The Villagers used the Sunday shows to resume their hissy fit over Gen. Clark's truth telling about McCain's claim to superior commander in chief credibility. Bob Schaeffer lied, again:

On Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer alleged that "[Sen. Barack] Obama's people are trying to denigrate the war hero's military service," referring to Sen. John McCain. Schieffer did not explain which of "Obama's people" he was talking about, but a few days earlier he said that "[retired Gen.] Wesley Clark, who was speaking for Obama, tried to marginalize John McCain's military service" in a June appearance on Face the Nation. In fact, Clark did not "denigrate" McCain's "military service"; rather, he questioned the relevance of McCain's combat experience as a qualification to be president.

Here's the part of what General Clark said in that June segment that the Villagers keep conveniently ignoring:

I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands of millions of others in the Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world.

All this as a reminder to Sen. John Kerry (who should certainly recognize a Swift Boat campaign in the works when he sees one). Yesterday Tom Brokaw took up the charge for the McCain Media, and John Kerry played along.

MR. BROKAW: We’re going to get to all those issues, but I also want to raise what a surrogate for Senator Obama had to say to my friend Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation." This is former General Wesley Clark talking about John McCain. He said, "I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." He described him as untested and untried. With all due respect, Senator Kerry, he could have been talking about your qualifications. You’re a Vietnam veteran...

SEN. KERRY: Yeah, I, I don’t agree. I don’t agree with Wes Clark’s comment. I think it was entirely inappropriate. I have nothing but enormous respect for John McCain’s service. I had the privilege of standing with John McCain in the, in the cell in Hanoi when we visited there together, when we worked on the issue of Vietnam together. It was an emotional moment. I, I have awe for John McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war, and he, and he does understand duty and service. But...

That's not really how a Democratic surrogate pokes a hole in the bubble of the McCain myth, nor how to back up a fellow Democrat, particularly one who steadfastly defended John Kerry's own record during the Swift Boat attacks on him.

There's one and only one response to the Villagers' vapors: "General Clark has never denigrated John McCain's military service, and neither has anyone who speaks for Senator Obama. As Max Cleland and John Kerry can tell you, only Republicans do that."

Well this started as a post in The (Strong) Case for Clark.  Needless to say, it grew into an insanely long post.  I just decided to post it as a diary. Ideally, my pick for VP would be almost entirely based on personal compatibility.  This stems largely from my complete rejection of this ridiculous premise that military service/20 years in the Senate makes you a Foreign Policy heavyweight/guru.

Matt Stoller and Aaron Ament have initiated an effort to elevate Wes Clark back onto the list for potential VP contenders. Stoller writes:

Before the idiot DC villagers threw a hissy fit about Clark, he was on the short list for VP. Is it realistic to see him back on that list? Well really, it's up to Obama. Choosing Clark would be a clear demonstration that Obama intends to significantly shift the political debate in the country and that he refuses to allow old school bitchy sniping from DC insiders to dominate our national political discourse. What Clark said - that McCain has no experience in national security decision-making - is absolutely true, and it's a point that needs emphasis repeatedly and effectively by someone who can deliver it.

Clark has a 34 year service record, has won a war, commanded troops all over the world, and nearly died of his injuries in Vietnam. He has run for President and been a surrogate for hundreds of Democrats all over the country, including Ned Lamont. He was against the war in Iraq, and knows the military bureaucracy inside and out. This is someone who would make an insanely good Vice President, and someone who has deep connections to the newly formed progressive communities that emerged from 2002-2006.

Senator Obama would do well to choose Clark as his running mate.

Digby adds:

I think now would be the perfect moment to reject the faux-outrage culture of the Village and pick somebody who isn't afraid to call McCain out on foreign policy and military affairs. Steve Schmidt will send everyone in DC a case of smelling salts and a personal fainting couch, but unless Obama figures out a way to signal that he's getting off the hissy fit express, this campaign is going to be torturous. And we know one thing: capitulating to it doesn't work. They just up the ante.

Luckily for us, Clark is still hot on the surrogate trail, still appearing on MSNBC and still kicking butt on behalf of Obama, despite the attacks and the vapors from the Villagers.

Obviously the choice of running mate is highly personal and not something in which any outside organization can have much sway. I don't expect this effort to make much difference in Obama's selection process.

But highlighting General Clark and the tremendous service he's given not only his party, but the nation, is more than a worthwhile cause, particulary when the story makes it to the traditional media. Apparently a lot of folks in the netroots agree.  Matt reports that in the first 12 hours the site was up, about a thousand people signed on to the petition at the Obama/Clark Web site. Join them if you want to show the General a little love.

Sign the petition at obamaclark.com

There is a new movement to generate buzz for a Obama-Clark ticket and I'd like to add my support to it, tiny as it is. Clark has always been my favorite pick for VP and an earlier diary I wrote found alot of people agreeing with me. Since then we have had the villagers blow up about the CBS interview and this leaked shortlist that he isn't on.

I've written before that it would be a huge mistake for Barack Obama to select a Republican for a running mate. With at least two and perhaps four Supreme Court vacancies likely before 2012, I don't want any Republican in line to inherit the presidency.

I've also said I think it would backfire for Obama to choose a woman other than Hillary Clinton for a running mate. If he wants his VP choice to help boost his support among women, he should pick the woman who received more than 17 million votes for president in the primaries.

In addition, like many Democrats who backed John Edwards in the primaries, I worry that as president Obama would do too little to rein in the excesses of corporate power in Washington.

But until I read this piece in Politico, it never occurred to me that Obama might consider going for the trifecta: a female Republican corporate hack for a running mate.

The O'Clarkies among us know that Barack Obama has the judgment to take a wide variety of opinions and disparate facts and make sound decisions.

