Geting Shot Down

By Bill Press on The Cagle Post

It's only July, but already we know the rules of this year's presidential campaign. Actually, they're the same rules that apply every election: You can say anything you want about the Democratic candidate, but you have to treat the Republican candidate with kid gloves.

In 2000, for example, you could accuse Al Gore of taking bribes from China, but you could not question George Bush's use of cocaine. In 2004, it was fine to smear John Kerry's war record, but forbidden to wonder why George Bush never showed up for National Guard duty.

Here we go again. In 2008, it's OK to suggest, as conservative bloggers do daily, that Barack Obama is a gay, American-hating, chain-smoking Muslim. But not OK to suggest that just because John McCain was shot down and spent six years in the Hanoi Hilton does not, in itself, qualify him to be president. Unfortunately, Gen. Wesley Clark learned that lesson the hard way.

Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Clark began by praising McCain's military service, calling him a "hero" for the courage he showed as a prisoner of war. However, Clark correctly pointed out, donning
the uniform alone does not make the wearer presidential timber. In choosing a president, what's important is the judgment that a candidate has shown and his experience in making executive decisions.

Host Bob Schieffer persisted. Didn't his being shot down give McCain an advantage over Obama? Whereupon General Clark gave his now-famous answer: "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

Ironically, Clark didn't say anything John McCain hadn't already said himself. I've heard him, several times, entertain audiences with the same self-deprecating, joke: "It doesn't take a lot of talent to get shot down. I was able to intercept a surface-to-air missile with my own airplane."

More after the click ...