I knew this was going to happen

What http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/30/clark-mccain-a-hero-but-l_n_109988.html">Clark said: "That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded _ that wasn't a wartime squadron."

Moderator Bob Schieffer, who raised the issue by citing similar remarks Clark has made previously, noted that Obama hadn't had those experiences nor had he ridden in a fighter plane and been shot down. "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president," Clark replied.

Accompanying McCain on this visit was Colonel George (Bud) Day, a leader of the P.O.W.s at the Hanoi Hilton and one of the men whom McCain credits with having saved his life. Day and a cellmate took care of McCain after he was put in their cell. Day was also prominently featured in ads prepared by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which attacked Senator John Kerry’s Vietnam service last year. In one commercial, Day addressed himself to Kerry, asking, “How can you expect our sons and daughters to follow you when you condemned their fathers and grandfathers?” When McCain defended Kerry and denounced the ads, Day was upset with his old comrade. “Something that made Bud such an ideal leader in prison was his tunnel vision,” McCain told me later. “That makes him behave on the outside—well . . . ” He trailed off, chuckling. “But in prison there were guys who would listen to the Vietnamese propaganda, they’d begin doubting their country. Not Bud! He’s straight tunnel vision, screw ’em! He didn’t join in philosophical discussions about whether the war, you know, was justified—and that’s what you want in a leader in that environment. Whereas the other guys, we used to call them the political scientists, would sit around and discuss, ‘Well, the Geneva agreements, you know—’ But the time to debate and discuss all that was before you got shot down. Once you’re in prison, then you’re expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct.” It stipulated that prisoners were not to disclose any significant information to their captors, and were to agree to be released only in order of capture. Day refused to listen to the North Vietnamese propaganda radio show featuring Hanoi Hannah, but McCain enjoyed it. As though reminiscing about some picaresque adventure, McCain continued, “I used to love to listen to Hanoi Hannah. Every once in a while, they’d play a decent song. Somebody left a bunch of old Louis Armstrong records in Hanoi for some reason, and if they played those it was great.”

Dear Senator McCain:

After General Clark's comments last weekend, your campaign stated strongly that dismissing anyone's service has no place in any campaign in our country. No matter what anyone thinks of General Clark's comments, as veterans, we wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that casting aspersions on anyone's service is not acceptable discourse.

In that spirit, we are deeply concerned over the comments of your campaign surrogate Bud Day, whom you tapped to represent your campaign the day after General Clark's comments. Your campaign provided a platform for Mr. Day to continue spreading the false and malicious smears of the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT).

As Swiftboat veterans, we believe very strongly that there is no place in a campaign for perpetuating the continuing denigration of the honorable service of so many men, including Senator Kerry but also including the many men who served with him during the events that served as the backdrop for the SBVT lies. Your campaign's statements about General Clark's comments indicate that your campaign believes the same, but your actions with Mr. Day are not consistent with that belief.

We recently wrote a letter to SBVT funder T. Boone Pickens detailing just a portion of the lies spread by the SBVT, contradicting Mr. Day's contention of Monday that, "The Swift Boat 'attacks' were simply revelation of the truth." We are attaching that letter so you can get a sense of the scope of the dishonesty of those attacks.

In 2004, you yourself called the SBVT campaign "dishonest and dishonorable," and said that you "deplored this type of politics," but your actions in providing a platform for Mr. Day persuaded us that perhaps you needed a reminder just how dishonest and dishonorable the campaign was.

With this information in mind, we respectfully request that you and Mr. Day disown the proven lies and shameful tactics of the SBVT, or, failing that, we ask that you disassociate your campaign from Bud Day and from anyone who was a part of the SBVT. We understand that there are decisions made in haste during the heat of the campaign that do not reflect the underlying values of the candidate. We sincerely hope and believe that this was one of them, and we look forward to your announcement that your campaign has renounced this action.

Sincerely:

James Rassman
Veteran, US Army

Wade Sanders
Veteran, US Navy

Drew Whitlow
Veteran, US Navy

Fred Short
Veteran, US Navy

Eugene Thorson
Veteran, US Navy

Jim Wasser
Veteran, US Navy

Pat Runyon
Veteran, US Navy