Clark Says McCain's Military Experience No Qualification to be President
"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark replied to Bob Schieffer's comments that Senator Obama hadn't had the experience that Senator McCain had as a result of his military experience.
Truthfully, I have to agree with General Clark that Senator McCain's military background doesn't qualify him to be president. Nor does the fact that he was a prisoner of war.
In no way am I negating Senator McCain's military past. I stand behind no one in my gratitude for his service. Nor am I failing to remember that as a prisoner of war he suffered greatly (and continues to this day to suffer from the results of those injuries) at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors. He was given the chance to return home because of who his father was, but refused saying that he wouldn't go home before other men who had been held longer.
He served honorably as a Naval officer and deserves the respect and the gratitude of the American people for that service - both as a pilot and as a prisoner of war. He commanded a large Navy squadron after Vietnam, but Clark seems to think that only wartime command means anything. General Clark, is it possible that maybe McCain didn't have a wartime command because he was otherwise occupied being a prisoner of war?
No, being a prisoner of war and his Naval background do not in themselves give McCain the experience to be president. I don't often consider what a person did 40 years ago to be germain to today's issues, but McCain showed character as a prisoner of war that continues to this day. General Clark has military experience, but after reading this, I'm not so sure about character. If General Clark doesn't believe that military experience qualifies a person to run for president, why did he himself make a run for the Oval Office?
Senator Obama's campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, said, "Sen. Obama honors and respects Sen. McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by Gen. Clark." As should all thinking Americans.
General Clark, I am shocked at your attitude toward a fellow career military officer. You of all people should know that one segment of a person's life doesn't define the entire life. We are a sum of all our parts. And there is more to McCain than a former Naval officer who rode in a plane that was shot down. Apparently you don't understand that.
Read the rest of the story here.
Truthfully, I have to agree with General Clark that Senator McCain's military background doesn't qualify him to be president. Nor does the fact that he was a prisoner of war.
In no way am I negating Senator McCain's military past. I stand behind no one in my gratitude for his service. Nor am I failing to remember that as a prisoner of war he suffered greatly (and continues to this day to suffer from the results of those injuries) at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors. He was given the chance to return home because of who his father was, but refused saying that he wouldn't go home before other men who had been held longer.
He served honorably as a Naval officer and deserves the respect and the gratitude of the American people for that service - both as a pilot and as a prisoner of war. He commanded a large Navy squadron after Vietnam, but Clark seems to think that only wartime command means anything. General Clark, is it possible that maybe McCain didn't have a wartime command because he was otherwise occupied being a prisoner of war?
No, being a prisoner of war and his Naval background do not in themselves give McCain the experience to be president. I don't often consider what a person did 40 years ago to be germain to today's issues, but McCain showed character as a prisoner of war that continues to this day. General Clark has military experience, but after reading this, I'm not so sure about character. If General Clark doesn't believe that military experience qualifies a person to run for president, why did he himself make a run for the Oval Office?
Senator Obama's campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, said, "Sen. Obama honors and respects Sen. McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by Gen. Clark." As should all thinking Americans.
General Clark, I am shocked at your attitude toward a fellow career military officer. You of all people should know that one segment of a person's life doesn't define the entire life. We are a sum of all our parts. And there is more to McCain than a former Naval officer who rode in a plane that was shot down. Apparently you don't understand that.
Read the rest of the story here.
No comments:
Post a Comment