Retired general stumps for Obama in North Carolina
Clark was in North Carolina on October 21 and October 22 campaigning for Obama. He received prominent coverage in the local newspapers in each of the towns he visited although some (Monroe, Sanford) is behind a subscription firewall. However, the Rocky Mount Telegram makes its content available to all. Full story and photos after the jump. Added: The Sanford and Rocky Mount stops are highlighted on the Obama campaign blog.
Retired general stumps for Obama
By Mike Hixenbaugh
Rocky Mount Telegram
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Speaking as a surrogate for Barack Obama's campaign, retired U.S. Army general and one-time presidential candidate Wesley Clark told a small group of Rocky Mount veterans Wednesday that Republican John McCain lacks the temperament to serve as commander in chief.
The Vietnam War veteran and former NATO commander accused the Bush administration of mishandling its response to 9/11, the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the economy. And he linked McCain as an extension of that "botched administration."
"Look, I like John McCain," Clark said at Braswell Memorial Library. "He's been in my house for dinner. He's a member of my generation. I've traveled with him, told stories with him. But we have to understand something. His ideas are the ideas of George Bush. He says he's a maverick. He isn't. He's a sidekick."
About 35 people attended Clark's speech, one of three stops in North Carolina focused on military issues.
Clark said his service in the military taught him it's the soldiers on the ground who win wars -- that real progress comes from the bottom up, not the other way around.
"And that's the way it is in America," Clark said. "A lot of people get a lot of glory out of this country and get a lot of attention, but the real work is done at the bottom. That's why, given my military experience, I can't support Republican ideals."
Clark was one of the leading voices in 2003 opposing the war in Iraq, saying at the time that it was a mistake to launch a preemptive war. Obama, too, understood that invading Iraq was the wrong decision, Clark said.
"Sen. Obama has the temperament and the mind we need as president," Clark said. "He studies, he works, he listens, he learns, he grows, he makes good decisions. He's a person who has got a great heart and a lot of compassion. And he understands that, for national security, you only use the military as a last resort."
Clark was joined by retired Marine Corps officer Jonathan Kuniholm, a Durham resident who opened the stage at Invesco Field in Denver during the final night of the Democratic National Convention. Kuniholm, a Duke biomedical engineering graduate student who lost his right arm in Iraq, has spoken out against the war and in support of Obama.
Just because you're a former serviceman, Kuniholm said to the room of veterans, doesn't mean you must support the war or a bad president.
"There's a notion that has been put forward by supporters of McCain that to question this war disrespects the service and sacrifice that's been made by the men and women of our armed forces," Kuniholm said. "That's just not a fair claim to make. To say that, I would argue, dishonors the democracy we defend. It's our duty to speak our mind, I think."
Clark said he knows something about saying what he thinks. He was criticized early in the general election after questioning McCain's prisoner of war history as a precursor to his presidency.
"I don't think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president," Clark said of McCain in June.
Obama repudiated the comment, but has continued to accept Clark's support.
Clark, prior to leaving for another campaign stop, skirted a question about rumors of Obama potentially asking him to serve as U.S. secretary of defense, should the Democrat win on Nov. 4.
"Any time a president would ask you to do something, to serve, you have to seriously consider it," Clark said. "That's what Colin Powell said, and I think that's the right answer. But I'm out here because, for me, this is the public service. It's going out and helping Americans make the right decision on who should be the next president."
