CNN's American Morning deceptively cropped Clark interview
SUMMARY: CNN's American Morning deceptively cropped Wesley Clark's Face the Nation interview, airing a video of Clark saying of Sen. John McCain, "That large squadron in the Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall," after which Clark was immediately shown saying: "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." But CNN edited out the portion of the exchange indicating that, in making the latter statement, Clark was responding to host Bob Schieffer's statement that, unlike McCain, Sen. Barack Obama has not "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."
On the June 30 edition of CNN's American Morning, co-anchor Kiran Chetry reported that "Senator John McCain's campaign is calling on [Sen.] Barack Obama to condemn these comments made by his supporter, retired General Wesley Clark," and aired video of Clark saying on the June 29 edition of CBS' Face the Nation: "That large squadron in the Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall." Clark was then immediately shown saying: "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." However, CNN edited out of the video the exchange Clark had with Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer just prior to that latter comment, which indicated that Clark was repeating Schieffer's words. Indeed, Clark's assertion -- "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president" -- was in response to Schieffer's statement that, unlike McCain, Obama has not "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."
From the June 29 edition of CBS' Face the Nation; the portion of the interview CNN edited out is bolded:
CLARK: That large squadron in the Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, "I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it" --
SCHIEFFER: Well --
CLARK: -- "publicly?" He hasn't made those calls, Bob.
SCHIEFFER: Well -- well, General, maybe he --
CLARK: So --
SCHIEFFER: Could I just interrupt you? If --
CLARK: Sure.
SCHIEFFER: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean --
CLARK: Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.
Shortly before that exchange, Clark had said of McCain: "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands of millions of others in the Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world."
From the June 30 edition of CNN's American Morning:
CHETRY: Well, this morning, Senator John McCain's campaign is calling on Barack Obama to condemn these comments made by his supporter, retired General Wesley Clark.
CLARK [video clip]: That large squadron in the Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. ... I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.
CHETRY: Joining us now on the phone is Senator McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, live from Arlington, Virginia. Rick, thanks for talking with us this morning.
DAVIS: Well, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
CHETRY: What do you make of General Clark's comments?
DAVIS: Well, you know, I think it's kind of sad. I think, you know, all the promise that Barack Obama made about trying to change the political dynamic and run a different kind of campaign is evidenced by the fact that he's completely changed his political stripes and has become sort of a partisan hack. You know, sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics.
Look, I try to be objective about these things, and NO ONE is trying to right now. MMFA is plain wrong if they really think Wes Clark was just "repeating" Bob Schieffer's words. They (MM) are leaving out and ignoring this exchange, which was not only overlooked by MMFA in its item criticizing Fox's Henneberg but proves Wes was indeed attacking McCain's military record:
"SCHIEFFER: Well, you -- you went so far as to say that you thought John McCain was, quote -- and these are your words -- "untested and untried." And I must say, I had to read that twice, because you're talking about somebody who was a prisoner of war. He was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy. He's been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for lo these many years -- how can you say that John McCain is untested and untried, General?
CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy-making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions."
So whether or not Wes was right or wrong in any or everything he said yesterday, the fact is, he DID attack or "blast" or criticize (whatever term you want to use) McCain's military record, even if he also considers him a personal hero of his. MMFA can pick up quotes the MSM left out in reporting Wes/Bob's exchanges on Face The Nation in an effort to defend Clark, but as I've shown above, MMFA is clearly guilty of their own bias every once in a while.And so in an effort to get this straight, and to define these words "blast" and "attack", and even criticize...
You're a baseball player for the University, a pitcher, and a really good one, one of the best: but you want to play football too, at that same University: so you go up to the football coach, and tell him what it is you want to do, and he responds...
"You're untested and untried in these matters: it's a football situation: you don't have the experience of calling or executing plays: playing baseball is not a qualification for playing football"
And so you think it's OK to cry back:
"Why did you just ATTACK my baseball record? Why did you just BLAST my baseball career? Why are you CRITICIZING my baseball skills?"
