Kerry Fires Back at Clark

[BeyondGeography]

Kerry Fires Back at Clark
Jan. 25, 2004

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry responded to a military rank-pulling aimed at him by rival Democratic contender Wesley Clark by calling Clark, a retired General, "dismissive of lieutenants."

The retort came in a 60 Minutes interview to be broadcast Sunday, Jan. 25 (7:00-8:00PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Clark, in a campaign speech, suggested his experience as a four-star general in the Army made hima superior prsidential candidate to Kerry, pointing out that Kerry was only a lieutenant in Vietnam.

"That's the first time I've heard a general be so dismissive of lieutenants, who bleed a lot in wars," Kerry told Ed Bradley in Sunday's interview. "I think the General is entitled to his feelings and opinions."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/23/60minutes/main595431.shtml

[hippiechick]

1. Kerry sure can be snarfy sometimes .... n/t

:hippie:

[JohnKleeb]

2. Hes right IMO

Look at the casuality lists, a lot more Lt's than Gen's who die in wars.

[sendero]

30. Could that be...

... because there are lots more of them?

[bluestateguy]

3. Clark was a lieutenant in Vietnam too

If Kerry thinks that's bad wait until Kerl Rove's stormtroopers start taking apart his military record.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. What exactly in Kerry's record do you find worthy of Rove's attention?

[bluestateguy]

6. What in Max Cleland's record was worthy of Rove's attention?

Who says the facts are going to matter? The ads being run against Cleland were bad, but on the ground, away from the TV cameras far more nefarious tactics were going on in Georgia, such as a "whispering campaign" of phone calls, flyers and rumors that Cleland was to blame for blowing off his limbs in Vietnam.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. It appears that Junior's military "record" is starting to become an...

...issue. Maybe Rove ought to leave that particular subject alone.

[saltpoint]

27. bluestateguy --

-- I didn't know how bad the campaign against Senator Cleland was. The ads alone were awful, and they offended my sense of dignity and respect for veterans. But the mysterious phone calls you mention go even further into the mud. It makes me feel terrible for Max Cleland.

I think voters who bought that crap about Cleland should be sent to Mars. I would also like to see Cleland as our vice presidential nominee, no matter who is at the top of the ticket.

And you are absolutely right about Karl Rove.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Here's why this is a dumb move by Kerry

•Clark made the General/Lieutenant reference in a CNN exchange Monday night with Sen. Bob Dole, who inspired the comment by telling Clark, noting the Kerry win in Iowa, "tonight you are a colonel and Kerry is the General." This comment was never repeated in a campaign speech. Nowhere is the Dole comment mentioned in this article.


•Recognizing his mistake, Clark has consistently praised Kerry's service. This is from this morning's town hall meeting:

Q: I'd like for you to tell us you are a better candidate than Kerry.

A: (Clark) I like John Kerry. And I've respected a lot of what he's done. And I admire his service in Vietnam. He was a hero there. He got a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. Three of them. He conducted himself with honor. And he's had a great career in public service in elected offic in the U.S. Senate.

The 60 Minutes interview comments that relate to Clark are sheer political profiteering by Kerry, who sinks another level in my book.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. Kerry was responding to what has been reported in the press in...

...regards to Clark's public comments about Kerry.

Yes, Clark has attempted to make-up for what he said, and he has appeared to be very sincere in his approach. The problem is that the General needs to be a little more careful about what he says in public, and how he says it.

By the way, I have yet to decide on any Democratic candidate. I will vote for the Democrat that wins the nomination...with the major exception of Joe "I support the NeoCon Junta" Lieberman.

[Leilani]

8. Kerry wouldn't talk about AWOL

but he can diss Clark on national TV.

He's also sending out lots of flyers.

I've always said I'm ABB, but I'm starting to reconsider.

Kerry said he is running a positive campaign. He is not, which makes him a hypocrite.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

11. Maybe Kerry believes that Clark is starting to run the same sort...

...of dirty campaign against him.

Anyone that believes that any politician is NOT hypocritical to a certain degree is living in a fantasyland anyway.

