Political Punch

Four years ago the Democrats insisted that it was vital that the President have a record of military service. They drooled all over John "Reporting for Duty" Kerry. Now that they have two candidates with zero military service, a military record is not important and they'll bash the man who served with honor. Sickening.

The dance of listening to candidate's supporters say something, then someone else demanding a denouncement of the comments is getting tiresome. This primary has been replete with faux chivalry and indignation.

As far as attacks on McCain's service... It's rather odd to see republicans, of all people, freaking out over this considering they were the ones that reduced another war hero, John Kerry, to a lying coward in many voters eyes (all in the name of winning an election.)

McCain is a very, VERY angry man. Bitter, twisted, hateful. Did you hear what he called his wife when she teased him about his hair?

This is a typical obama ploy, get one of his surrogates to say something really negative about his rivals and then play dumb by saying his did't say it. What combat experience did Rockefellow have, obama, Kennedy, Kerry. I know all about swiftboat. These people wouldn't know a hero if they saw one. Why is it that we havn't seem the "we need more white people" on the evening news.

beb: McCain was not in a country club POW camp, and he turned down a chance for release.

There has been some truly repugnant press on John McCain this week and I appreciate that Political Punch did not repeat it - it was a story that was too crass for even the National Inquirer. And the sleazy, unbelievable attacks on McCain's patriotism when he was running against Bush were unforgivable. I think it speaks highly of McCain that he's able to move on and even say he forgives them.

But I disagree with your characterization of Rockafeller's remarks. When John McCain sang "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran," I wondered what he possibly could have been thinking. I saw body parts - children's body parts ripped apart by American bombs. I didn't think it was funny. If any other candidate had had sung that song - wouldn't the press and politicians question their judgement? This one John McCain brought on himself. I know I'm going to be accused of being a pinko pig, but I call it the way I see it. If you are a presidential candidate and you make jokes about bombing another country, as if there are no casualties and no deaths, and it's a big joke, you deserve to be called out.

And Steve M? I don't believe the Bush girls have done alot of service in Iraq. Or the Bush boys, either. Looks like the tradition died with George H.

hey obamaites,he flew A-4's ,which for the uniformed was a small single seat daytime only strike fighter.they dropped iron bombs ,usually from low to medium height against ferocious aaa and sam misseles.they had a few counter measures but nothing like today.when they went in they went on skill and guts and hoped that luck and their own skill would get them back to a small pitching deck in the middle of the ocean and hope that they could catch a wire and land.so anyone that hasnt done it or at least faced combat has no right on gods green earth to disparage someone who has.by the way GO HILLARY

Obama says he is running a different type of campaign ("wink-wink") and not going to be negative and then he turns around and says negative things or his supporters do it for him.
There is nothing differing him from any other politician except the facade which I hope will keep crumbling.

I heard that Michelle is speaking in North Carolina. I guess they figure she can't say anything to damage Obama when she is just speaking to the choir.

There are lots of things one can disagree with John McCain on but to attack his military service is terrible. That's not what I would call supporting the troops. However some of Obama supporters are not very patriotic people either. While I was against the war from the get go, I blame it on our current leadership, not our great country or its military. I do think this attack on McCain's military career may be indicative of an attitude of the Obama supporters and, perhaps, is why they don't have a problem with what Rev. Wright said or that Obama listened to him for 20 years.

PP, I have wondered where she is. I think most of us know she is radioactive and can explode at anytime.

in all seriousness, does anyone else wonder where they are keeping michelle obama?

bho's "dignified stance" is all smoke and mirrors--much like his entire campaign--his surrogates and supporters do enough damage themselves to the other candidates to make bho appear to be mr. clean.
neither of the other two campaigns are as hateful and vile as the bho supporters. in the long run, this will be bho demise.

Jay Rockerfeller"s comments regarding Senator McCains war record indicates to me that Senator Rockerfeller is nothing but a stupid, ignorant ass that shouldn't even be in the political scene. This country doesn't need politicians that thinks like that!

