Tune into MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams right now to see Gen. Wesley Clark responding to the controversy over his comments. For those who missed it, there will be a replay at 1am PST/4am EST.
See other diaries about Clark's comments and our defense of him here, here and here.
Updates:
Gen. Clark is still focusing correctly on the actual qualifications to be President.
Yes!! Clark highlights that one of McCain's spokepeople out today hitting at Obama and Clark was one of the infamous Kerry Swiftboaters!
Clark does say anyone that serves during wartime should be honored for his "character and courage". Then he says people look for "character and courage" in their President. But he says that doesn't have to come from the military service, and says Obama has his own kind of "character and courage".
Again, this was the quote that sparked the controversy.
After saying, "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 the armed forces, as a prisoner of war," he added that these experiences in no way qualify McCain to be president in his view:
"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."
And here's the video of his segment on Dan Abrams!
More updates
Clark says he hasn't had any contact with the Obama campaign before making his comments, and says he's been saying this for months. He has not been "dissing" McCain's service. He's talked with the Obama campaign, but he's on Dan Abrams' show tonight as a separate thing.
He hopes the American people will see through this swiftboating by the McCain campaign.
As they go to commercial, Clark will stay around for the next segment too. It's been feeling like Clark has been saying the same thing for the last 10 minutes, and that Abrams has been asking him basically the same question for the last 10 minutes.
Dan asks if Clark is sorry for making those comments. Clark deflects and says this is a change election, and the voters will judge for themselves the candidates, and look at the judgment of the candidates. He wants the people to look past the "brouhaha" and get past that one served and one didn't. And that ends his segment.
Oh geez, Tucker Carlson's on now. Along with the Huffington Post's Roy Sekoff and some lady I've never seen before (Tara Wall of the conservative Washington Times.)
Tucker's saying this is bad judgment on the part of the Obama campaign as the McCain campaign wants to highlight his service. Roy agrees. Walls says "you don't talk about someone's mama" and don't talk about a POW either and accuses Clark of "tearing him apart". Um, OK.
Tucker's claiming Clark is saying that only flag officers' service counts. Roy asks if it's a question of credit or of qualifications.
Wall wants Clark to apologize to McCain. Roy asks, for what? She claims Clark was backing off of what he said, and Abrams says no, Clark very much did NOT back off at all in their just-completed interview.
Beat the Press with Bill O'Reilly coming up next.
Beat the Press: Haha, O'Reilly quizzed a colleague, Terry Keenan, about the French Revolution and mentioned Louis XIV, when he had ruled 40 years earlier. It was actually Louis XVI.
And it looks like a female Fox News anchor was asked in her earpiece to push down the laptop in front of her so viewers could get a better look at her legs. Ah, Fox "News".
Win, Lose, or Draw: McCain is enlisting Swiftboater Bud Day for his own "Truth Squad". Abrams highlights that McCain condemned that group in 2004 for what they did to Kerry. Tucker says it was ridiculous for McCain to denounce the SBVT in the first place and praises that group of liars.
Abrams shows the T. Boone Pickens flip-flop on paying $1 million to anyone who can find a lie, when a group found 10 lies from the group/book.
Roy Sekoff: When you claim John Kerry shot himself to get a Purple Heart, I don't think you have any credibility.
Of course, Tara Wall says this is a win for McCain.
Eh? Tucker says the "conventional wisdom" in 2004 was the SBVT were not taken seriously? Says McCain panders to what the conventional wisdom at the time is, so that's why he condemned them back in 2004 but not now.
Abrams calls the Truth Squad a slight loss for McCain.
Next topic are the people changing their middle name on Facebook to "Hussein". Tucker says to do this is being cult-like, but does say anyone hitting Obama for his middle name is stupid.
Good patriotism speech plus the made-up controversy of Clark's comments leads Dan to call today a draw for Obama and McCain.