So Much for Vice President Clark

Well, I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president. — Gen. Wesley Clark

It seems obvious that what Clark said was entirely correct. And yet, there was Shieffer, the Texas-lovin’ buddy-of-Bush, completely incredulous at the notion that getting shot out of a plane didn’t somehow magically qualify a man to be president. “Really?” he sputtered in stunned amazement before moving on to his next question. Look, in the 2004 campaign Kerry made his military record a major part of his campaign, and conservatives pointed out that his naval service 30 years ago didn’t necessarily mean he had a strong national security record today, so what’s the difference with what Clark is saying?

Furthermore, as unsavory as certain people might regard it, why isn’t the speculation of some on the left about the details of McCain’s military record legitimate? As John Cole (hardly a member of the “nutroots” or an “anti-American socialist dirtbag”) wondered some time ago: “I’ve never been sure why he is a hero. He graduated 4th or 5th from the bottom of his class. He wrecked three of his own aircraft (if I remember correctly) and he was captured in Viet Nam. Unless I missed the part where he jumped on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow servicemen, I don’t know where the hero part comes in.”

One could also add to that the observation that spending five years in a cage is bound to mess up your head and should even perhaps disqualify McCain from the highest office.

Predictably, the Wingnutosphere is exploding with indignant outrage! Take your pick: Hot Air, TownHall Blog, Confederate Yankee, Daimnation!, Cold Fury, GayPatriot, and so on. You can bet all the same folks were just as repulsed when John Kerry was being swiftboated in 2004. Right? No, of course not. Even now, they haughtily reject any such comparisons.