The Putrid Perfumed Prince
July 1, 2008

"What do you think of General Wesley Clark and would you support him as a presidential candidate," was the question put to him [General H. Hugh Sheldon, former Chief of the General Staff] by moderator Dick Henning, assuming that all military men stood in support of each other. General Shelton took a drink of water and Henning said, "I noticed you took a drink on that one!"

"That question makes me wish it were vodka," said Shelton. "I've known Wes for a long time. I will tell you the reason he came out of Europe early had to do with integrity and character issues, things that are very near and dear to my heart. I'm not going to say whether I'm a Republican or a Democrat. I'll just say Wes won't get my vote." – Los Altos Town Crier, October 1, 2003

I know that if I was to run for political office I could call on every senior officer I ever served under for support. General Sheldon’s public statement of non-support for General Clark speaks volumes of “The Perfumed Prince” and the disdain with which most senior officers held the former NATO Supreme Commander.

Barack Obama claims to not want to question anyone’s patriotism but Wesley Clark’s putrid performance on CBS’ Face the Nation this past Sunday leaves one wondering. Senator Obama should have immediately denounced General Clark’s despicable analysis of Senator McCain’s qualifications. Instead he goes to Independence, Missouri to redefine the word patriotism. I guess that’s the real "change" Obama is bringing.

To cover his tracks, Obama did send out his campaign spokesman to say, “Sen. Obama honors and respects Sen. McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by Gen. Clark.” Yes of course!

Back to the General…for someone who finished first in his class “at West Point and graduated with honors from Oxford and the National War College,” Wesley Clark is not very smart. On Face the Nation, General Clark begins extolling Barack Obama’s virtues as someone of “incredible communication skills, proven judgment…his meteoric rise in politics…a guy who deals with people well, who understands issues, who brings people together and who has good judgment in moving forward.”

This is Wesley Clark’s reasons Americans should vote for Barack Obama.

Next Bob Schieffer, the host of Face the Nation, questions the general about saying Senator McCain is “untested and untried” the Prince answers:

Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk, it's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions…he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, “I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it publicly?”

This is Wesley Clark’s reasons Americans should not vote for John McCain.

I addressed Senator Obama’s lack of ability to judge character in “The Deep Faith of Barack Obama” but for General Clark to question Senator McCain’s leadership ability in comparison to Senator Obama cannot be what campaign operatives envisioned when they sent out the Vice-Presidential wannabe.

Come to think of it though an Obama/Clark ticket might be a match-made in heaven? They are both liars. Senator Obama has tried to portray himself of never wanting to be President but his new found buddy Hillary Clinton blew the lid off that lie on her own website. And back in 2004 when Wesley Clark was running for President, Jim Gerahty in a National Review Online article titled “An Army of One” shared this little nugget:

One reason for the distrust came in 1994, when retired Army Lt. Gen. Marc Cisneros, competed with Clark for a four-star position heading U.S. Southern Command — leading U.S. forces in South and Central America — and lost.

Cisneros was the Army's top choice for the job, and seemed like an ideal candidate: a Spanish speaker who had taken Manuel Noriega into custody in 1990 when the Panamanian leader surrendered to U.S. troops. Clark, in contrast, speaks Russian and had never held a Latin American post.

Cisneros claims "very high sources in the Army" told him that Clark was angling for the job, and had sought help from his fellow former Little Rock resident, Bill Clinton.

"I said, 'Well, I know Wes Clark, I'll go ask him,'" Cisneros said. "I got in touch with him and said, 'Wes, I heard you're bucking for this position.' He said, 'No, absolutely not. It's yours for the taking.'"

Within weeks, Clinton had nominated Clark. Cisneros concluded that Clark had "lied to [his] face."

Senator Obama has shown a reluctance and reticence to publicly rebuke those within his inner circle, and Wesley Clark’s statements about John McCain didn’t just come about last Sunday. The Prince said pretty much the same thing in a June 11, 2008 Huffington Post interview titled, Gen. Clark: McCain Is "Untested And Untried" On National Security. So does Senator Obama also reject Wesley Clark’s June 11^th statement?

Senator Obama stated in a speech on November 10, 2007, “I don't want to pit Red America against Blue America. I want to be President of the United States of America.”