Obama At Twelve O'Clock Low

Investor's Business Daily
BrookesNews.Com
Monday 7 July 2008

Politics: Barack Obama revives the politics of personal destruction by sending out surrogates to attack John McCain the war hero and John McCain the man. Politics as usual, Senator? Obama talks about change and hope and masquerades as the anti-politician. But as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright noted after Obama disowned his pastor of two decades, Obama will do and say the things a politician has to do and say to win.

Judging from the Sunday performance of Gen. Wesley Clark, an Obama adviser and possible VP pick, the more things change, the more they stay the same. In an interview with CBS' normally unflappable Bob Schieffer, the former NATO commander had the brass to question McCain's military credentials while trivializing his experience as a combat pilot and prisoner of war.

"He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall" as a wartime commander, Clark told Schieffer. When Schieffer noted that McCain had been shot down over Hanoi, Clark responded: "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

Certainly not for Bill Clinton, whom Clark served, or for Hillary Clinton, whom Clark originally supported. Clark's comments, if any, about Hillary's not trusting Obama to pick up the White House phone at 3 a.m. are not known. He didn't question either's command experience. When a visibly shocked Shieffer asked what Obama's command credentials were, Clark said Obama was running on the strength of his character and judgment. Oh. Considering that Clark was probably given the green light for his ad hominem attack, both are open to question.

Clark's own character, judgment and command experience are also open to question. While commanding NATO troops in defense of Muslim Kosovo and against Serbian Christians, for example, the hot-headed Clark commanded a subordinate British general to attack Russian troops that had landed without NATO permission at the airport in Kosovo's capital. President Clinton and Defense Secretary William Cohen soon removed Clark, months ahead of schedule.

We have openly questioned the character and judgment of Barack Obama on legitimate grounds, as someone who built his political career while associating with a variety of racist pastors, convicted influence peddlers and violent domestic terrorists. Does being a community organizer qualify one to organize the world community?

Obama, who has been more eager to meet with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than with Gen. David Petraeus, was wrong about Iraq and the surge. So was Clark. John McCain was right. Iraq's democracy grows in success and stability, and Iraq's armed forces have successfully taken the lead in security operations from Baghdad to Basra to Sadr City.

When Barack Obama was romping on the sandy beaches of Hawaii at age 6, John McCain was fighting for his country and carrying on that fight for 5 1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison that makes Abu Ghraib look like Club Med. Clark's personal attack echoes the more vicious attacks being unleashed in the liberal blogosphere. They accuse McCain of war crimes for bombing Hanoi, even of making propaganda for the North Vietnamese.

"A lot of people don't know . . . that McCain made a propaganda video for the enemy while he was in captivity," wrote America blog's John Aravosis. "Getting shot down, tortured and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience."

On Monday, Obama officially honored McCain's status as a "genuine American hero" and distanced himself somewhat from Clark's remarks. The remarks, however, echo those of other Obama supporters. For example, Rand Beers, who served as the top national security adviser to the 2004 Kerry campaign, said that because McCain was in an unfortunate state of "isolation" during much of the Vietnam War, he missed the domestic turmoil that took place in the U.S. and his national security experience is "sadly limited" as a result.

Obama has set up a Web site to fight the alleged smears that are made against him. If he's really a different kind of politician, we suggest he disown and condemn all the smears made on his behalf as well.