As noted at Politico:
After saying, "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," he added that these experiences in no way qualify McCain to be president in his view:
"He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron," Clark said.
"I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."
This is not to disparage anyone who has chosen to serve America (or any other country for that matter) in the military. I respect their decision to follow that path. War is at times a necessary evil; the need to "turn to force as a last recourse" as Mike & The Mechanics once sang. Each night, we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the IGTNT series. For those of us opposed to the invasion of Iraq, our beef is with the idiots who sent and keep the troops there, not with the troops themselves. Yes, atrocities are occasionally performed in the act of war -- but the blame lies with those who commit those atrocities, not with the military as a whole. And yes, people do get killed, including innocent civilians.
Yet, it's a delicate balance we must maintain -- to honor and respect the service of our men and women in the armed forces, while avoiding the temptation to lionize them or put them on some sort of pedestal. After all, it seems that the Republicans are all too willing to put John McCain and his service in Vietnam on a pedestal and say that he's qualified to be Commander-in-Chief because of that experience, when what Wesley Clark was trying to say (and what has been misconstrued by everyone, from the traditional media all the way to the Obama campaign itself) is that military service is not the only criteria by which we can choose a candidate.
We've had several Presidents who have never served in the military. Abraham Lincoln never served in the military. Nor did Franklin Roosevelt, though he did serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for several years. At least two of our Founding Fathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, while instrumental in the transition from a British colony to an independent nation, did not serve in the military of their day. And we all know that Bill Clinton had no military experience when he took office. And just to mention one Vice President, Dick Cheney had "other priorities" during the Vietnam War. So obviously military service is not a requirement for the Executive Branch.
I guess one of the biggest problems I have is that we tend to look at those who serve in the military, especially those who die in the service of the country, as "heroes" -- when many of them would not see themselves as heroes, but just folks doing their jobs, and especially since parts of their jobs might be seen by others as far from heroic. As I said, a delicate balance indeed.
The question is, how do we honor the military service of men like John McCain, while still pointing out that he may not be the best person to lead this nation in 2009 and beyond? And how do we counter the slurs of the traditional media who twist the words of people like Wesley Clark and turn it into an insult?
UPDATE: H/T to arodb, who provides the exact quote with the Bob Schieffer question as context:
CLARK: He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron. 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, do you want to take the risk, what about your reputation, how do we handle this publicly? He hasn't made those calls, Bob.
SCHIEFFER: Can I just interrupt you? I have to say, Barack Obama hasn't had any of these experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.
CLARK: I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.