Wes Clark Is Making Sense; Therefore, He Must Be Destroyed

General Wesley Clark on Face The Nation, 6/29/08:


CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. 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 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. 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. (emphasis mine)


I think General Clark is absolutely right in his comments and he's being quite bold in going after McCain's sole advantage in the General Election. A reasonable-thinking person sees the quote above and can discern that, yes Wes Clark, a fellow decorated Vietnam vet, honors John McCain's service and his time in captivity as a POW, but he's saying that being a POW isn't any more or less of a qualification to be president than is being a community organizer and editor of the Harvard Law Review....or a failed oilman and owner of a major league baseball team. McCain will get as much mileage as he can out of his time in captivity; but what has that experience taught him? How has it made him a better candidate? This is a Senator, after all, who is in lockstep with the current administration in wanting to prolong the Iraq debacle another few decades or so. Not to mention the sad spectre of a former POW, a man tortured so severely that he cannot raise his arms above his head, voting to authorize the President to torture whomever he deems worthy.

General Clark isn't "swiftboating" John McCain...he's neither demeaning nor insulting McCain's service in the worst imaginable conditions - he's asking a relevant and wholly legitimate question. How did the 5+ years John McCain suffered as a POW make him a better candidate for President? If the press is going to give McCain a pass on this, why then did they mock and belittle Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot's running mate in 1992 and a man who spent 7 years being beaten and tortured in the same POW prison as McCain?

Of course, Republicans desperate for anything to distract the voters away from how badly they've fucked up the nation over the past 7 years will distort Clark's statement and intent as if to show that he's demeaning McCain's service. Nevermind that a scant four years ago, these assholes had no problem questioning the service and patriotism of another Vietnam vet wounded in action:

But in 2008, no one is questioning John McCain's service or his patriotism. Wes Clark just said McCain was a hero of his. No one at the Democratic National Convention will be wearing "Purple Heart Band-Aids" or mock "Hanoi Hilton" pajamas. No Democratic pundit will be appearing on "Hardball" to push the idea that McCain got special treatment in the POW prison or that he should be held accountable for making taped confessions after years of getting his brains beat in.

But let's not pretend that McCain is the second coming of Eisenhower.

P.S. George McGovern, the worst embodiment of liberal evil incarnate in the 20th century and History's Greatest Monster, flew 35 bombing missions in World War II and won the Distinguished Flying Cross as a B-24 pilot without once being shot down or captured. No wonder he got trounced in the electoral college 520-17 against Nixon in '72.

P.P.S. Tonight's statement from Wesley Clark:

"There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain's service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear. As I have said before, I honor John McCain's service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation.

John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country - but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area, his judgment has been flawed - he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America. But as an American and former military officer, I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues.”

Cheers to him for sticking up for his own common sense. Jeers to the Obama campaign for leaving him out to dry.

Friday YouTube Nugget

Found this a few weeks ago on the ol' YouTube...the haunting, lovely theme from the film Serpico (1973) by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. Try not to get shot in the face like Frankie....

Goodnight, Funnyman.....Say Hi To Lenny and Richard For Us

5/12/37 - 6/22/08

Just saw the news this morning that George Carlin died last night of heart failure in Los Angeles. It's a real gutpunch to see someone who shaped your youth and influenced your philosophy so much shuffle off the mortal coil. Carlin and Richard Pryor stand as the two greatest and most impactful figures in American humor in the second half of the twentieth century and it's not that far a stretch to say every comic working today takes some of his massive influence. After all, it was his routine "Seven Words You can Never Say On Television" that resulted in a landmark Supreme Court decision on the government's authority to uphold broadcast indecency standards and the establishment of obscenity-free, family-friendly "prime-time" network broadcasting hours in the evenings. Of course, with the explosion of cable programming over the past two decades, the palate of indecent language has expanded greatly, but when there were only three networks in the game, this was a huge deal.

