The Right Stuff

Unimpressive fellow, retired Gen. Wes Clark, thinks that John McCain doesn't have the military experience that prepares a person to be commander-in-chief. Byron York at the Corner has the goods from a conference call with retired military who support Clinton:

"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."

What does give you first-hand experience of strategic issues? According to Clark: being the First Lady, traveling overseas a lot on the taxpayers' dime, and seven years in the Senate.

This was a conference call, but I don't know if anyone asked the obvious question. McCain has Clinton beat for time in Congress. Over the years he's had many overseas trips where he represented the United States, not least his noteworthy service in the Navy. I guess Clark thinks that sleeping with Bill Clinton makes up for the difference. Idiot.

Variation on a theme: Here's Obama from the stump today slamming Clinton for not having the right stuff and then beclowning himself on the same topic:

Now, I have to say when it came to making the most important foreign policy decision of our generation – the decision to invade Iraq – Senator Clinton got it wrong. She didn’t read the National Intelligence Estimate, Jay Rockefeller read it, but she didn’t read it.

I don’t know what all that experience got her because in my experience if you have a National Intelligence Estimate and the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee says, 'You should read this, this is why I’m voting against the war,' then you should probably read it. I don’t know how much experience you need for that. She didn’t first give diplomacy a chance.

Well played, Senator. If only we'd tried to talk to Saddam Hussein.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 02:54 AM

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