To which the football coach would say "Listen son, if you think that I just ATTACKED or BLASTED or even CRITICIZED your baseball record, by saying you don't have the qualifications to play football, then there's another thing too, that disqualifies you from playing football for me: you don't have the brains or the emotional stability, I don't think... you think I was ATTACKING your baseball record? I wasn't"
It's just about the exact same thing: being Army is like being a football player, and being a Naval Aviator is like being a pitcher in baseball... John McCain is not qualified in these matters, as is General Clark.
Where's the attack son?
The baseball/football analogy is good, Dem (and gave me another reason to remember George Carlin) but I would have added another detail.
McCain is like a pitcher selling himself in 2008 to the football coach because he lost the World Series. The 1921 World Series. See, McCain is reeeeeeally old.
We need a campaign here at MMFA to get on CNN's back about this.
Agreed. They can start by noting how many times CNN refers to the "Democrat" Party, which they were doing all weekend.
All the cable networks are engaging in blatant harassment of Democrats. At least 80 per cent of the political coverage involves scrutinizing every aspect of Dem behavior. The other 20 per cent-- that refers to Republicans-- is always on the level of, "So what was John McCain doing today...? or, "Look, there's Mitt Romney! What's he been up to?"
It's so blatant. Everything the Dems are doing is seen as fishy as hell, but the Republicans, well, "they're still on the trail tonight."
"DAVIS: Well, you know, I think it's kind of sad. I think, you know, all the promise that Barack Obama made about trying to change the political dynamic and run a different kind of campaign is evidenced by the fact that he's completely changed his political stripes and has become sort of a partisan hack. You know, sending Wesley Clark out as a surrogate for your campaign and attacking John McCain and his war record and his military experience and his service is, I think, just the lowest form of politics"
We get it Mr Davis...... you are trying to make a mountain out of a handful of dirt! Nice try..... next!
And vice president.
Clarke was a very strong contender. They already ridiculed Hillary off of the ticket. Now they're going after Clarke, trying to destroy his chances.
This whole thing is just atrocious. The scrutiny and ridicule that the Dems are getting-- while the Repubs are getting a free ride when it comes to MSM concerns about their little squabbles and problems.
Why is most of the election coverage still about Democrats? I'd love to see an MMFA percentage analysis of coverage-- what portion talked about Repubs, what portion Dems. The MSM is completely preoccupied with Dem goings-on-- and always with a negative connotation.
This one is a lot of fun: I hope this takes off big: they must know, that behind all this, is the big four-lettered word IRAQ... and the lots more lettered title of Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The whole thing gets us to talking about IRAQ, and about what the next Commander in Chief will do, concerning IRAQ.
And of all the things that can be said about IRAQ, this is probably the most true:
The U.S. mission in IRAQ is a ground mission: it's a mission of U.S. Troops on the ground... the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps, on the ground: it's their mission in IRAQ.
General Wesley Clark is U.S. Army.
He knows infinitely more about the problems and challenges being faced by those U.S. Troops on the ground in IRAQ, than John McCain does... infinitely more.
The U.S. military occupation of IRAQ is a mission on the ground, not a sortie over North Vietnam: the more we ask about what it is that Gen. Clark said, the more we are reminded of that fact.
General Wesley Clark is U.S. Army, and IRAQ is their mission.
This one is fun.
This one is fun, but it's also work.
At this time, just minutes ago, the New York Times is running this matter at the top of their front page, on-line: they have this for a headline...
McCain Rebuffs Military Critics; Obama Defends Patriotism
...and that's fair enough I guess. But right away at the top of the article (by Brian Knowlton) is this:
"The presidential campaign turned personal on Monday as John McCain’s camp offered an unusually sharp and vigorous defense against attacks on the relevance of his military experience to national leadership..."
That's not fair! That's wrong, and the New York Times should know better.
The word "personal" should be struck: there's nothing personal about it: it's purely professional: it's about the qualifications to be President and Commander in Chief: it's got nothing to do with any personal trait or character trait or anything at all about anyone's personal behavior or personal preferences or personal anything!
That's unfair and wrong! The word "personal" should be struck from that sentence.
Also, the word "attacks": that's wrong, nobody was "attacked": if it is an "attack" to question the qualifications and abilities of a presidential candidate, then that's all that a campaign (or even a job interview) is then... nothing but "attacks"
That's wrong, it's untrue, and it's unfair to say "attacks": that word should be struck also.