An article yesterday at Huffington Post describes a few of the characteristics of General Wesley Clark that the good people of Clarkdom have understood about his appeal to Americans for some time, but it's more than that.

What we're after is exactly the same standard that General Clark recently held to John McCain:

How has his experience informed his personal judgment?

There's been a lot of speculation about who Barack Obama will pick as his Vice President, and within roughly a month we'll have our answer. This diary is just my two cents.

It's time to drop the Clark Bomb!

I started off wanting Senator Obama to show the civility I know he's not only capable of, but disposed to.  I still want that, but events have changed and we've gotta change with 'em.

Senator McCain has done two things in the last few weeks I cannot abide.  First, his campaign attacked Senator Obama for something he wrote in the guestbook at the Holocaust Museum in Israel.  Secondly, Senator McCain has evidenced that he has an imperfect (at best) understanding of military matters.

I don't wanna go dirty and I don't wanna get into smears.  What I want is to slap McCain around on the issues, on his judgment, and above all on his plans.  I want him taken down a peg and put where he belongs - an honorable old warhorse that no longer understands what must be done.  You treat him with respect but you make it plain his fighting days are done.  There's no dishonor in that, but I think at this point we have to make it plain.

Wes Clark is in the best position and has the appropriate disposition to be an aggressive VP.

And one more thing...

This is just a simple observation, but I've seen two diaries posted in the past few days that attack John Edwards for infidelity, based on some right-wing smear. The first diary I saw stated that Edwards was wearing a "blue dress" as he tried to enter the hotel secretly. The second diary, entitled "I am STUNNED" referred to John Edwards as "Jon Edward" in one sentence. Both were based on a recent article in "The National Enquirer," which as everyone knows is factually based and a trusted source of political information. Both reported having previously been fans of John Edwards, but because of the article they had lost faith in Edwards, and simply wanted to point out to us all what a douchebag Edwards truly is.

Clark: Well, they didn't bring more troops out to Anbar. What they did is the Saudis, basically in 2005, gave up on the U.S. policy, and they started working directly with the tribes. I went through the region in 2004 and 2005. I went through each of the Gulf States. I talked to the leaders and they said, 'You Americans are crazy. You're ignoring the tribes.' The Saudis put money behind it. They worked the tribes, and that helped bring the condition which made the Sunni Awakening possible.

Scarborough: So, so General, you are crediting the Saudis with success in Western Iraq. You're crediting Iran with success in Eastern Iraq. I think that's giving short shrift for what the troops did.

Clark: No, I don't think so. I think the troops are a very, very important part of this, but I think you have to look at whole situation in there, Joe.

Source: http://securingamerica.com/...
----------

h/t Syb :)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

I am an unabashed Obama supporter who has advocated for an Obama/Clark or Obama/Biden ticket in the past.  I still would love to see one of those two tickets, but looking at the race as it exists today I believe that Clinton is at the top of Obama's list.  Further I believe that the Obama campaign had her highly ranked since the beginning and will realize that strategically it is Obama's best choice.

Is Wes Clark out of the running for VP? Did his "gaffe" about McSame's military service doom his chances?

That's certainly the way it would appear. When the punditry speaks of VPs, I generally hear only a few names. We get to obligatory mentions of Hillary as VP...but, of course, that is mostly for ratings and interesting speculation.

We hear Biden and Reed and Rendell and Bayh and even Hagel. But we never hear any more mentions of the best possible choice: Wes Clark.

Just wanted to throw this out there.  I personally am a big fan of Gen. Wesley Clark for Vice President.  I know that much ado about nothing over his comments about McCain's war record may have diminished his chances of being VP but I still think he is the best choice.  BUT, if I cant have Gen. Clark, Biden will be just fine thank you.

"Kerry says McCain lacks judgement" - CNN

Last week I wanted more from Wes Clark. This week I want less from Kerry, for 2 reasons:  

1.  Clark has more credibility - he served a president that had no military experience and they turned the Balkan's religious war into soccer clashes.

2.  Kerry is a blast from an ignomonious past.  Kerry's military experience is as old as McCain's and less heroic - and he's tainted.

Without doubt, McCain's military judgement should be put into question.  The question is, who is the best surrogate for that role?  Clark or Webb can stay on message and still stay fresh - I have yet to hear either use tired old lines like 'Bush's 3rd term'.

As evidence of the verbal mastery, Clark's 'getting shot down' response wasn't overly sensitive, but it is a convincing and memorable argument.  Furthermore, Clark is more a military than political figure, so he has the liberty of digging hard while being dispassionately analytical.  Voters expect our Generals to be tough.  

This should be interesting.  In light of the media firestorm that erupted after General Wesley Clark's comments on Face the Nation last week, it will be quite interesting to hear what John Kerry has to say.  The story made many twists and turns, including the McCain campaign trotting out a Swiftboater, Bud Day, who had appeared in Swift Vet ads against John Kerry in 2004.  Given all of this, and that the original comments came on Face the Nation, it is a foregone conclusion that Bob Schieffer is going to ask about Clark's remarks, for which I can imagine Kerry will want to mention the McCain campaign hypocrisy.  Lindsay Graham will also be appearing, but from what I gather will not be appearing at the same time as Kerry (well, Kerry did out debate him last time; it's not like Lindsay wanted to go through that again :)).  More details below the fold.

This is a truly inspired idea by Phyl!  Please show Wes some love and support by going to the blog post below (click on the headline of the post) , contributing any amount, and posting your contributions to this blog.  If you don’t have a CCN account, or don’t know how to post it, just send me your Transaction ID#, the date, Time, Payment amount (you can use "$xx.xx" instead of the amount if you want), and your first name/fullname/blogname, and I’ll happily post it for you: