Fox panel upset Clark wouldn't deny * is an AWOL DESERTER

[MIMStigator]

BOO HOO

[grytpype]

1. Fill me in...

... how did that go down?

[MIMStigator]

6. The Fox panel were crying because Clark wouldn't denounce

Michael Moore for calling AWOL a DESERTER.

They said he missed an opportunity to be professional. Too bad DEMOCRATS know AWOL is a deserter.

Peter Jennigs asked Clark if Moore was irresponsible for saying it and Clark said "he's not the only one who said it" and would not do what they wanted which was tosay AWOL isn't a DESERTER.

[quaker bill]

2. Yes they were

but on the other hand he did not back up the assertion either.

[Democrats unite]

21. Which was a very wise move.

eom

[dennis4868]

3. Clark...

should send the panel a copy of the Boston Globe investigation that went pretty much ignored by the "liberal" media.

[MIMStigator]

8. yeah that would have been even better if he did that

if he pointed out some of the others who say AWOL is a DESERTER

[Stephanie]

26. I just sent that to Clark

Along with www.awolbush.com - sent it to the campaign HQ.

[kstewart33]

4. Clark handled that question very well

He wouldn't take the bait. These questioners, especially Jennings, were doing their best to draw these guys into a dogfight with each other, and to their credit, they didn't take the bait.

[Jackhammer Jesus]

5. What?! Clark didn't say

Michael Moore is the devil?!

EEEEEVVVVIIILLLL! :P

[Nashyra]

10. Clark should make * release all his military records

and when they say "they were lost" then the * should be questioned by the pundits.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Go ahead, media whores

Re-open the case. What happened to Bush in Alabama?

Why should he repudiate it if it's true?

[MIMStigator]

11. YUP that's what he did. Left it out there so it will get MORE attention

heheh

[arcane1]

9. asshole said Clark 'drinks the kool-aid no matter where it comes from'

approximate quote

[KittyWampus]

12. I'll Say This Again.

Clark took 5 bullets tonight for all of US.

Next time someone disrespects Clark on this forum it's going to be very hard not to get provoked.

[dennis4868]

13. Clark...

could have very easily said that he disagrees with Morre but he has every right to say it. He did not do that...he even said that Moore is not the only person saying this. You are right, he took a bullet for us tonight.

THANK YOU GENERAL CLARK!

[MIMStigator]

15. Clark refused to take the safe way out because it would be a LIE

Thank you general Clark

[Lorien]

43. The truth will set us free

from BushCo, that is! ;-)

[tishaLA]

17. You are correct

[MercutioATC]

27. Question: If he believes in the AWOL premise, why didn't he say so?

This isn't an attack, just a question as to how he "took a bullet" for us.

There are 3 possibilities here:

1) Clark believes the whole AWOL charge.

2) He doesn't.

3) As he said in the debate, he hasn't looked into it.

I don't see where, in any of these cases, he "took a bullet" for anybody. Told the truth, probably. Sacrificed something? No.

[Kahuna]

31. 4. He doesn't care...

:shrug: Why should he?

[MercutioATC]

39. Point taken. How is it "taking a bullet", though?

(actually I believe #4 would be included in my #3...he hasn't looked into it)

[AntiCoup2K4]

14. I'm still pissed at Peter Jennings for perpetuating the lie.

Junior is a deserter. As defined in article 85 of the UCMJ as follows:

(a) Any member of the armed forces who--

(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;

(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or

(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another on of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States;

is guilty of desertion.

(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.

(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.

Junior deserted his NG unit for over a year during a time of war. Under the UCMJ, he committed a death penalty offense.

I was also disappointed with Clark's answer because he certainly knows the UCMJ far better than I do, and should have told Peter Jennings exactly how the fraudulent Chimp deserted.

[Auntie Bush]

36. AntiCoup2k ... Send that post to peter jennings and faux news

Also one to the creep bill bennett and hannity.
Not sorry for lack of capitalization.

[spotbird]

16. I guarantee Rush won't be complaining tomorrow.

The last thing they want is to have to answer the charge. Nope, this one won't go anywhere.

[Walt Starr]

18. This is good news

It may not do Clark any favors in New Hampshire, but the right wing has now opened up the issue and now it will get play.

[Catherine Vincent]

40. I see you changed your end message a bit.

Thanks.

[emulatorloo]

41. Walt, you won't have to worry about transferring for a while

or at all cuz Dean was great tonite.

[Terwilliger]

19. I'm sorry....who here played up the fact that Moore endorsed Clark?

Did you think Fahrenheit 9/11 was going to be about farm subsidies?

Clark MUST answer that question, or he's a total fraud.

[OKNancy]

25. But it's a Catch -22

He couldn't go into such a long and drawn out question in the time limit. And, if it is so important where are the other seven candidates? Why haven't they said anything?

