"Everybody admires John McCain's service as a fighter pilot, his courage as a prisoner of war. There's no issue there. He's a great man and an honorable man. But having served as a fighter pilot _ and I know my experience as a company commander in Vietnam _ that doesn't prepare you to be commander in chief in terms of dealing with the national strategic issues that are involved. It may give you a feeling for what the troops are going through in the process, but it doesn't give you the experience first hand of the national strategic issues."
The entire political world, went up in arms. McCain's people attacked Clark. MoveON.org and Vote Vets defended him. And then, today Obama came out and flatly distanced himself from the remarks.
Obama did his best to stay out of this flap, but McCain succeeded in forcing him to respond."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 spokesman Bill Burton says in a statement.
We may never know whether this process was initiated by the Obama campaign. I almost hope it was. If so, it is tough, negative politics - well-engineered and admirably executed.
See what it does:
1. McCain's leadership credentials are now completely ON THE TABLE. The traditional media now must consider whether John McCain's lack of military leadership experience qualifies him to pass the Commander in Chief test. This issue, as raised by one of the military luminaries of the Democratic party must be considered, and it provides a foundation upon which Democrats will be able to build future attacks. Moreover, it is a completely fair question, it's only irate and irrational McCain defenders who say it's not.
2. It serves to insulate Obama from the politics of patriotism. As predicted, Obama has been wrongly and mercilessly attacked as somehow less American, less patriotic than befits a presidential candidate, but all such attacks are now suspect. Obama in promising never to question the patriotism of a political adversary calls all such attacks upon himself into question. It's the equivalent of Ronald Reagan's promise not to use Walter Mondale's youth and experience against him.
3. It doesn't really drive a wedge between Obama and Clark. Clark never questioned McCain's patriotism, only his qualifications. So, in today's address when Obama stated, "I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine", it is not an overt attack on what Clark did regardless of how the traditional media might report it.
4. McCain's reaction was necessarily overblown and he overstepped. McCain has now chosen to associate HIMSELF with the original "Swiftboaters". Lose-lose for McCain.
We can't say whether this was planned by the Obama campaign, and I'm not about to discuss whether this kind of attack, if planned, would be somehow less moral than say, spreading false rumors that Barack Obama is somehow un-American or took his oath of office on the Koran. What I am saying, is that this media moment happened, and is happening and it is a HUGE net plus for Obama with potentially crippling ramifications for John McCain.
Let me say this very clearly: We all respect and admire John McCain's military service and personal sacrifice. We all laud his patriotism as well as that of Barack Obama. The real question remains on the table as to whether McCain lacks the command experience he claims, and whether his foreign policy credentials are compromised by his failure to grasp even the most basic issues, such as the distinction between Sunni and Shia or al Qaeda and Iranian extremists.
These issues are there and they are growing every day as Americans become more and more critical of the myth of John McCain.
Sure, this whole thing could have been choreographed in advance using a very old template for a guide. First, Mr. Surrogate makes controversial remarks. Next, Mr. Candidate publicly rejects those remarks. Finally, the remarks continue to circulate, thereby allowing Mr. Candidate to benefit from them and, at the same time, remain above the fray by having nobly distanced himself from such distasteful controversy.
If this was the plan, I think it was a terrible miscalculation. By "rejecting" Wes Clark's comments, I think Obama has:
1. Validated the idea that McCain is entitled to a free pass on his alleged "national security" credentials simply because of his military service; and
2. Damaged his own brand by adopting the standard, dishonest, weak-kneed, political pandering approach that most of us hoped he would abandon.