General Wesley Clark Tried to Start World War III...huh? is this guy crazy?
"He was fired as NATO Commander after he ordered British troops to attack Russians..." who had moved into positions vacated by the Serbs. Luckily the British general declined to start World War Three by just following orders he knew were stupid." (see comments)
Obama: For Denouncing Clark Before He Was Against It?
July 01, 2008 7:22 PM
FROM GUEST-BLOGGER RICK KLEIN, from ABC's The Note.
Per ABC's Sunlen Miller, Sen. Barack Obama said the following at a press availability in Zanesville, Ohio this afternoon: “I think in at least one publication [it] was reported that my comments yesterday about Senator McCain were in a response to General Clark. I think my staff will confirm that that was in a draft of that speech that I had written two months ago.”
That’s an interesting response -- one that might have surprised members of Obama’s own press staff. When reporters (this one included) contacted the Obama campaign Monday morning to ask about his response to Wesley Clark’s comments, they were told to watch the speech.
And the response might have surprised Obama himself -- Monday Obama, at least.
This was the question asked Monday by a reporter from ABC’s Kansas City affiliate, KMBC: "Yesterday Wesley Clark, on ‘Face the Nation,’ said because John McCain got shot down that doesn't make him a leader. That seems to be violating the very rule you talked about today about questioning the military service of anybody."
Obama's answer: "Well, which is why I was very clear that General Clark's remarks don't reflect my beliefs. I have consistently said that John McCain is a genuine American hero and his service deserves to be honored."
To recap: Monday Obama was "very clear General Clark's remarks don't reflect my beliefs." Tuesday was cloudier: His comments were not in response to what General Clark said.
Tuesday Obama also said that while Clark’s comments were "inartful," they were not in the same ballpark as the Swift Boat attacks on Sen. John Kerry.
"I don’t think that General Clark you know had the same intent as the Swift Boat ads that we saw four years ago -- I reject that analogy," Obama said.
This is what Obama actually said, in his speech in Independence, Mo.: "For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country -- no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary."
"Let me also add that no one should ever devalue [military] service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides," Obama continued. "We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform. Period -- full stop."
After the speech, campaign spokesman Bill Burton issued this 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."
Taking Obama up on his offer to have his staff confirm details of his speech, I contacted the Obama campaign Tuesday to find out if those last two sentences were added to the speech with Clark in mind. I’ll let you know when I get a response.
I did get this more generic response from an Obama spokesman: "This is a speech he's been working on for some time, and as he has said numerous times before, Senator Obama respects and honors John McCain’s service to his country and wanted to recognize that in his remarks on patriotism in America."
Obama has been consistent in honoring McCain -- but less so in his message on Clark.
What changed between Monday and Tuesday? For one thing, the liberal blogosphere rallied to Clark’s defense (and against the mainstream media).
But you don't have to get into motivations to reach another conclusion: Obama's hints of waffling on whether he wants to denounce Clark or go easy on him seems certain to keep this in the ether for another day.
McCain dialed up the pressure Tuesday afternoon: "I think it's up to Sen. Obama now to not only repudiate him, but to cut him loose," he told reporters on board his campaign plane en route to Colombia, per ABC’s Bret Hovell.
-- Rick Klein
July 1, 2008 Permalink User Comments (69)
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I think BO should hire a stenographer to follow him around. Then he could just have his words repeated back to himself before he changes a story, position, etc. It's gotta be really hard to track that stuff on your own when you're spinning stuff constantly.
Posted by: FishMonger Jul 2, 2008 8:44:17 AM
Obama is a dummy..............plain and simple. I don't know how he got a law degree, but I find it very embarrassing for all attorneys now have their names smeared for Obama. Attorney's are supposed to be intelligent and Obama isn't.
Posted by: chattyway Jul 2, 2008 8:43:40 AM
Rob, get your facts right on General Clark before you shoot your mouth off again. He was fired for putting the safety of his troops and success of his mission ahead of PR in his leadership in Kosovo.
