Jay Rockefeller Repeating 40 Year Old Vietnamese Propaganda

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has the story.

McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they [the missiles] get to the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.

Jay Rockefeller is an Obama supporter whose judgment Senator Obama has repeatedly brought up in the primary against Hillary Clinton. Of course, Obama doesn’t seem to know or care how Jay Rockefeller actually voted, but that’s an issue for another day.

In Jay Rockefeller, Wes Clark and Gloria Steinem part of the Democrats strategy for November seems to be to belittle and even demonize not just John McCain, but military service as a whole.

That should go over well.

Orson Swindle says it best in the response at The Political Punch (emphasis mine).

Senator Rockefeller’s statement is an insult to all the men and women who are serving or have served in America’s military. Had Senator Rockefeller served himself, he would appreciate and understand that most who have been to war emerge with a much deeper concern for humanity than they otherwise might. If he knew what he was talking about, he would know that John McCain wasn’t dropping laser-guided missiles at 35,000 feet in 1967. Barack Obama has a responsibility to denounce Senator Rockefeller’s smear against John McCain’s character and military record. The question remains: Does Senator Obama have the courage to stand up and hold himself to the principles of ‘new politics’ he outlined in his book, “The Audacity of Hope?

UPDATE: Rockefeller apologizes….

Tags: Barack Obama, Gloria Steinem, Jay Rockefeller, John McCain, mccain, Military, Senator Obama, Wes Clark

11 comments April 8th, 2008

Do the Democrats Really Want to Go There?

Following up on Matt’s post below on Glora Steinem’s derisive comments, it appears Sen. Clinton’s campaign is now trashing Sen. McCain’s time in the military. Specifically, Wes Clark employs the canard that McCain’s experience as a fighter pilot and POW don’t alone prepare him to be Commander in Chief. I agree. That in and of itself doesn’t qualify Sen. McCain for the job.

Of course, there’s a few qualifications that Clark conveniently leaves out. James Joyner of Outside the Beltway Blog lays out some of them:

But McCain’s experience isn’t limited to that Clark had as a mere company commander in Vietnam; he rose to the rank of captain (equivalent to an Army/Air Force/Marine colonel) and did a tour as the Navy’s liaison to the United States Senate. He followed that with four years in the United States House of Representatives and another 22 as a United States Senator. He’s a former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and is now the committee’s Ranking Member.

Be sure to check out James Joyner’s full post  at Outside the Beltway Blog.

Tags: blogs for mccain, experience, Gloria Steinem, John McCain, mccain blogs, Wes Clark, Wesley Clark

10 comments March 3rd, 2008