Wes Clark on "Morning Joe" takes on McCain, defends Obama

[wndycty]

Run time: 05:55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5bYzL2y7xQ   Posted on YouTube: June 13, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 13, 2008 By DU Member: wndycty Views on DU: 2491

 

[cbc5g]

1. He has restored my confidence in his ability to be Obama's VP

I saw it this morning too and he did a good job!

[elleng]

3. He did much more than a 'good' job, imo;

he said it all, answered all the issues, like, 'but he's a hero, right?'

I don't think Dems need to say anything else; just quote Wes to address McCain's suitability.

[eleny]

5. Someone of Clark's credentials is the only type of person who can open this subject

Anyone else would get massacred by the press. I'm glad Clark has been put on this area and I'm hoping other ex military of high rank back him up down the road - before Clark is painted as a kook. They'll try to smear him. But he held up very well today defending his first salvo against McCain.

[rebel with a cause]

20. I agree

the way the press is reacting with mccain, it will take a military man to stand up to them and him. Clark did a good job this morning doing just that, but look for a backlash against him for doing it.

Oh and where was this press when Max Cleland was getting attacked by the rupubs? Maybe Max should come out to take on the mccain attack. Lets see them tell him that he can't say anything because ........Yeah, I think they would have no reason to give of why Max could not talk about mccain.

[eleny]

26. Max Cleland is a perfect surrogate

I'd like to encourage you to post that in the GD-P as a thread of it's own. His background heading up the VA is another credential for him along with the experiences and loss he suffered in war. It seems to me that his injuries are certainly on a par with McCain's - if we must have suffering to be able to speak up about McCain.

In fact, I'd contact the Obama campaign and Cleland himself.

[rebel with a cause]

29. Cleland campaigned here in 2004 for Kerry

and I met him, but I have no way to contact him. I will start the thread by my threads tend to sink quickly, so we will see about this one. :D

I will also send the message to Obama's camp and see what they think of it. Thanks.

[eleny]

30. I'll look for your post and reply

Perhaps others will have even more ideas for who could step up for Obama. Clark has opened an important discussion. So the Obama campaign is, as usual, on its toes.

[rebel with a cause]

35. thanks n/t

[mythyc]

2. Clark spoke well, and finally someone's calling bullshit on McCain's so-called credentials....

I'm still mad at Clark for saying among other things that Obama is not qualified to be Commander in Chief, but at least he's doing the right thing now.

[elleng]

4. He said what, about Obama?

I wonder about his exact words, because Wes is much too diplomatic, and too much of a gentleman, to say that Obama (or any of the contenders) 'is not qualified.'

People will have to get used to his manner of speech: CIVIL!

[mythyc]

37. he's said Obama's not prepared to be CIC and called his diplomacy ideas "disturbing"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4959434

[elleng]

45. He called Ms. Power's comments 'disturbing.'

According to the article, in March 'he accused Obama of not being prepared enough to be commander in chief and properly oversee an end to the Iraq war.

"That means knowing where you're headed before you start down the path," Clark said.'

That was at the time of the article. He says NOW that Obama is not running on the basis of HIS military experience, as is McCain, but on the basis of HIS judgment, and Barak has other strengths. Obama has strategy for bringing us out; mcc for keeping us in.

[StClone]

6. Clark head on with

That is the action needed for effective diminution of McCain's Presidential aspiration: Point out HE is a Hero but not Presidential material. Not only effective, but true!

The General was my pick in 2004. I damn well predict he will have a major part of Obama's G.E. campaign and thereafter administration, V.P.!!? We'll see!

Read about the man!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark

[Texifornia]

7. He has honed his skills

He will be a magnificient spokesman.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. Like Obama,

the more I see of Clark, the more I like him.

He'd be great as V.P.

[marias23]

9. A POW 's Experience like an Inmate does not make you a Warden

Saying the McCain's experience as a POW gives him training as a military leader is like saying that a prison inmate's incarceration makes him/her a good candidate for warden.

[AlbertCat]

14. Eggzactly

He was a POW....then put him in charge of Gitmo...or some office that deals with POW issues....not that being a POW makes you qualified for administration activities. If being a POW makes one so qualified, then all the ex POWs in the USA are as qualified as McCain. Besides, that was 30 years ago. Let's see what he's been up to since then....or perhaps the last 10 years and use that as a judgment of his fitness.

"I mean... we're talking about John McCain here!"

Yes, Lady, we are! Not the mythical character of John McCain the MSM and his campaign made up, but John McCain, the real person.

[Hulk]

36. Does being a POW make you a "hero"....?

Does being a war veteran make you a hero? I thought a hero was someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty. Excuse my confusion.