[jamesinca]

19. Sounds very familiar to me

Dean was the front runner and he got this same avalance of crap. He finished third, and now who is getting the avalance of crap? It seems to come with the front runner status. It cost Dean in Iowa, and it may cost Kerry in New Hampshire. The latest newsweek poll out today (being reported in LBN) puts the Kerry lead in NH only a few points, not the 9 that he had starting the week. He lost half his points lead in one day. Look at the trends that are going on with this? Dean I think learned in Iowa, I think Kerry is about to learn or at least it is trending to that. Liberman will never learn, because he will never be the front runner.

[JNelson6563]

32. Wow James!

Good post. I agree with your assessment.

Julie

[Justice]

15. Kerry's Courage

He think we should get over 2000 election

He thinks discussions about Bush's military record are "over the top"

He says he wants a positive campaign.

Yet, he insults Wesley Clark on national TV - AFTER Clark acknowledges earlier mistake and essentially apologizes. Instead of taking the high road, Kerry waits for the apology and then SLAMS Clark.

Yet, he sends flyers that distort and criticize Clark.


I am digusted with Kerry.

[sendero]

31. You are not the only one...

... and I don't relish the thought of trying to sell an insider Senator who voted for damn near everything Bush* asked for against Bush*.

What's he gonna do, on every issue say "well that vote was a mistake" or "I trusted Bush*". Nobody is gonna buy it for a second.

I think Kerry is a good man but I don't care for his campaign style and I think he does not have as good a chance against Bush* as Dean or Clark. Maybe even Edwards, I'm not sure about that ...

All Kerry is doing at this point is following Dean's lead in criticising Bush*. I'd prefer the original over a bad copy.

[maryallen]

25. Why is a man, leading in the polls ...

With 27-34% of the NH populace, attacking a man who registers 14-17% of the vote???

Makes no sense to me.

[HootieMcBoob]

36. that pisses me off too

He didn't have Clark's back when Clark was sticking up for Michael Moore over the deserter thing. That would have been better for all of us. Kerry was just thinking of himself and how he could dis Clark.

Kerry knows full well the circumstances under which Clark's comments were made and how Clark was backed into a corner by Dole and was only actually defending himself. Clark has said nothing but good things about Kerry.

I'm a Clark supporter. But before Clark entered the race I was a Kerry supporter. I voted for Kerry in the Moveon.org straw poll. But Kerry is trying to make political hay out of this and he is not being a stand up guy. Clark is totally outclassing Kerry on the character issue.

[diamond14]

16. Clark dissed Kerry again...failed to mention the 'bronze star' award

He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat.

http://www.johnkerry.com/about/

[Carolina]

34. Ditto

This is what really bothers me about Kerry; he's easily goaded into attacking other Democrats when he feels threatened instead of shirking it off, checking CONTEXT, and moving on to the important business of going after Bush.

[IowaBiker]

10. I can see why Clark supporters are upset, but ...

Clark carries an air about him that is reminiscent of Ross Perot. The lieutenant comment only simply drove that further home.

People who are as smart as Clark need to be smart enough to project an ability to relate to ordinary people on a human level, and I think Clark forgets that at times.

I think Clark is a good guy and has some great policies, but he comes off aloof, and that aloofness seems incongruous to his platform.

Kerry by answering this question in this manner is able to come off as more of an "everyman." After all, there are more lieutenants than Generals.

--Brian

[BeyondGeography]

13. Kerry's everyman, Clark is aloof?

The reality is opposite.

Clark makes mistakes on TV, Kerry's much more polished. People catch on, eventually. You could never find a soldier who served under Clark that would call him an elitist.

[1971]

18. Untrue

Brian,

Have you ever watched Clark deliver a speech, or spoken at a rally?
Check out C-SPAN today - you'll see that how you describe Clark couldn't be farther from the truth.

I describe it here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php#182172


The only thing Clark has in common with Perot is some gray hair.