The only service Rockefeller ever joined was the Vista Volunteers. As far as several bloggers stating that McCain doesn't care about people, they should meet his daughter. She was a dying infant in asia when McCain and his wife brought her back to the U.S. and adopted her. They have raised her as their own. As far as Kerry, his name shouldn't even be spoken on the same day as McCain's. Kerry was a bandaid early out coward. John McCain was offered an early release from his imprisonment and torture, by the North Vietnamese. He refused to leave without his fellow prisoners. As far as Obama, he won't even respect the Pledge of Allegiance. How someone like him could be leading the race for the Democrat presidential nominee shows how many Democrats disrespect out country and our military. Obama is a fraud. He supports a minister that hates America almost as much as his wife does.

Once and for all: What lies did the Swiftboaters spread about Senator Kerry?
Senator Kerry has not provided evidence of any lies.

Presumably Sen. Rockefeller supported Bill Clinton's war over Kosovo. In that war, fought exclusively from the air, extensive use was made of laser-guided weapons (weather permitting). I guess nobody cared about the "lives of people" on that ground.

I think anyone has not ever served in the Armed Services really should just be quiet in critism of anyone who has. It makes the person look like a dweeb and a coward.

just typical obama - have surrogates swiftboat others, then pretend to take the high road.

guess getting tortured for years didn't mean anything? that wasn't thousands of feet up.

obama thinks campaigning is hard. heaven help us if he's elected - obviously doing the job would be way too hard for him. oh, i forgot, he vacationed in pakistan when he was in college, so he knows it all already.

Rockefeller actually said that? Most despicable! I would not believe anyone would be so crass and low.
Rockefeller is the heir to huge fortune earned on the backs of millions of Americans that worked, fought and died for our country while Standard oil monopolized, price fixed, gouged and unscrupulously fought competitors. John D. was the world’s richest man at one time as a result of a Supreme Court ruling that dissolved the parent company and left him with substantial stock in what amounted to every oil company in the nation. The term “Restraint of Trade” is a legacy of Standard Oil and the Rockefeller family.
Where is the humanity in that?

Mark - Once uttered Rockerfeller stories will never die as are the Ferarro hoof and mouth problem she experienced. You know that. Check Fox for yourself tonight. I'll bet right now it gets the airtime only a Hannity can give it.

Mark: Too little too late! Rockerfeller has to go!

This is an issue that goes beyond McCain the presidentia canidate, it is an attack on all those who have served this country and did what we asked of them! Mr. Obama likes to cry foul whenever someone makes any comment about him and they are denounced as racist and liars! So I do belevie that it is fair for Hillary to denounce this statement because it goes beyond McCain,it reflects how he views all fighter pilots, like they are some sort of war criminals that have no conscience. Just another far left liberal who likes to blame america first! Well I can tell you one thing he is going to have hell to pay in WV which has the lagrest number of vertrans per capita than any state in the union!

I hope hillary does not get into this either.
but I'll bet obama hopes she does
because if she does it will put the focus on her and not on obama (where it needs to stay)
and he will avoid taking a stance
and start to attack anything she has said.
stay out of it Hillary!

jgaw - I agree with you. Black voter for Clinton have a wonderful story to tell the rest of us. My concern is should Obama win then we all say, see the black problem has been solved which is so far from truth few can see the danger anymore. Congress will just point to Obama and give fancy speeches about how we solved everything, point at Obama and do little or nothing. And Obama would be constantly abused for the little he can then do for blacks. Too much and his presidency could explode into race issues few of us can imagine right now. Perhaps Obama should come on now and tell the public how he proposes to assists blacks in the years going forward and how much his programs will cost and where the money is coming from.

Missiles are fired, bombs are dropped. Laserguided didn't appear until the 1980s. I've yet to meet a fighter pilot who is "insensitive to many human issues". Almost all of the fighter pilots I know (Austrian, German, British, Dutch, American, Japanese) are married, have children and are loving fathers and husbands who are doing their duty as fighter pilots and members of the military of their country. In case there'd be a situation where the metal meets the meat I'd trust one of them over 500 Rockefellers.

My best friend's grandfather flew on B-17s over Germany and Austria. My own grandfather shot at incoming B-17s since he was part of the Luftwaffe. Today those two would have a drink and talk about old times. They would shake hands, have a good time and would remember their fallen comrades together.

I would assume Rockefeller has never worn uniform, otherwise he'd never spew such garbage.

