Get in line
Retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark was not the first supporter of Sen. Barack Obama to attack Sen. John McCain’s military service, Orson Swindle writes at National Review Online (www.nationalreview.com).
“Obama’s campaign surrogates have run the gamut of media outlets taking cheap shots at McCain’s military service and how it will affect the country if he is elected president,” said Mr. Swindle, who shared a cell with Mr. McCain when they were held as prisoners of war in Hanoi.
“West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller took to the stump in April to attack McCain’s character and service, saying, ’McCain was a fighter pilot who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when [the missiles] hit the ground? He doesn’t know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues.’ This bold attack on McCain’s compassion for the victims of war was not the last bit of campaign propaganda Obama had his surrogates spreading around.
“Obama supporter Ed Schultz warmed up a fundraiser crowd in April by calling McCain ’a warmonger.’ Such harsh language left Obama unfazed, and he neglected to condemn Schultz’s remark.
“Obama supporter and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin criticized McCain’s service in the military because of his lifelong military background, saying McCain’s views come ’from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous.’ Still, these comments received no condemnation from Obama.”
Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth, also writing at National Review Online, said: “ABC News reports that yet another Obama surrogate has taken to attacking McCain’s wartime service. Rand Beers, trusted Obama adviser, claimed [Monday] that ’[Mr. McCain’s] national security experience … is sadly limited’ by his time in Vietnam as a POW.”
Think again
Thomas F. Schaller, writing in the New York Times, pooh-poohs the idea that Sen. Barack Obama can break the Republican hold on the South by increasing black turnout there.
“Two pervasive and persistent myths about racial voting in the modern South are behind the notion that Mr. Obama might win in places like Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi,” said Mr. Schaller, a professor of political science at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and author of “Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South.”
“The first myth is that African-American turnout in the South is low. Black voters are actually well-represented in the Southern electorate: In the 11 states of the former Confederacy, African-Americans were 17.9 percent of the age-eligible population and 17.9 percent of actual voters in 2004, analysis of Census Bureau data shows. …
“The second myth is that Democratic presidential candidates fare better in Southern states that have large numbers of African-Americans. In fact, the reverse is true, because the more blacks there are in a Southern state, the more likely the white voters are to vote Republican.”
The patriot
“Barack Obama has a patriotism problem that even Monday’s flag-waving trip to Independence, Mo., can’t squelch. And it doesn’t have anything to do with his lapel pin,” Jonah Goldberg writes in USA Today.
“In part because liberal commentators have such a hard time grasping why patriotism should be an issue at all, and the GOP is so clumsy explaining why it’s important, the debate often gets boiled down to symbols,” Mr. Goldberg said.
“Like so much else about Obama, his position on the lapel flag changes with the needs of the moment. After 9/11, he wore it. During the debates over the Iraq war, he stopped because he saw the flag as a sign of support for President Bush. (He started wearing it again in May.) ’I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest,’ he added in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ’Instead, I’m going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great and, hopefully, that will be a testimony to my patriotism.’
“Read that line again: ’What I believe will make this country great.’
“Not to sound too much like a Jewish mother, but some might respond, ’What? It’s not great now?’
“This sense that America is in need of fixing in order to be a great country points to Obama’s real patriotism problem. And it’s not Obama’s alone.”
Powell’s chat
“Sen. Barack Obama and retired Gen. Colin Powell met privately two weeks ago in Powell’s personal office in Alexandria,” Jennifer Skalka writes in the On Call blog at political Hotline.
“Peggy Cifrino, Powell’s spokeswoman, confirmed that the presumptive Democratic nominee and the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chatted June 18, one-on-one for about an hour at the Armed Forces Benefit Association, where Powell rents space. ’Just an informal conversation,’ Cifrino told On Call. ’There’s no looming endorsement,’ she added. ’They came to talk about issues.’
“Obama’s campaign declined to comment.
“Cifrino said that Powell and Sen. John McCain met the week prior in Arlington.”
“The blogosphere is abuzz with speculation that Powell could back the Democrat, a sign of his disaffection with the Republican Party and the Bush administration.”
McCain’s task
“A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds about two in three Americans concerned that John McCain would pursue policies as president that are too similar to what George W. Bush has pursued. Nearly half — 49 percent — say they are ’very concerned’ about this,” Jeffrey M. Jones writes at www.gallup.com.
“McCain faces a challenge in trying to convince voters to allow him to follow an unpopular president of the same party. Democratic candidate Barack Obama has attempted to link McCain to Bush by saying that electing McCain would effectively lead to a ’third Bush term.’ Although McCain remains competitive in head-to-head matchups with Obama, the poll suggests that McCain may have more work to do to distance himself from Bush,” Mr. Jones said.
“It is clearly a delicate balancing act for McCain, as Bush remains relatively popular with the Republican base. While only 28 percent of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing as president, a majority of Republicans (60 percent) still do. Bush’s approval rating among current McCain supporters is slightly lower, at 55 percent.”
Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes.com.
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