley Clark loose.

"I think it's up to Sen. Obama now to not only repudiate him, but to cut him loose," McCain said to a small group of reporters somewhere between Indianapolis, IN, and Cartagena, Colombia.

For two days, the Obama campaign has been off message, forced to manage the fallout surrounding comments Clark made about McCain's war service in a broadcast interview Sunday. The highly regarded former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO said of McCain, whose plane was shot down and was later held captive in Vietnam, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

Onboard his plane Tuesday, McCain was asked if Obama -- who did reject Clark's comments on Monday --had done enough to repudiate the general. He didn't take the bait. "That's up to others to decide," said McCain. "I'm not going to worry about the comments General Clark made."

He implied that Clark's comments were a distraction, saying they didn't help solve the economic woes of the United States.

The wide ranging media avail was divided into 2 parts because of space concerns. About half of the 20 members of press traveling with the campaign joined McCain at a time in an area on the plane specifically designed for the flying press conference.

[Born In America]

Lanny says it makes no sense and that Barry has a big patriotism problem.

I remember when Lanny was firmly ensconced in the Hillary camp when the Rev Wright tapes came out. He sure had plenty of problems with BHO then.

[RedEyeJack]

Nice picture of Webb... Looks like he has put on 60 pounds all on his forehead. Wow... Must be the result of the pounding Ollie North gave him 40 years ago.

[Sacajaweau]

Clark has one thing going for him...He LOVES Hillary...

She endorsed him when he was running for Prez and then quickly withdrew the endorsement...and said..."whoever is the candidate will be fine"...

Bet Hillary is the "writer" behind good ole Wes.

[bray]

For two days, the Obama campaign has been off message,

What message?? Does anybody know what his message is??

Pray for W and Our Troops

[Enchante]

It should be called the “Borking” of McCain, i.e., telling vicious lies about someone for political gain. Or, most appropriately, perhaps it should be called the “TedKennedy-ing” of McCain, since this is how Demagogues behave when they cannot win an argument, a hearing, or an election.

[RedEyeJack]

Read Anton Myer's “Once an Eagle”... Wes is the real-life personification of Courtney Massengale.

[Jeff Head]

Bill Clinton. They were buds.

[Miss Didi]

Lanny started off the segment against the Clark strategy while Rick thought it was a winner for Barry. (what’s wrong with him?) Then Lanny concludes by saying while he hasn’t always supported Barry, he thinks he is a patriot who loves his country. I’d say Lanny got his orders wrong from Clinton Inc.

[Jeff Head]

Clark and Obama acted in unison. Clark on the attack, followed by Obama taking the high ground to make himself look good.

They are both disgusting and unworthy to tie the bootlaces of John McCain.

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA WILL CHANGE THE WORLD

THE AUDACITY OF TRUTH ABOUT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA

[Gator113]

“It was a strategic coordinated effort by Barry.”

I am certain of this.

My bet is that each of those that he has ‘pretended’ to toss under the bus, will have a job in his administration if he wins this election.

[RedEyeJack]

The Dems are using the Clintonesque application of neurolinguistic programming. Get the message out enough and fast enough and it becomes fact for those who only listen to “sound bites”...

“It's the economy, stupid” is the grandfather of “Bush lied, people died”. Universal suffrage and modern media are turning presidential politics into “American Idol” on steroids. Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison never dreamed that we would end up ruled by the Supreme Court with politicians competing to confiscate wealth from the “people” to payoff their supporters.

[Perchant]

Highly regarded? By whom?

If I remember correctly, Madonna and Michael Moore were his biggest supporters during his rat primary campaign 4 years ago.

...Madonna and Michael Moore.

[GunnyB]

We would not want to choke on your hypocrisy after all......

It truly pains me that Webb is a former Marine. His lack of Honor is certainly telling - especially when he plays politics with a brother Officer of the US Naval Service, and a POW to boot. For Shame!

[ml/nj]

It's amazing how well demagoguery works.

What I understand Clark to have said is absolutely true. Being a prisoner in a POW Camp does not necessarily qualify one to be President of the United States. Rush may demagogue this too, but he and others here were saying exactly the same thing four months ago. Of course, sitting in the Reverend Wright's "church" and/or being friends with Weather Underground folks isn't much of a recommendation either. At least languishing in a POW Camp isn't disqualifying.

ML/NJ

[Miss Didi]

RUSH: Let's see. I think Wesley Clark, the Obama campaign, they're just trying to destroy John McCain's character, just like they tried to destroy the character and reputations of any judge that is nominated by the president to any court, particularly the appellate courts or the Supreme Court, because their guy can't compete with McCain when it comes to the experience that she (caller) was talking about, serving in the military and how that translates to having worthwhile experience to be commander-in-chief and defend and protect the Constitution. Obama is not anywhere near it. I mean it is grossly unqualified. So in the process, what is happening -- and some swift boat guys are getting mad, by the way, because the way the left is using the term swift boat, it is used to say that people are being lied about, specifically Democrats. To swift boat a Democrat is to lie about him and to falsely attack and accuse. The truth is, a swift boat attack is the truth about a Democrat. And most leftist Democrats, anybody who tells the truth about them or their policies is accused of a personal attack. So the Drive-Bys have come right along. They have accepted this new definition of swiftboating, trying to turn it into a pejorative, and they are trying to equate all that with Wesley Clark. The swift boat vets told the truth about a guy they served with, he was lying, John Kerry. So here we have a montage of people from ABC, CNN, NPR, CNN. We do not have Clark and McCain on this. This is just a montage to show you how they're doing it.

WRIGHT: The McCain campaign unveiled a new truth squad, the Swift Boat Veterans.

BROWN: Those so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

TOOBIN: The swift boat people.

WILLIAMS: Swift boating is very real.

BASH: Like the swift boat veterans which ran ads against John Kerry.

HARRIS: This is like swift boat rhetoric.

SANCHEZ: Did Wesley Clark pull a swift boat on John McCain?

RUSH: They are so eager for McCain to be swiftboated, because they think a swift boat is telling lies about somebody and then successfully destroying them. And they are trying to turn that definition around to fit their intended usage of it. Last night on Anderson Cooper 180, James Carville was the guest, and Anderson Cooper said, "James, is McCain's service record fair game?"

CARVILLE: I don't know what the Obama campaign is apologizing for, because what Wes Clark said in response to Bob Schieffer say, "I have to say Barack Obama's had not any of the experiences, either, nor has he gotten shot down." Clark: "Well, I don't think riding a fighter plane and getting shot dawn is qualification to be president." Why are we apologizing? By the way, Wes Clark has 30 medals, he's got a Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and everything else.

RUSH: Nobody's apologizing, James. What have you been smokin'? Who's apologizing? Has anybody apologized for McCain? Nobody's apologized. So what our old buddy James is doing here between bites of gumbo is sending out the warning: Don't you dare apologize or you're going to have me to answer to. We don't apologize in this party. We're not going to apologize for this, why should anybody apologize? Exactly right, you say it and you move on. You're a Drive-By politician, Drive-By Media, you run in, you fire, you take your hit, you create the catastrophe and the mess, and you move on down the road to do it again, while somebody else like me has to come in and clean it all up.

[Wonder Warthog]

"How in the world did Wesley ever get as high as he did in the army???"

Great lips, and an affinity for picking the right asses.

[Miss Didi]

My bet is that each of those that he has ‘pretended’ to toss under the bus, will have a job in his administration if he wins this election.

But Barry hasn't tossed Ashley Wilkes under the bus. He said his comments were "inartful." No, Ashley is still in the co-pilot seat next to Rev. Wright.

[Bender2]

I want nObama to make Wes his VP runing mate!

[A Balrog of Morgoth]

Expect more. Attacks on veterans started with Kerry. What goes around comes around.

Seems to me the "comes around" already occurred in 2004, since Kerry was one of the pioneers in attacking his fellow veterans of Vietnam.

[jwalsh07]

Expect more. Attacks on veterans started with Kerry. What goes around comes around

I'm 56 years old. I've been waiting for the media to come around for about 40 of those years. I'm resolved that the the go around ain't coming around and I'm consoled by the fact that guys like the Swift Boat Vets have what it takes to take on Presidential candidates who violated the "brotherhood" by stabbing them in the back. John Kerry and Jack Murtha come to mind, John McCain, for all his other faults, does not.