I know this may be a trivial point and probably addressed in some other diary, but after hearing Gen. Wesley Clark's scathing remarks today about McCain's service, I couldn't help but think Gen. Clark must be Obama's frontrunner for VP. Not to mention that Gen. Clark is John McCain's superior officer and John McCain must salute him.
Today on Face the Nation, Gen. Clark said of John McCain:
"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," Clark said.
"I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."
TOUGH words by Gen. Clark, but Gen. Clark has never backed down from going right after John McCain. Gen. Clark has on several occasions stated similar remarks, that John McCain has not been tried or tested as a leader. Not to mention as a student. We all know of George Bush's academic performance but John McCain was also a very poor student. Per McCain's wikipedia page with several citations, referring to McCain's time at the naval academy:
McCain had conflicts with higher-ups, and he was disinclined to obey every rule, which contributed to a low class rank (894/899) that he did not aim to improve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Per Wesley Clark's wikipedia page:
Clark participated heavily in debate, was consistently within the top 5% of his class as a whole (earning him a "Distinguished Cadet" patch on his uniform), and ultimately graduated as valedictorian of West Point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Besides holding an advantage over McCain regarding academic performance, Gen. Clark is, of course, of a higher military rank than Captain John McCain. Now, while Gen. Clark was in the Army and John McCain the Navy, this does not relieve John McCain of having to recognize Gen. Clark's superior rank and therefore saluting him in public. If there is ever a time when these two men take the stage together, and John McCain is forced to salute Barack Obama's (hopefully) vice president, the imagery of McCain saluting him will be worth more than a thousand words.
I believe there is no Vice Presidential candidate that could question McCain's military service without seeming unpatriotic or disrespectful other than Gen. Clark, McCain's superior officer. This would absolutely be invaluable to the Obama campaign because McCain's military service is, as Ben Smith puts it, "the third rail of this campaign". And whether Obama likes it or not, people will question his foreign policy experience and give McCain the benefit of the doubt. I truly believe Gen. Wesley Clark as VP satisfies the most pressing concerns of the Obama campaign.
UPDATE: Here is the video from Face the Nation today