>>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.
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>>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.
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>What I don't understand, is how a military hero qualifies you to be a good president? I see this everytime in US elections.

I don't know if that was directed at me or not. I didn't say it qualifies someone to be a good president. IMO success in some field is a sign someone might be a good president, but don't attach more importance to being a successful soldier than being a success at something else. My point was that as a successful soldier (some don't seem to agree with the word hero) Clark has more standing to speak about McCain's military experience than others might have. IMO, of course.