Oh Please Obama Surrogates Make This Race About Experience!

Senator Webb decided to chime in on Wesley Clark's comments about Senator McCain's military experience by saying that McCain should 'calm down' on using his military experience in the campaign. The trouble with that remark is that McCain wasn't the one to bring up his military service; Clark brought it up. McCain's platform isn't 'vote for me me I was a P.O.W.' he simply presents his military service as a part of his resume. However, Senator McCain did have a distinguished military career and retired from the Navy as a captain having been awarded the Silver Star, "Besides the Silver Star Medal, McCain also received the Legion of Merit with a combat “V” and one gold star, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Art Medal with a combat “V” and two gold stars."*

There is no reason Senator McCain shouldn't be proud of his miltary service, but he has plenty of other qualifications too. He's served in the House and Senate for nearly twenty five years. He's a member of the Armed Services Committee, the Commerce Committee, and the Committee for Indian Affairs. He's played a key legislative role in the Senate. He has sponsored bills such as McCain-Fiengold campaign finance reform; was a member of the Gang of Fourteen, a bipartisan group that made a deal to keep the Senate rules in tact, and he was the only Republican to call for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. He's repeatedly stood up for human rights pushing through anti-torture legislation, and was the only Republican presidential candidate to promise to close Guantanamo Bay when elected.

That's the condensed version of Senator McCain's resume. So please Obama campaign, please make this election about experience because three years in the Senate, and seven years in the state legislature versus twenty years in the Senate and a lifetime of service to this country is what the election should be about.

*McCain Commendations