I guess I'm a "hero" by their definition, and yet I was doing what I had to do to stay alive and protect my fellow soldiers.

No disrespect intended for ex-POW's or veterans, but I don't see them as heros. If a POW took pain for the other POW's, or he defied giving any information in the face of torture...then yes, a hero.

But to simply be an ex-POW = hero? I think not.

mcAncient is NOT a hero in my book. I've heard even bad rumors, more than likely, that he was less than a hero as a POW, but I know that I can't judge a man for what he might do under torture and the treatment he received as a POW.

Let's just leave it as this.....I respect his service. I am glad he survived and I am sad that he went through such a terrible ordeal...but remember, there are THOUSANDS of American service personnel in a hell much worse than what john mcBush went through, and it's THROUGH HIS FAULT that they are there.

That is NO hero, in my book.

[L0oniX]

38. I agree.The word hero is applied all to often. Nascar drivers and football players are called heros.

People need to get a grip on what a hero really is.

[1Hippiechick]

40. I can't stand the thought of watching McInsane somberly speaking before his POW film backdrop

Give me a break!

[vinylsolution]

10. "This is John McCain we're talking about..."

Here's the corporate media drooling openly over their man.

Partisanship doesn't get any more unsubtle than this.

[BigD_95]

12. I was thinking the

same thing when I heard that

[BigD_95]

11. I love how

she says " Thats McCain were talking about" freaking bitch. Who cares its McCain. He is running for President, we cant question him? Give me a break. The media will never do its job against McSame.

[ellenfl]

13. i didn't realize that barnacle bill was such a rightie.

general clark sounded extremely v-pish to me. he's got the chops. go, wesley!

ellen fl

[wndycty]

15. I don't think Barnacle is a rightie, I think he was playing devil's advocate

:kick:

[ellenfl]

16. does he do the same with the rightie he talks with?

i haven't noticed that he has been so hard on righties. i had expected him to be left leaning but have heard the opposite from him on occasion. perhaps someone better acquainted with him has some insight?

ellen fl

[wndycty]

18. Yes, for the most part I think Barnacle is quite liberal/progressive

:kick:

[rebel with a cause]

19. Morning Joe was saying the same thing yesterday

mccain was a war hero, you can't say anything against him, he is....he is....

First of all, a question for you. What makes john mccain a war hero? Was it the fact that he was a prisioner and that he survived the horrendous torture he endured? Then every man that did that is a war hero and every man that comes home from the present war wounded and disabled is a hero and why are we not showing them the same kind of respect? Why are they not receiving the medical care they deserve, the finanacial help they deserve and all the other things we are short changing them on? Why is the MSM not screaming at the bush republicans they have on their shows about this? Why is it that mccain is so bless that he is untouchable by anyone that opposes him, and other service men are so untouchable and unmentionable that they are soon forgotten?

Sorry, just tired of this whole "Don't say anything bad about mccain, if you do we won't like you." To h-e-double-hockey-sticks with them. ;)

[PerpetuallyDazed]

27. Let me share with you what I learned just yesterday...

It may not be news to you, but it cleared up a lot of my misconceptions! McCain received most of his injuries from crashing his plane (note: his 4th) in a Hanoi lake. That's how he broke his arms and sustained a leg injury. He was put in confinement and beaten up/tortured for four days before finally revealing who he was, the son of an admiral. THAT'S what got him the medical treatment that saved his life. If he had been any other guy, (and I believe most of the other U.S. servicemen he was with did, in fact, die?) he wouldn't have survived.

He went through lots of torture and that's heroic. He's also damn lucky to be who he is, otherwise he would have been just another casualty.

On edit: How this qualifies him as a "National Security" expert, I have no idea... People are ridiculous.

[Cha]

47. BS on that...they put an AWOLie in the last time

and you coundn't say anything about that, either.

Being in a Viet Nam prison for 5 years does not make you presidential material.

[MrObama]

17. nice

He did a god job

[HootieMcBoob]

21. Obama/Clark '08

An unbeatable ticket! :kick:

[Krashkopf]

23. Roger that!

Obama/Clark is a REAL Dream Ticket!

[1Hippiechick]

41. Ditto!

[Krashkopf]

22. LOLOL these MSN people were flumaxed that ANYONE would even dare challenge . . .

McCain's national security experience.

Clark, who actually does have national security experience, showed 'em what REAL straight talk sounds like!!!

Obama/Clark 2008!!

[elleng]

46. They weren't flummoxed this morning;

they had Wes on BECAUSE of what he'd said on HuffPo, and they were perfectly prepared.

