Dear General Clark,
In the midst of this week's controversy, I’d like to take a moment and thank you for your comments about John McCain's presidential qualifications. It truly saddens me that your analysis has sparked a scandal, as I found your experienced insights to be some of the most sane and refreshingly honest commentary available so far this year. It should be clear to anyone who listened that you never impugned McCain’s service, and that you are more than qualified to make the judgments you did. The treatment your words have endured serves as a sad reminder of the shameful state of the American political media, and I can only hope that such thorough analyses will one day have a true place in our national discourse. In that spirit, I’m glad to see that you’ve continued to appear on national television, and that you have shown the courage to eloquently defend your statement rather than go back on your words and ideas.
I am also glad to see that your vocal and public endorsement of Senator Obama is untarnished by his campaign’s denunciation of your comments. Disappointed though I have been by some of his recent actions, it would be a shame if we let his mistakes cost him the election.
For the record, I would never have questioned the relevance of McCain’s Navy career had it not been your June appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” which I forwarded widely and discussed at length with friends and acquaintances. Rest assured that there are some of us out here who are honored to listen to what you have to say.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Nick
Let's be clear:
Clark's mid-June MSNBC "Morning Joe" interview (which follows) and subsequent appearances along the same lines are literally the only actual analysis from someone talking honestly and directly about his area of expertise that I've seen from anyone connected with the mainstream media this entire year. I was truly excited that someone managed to get on television and give an eloquent and powerful analysis that didn't fit into what everyone "knows" about one of the major candidates. Clark happens to absolutely right, too: what, exactly, about flying a fighter plane teaches you a thing about national security on an international level?
The handling of this issue horrifies me, as I can't help but feel that this is retribution for successfully breaking out of the established narrative. If comments as benign and well intentioned as Clark's are too extreme for national discourse, what exactly are we supposed to talk about during election season?
Anyway, here are some of the relevant videos. MSNBC's "Morning Joe":
The Schaffer "Face the Nation" interview on CBS that sparked the debate:
Here's Clark's totally reasonable response to the scandal from earlier today (June 30th). Perhaps predictably, he's handling this better than anyone:
And interestingly, McCain's personal response to Clark is fairly tame, and it almost seems as though he was directly and personally affected by Clark's critique. As well he should be.
