Fox News' Shawn falsely claimed, "General Clark said that Mr. McCain does not serve in a wartime squadron"
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SUMMARY: On Fox News' Happening Now, co-host Eric Shawn falsely claimed that, during his interview on CBS' Face the Nation, "General [Wesley] Clark said that Mr. [John] McCain does [sic] not serve in a wartime squadron." In fact, after Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer stated that McCain "was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy," Clark said, "But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron," a reference not to McCain's wartime service in Vietnam, but rather to his time as commanding officer after the war.
During the June 30 edition of Fox News' Happening Now, while discussing retired Gen. Wesley Clark's interview on the June 29 edition of CBS' Face the Nation, co-host Eric Shawn falsely claimed that "General Clark said that Mr. [John] McCain does [sic] not serve in a wartime squadron." In fact, Clark did not claim that McCain had not served in a wartime squadron. Rather, during the interview, after host Bob Schieffer stated that McCain "was a squadron commander of the largest squadron in the Navy," Clark said, "But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron," a reference not to McCain's wartime service in Vietnam, but rather to his time as commanding officer after the war.
Indeed, in an April 14 article, the Los Angeles Times reported that McCain was commander of "the Navy's largest aviation squadron, VA-174," and that he "was promoted to executive officer in 1975 and took command for nearly 13 months, starting July 1, 1976."
Further, Shawn quoted Clark's comment that, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," but like previous reports on Fox News and CNN, Shawn did not report or in any way indicate that, in making that comment, Clark was repeating Schieffer's words. Clark's assertion came in response to Schieffer's statement that, unlike McCain, Sen. Barack Obama has not "ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."
Additionally, during the segment, neither Shawn nor co-host Heather Nauert noted that, during his Face the Nation interview, Clark also 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 Fox News' Happening Now:
.NAUERT: But the second headline coming out of this -- and perhaps more important one for today -- is that he said, we should never devalue the service of anyone, especially Senator John McCain. And Eric is here. Eric has more on that angle -- Eric.
SHAWN: Yeah, you know, Heather, that was an interesting moment when he said that we should not devalue that service -- meaning the service of the military veterans, specifically John McCain -- and that such criticism for the sake of political supporters on both sides -- it should not be done.
Well, that's exactly what has happened, from one of his most prominent supporters, General Wesley Clark, who is the former NATO supreme commander and had been a presidential candidate at one time, and had supported Hillary Clinton -- now backs Obama.
Well, Mr. Clark, the former general, was questioning whether Senator McCain's qualifications in the military could serve him as commander in chief. General Clark said that Mr. McCain does not serve in a wartime squadron. That could come as some news to John McCain, because he was shot out of the sky in October 1967 in his A-4 Skyhawk over North Vietnam. He also said, quote, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification for president."
Senator McCain is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, right now, and he reacted to those comments just a few moments ago.
McCAIN [video clip]: I think that -- that that kind of thing is unnecessary. I'm proud of my record of service, and I have plenty of friends and leaders who will attest to that, but the important thing is -- and if that's the kind of campaign that Senator Obama and his surrogates and his supporters want to gauge, I understand that, but it doesn't reduce the price of a gallon of gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence. And it -- make it come any closer. It doesn't help an American stay in their home, who are in risk of losing it today. And it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges that Americans have in keeping their jobs, their homes, and supporting their families.
SHAWN: That's the type of comments, back-and-forth, that we'll hear in this campaign. Senator McCain, by the way, went on to serve in the Senate Arms Services Committee [sic] dealing with military issues -- Heather.
NAUERT: And we're going to hear a lot more about this, you can imagine over the next day or so.
Obama relied on generally favorable treatment from the media during the primary campaign against Hillary Clinton.
I said all along that in the general election campaign, when the media is forced to choose between continuing its fawning support of Obama versus supporting their real love, John McCain, they'll opt for McCain every time.
It begins...
Well here's a quote that interests me:
"...and if that's the kind of campaign that Senator Obama and his surrogates and his supporters want to gauge, I understand that, but it doesn't reduce the price of a gallon of gas by one penny."--John McCain in response to Wesley Clark statement.
It has been a horrifying 8 years watching McCain gradually become Bush. It's like the slow and painful metamorphises of a man turning into a werewolf for the first time.
John McCain is 100% entitled to be President of the USA by virtue of serving in the military.Anybody who says otherwise is un-American. To question the infallibility of a Vet or current member of the military only reveals the anti-Americanism of the critic.
Of course, this also applies to everybody who has ever served. We can now skip this whole "election" business and swear in every former and current member of all branches of the military as co-presidents. Except for Kerry, Murtha, Cleland, Clark...
Funny you bring that up. That is what Clark said during the last election about John Kerry. Yet, he now says those same virtues are no longer a good basis for President this time around...towards McCain.
For the non-believers....
