McCain Camp Firing Back on Clark Comments

The McCain campaign is not willing to let the controversy stirred up by Gen. Wesley Clark's comments about Sen. McCain's military service die just yet. On CBS's Face the Nation Sunday, Clark both hinted that McCain was a substandard Navy aviator and discounted his time spent as a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison. In answer to a question from moderator Bob Schieffer, which pointed out that Sen. Barack Obama, on whose behalf Clark was appearing, did not have a military record or comparable executive experience, Clark said, "I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."

The remark has sparked a firestorm in the campaign, with both campaigns holding conference calls to address the comments. McCain's press shop has blasted out no fewer than eight separate press releases highlighting various critics of Clark, including one tailored specifically to veterans in New Jersey, which the McCain campaign considers a swing state. Sen. John Warner, Colonel Bud Day, Admiral Leighton Smith, Rear Admiral Tom Lynch, Colonel Jack Jackson, Colonel Tom Moe, Commander Paul Galanti, and Master Sergeant Terry Benson have all been featured by the campaign expressing shock and outrage at the comments and labeling them an attack.

The campaign is also turning up the heat on Sen. Obama himself. Obama has not personally denounced Clark by name and only made reference to the controversy in a speech he delivered today on patriotism. The McCain campaign clearly does not think that's good enough, and will likely continue to push Obama on the issue until he addresses the remarks specifically. McCain's camp sees the remarks as part of a larger pattern of attacks on McCain's military service by Obama campaign surrogates, all of which have gone unanswered by the Obama campaign. Even if Sen. Obama continues to ignore the controversy's specifics, it is a sure bet that Wesley Clark will be making no more appearances on the campaign's behalf.