>>>>SNIP
>>>
>>>>>Mike, wake up. I'll explain to you what happened. Obama defended himself against "charges" that were never made. Who, in the political world, called him unpatriotic? As far as I can see, no one. So he set up a situation where people were led to believe that this had happened when, in fact, it hadn't. Meanwhile, Wesley Clark goes out and says something outrageous about McCain's military service to Bob Schieffer who - if you listen to the interview - is incredulous that Clark is so demeaning. Dude, again I say, "wake up"; Clark said what he said not because he believed it but because it gave an opening for Obama to criticize the comment and look like he was giving creds to a vet like McCain. It's so transparent and you'll see more of it - Democratic minions will badmouth McCain and Obama will badmouth the minion's comments. I mean, c'mon, are you that naive?
>>>>
>>>>Could be. I think it's interesting that Clark was a Hillary supporter who only recently linked up with the Obama campaign. Which may be neither here nor there, I suppose. IAC, yes, I do know candidates sometimes attack their opponents through surrogates. I still think both Obama and McCain are running much cleaner campaigns than usual. I hope it lasts.
>>>>
>>>>Are you kidding about Obama's patriotism not being questioned? It has been questioned repeatedly -- why doesn't he wear a flag pin, he doesn't look like he held his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance, do you know he's Muslim?, etc. The McCain campaign realizes they are fighting an uphill battle and the most effective thing they can do is probably sow doubt about Obama's fitness for the job. Strategically I can't fault that. It's probably their best bet.
>>>
>>>As far as I can determine, none of this comes from the McCain camp. If a prominent GOP candidate, say Mitt Romney, said something about Obama on a level with what Clark said I would agree. But the McCain camp seems paralyzed when it comes to attacking Obama - maybe due to his race, what happened to Hillary, et al.
>>
>>They will be getting over that paralysis very soon. There was a shakeup last week in McCain's campaign staff, with a Rove guy replacing the former campaign manager and some more vets from the Bush / Rove election group joining as well. These folks play to win and they will leave no card unturned, including the race card.
>>
>>BTW, the Wesley Clark story turns out to be more nuanced than I first thought. What he in fact said was that McCain's 6 years as a POW did not necessarily qualify him to be President. He did not criticize McCain, he just said this doesn't mean he should be President. Given how prominent the POW experience is in the narrative package McCain is presenting to voters, I don't think it was out of bounds. Clark was a military hero himself so this wasn't some cheap potshot from the peanut gallery.
>
>Clark was not a military hero, he was a bureaucratic leader of NATO.
>
>BTW, I found that article I mentioned to Tamar and Tracy:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25479327/Being a hero and being a leader are not mutually exclusive. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry for Wesley Clark:
Clark was then given command of A Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division in January 1970. In February, only one month into his command, he was shot four times by a Viet Cong soldier with an AK-47. The wounded Clark shouted orders to his men, who counterattacked and defeated the Viet Cong force. Clark had injuries to his right shoulder, right hand, right hip, and right leg, and was sent to Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to recuperate. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the encounter.
