TEAM McCAIN THINKS WE NEED MILITARY MEN RUNNING THIS COUNTRY

Well, it looks like John McCain understands he won't be able to win the election unless he can make it look like his military service means that he's the only one who understands national security and military issues. The implication is that we all need to be afraid unless, of course, John McCain is president.

Team McCain has even taken to going after Barack Obama for what Gen. Wesley Clark said here ...



Specifically, after being asked by Bob Schieffer about Barack Obama's lack of experience because he hasn't "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down ..." the McCain people got upset that Gen. Clark responded "Well I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president ..." (1:54 into the clip). I agree.

VoteVets.org has it's response to Team McCain's drama-filled indignation here ...

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General Clark,

We the undersigned thank you for speaking up forcefully and honestly about what it takes to lead this nation, and the kind of judgment we must look for. You were right to say that Senator McCain has not shown good judgment, despite his extraordinary service to America. Just in the past few years:

- Senator McCain's service and experience, both as a POW and as a Senator apparently hasn't infused him with a dose of good judgment.

- Senator McCain's experience hasn't led him to realize that the war in Iraq and it's continuance has empowered and emboldened Iran, and destabilized the region.

- Senator McCain's experience hasn't caused him to recognize that we're losing ground in Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden is still out there, plotting.

- Senator McCain's experience didn't lead him to support the 21st Century GI Bill -- he opposed it. It didn't even make him feel the need to get back to Washington to vote on this -- one of the most important veterans' bills this Congress. He twice skipped votes on the GI Bill, to fundraise.

- Senator McCain's experience didn't help him empathize with troops are overstretched and overdeployed, when he voted against the bipartisan Webb-Hagel "Dwell Time Amendment," which would have given troops as much time at home as in the field.

We all honor Senator McCain's service, as you said you do. But that does not mean that on matters of security, the military, and veterans that he is beyond reproach. Nor does it mean that his service trumps the poor judgment he has shown in some of the most important issues of our time.

Do not back down, and keep treating the American people like adults who can handle a real, honest, and blunt debate in these important times.

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To sign a petition put out by some of America's Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans at VoteVets.org, which let's Gen. Clark know Team McCain is out of touch and grasping at straws, click here.

- Mark