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He'll stand his ground, and he won't back down
"John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country - but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area his judgment has been flawed - he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America. But as an American and former military officer I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues."
Good for Gen. Clark. While most can agree that his phrasing -- responding with the same phrase that his CBS questioner, Bob Schieffer, had tossed at him -- is something that causes political problems, if only because he should have realized how the mouth-breathers among the media would handle it.
But the essential truth is this: McCain's POW experience makes him a hero, but how you apply that heroism -- and your other personal qualities -- in the broader arenas of politics and leadership is what makes you a president. And McCain's judgment here, as we've seen with Iraq, is not good.