Tweet
curious about. Lets see how this play out.
McCain campaign: Clark's comments 'sad'
Sen. John McCain's campaign on Monday called retired Gen. Wesley Clark's remarks that McCain lacks command experience "the lowest form of politics."
Clark, a military adviser for Sen. Barack Obama, questioned Sunday whether McCain's military experience qualified him to be commander in chief.
The McCain campaign has called on Obama to condemn the comments.
"I think it's kind of sad," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Monday on CNN's "American Morning."
"I think all the promise that Barack Obama made about trying to change the political dynamic and run a different kind of campaign is evidenced by the fact that he's completely changed his political strikes and become sort of a partisan hack."
Davis added, "Sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics."
The dust-up began Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" when moderator Bob Schieffer asked Clark about a recent interview with the Huffington Post Web site in which the general called McCain "untested and untried."
Clark said he was referring to McCain's experience, or lack thereof, in setting national security policies and understanding the risk involved in such matters.
"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility," said Clark, a former NATO commander who campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.
"He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not,' " Clark said.
Schieffer noted that Obama did not have any of those experiences either nor he has he "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."
"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark said.
McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after being shot down during the Vietnam War.
The McCain campaign responded quickly to Clark's remarks with a statement Sunday afternoon.
"If Barack Obama wants to question John McCain's service to his country, he should have the guts to do it himself and not hide behind his campaign surrogates," retired Adm. Leighton "Snuffy" Smith said in the statement.
"If he expects the American people to believe his pledges about a new kind of politics, Barack Obama has a responsibility to condemn these attacks."
McCain campaign: Clark's comments 'sad'
Sen. John McCain's campaign on Monday called retired Gen. Wesley Clark's remarks that McCain lacks command experience "the lowest form of politics."
Clark, a military adviser for Sen. Barack Obama, questioned Sunday whether McCain's military experience qualified him to be commander in chief.
The McCain campaign has called on Obama to condemn the comments.
"I think it's kind of sad," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Monday on CNN's "American Morning."
"I think all the promise that Barack Obama made about trying to change the political dynamic and run a different kind of campaign is evidenced by the fact that he's completely changed his political strikes and become sort of a partisan hack."
Davis added, "Sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics."
The dust-up began Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" when moderator Bob Schieffer asked Clark about a recent interview with the Huffington Post Web site in which the general called McCain "untested and untried."
Clark said he was referring to McCain's experience, or lack thereof, in setting national security policies and understanding the risk involved in such matters.
"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility," said Clark, a former NATO commander who campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.
"He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not,' " Clark said.
Schieffer noted that Obama did not have any of those experiences either nor he has he "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."
"Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark said.
McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after being shot down during the Vietnam War.
The McCain campaign responded quickly to Clark's remarks with a statement Sunday afternoon.
"If Barack Obama wants to question John McCain's service to his country, he should have the guts to do it himself and not hide behind his campaign surrogates," retired Adm. Leighton "Snuffy" Smith said in the statement.
"If he expects the American people to believe his pledges about a new kind of politics, Barack Obama has a responsibility to condemn these attacks."
Comment