Barack Obama slaps down Wesley Clark -- gently

Barack Obama just delivered a speech on patriotism in Independence, Mo., hometown of what was once America's most powerful haberdasher, and offered a mild rebuke to Wesley Clark, who took on John McCain's military record the other day in rather scorching terms.

And just to make it clear, an Obama spokesman sent out this brief statement as Obama was speaking: "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."

Obama's speech focused on his own sense of patriotism, quoting Mark Twain (it's good to quote the locals when you can) and his definition: "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." And, he argued, "no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism."

But Obama, citing the political divide still lingering from the Vietnam War, said that he will not question the patriotism of others and would "not stand idly by" when his own patriotism is questioned. A little bit later, in a comment that seemed to have Clark in its sights, Obama said:

"Beyond a loyalty to America’s ideals, beyond a willingness to dissent on behalf of those ideals, I also believe that patriotism must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice -– to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause. Now for those who have fought under the flag of this nation -– for the young veterans ... I meet when I visit Walter Reed; 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 that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters of both sides. We must always profess our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform, period."

Patriotism is the theme of the week, leading into the Fourth of July holiday.

UPDATE: Our colleague Robin Abcarian, who is traveling with the McCain campaign, reports that he was asked about Clark's comments a little while ago during a news conference after a tour of a Harrisburg, Pa., company that manufactures aircraft turbine parts. Specifically, he was asked about Clark's assertion that getting shot down in a fighter plane is not a qualification for the presidency.

"I think that that kind of thing is unnecessary," said McCain. "I am proud of my record of service, and I have plenty of friends and leaders who will attest to that. But the important thing is if that’s the kind of campaign that Sen. Obama surrogates and supporters want to engage, I understand, but it does not reduce the price of gas by one penny...doesn’t help Americans stay in their homes...it certainly doesn’t do anything to address the challenges that Americans have in keeping their jobs, and their homes and supporting their families."

And: "Gen Clark is not an isolated incident. I don’t know how much Sen. Obama has to do with that issue. I’ll let the American people decide that."

-- Scott Martelle

Photo by Larry W. Smith/EPA 

Comments

[Wm Tate]

So, Obama is going to send out attack attack dogs to snipe at McCain, and then distance himself from those attacks.

That doesn't sound like the politics of change. Sounds like a typical politician who'll do just about anything to win.

-Wm Tate,
http://www.atimelikethis.us/

[lorna doone]

Clark was not impuning McCain's patriotism or denegrating his service. He simply stated that getting shot down and being a POW does not translate into good foreign policy judgment. (See Iraq).

[Will D.]

Nothing against McCain but I don't see what the fuss is about. In fact, in a cool headed way, I'd agree with Clark's statements. Getting shot down from a plane has nothing to do with being qualified for ANYTHING other having the luck to survive such a horrible affair. As far as understanding ones opponent and making sound judgements, well that's obvious. What seems to be at play here is whether or not these very 'patriotic' and militaristic deeds play into the way McCain would like to spin them as presidential qualifications.

[sen]

Wes Clark never questioned McCain's patriotism. Patriotism DOES NOT ALWAYS mean fighting under the flag. Brokering a peace agreement to prevent fighting is probably a better showing of one's patriotism.

Obama 08

[Jesse Worker]

To reiterate what the last person said--go back listen to General Clark's comments. There is no "devaluation" of McCain's service or questions his patriotism. For either camp to perceive it that way is ludicrous. Clark clearly stated that McCain's experience, while honorable, does not give him any more qualifications than Obama in foreign policy.

[Jim Asparro]

General Clark is the best hope Obama has for a V.P. Clark clearly stated that being shot down in a fighter jet does not qualify someone to be president. Clark was finally questioning McCain's god-like image of knowing everything there is to know about national security. Why would Obama want to reject the statement of a four star general who has executive experience finally telling the truth about McSame?

[Jag]

Why is McCain upset now, after he called Obama untrustworthy.

[George]

Lorna Doone's comment is exactly correct. Shame on Obama for throwing a smart, passionate 4 star general under the bus for some 'patriotism points'.

[Damian]

I'm very dissapointed of Sen. Obama comments regarding Gen. Clark. Because whatever Gen. Clark said was true.

If he wants to win this election he has to be firm, and stand for what is true and stop the cheap attacks of the right.

Shame on you Mr. Obama!

[Monologistos]

Clark's statement didn't shoot down McCain. He said being a prisoner of war and holding the positions of responsibility that McCain has held were not the same as executive experience, of commanding troops under fire, etc. It was sufficiently nuanced for reality but not sufficiently for politics as usual. If there was a false statement in Clark's summation of McCain's expeience, let's hear it. Now, I grant you that Obama's distancing from McCain can easily be construed as entirely politically motivated. No facts need be applied so from where I stand, Obama's statement is simply rhetoric. Might be empty, might not be.

[Not this time]

John McCain, you can run, but you can't hide. Wes Clark was right, and no amount of whining by you or the media is gonna change that.

[Russell Lee]

Clark thinks McCain Has no experience What Experience Does Obama Have besides Promising his Muslim Cousins in Kenya all the help they need to Destroy America from within the Presidents Office. Clark Needs to get a Grip On reality just like the rest of the
United States does. If Baraka Hussein Muhammed Obama is elected President all our freedoms and our way of life will be History THe Spawn Of Satan will Seduce the Masses with His Tongue. People Please Remember the United States Is One Nation Under God NOT ALLAH Please think back to Obama talking about defending the 57 States the only organization that has 57 States is the Muslims If You choose to elect him Don't Cry when your children are made to be sacrifices for Obama

[Kaymar]

All Wesley Clark did was call attention to the fact that he is not fit to serve this country with that kind of judgment. He now needs to explain why he is endorsing Obama who never served his country. Or does Community Organizer on the southside of Chicago count for that too?

[Big Al]

Way to go Barry. Your retreat from statements by a General that's been there shows you're just another pandering politician. You have no balls to go to the mat with an opponent. General Clark's statements we're right on the money. McCain is a hero for serving, but his military experience does not automatically qualify him to be a commander in chief as he thinks.

[djames]

Obama was talking just as much about the swift boating of john kerry than he was about clark's comments, which clearly the media has blown way way way out of context (surprise surprise.)

[Sallie Mae]

Wow, Russell Lee. Drink a little too much of the Republican Kool-Aid, have we?

[Norm S]

whether you like what he said or what ever context you choose to put it in, what he said is true and is a sign of good character

[Clark]

Maybe getting shot down and serving one's country in a POW camp and being tortured doesn't qualify one for president, but it does mean you know the meaning of serving your country and that you do understand what you are doing when you send other people's kids off to war.

If McCain's service to his country doesn't qualify him to be president, then how much does non-service qualify Obama to be president?

Both of the McCain's have a long history of serving our country and trying to make it better. A strange thing for a Republican to do.

McCain has 2 sons serving in the military. His wife has many accomplishments of her own according to the June 30 issue of Newsweek.

Instead of sitting in a church that preaches hate for 20 years and feeling sorry for themselves because of the luck of the draw, both of the McCain's got off their laurels and did things to make things better for other people. Both of them have a long list of accomplishments and a lot of experience in serving their country.

I am an Independent planning to vote for Nader, but after reading the Newsweek story on Cindy McCain and knowing the service of John McCain to our country, I'm having second thoughts. I just may indeed vote for McCain. A man of accomplishment with a family that all feel a sense of responsibility towards our country.

I think McCain will consider what's best for our country before he considers Party affiliation. He has challenged his own party more than once in the past and I believe he would do it again if he thought it was wrong.

No one is going to get us out of Iraq anytime soon. Obama will likely come back from his trip to the Middle East next month with reasons why we can't leave just yet. Wait and see.

[Barry Rumac]

I'm glad to see Barack's positive comments in his speech. Let us put aside those petty remarks and concentrate on the issues that face this great nation of ours. Let's not have, on either side, campaigning as usual.

[virginia mcmahon]

Another distortion - General Clark only said that McCain
being shot down in VN did not qualify him to be presdient - nor does it qualify him for brain surgery or astronaut.
McCain's character has come into question many times while serving in the Senate, he abandoned his first wife, who stood by him while in captivity and has sought to feather his nest at every opportunity. He has flip flopped on many many issues already - talk about pandering. McCain's time in POW camp has aged him quickly - he is not the brightest crayon in the box. Had Bush's character been questioned more than it was we would not be where we are today. Being a POW should not be a qualification.

[JKT]

I'm a bit sad to see Obama pull the rug from under Clark on this issue. Clark was 100% right. I've heard several McCain supporters list his POW experience as a qualification for his candidacy and I was never able to reconcile that. How on earth people think being shot down somehow would make someone better qualified to be in the Oval Office is befuddling. But Obama for some reason doesn't have the fortitude to stand up for simple logic. I definitely do not think Obama sent Clark out to say these things--that'd just be stupid. Clark was speaking on his own behalf, and as he's 10x the soldier McCain ever was I do listen to him and value his statements. It's a pity Obama does not.

[Samb]

Do we all accept Obama's definition of patriotism? I think it includes not running for president of the USA when you don't have the experience and the stature to get our government to become effective again.
The baby boomers in Washington need to be removed so the new generations can take over but until that happens, we need somone who has been around but is willing to fight for action that is good for our great country.
I think Obama will be a great Presidential candidate in 2012 if he spends 4 years in congress building a record of successes.

[brent]

Clark was trotted out as surrogate to impugn McCain's military experience, just part of a campaign to put Obama on a level playing field. He rang the bell, and then pretended no one heard it. Clark's great for that, maybe his only good point.

It should be mandatory to mention that Clark was successfully mutineed against by his men, and that their behavior was upheld by the courts. On the flip side, McCain sat in a POW camp for years rather than take early release, for his men.

I wonder who gets more respect.

[james calvin]

my one, simple statement is this: please stop printing daft, inane, stupid comments like the one above made by Russell Lee!

[McBush is another Bush]

No questioned McCain's war record. The only question is if simply being a POW represents the qualification for the Commander-in-Chief of the USA, then the female soldier who was captured and rescued in Iraq should be McCain's running mate for the vice president.

[Travis]

Gen. Wesley Clark is a loser, was a loser back then/when and will always be a cry-baby. He's darn lucky he still gets to keep his retirement checks. We all know 'how' he moved up the ranks, but we wouldn't want to stoop to his level and embarrass him further. Why should we... he embarrasses himself most every time he opens his mouth... usually too often.

[Nice Try, wes]

John Kerry's "executive experience" in the armed forces consisted of commanding a six-man speedboat for a few months, i.e., far less overall military experience that McCain's 20-odd years in uniform. McCain commanded a squadron after he came home, and was awarded the same medals as Kerry.

I don't recall Clark speaking up like this on Kerry's overall qualification to be president.

[Carla57]

I can't believe Obama and his campaign bought into the idea that there's something terrible about pointing out that McCain's much touted "experience" consists mostly of being shot down and handled rather badly in a POW camp. WHERE is his foreign policy experience? What experience does he have of running anything larger than his Senate staff? Heck, anyone want to talk about his legendary filthy temper and how he applies it to his staff?

Clark rightly points out that the issue is irrelevant to Obama's candidacy because Obama isn't running on an experience platform. He's running on a platform that he has better judgment, a better temperament, and is better able to navigate through the complexities of our foreign relations than McCain, whose primary position appears to be that we should just keep shooting at things that bother us and should apply military force whenever things become unpleasant. For a guy who's spent as much time on the Armed Services Committee as he has he shows a shocking lack of willingness to consider other options. His embrace of hardliner mentality in dealing with a place as delicate as the Middle East, his utter ignorance of the basic forces and groups which make up the crazy quilt of the Middle East, is enough to reject him. I have to say I am disappointed that Obama felt it even necessary to do this so-called "gentle" slapdown on Clark for uttering what we all know.