I can't do justice to Carlin's awesome legacy without posting some of his notable routines, but the IT Nazis at work cut us off from YouTube. I'll post some of my favorites later tonight, but for now, in honor of a comic legend and free speech champion, here are those infamous Seven Words, plus Three auxillary words added to later routines:

Shit

Piss

Fuck

Cunt

Cocksucker

Motherfucker

Tits

*Fart

*Turd

*Twat

Friday YouTube Nugget

I'm in a happy mood, so from their 1972 tour, here's the Rolling Stones' "Happy":




oh, and because I missed last week, here's my new favorite song - Gnarls Barkley's "Going On":

"Not a fan of the ladies, are you...Trebek? Hahahahaha!"

I believe this is where the SNL writers derived the inspiration for all those wonderful "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches...in a 1995 installment, Lynn Redgrave endures a painful evening on the game show, about to be outclassed by Stephen King and David Duchovny:



Here in the interview section, Alex says what's on everyone's mind at the 0:26 mark:



oh my good Lord, was Lynn Redgrave out of her league. "Artful Dodger", lol:



Mercifully, it ends in Final Jeopardy....and looky-look! She fucked up the one question she should have gotten in a heartbeat! Fucking Tiffany's, bitch! YOU WERE A FAMOUS ACTRESS IN THE 1960's!!! HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW TIFFANY'S, YOU CRETIN?!!!!



By the way, nice choke, Duchovny. You got beat by Creepshow...lol.

Thank you, Senator Clinton

An absolutely gracious speech under the most difficult of circumstances. This is exactly what she needed to do and she nailed it.

"Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward..." Amen.

Friday YouTube Nugget - Double Feature!

Due to the momentous week we've just experienced...and because I was a lazy sod last Friday, I'm gracing you with the Official Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice And Sing (performed by the Boys Choir of Harlem):





and the unofficial Black National Anthem - McFadden & Whitehead's Ain't No Stoppin Us Now:

"This was the moment..."

Another Presidential first: the Obama Fistbump

Senator Barack Obama, St. Paul MN, June 3, 2008:

Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.

Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said - because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign - through the good days and the bad; from the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls. And tonight I also want to thank the men and woman who took this journey with me as fellow candidates for President.

At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come.

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We've certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who's shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning - even in the face of tough odds - is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children's Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency - an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African-Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.

All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say - let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.

In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine. My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign.

Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign.

It's not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.

It's not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college - policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt.

And it's not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians - a policy where all we look for are reasons to stay in Iraq, while we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn't making the American people any safer.

So I'll say this - there are many words to describe John McCain's attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush's policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them.

Change is a foreign policy that doesn't begin and end with a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged. I won't stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what's not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years - especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored.

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in - but start leaving we must. It's time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. It's time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home. It's time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda's leadership and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That's what change is.

Change is realizing that meeting today's threats requires not just our firepower, but the power of our diplomacy - tough, direct diplomacy where the President of the United States isn't afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for. We must once again have the courage and conviction to lead the free world. That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy. That's what the American people want. That's what change is.

Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it. It's understanding that the struggles facing working families can't be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, but by giving a the middle-class a tax break, and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, and transforming how we use energy, and improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation. It's understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President.

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy - cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota - he'd understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can't pay the medical bills for a sister who's ill, he'd understand that she can't afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy. She needs us to pass health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it and brings down premiums for every family who needs it. That's the change we need.

Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can't even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he'd understand that we can't afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future - an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. That's the change we need.

And maybe if he spent some time in the schools of South Carolina or St. Paul or where he spoke tonight in New Orleans, he'd understand that we can't afford to leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind; that we owe it to our children to invest in early childhood education; to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support; to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American. That's the change we need in America. That's why I'm running for President.

The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon - that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

Despite what the good Senator from Arizona said tonight, I have seen people of differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life, and I have brought many together myself. I've walked arm-in-arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I've sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I've worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break; to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent; and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington.

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that

this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless;

this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal;

this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.

This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Hey Bo Diddley

In honor of a true rock pioneer and in anticipation of a pretty large celebration tomrorrow...

HEY BO DIDDLEY