Jealous Henchman

Jealous Henchman
By: Kevin Bryant

The recent comments made by Retired Army General Wesley Clark about John McCain and his lack of experience as a military commanding officer was to say the least “out of line”. Not since President and retired 5 star General Dwight D. Eisenhower has there been a commander–in-chief who has held a higher military rank than that obtained by John McCain. I’m not going to look these up so I may be wrong about one or two of them but lets take a look at who has been a military officer and the ranks that they held:

John McCain – Navy Commander (O-5)
John Kennedy – Navy Lieutenant (O-3)
Lyndon Johnson – Navy Lieutenant JG (O-2)
Richard Nixon – Navy Lt. Commander (O-4)
Gerald Ford – Navy Lieutenant (O-3)
Jimmy Carter – Navy Lieutenant (O-3)
Ronald Reagan – Army Captain (O-3)
George H. Bush - Navy Lieutenant JG (O-2)
George W. Bush – Army 1st Lieutenant (O-2)

Now take a look at those who Wesley Clark has publicly supported and stated that they would make or was a great commander-in-chief:

Bill Clinton – No Military Service
John Kerry – Navy Lieutenant JG (O-2)
Hillary Clinton – No Military Service
Barrack Obama – No Military Service

General Clark has always been troubled by the fact that those that he commanded did not see him as, or given the same respect and praise that was given to Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf or even his own junior commander, Retired General Tommy Franks. Could it be jealousy that has driven him to the far left of the political spectrum considering that both Schwarzkopf & Franks have both supported President Bush publicly and were courted by the RNC to run for office? Could it be because both are more popular and certainly more respected in and out of military officer and enlisted circles. During his failed run at the presidency, he received little support from the retired officer community and even less from the retired enlisted ranks.

Barrack Obama has tried to distance himself from General Clark over the past few days. Who could blame him? I wouldn’t want the masses that have served or are still serving in the military to think that I support his comments. Yet Barrack does support them. Several of his noted supporters and key senior advisors have made comments similar to those of General Clark. Obama knows that to attack McCain directly in regards to his military service would be detrimental to his election efforts, so why not have those around you attack him and set yourself up as a hero for defending McCain’s record and service. Classic good cop – bad cop. If there is anyone who does not believe that this is an orchestrated effort to attack McCain on his strongest asset, I have some beachfront property in Arizona and Nevada I’d like to sell you.