McCain v. Obama on command experience

I've always wondered what all this bs talk from the corporate media about "Maverick" McCain being a "foreign policy expert" was all about.

You only get actual foreign policy experience from being the President, the Vice-President or serving in a Cabinet position and McCain has done none of these things.

...or you can get foreign policy experience by participating in shuttle diplomacy missions and working on treaties like Clark did with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia and when they were drawing up the Dayton Peace Accords.

And then there's dealing with foreign heads of state as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, running a 19 country alliance in a war, like Clark did in 1999.

When Clark says McCain hasn't had executive/ command, or foreign policy experience he knows what the difference is between being a soldier (or a pilot) in a war, and making the decisions that start, shape or end a war.

The only thing close to foreign policy experience that McCain has is his vote of "YES" to pre-emptively invade Iraq and he blew it big time on that one.

Is this the same Wesley Clark that praised John " I served in Viet Nam" Kerry for his military service? More hypocrisy from the lefties!!!!!! SUPPORT OUR TROOPS....NEVER VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!!!!!!!

"Sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said.

What about spreading false rumors about your opponents religious beliefs or attacking his wife?

This thing is getting dirtier every day and we have a long way to go.

I agree with Wesley Clark. I respect Senator McCain for his service to this country, I just don't think it makes him a foreign policy expert.

Posted by: joe | June 30, 2008 3:03 PM

Yes little joey, Wesley Clark has praised ALL of our veterans, unlike what the Karl Rove Rethuglicans (you) have done in the past...

Can you feel the excitement, joey?!?!
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http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r163/InsultComicDog/?action=view¤t=McCain.gif

The 2008 election will not be decided by competing claims of leadership ability by John McCain versus Barack Obama. The voters want 2008 to be a change election after 8 years of Bush, and Obama can make the stronger case as being the leader for change.

You better believe it Johnny E!....I feel the excitement all right!!!...for President John "the Patriot" McCain and Republican GAINS in 08.' No way is this country going to fall for David Axelrod and the phony hype over a guy who should be nothing more then a state representative!!!! You should have went with Hillary...and you know it!!!!!

joe - how is praising someone's military experience inconsistent with saying that military experience alone does not make someone a foreign policy expert?

it's because of people like you that clark had to make his point, which was salient. people like you think being shot down and tortured by the viet cong is synonymous with foreign policy expertise. does getting hit by a car qualify you to be an automotive engineer? the fact is that john mccain has ZERO foreign policy experience, and has actually displayed a belligerance toward foreign countries that should make us terrified to put him in charge. but people like you think his war heroism qualifies him to make these tremendously important decisions that he has never made. that's why clark had to say what he said, and i'm upset that obama had to repudiate it (in the name of political expediency) because it was absolutely true.

This is exactly what the obama campaign does. They send out surrogates whith talking points to attack McCain and then Obama acts like he knows and sees nothing. If Obama were seriuos he would remove Clark from any association from his campaign. As a former Marine I thank God I never had to serve under Clark. For a General to question another soldier (who was a tortured POW) is low even by political standards. This whole election is awful. One side points out all the others faults and vice versa. Both guys have flip flopped on many issues and both guys have lobbysists tied to their campaign. It comes down to who you like better. I choose McCain because of his military service and I fear Obama is the 2nd coming of Jimmy Carter.

No way is this country going to fall for David Axelrod and the phony hype over a guy who should be nothing more then a state representative!!!! You should have went with Hillary...and you know it!!!!!

Posted by: joe | June 30, 2008 4:13 PM

There is NOTHING appealing about John McBush. He's old, he can hardly string a sentence together (remind you of anyone) and he can put you to sleep when he gives a speech. Add to that his starting every sentence with "my friends" and he becomes not only boring but also irritating in a fingernails scratching a chalkboard sort of way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG_RV6EQFSg

...and by the way little joey, under President Obama this coming 09, Hillary is going to be your next Supreme Court Justice. HAHAHA!

Vinny,
Really? McCain also sent out a surrogate (Snuffy Smith?) to attack Wesley Clark and Obama.

Game, Set, Match - It's already over for John McBush.
I hear some of the Republican establishment types are thinking about replacing him with a better candidate at their upcoming Republican convention.
I hope they don't do it, McCain is a terrible candidate.

vinny,

watch the video again and actually listen to what clark says. he is not questioning mccain's honor or valor or patriotism - he questions his ability to be an effective LEADER, which has NOTHING TO DO with mccain's experience as a POW. by your logic, anyone who was a tortured POW has carte blanche and can never be questioned on anything. does being a tortured POW qualify someone to be a surgeon? how about a CEO? no? good.

all the obama campaign is saying is that war heroism is honorable, but is not necessarily synonymous with expertise in foreign policy. but then people like you (who are somehow unable to see this obvious and inoffensive distinction, and thus get all fired up over it) need to be placated with repudiations. and btw, every campaign since the history of time has sent out surrogates to say the more controversial things. this is not unique to obama by any stretch.

