Former Air Force chief backs Dean candidacy

Retired Gen. Merrill "Tony" McPeak, the former Air Force chief of staff who endorsed George W. Bush in 2000, has left the Republican fold and is backing Democrat Howard Dean in the 2004 race for president.

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McPeak, who headed the Air Force during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, criticized the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq before the invasion in March. He also said he has become disenchanted with the president's economic policies.

"I don't think the younger Bush has put a foot right since he entered the White House," said McPeak, who changed his registration from Republican to independent in April.

When it comes to Iraq, "we couldn't have sat around a kitchen table and designed a policy that was stupider," McPeak said. He argued that there was no evidence of a connection between Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, "absolutely zero evidence of weapons of mass destruction, and the planning of the formation of the coalition (to support the war in Iraq) was very clumsily done."

source: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1069160753167110.xml

Clark could be out of a job in a Dean Admin next year, and no, I'm not considering him for VP. Clark offers nothing that Dean needs as a VP.

Generals are never Secretaries of Defense. Not even retired generals. That would be crazy.

I'm not sure you've thought this one through.

General George C Marshall and in color too.

I think Wes Clark brings a load to any ticket if he signs on as VP whether it's with Kerry, Edwards, Gephardt or Dean. First is the southern angle (Clark is from Arkansas), second is the defense angle (Clark's background helps any Democratic ticket WRT national defense) and third would be Clark's experience in "talking to the troops" which can help pick up some of the military vote.

Personally, I don't think Clark is ready to be president but I think he'd make a great VP. A Dean/Clark ticket looks acid strong to me.

I think Clark will get the SecDef at least, if he doesn't get VP.

I'd love to see this get as much publicity as possible. What a boon for Dean and the Democratic Party.

and more people start thinking and seeing things as to what they really are and not what they are being told by the good news tv. Sounds good to me if he is on the up and up!

"we couldn't have sat around a kitchen table and designed a policy that was stupider," McPeak said.

It's nice to see some (retired) military men rebelling against the stupidity of the NeoCons.

Outstanding news!!!!

McPeak was the Chief of Staff when I was in the USAF, and I thought he was a moran. All that aside, I think it's cool.

Myself? Still a Clark man.

LOL! I wonder if that's a widely held view.

I just didn't care for him. Of course, what did I know at the time about the Chief of Staff? Nada!

His vote counts as much as anyone elses. And if he helps to convince people who think that a uniform makes the man, so much the better.

www.republicansfordean.us/

For the record, I don't support either Clark or Dean, but I will vote for either if one of them is the eventual nominee.

That said, I posted it because it showed that McPeak has turned away from Bushco and registered as an Independent instead of a Republican.

So instead it becomes another Clark vs. Dean thread.

The enemy here IS, Bush, right?

Thanks.

and I wonder how many other Desert Storm general officers are disenchanted with junior.

Here is more about McPeak, an interview shortly after he endorsed Bush:



Politics versus party politics


GWEN IFILL: General McPeak, you have endorsed Governor Bush. Can you tell us why?

GENERAL MERRILL McPEAK: Well, I support him in general. I think he's right on the issues.

GWEN IFILL: Is it appropriate for a military officer such as yourself, who served in the current administration that's still in office to endorse the opposition as it were?

GENERAL MERRILL McPEAK: Well, I would draw a sharp distinction really between two kinds of issues here. One is the question of politics versus party politics. Klauswitz said that war is a political act, that at the highest level war is indistinguishable from policy. There's really no way that senior military officers can avoid politics. It's always in the mix. So the real question is: How can senior officers avoid party politics? And too often many of these political issues have been made partisan by politicians. If you take an issue like ballistic missile defense or base closure or the current brouhaha about readiness, these are issues that we ought to be able to decide with some objectivity that have been politicized. So there you put senior military officers in a heck of a position. I mean, they have to be very careful. It's always a judgment call, and, for instance, I made 33 witness appearances in front of the Congress, and nobody over there wanted to know how to win a dogfight. They all wanted my testimony on highly charged political issues like gays in the military. So this is a judgment call. We hire senior officers hoping they're smart enough and have finesse enough to deal with these issues, but they are forced on them. They have no alternative to deal with them.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec00/military_9-25.html

That shows that McPeak bases his lack of support of Bushco on the conduct of the war rather than political alliance. I think McPeak is something like a canary in a coal mine.

It is nice to see former brass criticise the dim son regime for incompetent leadership.

this guy was flying around in an F-15--as it he was renting the damn thing--from base to base in the pacific area. Typicall blowhard ex general..

BUT as most senior officers of his kind are 100 percent repukes, qute interesting...

And you know the military despises the thugs!!!!

There is nothing better than saving humanity!!!!

Welcome aboard!!!!

:bounce:Whooohoooo!!!!:bounce:

:bounce:

Cool!

I'm a Clarkie, but anytime a military bigwig comes
out against Dubya, it's cause for celebration.

weight to views from Clark's actual chain of command? General Shelton's hint about Clark unsuitability due to "integrity and character issues" is still hanging.

I think that's a shoe still waiting to drop, and probably at the wrost possible time for Clark. USAF endorsement or not, I don't think Clark will get much further then he has already.

this will get compared to all the rightwing military guys bashing Clark.