Posted by: Charlene Whitney Jul 2, 2008 8:35:38 AM
it is to bad we have ended up with the two weakest candidates for president.
i have said all along people are going to suffer from having either obama or mccain as president. and listening to cspan this am, people are suffering, and these two do not have the answers,
you can see from the articles here that we have to comment on, these guys are not about the american people.
and slowly even the suppporters of these people will see, neither mccain or obama are about the american people.
and especially obama, obama has been and is all about HIS making history,
qualifications aside, able to take care of the peoples business aside, let' help obama make history.
and that is mostly what he is all about, i watched one of his ads this am. he says "that' why I am running for president" or "when I am president" and his tone really is, as if he dosen't even believe it himself.
and saying either will be better than bush is not helpful.
and think about it, we say that, but both could end up being worse than bush.
no one will admit it, but
we messed up this time.
Posted by: w Jul 2, 2008 8:02:33 AM
God help America if this idiot gets into the White House. He couldn't make a hard and firm decision to save his life - or ours.
Posted by: HoosierSue Jul 2, 2008 7:42:35 AM
Senatoe McCain has a long record as a leader; there is no question in my mind that he is ready to lead on day one. What is laughable is that Clark questioned McCain's ability to lead while giving the inexperienced Obama a free pass.
Posted by: BJinChicago Jul 2, 2008 5:44:40 AM
Obama wasn't backing down on what he said earlier about Clark, for goodness sake! He was merely saying that the lines in his speech weren't specifically aimed at Clark.
This "criticism" is begging the question. First off you have to assume that Obama really was referring to Clark in the speech. Then you can say the "reversal" would surprise "Monday Obama". Jake should just look into whether the remarks were actually directed at Clark, in the first place, before jumping to talk of a "reversal".
This is the picture the media is trying to paint of Obama right now. It's lazy. Half the time they don't even know what the original stance was, they just push everything into the same mold whether it fits or not.
Posted by: Rocky Jul 2, 2008 5:12:48 AM
Thank you, Rob, for the details on why Gen. Clark was fired. I knew he was fired, but couldn't easily find out why, even after I googled Clark.
It is so nice to see a post with some actual information.
Now will someone please address something really important like the economy?
It would be so nice if each of these blogs addressed a different issue and different facts were presented - e.g., a health care blog, a tax blog, a religion/faith-based support blog, and so forth, instead of name-calling and personal attacks.
Posted by: Fed up in Washington state Jul 2, 2008 2:51:26 AM
Senator McCain's resume is completely full and professional. Obama's has a very thin resume anbd filled with Rezko, Ayers, Sinclair, Rev. Wright, Trinty Church (hate and racism against) White people) and other questionable supporters. His state senate run was a sham. Just ask those who served with him. Senator Obama is basically dishonest and not deserving of the candidancy.
Posted by: Mary Jul 2, 2008 2:10:39 AM
Who is Clark to be questioning anyone's ability to lead? He was fired as NATO Commander after he ordered British troops to attack Russians who had moved into positions vacated by the Serbs. Luckily the British general declined to start World War Three by just following orders he knew were stupid.
Posted by: Rob Jul 2, 2008 1:00:51 AM
McCain is trying to base his campaign on his military experience because his pathetic record reflects a virtual lock step mirror of voting with Bush on nearly every damn thing. Of course he's going to get his panties in knot when a fellow military man calls him out on the only thing that's distracting voters from the fact that McCain is a bona-fide Bushie, and that a McCain presidency is indeed a third Bush term. Voters will not have that. Deal with that Jo.
Posted by: GOP08_DOA Jul 2, 2008 12:14:09 AM
Clark said that McCain didn't learn from his experience in Vietnam and didn't show good judgment by being a strong advocate for going to war with Iraq. So Clark was exactly right.
McCain showed poor judgment and it cost the lives of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis while squandering over 500 billion dollars of the US tax payers hard earned money.
So, again, Clark was exactly right. So maybe it takes a war hero (Clark) to be able to criticize another war hero (McCain).
Posted by: Marcel F. Williams Jul 1, 2008 11:59:37 PM
Obama gets contributions from crooked profiteers who are slum lords to his own constituents and this makes him qualified to be our commander?
Thanks to Ayers, he becomes chairman of the Annenberg Chicago Challenge and in 5 years spends $100 mil on certain Chicago schools that turn out not to have improved appreciably from the schools that were not helped. And for this he wants to be the shepherd of the economy?
Lets forget this patriotism farce and get back to the question... "what makes Obama qualified?" Clark could not answer that so he attacked McCain. Why doesn't Clark answer the question?!
Posted by: SmartPrimate Jul 1, 2008 11:53:48 PM
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