[scurrilous]

Republicans love lousy pilots!

See Bush1.

[Jim]

Wes Clark did not question John McCains's military service, nor did he question his honor, patriotism, bravery, dedication, nor even his ability to lead the country. His comments relate only to McCain's qualifications in Foreign policy based specifically and solely on that military experience. Would I be qualified to be the CEO of GM because I once survived a car crash? I might well be qualified, but that wouldn't be the reason.

[David]

Russell Lee, read a little too much of the "Left Behind" series? Get real, a radical Islamist would never attend a Christian (infidel) church. Obama goes all the time.

[VMR]

Yes, ANYTHING to win! US is critically ill - economically, socially, politically, mentally, and physically. Another 4 years of Republicanism, even its milder variety, will destroy this country.
It's always been this way - a decade's worth of capitalist orgy until few are rich beyond belief while the rest wind up sucking on a rusted door handle. Then Democrats come in and restore economic balance with some safety net thrown in. Soon thereafter, the former victims of capitalism begin to feel confident and
more secure. They buy real estate, send kids to college, and begin to develop Republican-type class consciousness. Then they vote Republican and the whole process starts all over again.

So, basically, majority of Americans are stupid schmucks who are ready for a Fuhrer. [George Carlin, for one,
has been telling us this all along.

So, it is CRITICAL that Obama is elected. By any means.

[Sallie Mae]

Right on Carla57.

I actually know someone who used to be a McCain staffer, on the receiving end of that temper. She CAN'T STAND John McCain, says she wouldn't vote for him. By the way, she's a Reagan-style Republican, currently working for a certain "Fair and Balanced" news network in DC.

Go figure.

[walker]

love how McCain was attacked by Rove and Bush in order to be brushed to the side for the greatest president of all time. Cheney even implied that McCain was a deserter. Yet as soon as a democratic surrogate suggests that McCain doesn't have real experience everyone goes crazy. That's the liberal media for you, right?

[Birgit Calhoun]

Wesley Clark's assessment of McCain is clearly to the point. Not only has Clark had combat experience. He has also been in a leadership position as the commander of NATO. So he knows how to assess McCain. The fact that Obama rejected Clark's statement only refelcts reality in a political world, however unfortunate that world has become. McCain's ability to survive has been proven several times. The one question that poses itself, though: Is it best for our president to be a risk taker? Being a fighter pilot is risky. Also being a hero and taking risks is not unusual for a soldier. Do we really need another president who wants to do unto others as he did unto himself?

[Heather]

Looking for a Fuhrer? It seems if any one has wierd followers it is Obama.

There are now stories out of people who have changed their middle names to Husien, to show support for Obama.

I mean lets get a grip people! Changing your name for an election? That is bordering on mental illness!

[Braf]

Do people like Russell Lee actually believe the garbage they post? How delusional can a person get?

[derrick]

i'm sorry but Clark is absolutely right. He shouldn't have worded it the way he did (specifically when he devalued McCain's war experience as "getting shot down in a plane") but the message is completely true...being a Vietnam War vet definitely does NOT mean you'll be a good president...I think if Clark had worded it like that it would be a lot harder for McCain to spin it the way he is now (and he's spinning it so hard right now it's making me dizzy)

[Dee DeGrace]

McCain does not claim his Vietnam experience is enough to qualify him as Commander in Chief, or as some form of foreign policy expert. Somehow you all have wasted away the (work) day discussing that this is McCain's his position and assessing the validity of it...Clark made the assertion, not McCain.

McCain has much more to go on than this.

[George]

This "controversy" is manufactured. General Clark did not impugn Senator McCain, nor did he intend to do so. To use a sports analogy: Just because a player is skilled in play, fights valiantly and sacrifices his or her body on the field does not mean that that individual would make a good coach. And so it is with Senator McCain.