Mika is surely smart enough to 'know better,' but I guess she's decided to take this job and run with it. Wes introduced as a something for MSNBC, so he's part of their family; they're taking advantage of that, and if/when he's rewarded, they'll cluck, fer sure.

[MrObama]

24. Obama's VP?

He would be a great Vice President!

[Ned_Devine]

25. My faith in Wes Clark: Re-Stored!

[PerpetuallyDazed]

28. I could do that!!!

I was a Clarkie in '04 ;)

[Gloria]

31. He's always first on the bandwagon...

[NM Independent]

32. It would be nice if they would be that hard on people who are...

questioning :)bama about his qualifications.

I'm disappointed in Mika, usually she's better than that. I guess Joe is wearing off on her.

[Lena inRI]

33. Music to my ears and jumping for joy here. . .

. . .finally, Wes Clark is positioned in the right place at the right time. . .

Mind you, Wes, as a former Clarkie, you had me spitting nails when you endorsed Hillary and always surrogated other Democrats since you dropped out of 2004 election.

But now you are TRULY Barack's BEST and OPTIMAL choice for Vice President:

---as part of a Barack "brain trust" like FDR's, Wes brings national security, negotiating expertise as he showed in Bosnia-Kosovo wars and Dayton Accords

---Wes has administrative expertise as SACEUR and 4**** General

---Wes is a PROGRESSIVE on economic, social issues with Rhodes Scholar creds in economics

---Wes was born in Chicago, raised/lives in Arkansas, military school in TN, and West Point valedictorian. . .nuf said for his regional pull!

---as I hear Barack, I have said many times that he shares a lot of Wes' positions from 2004. . .Barack will easily "click" with Wes during their job interview for VP!

---finally, knowing Richardson and Clark get along and Obama sounds like both of them,

wouldn't the dream "brain trust" be President Obama, VPresident Clark, and Secretary of State Richardson? You betcha! Talk about dynamic foreign policy-makers !

Any of Obama's other VP possibilities should be given a position that matches their EXPERTISE. . .together further adding to Obama's "brain trust". . .

Again, Wes Clark is THE BEST CHOICE for the VPRES expertise in negotiating us out of Iraq and securing our role in the Mideast.

OBAMA/CLARK 2008

. . .the JACKPOT TICKET !

:kick: :loveya: :kick: :loveya: :kick:

[Adelante]

43. .

:D

[ryanmuegge]

34. Boy, look at them challenge him. It will be the strong suit that he thinks it is.

Because McCain's unquestionable, undeniable advanatage on "defense" and "national security" is part of McCain's media narrative (he's their preferred candidate after all), and it has been internalized in the public consciousness.

Of course they don't challenge Republicans like they challenged Clark here, even on the most obvious discrepancies and hypocrisy. Everything is taken completely at face-value if it is a Republican who says it.

[L0oniX]

39. McLame is not the untouchable just because he was a POW in another policy war.

Walmart and Toy R Us are full of items from "COMMUNIST" China. I guess that whole "we have to stop them here" thing didn't work out so well. Over 80,000 GI's died in Vietnam. I hate it that they were used and died but were they heros?

"Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy." -- Henry Kissinger

“Blind obedience to authority is the enemy of the truth.” Albert Einstein

[1Hippiechick]

42. “Blind obedience to authority is the enemy of the truth.” Albert Einstein- I love it when someone

talks Einstein - my hero. A true peacemonger!

"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!"

"My pacificism is an instinctive feeling, a feeling that possesses me because the murder of people is disgusting. My attitude is not derived from any intellectual theory but is based on my deepest antipathy to every kind of cruelty and hatred."

[L0oniX]

44. Albert Einstein and Samuel Clemens are my favs...

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain

[1Hippiechick]

51. Then you will like these......

"To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, " Our country, right or wrong," and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation.
- "Glances at History," 1906

"An inglorious peace is better than a dishonorable war.
- "Glances at History," 1906

[oxbow]

48. I hope either Clark or Ed Rendell gets the VP offer

both of them complement obama well, in very different ways

[FrenchieCat]

50. Wes did a job on the myth of 30 years ago POW= President

He did us proud! :patriot:

Ed Rendell is a non starter -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXum_-8I1TA

[MrSlayer]

49. This long time Clarkie is not surprised in the least.

Clark is always on top of things. He should be the Veep. Hell, he should be the President.

[skygazer]

52. "If I had four stars, I'd be wearing them right here"

"Well, you're wearing a flag pin and it looks very nice." :rofl:

I've always liked Clark - calm under fire.