From Talking Points Memo, the following compilation of McCain's lovers expressing their shock at Gen. Wesley Clark's comments that being shot down doesn't qualify one as President:
One point I wish to emphasize. Unlike the attacks on John Kerry's war record in 2004, this is not "Swiftboating", although there is a certain amount of irony to the word being reintroduced in to our political vocabulary (one of the biggest Swiftboaters is working for the McCain campaign, so they might be less than happy having folks reminded of that sorry bit of business). See, Kerry was attacked with lies. His military record was open, the testimony that earned him his medals was available, and his activism as part of Vietnam Veterans Against the War was part of his public life of which he was rightly proud. All Clark did was say, without muss or fuss, that being a POW, in and of itself, was hardly a qualification for President. Period.
No one is lying about McCain's military record, questioning his patriotism, calling in to question the testimony of those who served with him, or any of the other things the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth did to John Kerry. McCain himself has said that military experience alone is not a necessary qualification for the Presidency. Since that is what Clark's point was, and the point was pretty clear, I fail to see anything more than McCain's base shrieking in rage at the audacity of someone who would take a point McCain has used frequently as part of his c.v. and turn it around so easily and question its relevance. Since the media have bought in to the whole "he was a POW so that's off limits" nonsense, they are outraged that an outsider has done it for them, and in a way that is so clear it should be obvious.
