McCain: A Rovian sockpuppet

Lying about what General Clark actually said, creating false outrage and dragging out the Swiftboating King Bud Day to swiftboat some more.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times:

The latest fake scandal fit the usual pattern as an awkwardly phrased remark, lifted out of context and willfully misinterpreted, exploded across the airwaves.

What General Clark actually said was that Mr. McCain’s war service, though heroic, didn’t necessarily constitute a qualification for the presidency. It was a blunt but truthful remark, and not at all outrageous — especially given the fact that General Clark is himself a bona fide war hero.

Yet the Clark affair did reveal something important — not about General Clark, but about Mr. McCain. Now we know what a McCain administration would represent: namely, a third term for Karl Rove.

Gee... crashing 5 jets, being made a prisoner of war

And being acknowledged as a decorated war hero apparently makes you qualified to be president:



whereas being just a decorated war hero doesn't:

The media frenzy that has followed retired Gen. Wesley Clark's comments on the June 29 edition of CBS' Face the Nation is based on at least two false premises: first, that Clark attacked Sen. John McCain's military service, and second, that his comment -- that one's, in this case McCain's, military heroism alone does not establish his qualification to be president -- is in any way extraordinary or unusual. As Media Matters for America has noted, Clark did not attack McCain's military service; he praised McCain as a "hero." Moreover, Clark's comments were far from the first time someone has said of a war veteran running for president that his military service alone does not make him qualified to be president.

Early ads run by John McCain emphasizes his war experience and oddly ignore Iraq.

As John Kerry had his Swiftboaters and mockers:



John McCain also has his detractors: Vietnam Veterans Against McCain, blaming him for the Forrestal fire, questioning why flying 20 hours of missions would make anyone presidential, reminding people that Kerry even thought briefly of making McCain his running mate when McCain toyed with switching parties.



Obama responds to the fake Wesley Clark rumpus.

Update: Mustang Bobby at Bark Bark Woof Woof has more.

Lieberman of Arabia

Knows what is good for the Middle East... like nuking Iran... Syria... Jordan... Egypt..


(Via Morse at Republic of Sestakastan)

hell, while we're in the neighborhood... Russia.. China...

General Wesley Clark:

After wrongly supporting George W. Bush's strategic blunder of attacking Iraq, and continuing to support Bush's failed policies after the invasion, Senator Joe Lieberman made irresponsible comments this weekend regarding military action against Iran.

On CBS's Face the Nation, Lieberman said, "If [the Iranians] don't play by the rules, we've got to use our force, and to me, that would include taking military action to stop them from doing what they're doing."

This type of "tough-talk" by the Bush Administration and folks like Senator Joe Lieberman is why VoteVets.org and I collaborated to create StopIranWar.com, calling for heavy diplomatic, economic, and political action to discourage the acquisition of nuclear capabilities by the Iranian government.

Senator Lieberman's saber rattling does nothing to help dissuade Iran from aiding Shia militias in Iraq, or trying to obtain nuclear capabilities. In fact, it's highly irresponsible and counter-productive, and I urge him to stop.

This kind of rhetoric is irresponsible and only plays into the hands of President Ahmadinejad, and those who seek an excuse for military action. What we need now is full-fledged engagement with Iran. We should be striving to bridge the gulf of almost 30 years of hostility and only when all else fails should there be any consideration of other options. The Iranians are very much aware of US military capabilities. They don't need Joe Lieberman to remind them that we are the militarily dominant power in the world today.

Only someone who never wore the uniform or thought seriously about national security would make threats at this point. What our soldiers need is responsible strategy, not a further escalation of tensions in the region. Senator Lieberman must act more responsibly and tone down his threat machine.

Visit StopIranWar.com, and sign the petition to President Bush today!

We cannot let people like Joe Lieberman dictate the terms of this debate.

Because of Iraq

VoteVets.org:

(via whig at cannablog)

Update: fixed link