Sometimes when I keep on an issue like the Clark/McCain brouhaha, readers will write in and say things like, “It’s a losing issue.” “Drop it.” “It isn’t helping Obama.” And so forth. But that’s not our issue. I leave it to the campaigns to manage the press cycle. We have a different set of priorities. And in this case I want to come back to Clark’s comments because I’ve heard from a number of people saying that it’s clear Clark was denigrating McCain’s service or heroism because he referred not to his time as a POW or as someone who endured torture, but rather as someone who got “shot down.” By pointing to this specifically Clark was denigrating McCain’s service or more specifically his skills as a pilot.
But that doesn’t make any sense if you’re one of the people who’ve actually watched the interview because the words are actually chosen by Bob Schieffer, host of Face the Nation.
Clark is in midst of arguing that McCain has never been in a position of executive authority in wartime. And then they have this back and forth …
As you can see, Schieffer says ‘getting shot down’ as one of McCain’s qualifications and Clark says he doesn’t think that’s a qualification for being president.
Now, do I think this analysis of what was actually said is going to change the popular impression of what happened at this point? Not really. The conventional wisdom has already congealed. But as long as we’re on the durable and ascertainable ground of what was actually said, I don’t think there’s really any question. Clark’s point was unassailable. And to say he was attacking McCain’s service — as opposed to saying it didn’t necessarily make him the better candidate for president — is clearly not the case.
