John McCain Not Hero Enough for Wesley Clark

General Wesley Clark, former presidential candidate and sometime advisor to Barack Obama had the following to say a week ago on CBS when asked about John McCain's experience to be President:

"He hasn't held executive responsibility. ... He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. ... I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

Reaction from the McCain campaign was swift: "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to question John McCain's military service, that's their right. But let's please drop the pretense that Barack Obama stands for a new type of politics. The reality is, he's proving to be a typical politician who is willing to say anything to get elected, including allowing his campaign surrogates to demean and attack John McCain's military service record."

Earlier in the interview Gen. Clark had said:

"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war."

But not hero enough to be President of the United States. We sympathize. John McCain's lack of executive experience would be a problem against most opponents, although Barack Obama has even less. We see McCain's military experience as a factor to be considered but not the decisive factor.