[So much for a Democratic Form of Government]

So, it is CRITICAL that Obama is elected. By any means.

BY ANY MEANS???

Sounds like you have a bit of a "Fuhrer Complex" yourself.

It's the "BY ANY MEANS" crowd that has caused our system so many problems.

[Darrin]

General Clark spoke TRUTH - deal with it and I do not see were he said anything to discredit McCain military service; he did give him props but made a factual point.

Mr. Obama handle this well again read what he is saying "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." And, he argued, "no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism." Meaning not serving in the military does not mean you do not honor your country.

Go Gen Clark!!!!

[VMR]

RE: Al Ramirez' stupid statement.
What are YOUR American credentials? Washing dishes
at Zapata's Ristorante Mexicano? Are you even legal?

Hurts, doesn't it?

Then don't you dare questioning anybody else's ethnicity, origins, or patriotism! Last thing this country needs is ugly,
racist talk from someone with a Hispanic name.

[DenisR]

I like Obama but, what Clark said about McCain was correct. It is about time somebody spoke up!! Thanks Wes.

[louie riley]

what's the big deal about Wesley Clark's remark - it's true - I've been saying this all along about McCain -

[let go]

It seems there still may be considerable interest in sensationalism and division which, at best is mildly entertaining and at worst disheartening but, in reality, nothing has happened except a lot of speculation regarding who said what, why they said it; the ego mind then makes feeble attempts to draw linkages and bizarre explanations designed to indict an entire person, staff, whole party, or even Americans in general.

Have you ever sat in a foul odor? Most of this diatribe seems indicative of a foul odor. The good news is that even foul odors can be dissipated by some wind.

So, here's some wind: relax, recognize that you are making meaning out of absolutely nothing, then freaking yourself out of over it, effusing that to the world, and then, well, why not just stop?

I am not pro-anyone, I'm pro-everyone, meaning there is lingo that unifies, and there is lingo that divides; the latter is responsible for the repetition of history and the former creates possibilities. Take your pick.

If you choose to stare at the world you see expecting tyranny, terrorism, conspiracy, and apathy, guess what you'll see? Perhaps take off your 'good-bad' pair of glasses, relinquish your self-assigned entitlement to judge, get a glass of wine, chill out, maybe even laugh a bit....

And, oh by the way, get ready for a lot more sensationally arranged mis-contextualized quotes coming down the pike; the question is how will you handle it - like a feather in the wind or a tree firmly planted on the ground. Your choice....

[Mike]

And Clark is in a position to make such a comment of McCain? If McCain is not qualified becasue of his service to the country, then Obama due to his lack of service is most certainly not qualified. Clark is a talking head for Obama and then Obama says bad, bad, bad when he sent him out there in the first place. Interesting that Obama talks change, change, and more change but offers no details. All talk which plays great on a college campus but is worth zero in the real world.

[VMR]

And what's does this meaningless crap "serving my country" mean?

Except for and since WW II, how many wars did the US engage in or started that were totally stupid and unnecessary and totally preventable?

ALL OF THEM!

So, when you go uquestioningly to fight and die to make the world more profitable for the likes of United Fruit, Enron, Exxon/Mobil, or GE, are you really serving your country? Especially since all of the "grateful" above-named think nothing of shipping YOUR job to Korea, Vietnam, India, Mexico, or China, thank you very much for your service?

[D Kessler]

the 'who's more patriotic" game is ridiculous and irrelevant. when i look at McCain's experience as a POW, i want to see what kind of decisions he makes based on that experience. what I see is someone who after being held in a prison camp and tortured still does not see fit to offer habeas corpus to those that we have imprisoned and tortured under very questionable circumstances. who could he not have learned the value of that very basic human right while under those conditions? i merely see a person who is using he drama to win political points and whatever real experience he might have gained by it has been sold off to the republican party.

[Edward Fitzgerald]

Lets put back, ROOTS on T.V.