As for the Swifties, they brought up some interesting questions, didn't they? Agreed, those questions were inconvenient for Kerry's pitiful campaign. But well, America is a free country, with freedom of speech (which goes for both sides of the political fence, keep that in mind Lefties (and no, Lefties are NOT Liberals)), thus such questions are valid. I mean... Kerry claimed to have been in Cambodia for crying out loud. Obviously he had watched too much Apocalypse Now.

We really don't need a wimp for President. Obama is the only wimp in the bunch.

It is too late for Jay Rockerfeller to apologize! He knew exactly what he was saying and why he said it! This is the start of a smear campaign agaist McCain in an attempt to swift boat him and he should be dropped from the campaign! Mr. Obama there is no place in politics for such comments agaist a true american hero! An appology is not enough, we won't be satisfied till Mr. Obama denounces it and fires Rockerfeller from the campaign!

Mike Morgan - Yeah, Ferraro apologized as well and we both know how that's gonna live forever, don't we? The republicans will be playing this clip on every screen near you and often. You do know that, Wright? Check the boys on Fox tonight. You know, the station with more viewers than CNN, MSNBC, and CBS combined if you doubt me.

I just read the apology and he is still a jerk for making those statements.

And sorry Obama supporters, but you set the stage for lambasting surrogates who say dumb stuff so Jay Rockefeller is not going to be absolved from this gaffe.

Please be sure to read Rockefeller's apology today with equal interest.

Jay Rockerfeller is a politicl oprotunist who came to WV to buy himself the Governorship of the state! When he came to WV he was a staunch opponet of Strip Mining of coal and said that he would it would fight it till it was abolished! Well then he decided to run for governor and he quickly found out who has the real power in WV, the Coal Operators,well it wasn't long after he announced that he was running for governor that he said that further study was needed to assess the impact of strip mining! Then he got the backing of the coal operators and he went on to get elected! The result is that strip mining was never outlawed and acutually expanded under his administration! So Jay Rockerfeller can not be trusted because in the end he will do what is necessary to stay in office and in WV that is making sure you protect the coal operators! So I have to laugh when I hear him talk about how important the enviroment is and how we are protectors of the earth!

Illinidiva:

Worser?????

Actually, I was not referencing his time as a POW, rather the pilot experience.

Obama 2008 -- Yes, WE CAN!!!

@markymark:

You make the newbie mistake that being a "man of the people" is the basic requirement for being a President. Put down your textbook and learn.

A President is a leader of the people, but more importantly, the chief executive of the nation and the commander in chief of the armed forces.

He has not simply experience as a soldier, he has the leadership training which the military provides to its officers. This is not trivial. I'm a Hillary supporter, but I do understand the value of training and this man has it in spades.

This is what Obama's supporters do not get: being the President is a real job, not an avatar in a game playing for levels and gold. It is not a lecturer position describing legal precedent to enraptured 22 year olds. It is a very hard job where wisdom, experience, and discipline count.

Whatever else you may not like, this man is well-trained. That IS the difference between George Bush Senior and his son: one is a military pilot and veteran. The other is a 'couldn't be bothered to show up for the job because of election season' lightweight.

Sound familiar?

McCain Said So - Can't wait for the FOX boys to have some fun with this baby tonight. You know, Fox? More viewers than CNN, CBS, and MSNBC combined? Hey, you put yourself with that lot of dummies. And you are indeed correct. Not all vets are on the Obama side either.

McCain said so in interviews after his release as a POW that he dropped bombs on innocent women and children in Vietnam. Now he needs to apologize not Obama. The truth will soon be aired about John McCain and his Vietnam days that will make the Swiftboat veternans looks like a bunch of school kids in a sandbox. Don't think because John hasn't come under attack YET that somehow we have forgotten all of his statements. If you don't believe me just start doing some searches on all of his disloyal statements. I leave the verdict to you and say no more. By the way, for anyone who served in Nam a POW doesn't give you a free pass as a hero with the rest of us vets. There are plenty of decorated vets out there who remember John McCain from Nam and the truth will come out.

People who try to impugn John McCain's character reveal a certain shallowness in their own. Even me, a life-long democrat recognizes he is a formidable opponent, a hero to many and a role model for people afraid -like Obama - to take a firm stand on complicated issues. More and more people appreciate his clarity.

pt - With help like Rockerfeller's perhaps you aught to rethink your position. 'Cause the general is a whole new ballgame. This is already saved for the general. Wright and Rockerfeller coming to a screen near you soon and often.

