In Navigating the Shoals of Politics,

Do You Run the Risk of Alienating Those Who Support You, Mr. Obama?







General Clark has been a hero to many of us for a long time.



I have known him to be spare in his remarks and always faithful to the truth.



He has a brilliant record as a military leader and an expert on military issues.



In point of fact, we know him better than we know you.



Let’s revisit what happened last Sunday during Bob Shieffer’s interview with General Clark on Face the Nation.



Bob Shieffer actually prompted his response by stating that Obama was not a pilot or shot down in a plane.



I believe that since Shieffer posited his point in such a way that inferred that Obama was the not the man that McCain was, that Clark was well within his right to say what he did which to my mind was not only justified but legitimate.



What troubles me Mr. Obama is that you threw General Clark under the bus.



This is not just some flunky; General Clark is a man who has the respect of many of us considered liberals and progressives.



We know him to be wise and judicious in what he says.



He does not invent stories or enhance the facts. He is very careful as to what he says and you failed to take his side..



It worries me that Obama, a man who claims to offer a new kind of politics, can throw General Clark away because he thought that what he said might damage his standing among those he’s trying to win over.



Well, Mr. Obama, you’d better learn now and fast that you can’t be all things to all people or, too quickly, you become nothing to nobody.



It was a mistake to cast aside this valuable asset you had on your team just as it was a mistake to excuse the communications companies when they in fact violated the law of the land because Bush told them to do so.



We are beginning to worry about your “brand.” You have deviated from the message that you expressed early in the campaign and we are concerned that you are not standing tall enough to deal with the mega issues that will confront the next president. We are beginning to wonder whether you are up to it.



Mr. Obama, you are one of the wisest candidates who has come down the pike in a long time, don’t make us sorry that we are supporting you.



Les Aaron

The Armchair Curmudgeon