[HootieMcBoob]

37. I can tell by your post

that you haven't been to or watched any of the rallys for Clark. He came from regular people whereas Kerry had a privileged background. Clark is and does communicate well with regular people. There's a real distinction to be made there.

[lcordero]

12. heh

lieutenants bleed in wars because of "friendly" fire.

[Ivote]

14. I really

was abb BUT
I am a Clark supporter first and I dont think that Kerry can even beat Clark in the south.

[underpants]

17. Clark:"Lt.s and Sgt.s and the troops WIN wars Generals can lose them"

That was a quote (true too) he said during the ground war in Iraq.

[Dr Fate]

21. UNDIES! Long time no read!!!

HOWDY!!!

[krkaufman]

20. Kerry's positive message?

*WHERE* and *WHEN* did Clark "dismiss" Lieutenants??

I saw Clark shutting down former Senator and Republican shill BobDole when BobDole tried demoting Clark to colonel after Kerry's victory in Monday night's Iowa caucus. Clark simply corrected Dole's attempt to discount Clark's impressive experience by stating their actual ranks.

And *if* Clark underscores that he was a general and Kerry a lieutenant, so what? It's a perfectly reasonable comparison. Doesn't a general have better military credentials than a lieutenant? Is Kerry dismissing the effort and political skill that it takes to become a 4-star general and NATO supreme allied commander, and the greater executive experience developed, as opposed to a lieutenant?

Who's putting out the story that Kerry's running a clean, positive campaign? It is disengenuous for anyone to imply that General Clark was dismissing the service, sacrifice and dedication of *any* soldier, whatever their rank or branch of service.

If John Kerry wants to run a positive campaign, he needs to simply explain why/how his experiences -- as a Yale graduate and Skull & Bones Society member, as a 4-year active officer in the Navy (6 yrs reserves), prosecutor, an elected official and long-time Senator and member of the Democratic Party and the Senate New Democrat Coalition (along with Joe Lieberman) -- make him the best candidate, how this experience and his record are better or comparable to that of a 38-year military man, 4-star general and one-time NATO supreme allied commander.

A lieutenant does NOT have the same military leadership and executive credentials of a 4-star general, let alone one who served as commander in a war.

With diminished regard for the Kerry Campaign, and their candidate,
Karl

[bobthedrummer]

29. I don't trust Wes Clark because of the neo-conservative contamination

he got at the Pentagon. He has spoken highly of his positive experiences with guys like Feith, Perle, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld and stated a desire to work with them in the future.

Frankly, as President Clinton proved for two full terms, a military background is not necessary for the President, and the controls on the use of force should be civilian, not military-unlike today IMO.

I like Kerry's rejoinder, at least he's been a Democrat and didn't vote for Reagan/Bush.

I also worry about the possibility of moles in Clark's entourage, and how there could be an agenda against the Democratic Party worse than this DLC thing.

I don't care for the secret society past of Kerry, but I'll vote for him if he's the Democratic candidate {hell, that includes Clark, doesn't it}.

ABB.

[Carolina]

35. excellent post

and great phrase:

"With diminished regard for the Kerry Campaign, and their candidate."

[justsam]

22. the military

uses more LTs than they do generals, Lts are in the field getting shot at, the generals are in the rear eating lobster. An Lt earns his medals, how many medals have the generals received just for standing next to Rummy giving reports on the war? I'll bet each has received another ribbon for it..

[1971]

23. Clark was a Lieutenant, too, on his way up. n/t

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

24. "the military"

LOL, Wes Clark was a Lt. as well in Viet Nam. He was wounded and won the Silver Star.

[CalProf]

26. This is negative?

"dismissive of lieutenants" and "the General is entitled to his feelings and opinions"?

As campaign rhetoric goes, this is pretty tame, folks.

[goforit]

28. How petty of Kerry...................He's been in Washington too long.

hmmmmmm..........disappointing.

[stickdog]

33. Kerry will say and do ANYTHING to get elected. ANYTHING.

He's the Democratic Bob Dole except his record is less consistent. At least Bob Dole consistently stood for something -- even it it was farm subsidies.