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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (395098)	6/30/2008 4:00:34 PM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573430

By making his military service the centerpiece of his campaign, rather than his years as an anti-war activist, his time as D.A. of Massachusetts and later Lt. Governor, or his 20+ years as a U.S. Senator, Kerry opened up his own Vietnam record to scrutiny. The centerpiece? He was an anti-war veteran going against a pro-war draft dodger... of course it would be part of his pitch. But it was as much the centerpiece as it is with McCain. You don't think his long-time political nemesis, John O'Neill, is going to take issue with that? Especially when he publicly debated Kerry in 1971 regarding the Winter Soldier testimony? Yeah maybe as a private citizen, not as a well funded "movement". It was sleazy politics. I would say the same about going after Mccain's war record. How about you?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (395098)	6/30/2008 4:02:46 PM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 1573430

Obama disowns critique of McCain's military record By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer 4 minutes ago Democrat Barack Obama rejected a retired general's suggestion that Republican John McCain's military experience didn't necessarily qualify him to be president, as GOP surrogates lined up to label the remarks indecent and disrespectful. A day after retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, now an Obama supporter, discussed McCain's experience as a Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam on a Sunday talk show, his remarks set off the pattern that has become familiar from innumerable earlier flaps over surrogate remarks during the presidential election year: The candidates, Obama and McCain, took the high road while the bare-knuckled language was left to their surrogates. At a news conference here Monday, McCain himself said of Clark's comment, "That kind of thing is unnecessary" and distracts from real pocketbook issues voters care about. About the same time, Obama told an audience in Independence, Mo., that McCain had "endured physical torment in service to our country" and "no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides." The latest dustup began on CBS's "Face the Nation." Clark, the former supreme commander of NATO under Bill Clinton, said McCain's military service was not the same as executive experience. "In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," Clark said "It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. 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 has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee and he has traveled all over the world, but he hasn't held executive responsibility," Clark said. "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron." Clark has said as much before, but drew little notice. CBS moderator Bob Schieffer cited Clark's earlier remarks and noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences either nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied. At least five Republican senators and retired military officers — four on a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign — cried foul Monday, particularly over Clark's last line. "I was utterly shocked," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., told the conference call, " ... that he would in such a disrespectful way attack one of his fellow career military officers." "Beyond comprehension ... further erosion of our nation's political discourse," said former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., in a written statement. "Complete silliness," retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Carl Smith said on the call. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Orson Swindle said Clark was "denigrating the character and the experience and the integrity and the performance" of McCain. "A very indecent thing," said retired Air Force Col. Bud Day. Day's appearance on the conference call spawned a new round of broadsides as the Democratic National Committee rushed to point out that Day had appeared in the so-called Swift Boat TV ads that cast aspersions during the 2004 election on the medals that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry earned in Vietnam. Committee spokesman Damien LaVera said that McCain himself had called the Swift Boat ads "dishonest and dishonorable." By comparison with these exchanges, the candidates were positively high-minded. Besides Obama's personal remarks disdaining criticism of McCain's military service, the campaign's spokesman, Bill Burton said, "Sen. Obama honors and respects Sen. McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by Sen. Clark." McCain himself said, "If that's the kind of campaign Sen. Obama and his surrogates and supporters want to engage in, I understand that. But it doesn't reduce the price of gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence or make it come any closer. Doesn't make any American stay in their home who's at risk of losing it today. And it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges Americans have in keeping their jobs, homes and supporting their families."