"War. War. I've been there. So has John Kerry. I've heard the thump of enemy mortars. I've seen the tracers fly. Bled on the battlefield. Recovered in hospitals. Received and obeyed orders. Sent men and women into battle. Awarded medals, comforted families, attended funerals....He's seen the flash of the tracers. He's lived the values of service and sacrifice....John Kerry's combination of physical courage and moral values is my definition of what we need as Americans in our commander in chief"
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/29/dems.clark.transcript/index.html
If Wesley Clark actually said that "...Mr. [John] McCain does [sic] not serve in a wartime squadron", he would still be correct.
However, if Eric Shawn knew the difference between present and past tense, he may have done a better job at smearing Gen. Clark.
The video footage of Clark's comments speaks for itself.
Anyone who says he denigrated McCain's service, just show them the footage. It clearly shows that he did not.
As I've said before: I can only show you a picture of a chicken and say it is a chicken. If you insist on calling it a duck, then I can no longer waste any time on you.
Cluck==Chicken Quack==Duck Mostly Truth==Dems Lies==Fox and Fiends.
Radio host on KDKA stated that Gen. Clark challenged McCains patroitism. Luckily I was the first caller, go to read most of the statement by the General and changed the propoganda back to a discussion about what was really said. Just kills the Cons when real quotes are cited. Ruins their day. I like that.
Do chickens cluck?
Off topic, but a funny item regarding right wing propaganda, for anybody who missed it. I heard about it on Rachel Maddow's show this afternoon.
Apparently, much of the media has an "auto-correct" feature when reprinting stories from news services, inserting words more favorable to their sensibilities. The American Family Association, for example, uses the more scary and descriptive "homosexual" instead of "gay", which came out pretty funny when reporting on US sprinter Tyson Gay's recent performance.
This Is Why You Should Never Get Your News From A Christian News Site
-- a funny item regarding right wing propaganda -- col harlan sanders
I'll have to disagree...a little.
It was more than funny. It was side-splitting, choking, sputtering, hilariously funny...oh how those darned agendas can trip you up.
Thanks for this update...I'll have a little more lift in my step all day.
So, was the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima the Enola Homosexual?
Did Natalie Wood feel "pretty and witty and homosexual" in West Side Story?
If we watch the Flintstones will we have a "homosexual old time?"
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.
SCHIEFFER: Really?
CLARK: But Barack is not -- he is not running on the fact that he has made these national security pronouncements. He's running on his other strengths. He's running on the strengths of character, on the strengths of his communication skills, on the strengths of his judgment -- and those are qualities that we seek in our national leadership.
Guess who Bob voted for in 2004.....
Name: SCHIEFFER, BOB L
Born: AUSTIN, TX
Address: WASHINGTON, DC 20008
VOTER INFORMATION
Party Affiliation: NON DECLARED/UNAFFILIATED/NON PARTISAN
Registration Date: 2/28/2000
Date Last Voted: 11/2004
Precinct: 26.00
Ward: 3
Hint:
His brother, John Thomas "Tom" Schieffer is the current United States Ambassador to Japan, and served as U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2001 to 2005. Schieffer is a friend and former business partner of President George W. Bush.
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 --
Ok, just how do you think Clark should answer that? "Oh, yes, I guess you're right. Riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down makes McCain much more qualified to be President."
Clark answered Schieffer's non-sequiter very aptly and correctly. He went directly to the heart of the lame point Schieffer was making. I'm seriously asking, what would have been a better response?
I ought to save this text to put out every time someone tries to use that stupid argument.
There is nothing racist or bigoted about Wright's church. Wright didn't say anything racist. Several of us here have asked several times for an example of racist speech or policies and have received bupkis.
Those few seconds of video we've all seen over and over are extremely non-representative of what Wright preached for 36 years. This is supported by the testimony of his congregants, who are in the best position to know. It's also supported logically by the fact that there is only those few seconds of video available for the smear when Wright has hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours of videos of his sermons available.
It's been established as fact that Obama wasn't present for the post-9/11 sermon and it's reasonable to accept that he wasn't there for the other couple, given his career. If any regular church-goer experienced inspirational, up-lifting sermons for many years from their minister, very few would immediately leave the church the first time the minister said something controversial. The Wright issue tells us nothing about Obama's judgment.
A follow up to the colonel's nugget...the beat goes on...more from the fools at onenewsnow...you'll have to google their cached version.
-- Minnesota Timberwolves fans went to bed wondering how O.J. Mayo would fit in with their guard-heavy team. Memphis Grizzlies backers hit the hay hoping that Kevin Love would open things up for Rudy Homosexual in the frontcourt. Both groups woke up Friday morning to a totally different reality...
A totally different reality? Must be talking about onenewsnow...
Hey Jmar, do you think America does everything well and can never be criticized? My country right or wrong. Anyone who thinks that the Iraq war and occupation is not deserving of damnation is unable to think clearly.
I know its not popular to defend Rev. Wright but after viewing as much of his sermons and interviews that I could, I just do not support your negative characterization. What is most appalling is how people hear a media type say something and believe it. The representation of Wright in the media was almost diametrically opposed to reality.