The words of Obama's endorsers or his Pastor for that matter are not his own words, correct. But it doesn't take away from the fact that Obama is spineless when it comes to his far left core base . He's smart enough, he knows right and wrong. Obama is as spineless as his "present" votes, his mixing up the voting buttons, his not showing up for Kyle-Lieberman, for not saying peep on the Senate floor about Iraq until he decided to run for President or best yet, like how today he actually showed up for the very first time for his Foreign Relations sub-committee. How good of him.

Sara - You Obama supporter attacked Clinton for Ferarro's comments. Why play dumb now?

By January McCain will be looking for a new job. Odds are he will follow in Dole's footsteps and become the new viagra spokesman. Obama 2008!

Roja - I agree with you. Even if Clinton had any sense she'd put this in an ad and play this sucker all over PA and every other state left. I would.

Surely a candidate is NOT responsible for every word uttered by a supporter.
For those who dispute what Jay Rockefeller said, than go after Jay Rockefeller.

If the McCain camp is on the ball, they will have a video of Rockefeller's denigrating remarks about McCain followed by the Obama camp spokesperson saying that Obama agrees with what Senator Rockefeller said. At least that's what the HRC campaign would do had these things been said about her.

I think Jay is having 60's protest flashbacks. He did slip up and forget to call McCain a baby-killer. But I am sure Jay "supports the troops."

This is why we will be getting McCain for President. This is why you will being seeing Clinton supporters moving over to McCain. The crap that has come out of the mouth's of Obama endorsers,
Obama supporters and the pro-Obama media will ensure a McCain win. Not to mention once moveon.org and the rest of the far left starts piping up more aggressively. The American people may not want this war in Iraq but they know right and wrong and the tone of the campaign which will be coming from the Obama side will be one big turn-off.
Personally, if I were the Obama troops I'd play the moral higher ground, as they were supposed to be doing to begin with, because they have too many Wright situation and a candidate with a not very impressive record to be digging too much dirt. Clinton supporters have been less offended by Obama then they have his endorsers, supporters and the media that bows at this feet. There will eventually be a backlash and it will happen in the general. The Obama people have already trashed the two terms of our Democratic President CLinton and deemed it a period where nothing good happened. Then Obama turns around and says he wants to bring us back to the foreign policy traditions of Bush Sr. and Reagan. What kind of joke is this, Clinton=bad and Reagan-good, and this is not the first time Obama has mentioned Reagan, one of our most conservative Presidents. I can't stand Mark Penn but the only one out there as slimy as him is David Axelrod.
Axelrod has connections to moveon.org which has no business getting involved in the Democratic primaries . They should be focusing on getting the Democrats into the White House once we have a nominee. Disgusting!!!

A lot has changed since Sen. McCain first engaged the enemy during the Revolutionary War. And, though he went on to serve the newly formed nation for many years and even fought in the subsequent Mexican American War, the War with Spain, the Civil War, World War I and World War II, Vietnam and Korea...things are far different now. In fact, the "computer age" has changed things so much, Sen. McCain no longer needs to send his missives by horse.

Senator Rockefeller will beg for a next term. WV is big time Hillary land.

Yep... This has to be my fav. line.

"John McCain's military experiece WAS vastly different from that of the ground combat soldier. And pilots experience in Vietnam was quite different from those in WWII. Certainly, pilots today are even more removed from "the enemy.""

Actually McCain's Vietnam experience was even worser than that which the grunts on the ground faced. He wrote a book about it around 10 yrs ago.

Mrs. Tiggywinkle - OBAMA-“It’s time to set a hard date to signal a new mission in Iraq and to begin to bring our troops home. It’s time to ensure that we complete the change in mission and the drawdown of our forces, by the end of April 2008 – a date that is consistent with the date in my plan back in January.”

Obama this week: United States should transition to an “over-watch” force of between 60,000 and 80,000 troops by the end of 2010, according to an article Friday in the New York Sun.

Your tired war will not end with Obama. With 80,000 troops left in Iraq the war will go on. That's just fact. Now deal with it.

David Gillies: Thank you for that information.

Rockefeller....you are a complete idiot!!!!!!!