The reason Republicans and their media are so upset about Clark saying "riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down" doesn't make one qualified for president is because it's the TRUTH!

Does anyone out there think it is not the truth? That anyone who has been shot down can be president?

I guess the Republicans and their media prefer the attacks that are based on lies, like the ones thrown at John Kerry in 2004.

I'm a vet...it's good to know I am qualified as a foriegn policy expert and C-in-C.

My two cents:

I'm in the military (tomorrow will mark my 10-year anniversary wearing the Navy uniform). Also, Sen McCain and I share the same Alma-Mater: the beloved US Naval Academy. I respect Sen McCain and his service to this wonderful country, and he is TRULY a war hero who endured a lot during a horrible war. But if McCain and I were in the same class at USNA, let's just say I would have graduated about 860 spots higher than him. I can't say I know John McCain, but I do know the type of guys that graduate at the bottom of the class at Annapolis, and unfortunately, I had to watch them attempt (with little luck) to lead Sailors in the fleet.

Most of them fall into the same category as McCain . . . Pops and Grandad are Admirals, and so they're given a free admissions pass with little check for merit. They usually carry a chip on their shoulder because they feel that daddy has already paid for their stripes. They don't take their studies seriously, they don't respect the system or it's leadership, and they usually get eaten alive by the enlisted Sailors in the Fleet within two weeks of stepping on-board their first ship/air squadron/submarine. That level of incompetency might have something to do with why McCain was involved in four plane crashes prior to his A-4 Skyhawk going down over Hanoi.

Being a vet DOES NOT automatically qualify anyone for president--and if you graduated at the bottom of your class it should raise questions about your ability to comprehend very difficult issues and lead positive, proactive solutions--especially when your school (USNA) gives you grades in courses of: Principles of Leadership, Moral Reasoning, Ethics and Law, Character Development, and a Leadership Practicum.

I like McCain... I really do. He's a fellow grad, a genuinely nice fellow, and a war hero. But I truly admire Sen Obama--a man who challenged losing odds to carve his own story of success . . . a man who graduated top of his classes at Occidental and Harvard, then chose to go to work for the commom folk in Chicago when he could have made millions as a lawyer, lobbyist, or even a public speaker. He's a natural leader who speaks to voters as though they are adults, and understands that the solutions to our difficult problems are sometimes complex, and cannot always be solved by choosing between path A) or path B).

We all will vote as we must, but as for me . . . I'm a active duty officer who is voting for Obama.

Vinny, the story that you have commented on is about how Obama gave a speech today in which he REPUDIATED Wesley Clark's comments.

In your little world, how does that equate to Obama "acting like he knows and sees nothing?"

Let's see how the Republican savage Colin Powell if he endorses Obama. We've already seen how they go after Kerry, Webb and Clark and their military records.

Republicans don't really care about a politicians military service. They don't really honor our veterans sacrifices. Repoublicans like Vinny just want to use McCain's record to shield him from legitimate criticism and questions, yet do not extend that same respect to those they disagree with.

People who attack McCain's military service or on a personal level just end up looking stupid. Exhibit A - Clark. Exhibit B - John E.

People who attack McCain's military service or on a personal level just end up looking stupid. Exhibit A - Clark. Exhibit B - John E.

Posted by: Herbie H. | June 30, 2008 6:09 PM

Herbie, Clark did NOT "attack" his military service. He said that he did not think that it by itself qualified him to be President.

In fact he PRAISED Mccain's military service.

"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 then went on to say, correctly, that McCain has had little executive or command experience, which is true.

McCain's military service isn't a shield for him to hide behind. If he wants to use it to promote his campaign, which he clearly does, then it is legitimate to ask in what specific ways it prepared him for the office of President, and to actually discuss his military experience in an honest, straight forward way.

To demand otherwise makes you look stupid, especially when you are supporting a party which savaged John Kerry, and which is already launching attacks on both Jim Webb and Colin Powell.

CHAD; WELL SAID!!! MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY!!!

What Wesley Clark said on Face the Nation about McCain:
http://securingamerica.com/node/2993
"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."

Somehow, that's been left out of all the reporting on the rest of what he said.

General Clark has the authority and right to comment on Captain McCain. He simply stated the obvious. McCain has been thumping his history and Clark was right to put in in focus and perspective. Let the hound dogs howl then tell them to stand down.