This morning's MTP had Kerry and Lieberman arguing on behalf of Obama and McCain. Tom Brokaw started with the McCain's attacks ads on Obama, and then -- presumably to show "balance," revisited that infamous Clark statement in which Clark responded that being shot did not qualify someone to be president. Kerry failed to stand up for Clark, and what steamed me is that Brokaw took Clark's answer straight out of context without showing Bob Schieffer's question, which specifically had asked Clark how he could question someone's qualification when McCain had been shot down in a plane.
I have to ask how come Clark is being attacked again for this "coincidentally" just after a week in which he has once again been rumored as a VP pick, and when a website has started a petition drive to put Clark on the ticket.
Follow me below the fold and let's explore this issue. First here' the link to the MTP interview.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Then, here's how the controversy started:
According to cnn.com http://www.cnn.com/...
The dust-up began with Clark's appearance Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," where moderator Bob Schieffer asked him about his interview with the Huffington Post earlier this month.
In the interview, Clark said McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, was "untested and untried."
When Schieffer asked to explain the comment, 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, nor had 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.
So that's the background, and even though Clark was absolutely accurate in what he said, we all remember the huge firestorm that erupted, with Clark being attacked as having dissed McCain's military service, which he hadn't done.
At the time of that interview, Clark was high on the VP short list by all accounts, but after that interview it seemed that many people decided he had lost his luster. Personally, I was always pleased that Clark refused to back down, and indeed stated that the attacks on him were typical of the Republican attack machine, where first they take you out of context then they attack personally.
So fast forward to today. All last week there has been a resurgence of interest in Clark as a potential VP. There is even a website called ObamaClark08 or something like that (I'll let someone else post that). People are signing a petition on that website to encourage Obama to put Clark on the ticket. The controversy over the previous remark seems to have died down. So what happens?
In the first few minutes of MTP Tom Brokaw (who I thought was better than this), talks about the McCain personal attack ads on Obama -- and then, out of the blue, in an apparent attempt to "balance" what really can't be balanced because no one on the Obama side has ever attacked McCain's service -- Brokaw puts up only Clark's response to Schieffer's question, without putting the question up to show that Clark was simply answering exactly what Schieffer had stated. Here's the transcript from MTP. First, there was the exchange about McCain's attack ads:
MR. BROKAW: ...because tone is an important part of any presidential campaign, and this campaign is running at full throttle already before we have a vice presidential candidate and before we have the conventions.
Senator Lieberman, let me just share with you and with our audience as well what Senator McCain had to say earlier about the tone of the campaign.
(Videotape, April 14, 2008):
SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ): This will be a respectful campaign. Americans want a respectful campaign.
They're tired of the attacks. They're tired of the impugning people's character and integrity. They want a respectful campaign, and, and I, and I am of the firm belief that they'll get it and that they can get it if the American people demand it and reject a lot of this negative stuff that goes on.
(End videotape)
MR. BROKAW: And just this past week you said to the Palm Beach Post, "There's a problem in Washington. That problem is partisanship, grown people going to Washington acting like children having a mud fight." Do you think running a campaign ad in which you feature Britney Spears and Paris Hilton with Barack Obama is respectful?
Lieberman's response is :
SEN. LIEBERMAN: No. I think it raises a question. First, though, I think it's cute, and a lot of people...
MR. BROKAW: What does he have, what does he have to do with, with Paris Hilton or Britney Spears?
SEN. LIEBERMAN: The point here is, particularly after the trip to Europe, essentially holding a political rally of 200,000 in Germany--in Berlin, bigger crowd than he's gotten anywhere here in America, and he's gotten some big crowds, this ad raise the question we're, we're not deciding who's our favorite celebrity, who, who we are fans of. . . . This is a good, young man. Is he ready to lead? Or as ready as John McCain? No.
There ensues a lengthy discussion about McCain's ads, then comes this item, presumably for "balance.":
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...
At that point, Kerry, who ought to know better, totally threw Clark under the bus:
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...
Brokaw continues that Obama himself has to specificall "rebuke" Clark!
MR. BROKAW: Unless I missed it, though, Senator Obama has not specifically rebuked Wesley Clark's comments.
SEN. KERRY: Oh, I think they--I thought--I did, and others did, and I thought Obama had at the time. But here's what's important, Tom. Let's not get lost in this, you know--John McCain said this ought to be about big ideas. Medicare is about to implode. You know, John McCain has a health care plan that every expert has said does nothing for the people who have no health care.
At this point, I'm steamed. First of all, I question the relevance of the Clark quote as any sort of counterpoint to McCain's inane and juvenile ad. Let's face it -- they can't find any attacks on McCain's character from any Obama surrogate or the campaign itself, so they dredge up Clark's comments, take them out of context, and once again make it appear that Clark for no reason whatsoever (rather than in response to Schieffer's question about being shot down) was somehow disrespecting McCain's service.
So I'm so steamed I wrote this letter to Brokaw at MTP:
Dear Mr. Brokaw,
On MTP this morning, you took General Wesley Clark's comments about Sen. McCain's experience out of context, and uncritically repeated the Republican talking point that Clark was somehow disrespecting McCain's military service. Bob Schieffer had specifically asked Clark how he could question McCain's qualifications given that McCain had been shot down as a fighter pilot. Clark, after duly praising McCain's service and stating that McCain had been one of his heros, quite accurately responded that being shot down (which was the context Schieffer posited) did not qualify someone to be president. For you to simply take Clark's response and claim it was an attack on McCain's service without first putting it in the context of the specific question Schieffer asked is inexcusably poor journalism, and beneath you as a respected journalist. For you to use this example during the same week that Clark's name is once again being floated as a strong VP choice is questionable at best, and calls your impartiality into question. You have always been one of the most trusted broadcasters. You're better than this, Mr. Brokaw.
Here it is early evening, long after MTP is over, and I'm still steamed. I'm steamed at Brokaw (who I really did think was better than such sloppy journalism).
I'm steamed at Kerry, who took the coward's way out this morning rather than covering Clark's back, and I'm steamed at all Democrats who cower every time they are called upon to stand firm.
Clark is a fearless, courageous Democrat who has campaigned tirelessly since 2004 for many many other candidates. He would and should be on anyone's "short list" for VP. I just don't want to see his chances once again brought down by this really stupid meme -- and unless someone stands up for him his chances may once again fade.
So -- Kossacks -- a day or so ago there were several diaries on the rec list about Clark and his qualifications. Those of us who support Clark need to step up and fight back against this scurrilous out of context use of Clark's answer. Please, write to Meet the Press and tell Brokaw how we feel. Maybe Kerry won't stand up for the general, but we should.
Here's the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Thanks for letting me rant. I realize re-reading this that I feel pretty hot about this, and this diary may not be the best writing I've every done, but I'm posting it before I lose my passion for the subject and just shrug it off as "just another hit job by the pop media."