With both those words struck (because they're wrong and untrue), it would better read this way:
"The presidential campaign turned SHARP on Monday as John McCain’s camp offered an unusually vigorous defense against QUESTIONS on the relevance of his military experience to national leadership"
I hope people in the Obama campaign, and for that matter anyone who speaks for Gen. Clark, are getting on this stuff quickly... it's a lot of fun, but it's also work.
I was talking to a good friend og mine over the weekend - we're good friends even though I'm a liberal Democrat and he's a conservative Libertarian. Where a few years ago he used to refer to the "liberal media", he now agrees that the media is corporate-controlled and right-leaning.
And he sees that as a bad thing, seeing as he hates Bush and feels that the media is doing nothing more than acting as a mouthpiece for Bush and the GOP.
Bottom line? People on both ends of the political spectrum recognize the fact that the media is not serving the public interest.
If I worked at CNN...
Lieberman Swift Boats McCain!
BOB SCHIEFFER (host): You heard what Senator [Joe] Lieberman [I-CT] said… He thought…John McCain..has not had any of those experiences,..nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.
Shoping list:
1. A Strand of pearls. For clutching and nervously playing with.
2. Smelling Salts. For medicial purposes.
3. Chase sofa. To collapse upon.
Boy the infotainers love fueling fights and creating controversies and that seems what these pathetic so called " journalist" do the majority of the day and of course they had to leave out Clarke's commending the shot down pilot's duty to his gov. But this is typical of CNN and the rest of the cable cess pool, who also purposely misrepresent what ahmadinejad's comments and taking them out of context . According to Professor Juan Cole's Farsi translation, he NEVER said the words " wipe israel off the map " another lie CNN keeps repeating .
And for CNN's John Roberts even to suggest illegally invading Iran and committing acts of war on Iran , by sending in Spec. Ops " IS IT A BIG DEAL " IS OBSCENE , IGNORANT and an attempt to misrepresent reality . in addition kidnapping nuclear scientist , paying others or directly setting off bombs , is " not a big deal" . That's why you you have to WAIT for REAL journalist like from Seymour Hersh to do real journalism , and THEN CNN reports the story . So otherwise CNN does little investigative reporting .
Now there's a misquote the media won't give up. I have read accurately translated quotes of what the Iranian president said and he never said "wipe Israel off the map". In fact, he was quoting the Ayatollah who said he wanted to "wipe Israel's leadership from the pages of history", which is a far cry from destroying Israel, kind of flowery and poetic when you consider it. Calling to erase the deeds of Israel's leaders is more of a protest statement than actionable. But, heck, who has time to translate what these people say when it's so much more convenient to bomb them and fatten the coffers of the Military Industrial Complex.
Randy
And another thing...
If John McCain wants to run as the "war-hero candidate," then why is his actual military record a taboo subject? Frankly, when McCain began to campaign on his military record, he opened himself to exactly the type of critique Clark offered, and much more. As has been cited elsewhere, McCain's Annapolis and Navy career before his shoot-down were hardly stellar in any way, and in fact point to another child-of-privilege like Bush who achieved his eminence primarily through his father's position. But no, we can't talk about that! How dare you try to attack St. Johnny of Hanoi Hilton with facts!...
Republican servicemen, that is. I notice a pretty slim showing by the usual wingnut apologists on this item (aside from Point of View on another thread, who may be the most gullible dittohead who posts here).
Could the MSM have finally underestimated their target suckers? Could this one be too embarrassingly bad for even the lowest-rung Dopey-Americans to fall in line with?
Nah, I doubt it.Probably just awaiting orders from the am radio tomorrow.
Right Wing Conservative CNN is part of McCain's Media. Also not surprising, GOP-CNN's right wing Republipunk Hate Hag Kiran Chetry (ex GOP-Fox Lies Channel Hate Hag Anchor-Hag) is one of McCain's Republican hacks/hackettes working to get Liar McCain elected.
Any conservatives repeating their "liberal media" lies are flat out liars telling their big lie again. The lying conservatives on this board, and elsewhere on the internet, KNOW that the media is right wing conservative, and they KNOW this is McCain's media.