McCain fought against Communists. Obama is a Communist. It isn't rocket science to know that Obama would hate McCain for fighting against his buds. McCain was shot down during a low level attack run.
Rockefeller is just an idiot, and one that doesn't like Navy aviators.

Anyone believing that McCain will make a good difference in the world, is quite delusional. McCain is yet another Bush Lite.

Having a military record is wonderful, but I am not looking for a war, nor are most others. We are looking for a LEADER - not another MANAGER...

" Bomb, Bomb... Iran" is NOT a way to win votes from folks who are sick of this ridiculous war....

Another 4+ years of a Republican administration will be the end of the USA as we know it. God help us all!

Where are the Obama supporters now? Too cowardly to defend this guy? They'll attack Clinton for Ferraro's remarks however. What a bunch of losers.

First operational deployment of a laser guided weapon: BOLT-117, 1968.

John McCain's whereabouts in 1968: POW in the Hanoi Hilton (he was released in 1973)

Rockefeller is a complete imbecile to make remarks such as he did. He is woefully ignorant in general [laser-guided bombs in the sixties? Don't think so.] and a complete fool to disparage the US Armed Forces. But he reflects the Democrat Left Wing such as Biden, Dodd, Fat Teddy, & BoBo Boxer perfectly well.

These elected frauds HATE AMERICA & want to see it fail. They are traitors. Pure and simple.

It is unfair for those on Obama's campaign train to be attacking McCain for lacking any care for humanity if he was putting his own life on the line to fight for our country. Even if he wasn't hands on experiencing the devastation that was brought by the bombs America dropped, he and those who fought with him, before him and after him feel the pain that is war more than any of us could ever know.

It is unfair for those on Obama's campaign train to be attacking McCain for lacking any care for humanity if he was putting his own life on the line to fight for our country. Even if he wasn't hands on experiencing the devastation that was brought by the bombs America dropped, he and those who fought with him, before him and after him feel the pain that is war more than any of us could ever know.

Russell Abbot,
You are quite correct. Senator Obama has no responsibility for those with whom he associates. Just ask him.
=======================================
Obama can't be held responsible!
=======================================

Russell Abbott - Will even ONE of you Obama supporters stand up and demand Obama distance himself immediately from this excuse of a human being?

All those saying Obama isn't responsible for what Rockerfeller said are just being hypocrites because most of you chastised Hillary Clinton for Geraldine Ferraro's comments.

And this is clearly a smearing of McCain. As Democrats we can't in good conscience be mad about the swiftboat attacks and then not chastise this kind of non-sense.

Laser guided bombs in 1967???????? Maybe Sen. Jay Rocky can tell us if there is some sort of alien tech. available at that time for Johnny Mac to use. As for not sensitive to human suffering etc etc, maybe Jay Rocky can tell us how long can he last the nice treatment in Hanoi Hilton. I'd bet Jay Jay would be the very first to get out of the hotel because of the wealth and riches of his great granddaddy. Johnny Mac could get out early from HH because his daddy but he didn't...where would Jay Jay be w/o his great granddaddy;s wealth...shoeshine boy???

David - Perhaps you might want to acknowledge that Rush, Hannity, Coultry, and the rest of the hard line republicans do not support McCain because he is too moderate in their eyes.

Thats Rockerfellers opinion. I dont see how that has anything to do with Obama. I didnt realise now that candidates had to tape shut the mouths of every person who had endorsed them, or sent out a fact sheet of what their opinions must be.

"McCain, by the way, has been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross."

You'll have to ask Obama to apologize after he heads a Senate Conformation Hearing for only the second time since January 2007 because he was busy running for President!

WestCostMessenger: You're right 100%

A vote for Obama is a vote for the criminals he hags around with like Wright, Rezko, and Ayers.

markymark - When you lie there getting beaten and broken every day let me be the first to point out to you that no one on earth wonders and hopes and prays for humanity more than the beaten and the hopeless like McCain yearned for in that prison cell. And let's get another thing straight right now, OUR servicemen and women ARE human beings first and foremost. They live AND breath and feel and hurt and die in far away place few of us ever visited. They have families and children and loved ones who care and love in return. No one knows the yearning for humanity like the warrior because it is that very warrior whose life is giving so the rest of us can live in the freedoms we hold so dear.

