Wes Clark realized that McCain's reliance on being a POW needed to be diffused.

[dkf]

Dem lack of support for this stance is going to kill us.

[Avalux]

1. I think the Obama camp is smart.

There's a long way to go til November. They've publicly stated that there's no need this early on to show their hand. We don't know what role Clark may have, if any. Stay tuned....

[dkf]

2. I'm not a Clarkie. I just think he had the right strategy

but we already blew it by running away from the argument. Sometimes Dems are wimps.

[Avalux]

4. Maybe not.

Clark spoke up and Obama distanced himself. It's entirely possible they pulled back because they weren't ready to go there this early in the campaign.

I agree Clark has the right strategy and is the only politician with the gravitas to stop McCain's runaway POW train. It just doesn't make sense the Obama campaign wouldn't know this and use it to their advantage.

I AM a Clarkie and I'm still hoping for the VP slot. It also doesn't make sense that on VP night, the theme is the same name as Clark's pac site; they'll honor veterans and Tammy Duckworth will speak (Clark campaigned very heavily for her). Clark is also very much involved in Dem grassroots.

Maybe it's false hope but consider this:

The VP selection will be sent out to Obama's supporters via text message - they will be the first to know. It's a fantastic way to tell us little people we're important. If word gets out before they send the text, then the whole things goes up in smoke.

The Obama campaign must keep the VP pick a secret. They would not tell anyone, including Clark's staff, bloggers, journalists - even Wes Clark Jr.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

[gateley]

12. Clark would know by now probably. As a DUer pointed out, the VP will

have to get the speech ready, and vetted (and revised, no doubt) by the Obama camp. They can't wait until the last minute.

I would love to see Clark get the nod. Not only for the ammo on our ticket, but for what he could bring to Obama's administration as VP.

[Quixote1818]

6. I agree, thats why Republicans went ballistic over Clark's comments

He was doing real damage to McCain that only a General can get away with.

[TwilightGardener]

3. No, that wasn't a "Dem" position. He wasn't speaking for the campaign

or the party when he said that, he was speaking for himself, out of his own experience and credentials. He knew that, Obama knew that. Democrats know that the blowback for SEEMING to cast McShithead's service in a negative or dismissive light would be damaging (and they got a taste of it)--while Clark said something that was true and was NOT a put-down of McShit, the media hysteria over the remark showed just what we CAN'T get away with.

[Gabi Hayes]

5. exactly....third rail to go against that narrative about McCain. it's etched in stone,

and ANY negative mention of his "heroism" will result in what happened to Clark

I said the day it came out that Clark would no longer be seen on TV and any effectiveness he'd have had as a surrogate was gone, because EVERY time he'd appear, all they'd talk about was his effrontery in questioning McCain's ''heroism''

contrast this to what the M$M did to Kerry, and I think you can't find a better symbol of just how bad it's going to get for Obama in this election. no matter what he does, what he says, the media are going to put a negative spin on it, and paint McCain in the most favorable light. even more importantly, and just as they did for Bush in both elections, they will IGNORE almost every negative aspect of McCain's performance as a senator and candidate


the sooner Obama and surrogates deal with this reality, and FORCE the media to cover what the DEMS insist they cover, the better chance they have

did you hear Chuckytodd blathering about McCain's staffers SWAGGER, and how effective the anticeleb campaign has worked against Obama. instead of analyzing how mendacious, cynical, hypocritical it was (McCain camppaign pulled the "political celebrity" mention on the GOP site, with nary a mention in M$M), he just swooned over how wonderfully effective these monsters are at turning the campaign dialogue into a series of meaningless, emotion-laden sound bites that have NOTHING to do with governance. It's all just a show, and these twerps are minor role players, sucking up to the 'producers,' those being the RNC stringpullers

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. That is why Clark was right

You can not win by playing by their rules. Clark is the man who could take that stand and hold his own with just minimal support from Democrats. He didn't get it.

[TwilightGardener]

9. Yeah, the media doesn't care about the truth or the fairness of McShit's

campaign attacks, they simply admire the "effectiveness". That's like a referee at a boxing match standing back and watching one boxer punch the other in the nuts, and not stopping him--because he's admiring how the blow made the opponent crumple to the floor in fetal position.

[dkf]

7. They took John Kerry's heroism and turned it into shit.

We turned Bob Dole's heroism into shit too.

[wisteria]

10. after watching that forum last night. it is obvious that McCain's message is,

deserve to be president because I was tortured for defending my country. He is definitely going to milk this for all it is worth. That said, the media treats McCain's time as a POW as a sacred cow and unfortunately, Clark picked apart this McCain message in the wrong way.

[dkf]

11. How else do you pick it apart?

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. That's like saying Obama handled the "flag pin controversy" in the wrong way

Our enemies twist and distort and create strawman arguments to be outraged at. Getting apologetic in return only validates and vindicates them. The Obama response should have been along the lines of "I don't see anything that General Clark, a war hero in his own right, needs to apologize for. He honored McCain's patriotism and service to our nation. Is anyone seriously arguing that getting shot down and held prisoner IS a qualification to be President? Those weren't Clark's own words anyway, he was just repeating the words the questioner hismself used. This is another attempt by the McCain camp to avoid talking about the real issues in this race. They invent false issues because they can't win on the real ones."