Attacking John McCain's integrity and honor as a war hero is a very bad idea that will assuredly evaporate those moderate Republicans and Independents who may have voted for him in this primary season. And it's just plain mean-spirited which will undoubtedly reflect poorly on the Obama campaign.

Jackie,

There's going to be an outcry (PROTEST) about media bias on April 11th, in NYC at Rockefeller Center. Check out a new website called hillaryclintonforum.net.

Joan,
I actually have a different opinion. I think the Obama camp, if they believe this way, as many of their backers do, should continue this line of attack. It will help Hillary seal the deal.
=======================================
Go for it Rockefeller!
Make the Obama campaign look like fools!
=======================================

Hey! Thanks for the book plug! Once again, that's "The Audacity of Hope" from Simon & Schuster, available at fine booksellers near you!

Again? How many times have Obama's rivals have been insulted by his surrogates?

How can a person with ZERO experience be entitled to question the ones with approven records...

Please show your respect to your seniors.....

I think Sen. Rockefeller may simply have been trying to make the point that McCain's war record does not make him a 'man of the people' who understands the problems faced by ordinary people struggling to make a living. I am not sure that is an easy argument to make with the surname Rockefeller, but I think it has merit. As much as his war record makes McCain a national treasure, that doesn't alone qualify him for the Presidency, and what else does he have on his resume to attract him to ordinary voters?

Beb,
I'm as anti-Republican as they come, however, if the Obama camp wants to come out looking like rocket scientists, it's not going to be by attacking McCain's war record, the way that the swiftboaters attacked Kerry. The man was a prisoner of war and that means something to a lot of Americans. My father gave good Democratic blood in World War II and he would have respect for a fellow soldier, no matter that soldier's political persuasion.

This is just an indicator of the political immaturity being orchestrated by the Obama camp.
========================================
Stick to what you know about!
========================================

Poor democrats. They know so well that Obama is an empty suit, and they have to prop him up as often as possible.

Just read over at gateway pundit how the Michelle Obama speech event people were removing people from behind the stage to get more white people on camera. "We need more white people." LOL. They actually removed non-whites so it would look like lots of whites were big fans.

This whole Obama campaign charade is so staged and choreographed it's hilarious. Remember the directions for Richardson to "turn to Obama and smile"...

LOLOL.

This is just pathetic.
I am no fan of McCain, but Obama and his supporters have to stop smearing McCain. I mean what is the difference between the swiftboaters and the Obama campaign.

This is pretty ridiculous.

See 29 July 1967 in McCain's career.

No Mike, that isn't a comment of desperation. It is just the comment of another Harvard grad with too much money and no class. This is his vote on the Iraq war:

"There has been some debate over how 'imminent' a threat Iraq poses. I do believe that Iraq poses an imminent threat, but I also believe that after September 11, that question is increasingly outdated. It is in the nature of these weapons, and the way they are targeted against civilian populations, that documented capability and demonstrated intent may be the only warning we get. To insist on further evidence could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we afford to take that chance? We cannot!"

He should get perspective before he goes after McCain from 35,000 feet.

No! No! No! No more excuses for what Obama supporters say negative about any candidate. Hillary and McCain do not get a pass from the media, and neither should Obama!!!!

According to Democrat Senator Reid and other Democrats, Obama should pull out since he has not gain ground.

Also they said the Democrats should resign from Office due to the congress not making gains!!

Libs follow your own rules please and resign!!

As Rockefeller knows, it takes a true hero to get a bb in your butt. I don't think McCain has a single purple heart (country club POW camp?) and John Kerry managed to get three in as many months. That's heroism!

Heh! Mr. God Bless America Man! It's not too late to get your daughters signed up for ROTC. Let's get them ready for the Military. I think it's time the future President's children (girls or boys) should serve time in the Military, Just like Prince Harry did from England!!!!

As an Obama supporter I don't believe Obama knows about these comments. These things are posted way before the canidate hear about them. Obama has always given McCain the respect he deserves and honors him as a war hero. I think surrogates need to think before speaking about if the canidate they are for would agree or accepet what is said.

People like Rockefeller make me sick!!!

I rather have a man whom is PROUD OF HIS COUNTRY and SERVED IT WELL, than a man as Barack Obama, whom gives "GOOD SPEECHES ONLY!!!!