[mikehiggins]

29. I don't think that matters

to this poster, Nancy. He (or she) is one of the permanent Clark bashers on DU, just doing the job of taking a slam at him.

Just like Fox.

[Terwilliger]

46. Is it important to you that people know that Bush is a deserter?

It's proof positive that Bush is an absolute liar when it comes to military prowess and security. Should he get a pass? Because that's what Clark did tonight.

[LTR]

32. Do you think a serious candidate would open up that can of worms?

That's treading pretty thin ice.

Better to save it for the general election. At least the seed has been planted.

Plenty of time for the AWOL stuff later.

[Kahuna]

35. If they think it's so important they should all contact their candidates

tomorrow and ask them to call bush AWOL.

[Terwilliger]

45. So Clark should tell Moore to shutup then

after all, if it reflects badly on Clark, Im sure Moore wouldnt want to mess him up

[LTR]

47. On the contrary

Clark said just enough to keep the ball in play. He holds a valuable ace up his sleeve, and he may need it later on.

I think he gave the right response. The RW media has been trying to pin him as a crazy foil hatter. Clark didnt' give them what they wanted. He said just enough to keep the issue out there, and didn't shoot down Moore over the 'deserter' remarks.

If he would have put the AWOL card into play last night, in that kind of debate format, his campaign would have been finished. By not doing so, he can play the card on his own terms, not the media's.

I think his answer reflects worse on the RW than it does Clark.

[Valjean]

20. Bill (Diceman) Bennet

Bill Bennet is now whipping all over Clark. This is the script. They are now ALL going after Clark.

The reason???? They FEAR Clark the most.

Bennet suggest that Clark was out of line for not IMMEDIATELY defending the chimp. According to him, it's OBVIOUS that Bush was NOT a deserter.

Translation: They all KNOW Bush was a deserter. They are conditioning the American public against the nominee bringing this forward as an issue. They are trying to put words into the candidates mouths so they can deny them pre-emptively.

BTW, it's obvious to me that the Fox News folks new in advance that this question would be addressed to general Clark. They had their spin sheets all ready at the end of the broadcast.


Finally, they're now pimping up Lieberman because he's a wimp and kisses operation Exploit Iraq.

[genius]

22. Bush is. Do you know what the penalty for desertion in time of war is?

Picture the military carrying it out on the front steps of the Supreme Court. I'm opposed to capital punishment but how many of us would really be depressed by that scenario?

[AntiCoup2K4]

28. I'd buy a DVD burner just to record that moment alone

:evilgrin:

[Valjean]

23. BIGGER QUESTION

The bigger question (that the Repugs are likely trying to pre-empt) is WHY Bush didn't take his physical. Bush's "I couldn't travel there" is Bullshit. He could have taken his physical in Alabama. At the very least, he disobeyed orders.

Of course the fact that he may have been DRUG TESTED is very telling. This from a president who just called for a large federal program to test kids for evil substances like marijauna. MORE HYPOCRISY.

Mr President. WHY WERE YOU UNWILLING TO TAKE A DRUG TEST AT YOUR 1972 PHYSICAL BY FAILING TO SHOW UP??????

[pintobean]

44. The military began it's drug testing

program in 1981. I was in at the time, and remember when it began. I'm in no way defending the pResident. I just want to make sure the facts back up any accusations.

[symbolman]

48. Untrue

they began testing troops back in 1972-73 -- I was in the same time as Bush was USAF and if they called you, you had about 15 minutes to go get tested..

THAT is the reality and proof to me that BUSH was avoiding it for a reason..

not that the flight surgeon did us all any favors by NOT letting Bush fly while drunk..

might have saved a whole lot of lives later, he IS a pretty bad pilot.. :)

[philosophie_en_rose]

24. Fox needs to put up or shut up.

If Bush isn't a deserting, warmongering liar then I'm sure that they can dig up some pics of their hero in battle...

[Woodstock]

30. GOOD FOR CLARK!!! Brit Hume can go to hell

He's a Bush thrall.

I'm glad Clark didn't deny it. Sounds like he handled it just fine.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, DEMS, STAY TRUE! We are backing you.

[MIMStigator]

34. He refused to take the bait to dis Moore and left the AWOL issue out there

without getting tangled up in it.

[Leilani]

33. Michael Moore should get the reporters

from the Boston Globe & hold a press conference.

Also that guy Turnipseed who was AWOL's commanding officer.

The candidates should back off this thing, & let some liberal groups come together & out this info.

[goodhue]

37. yes, ridiculous

[gulliver]

38. That was great!

Imagine how many Democrats saw those Fox "News" commentators going after Clark. What a blunder on FNN's part. There were probably very few Republicans even watching. Democrats hate Fox News. They are going to love the fact that FNN obviously fears Clark.

[VolcanoJen]

42. Perfect Clark response from here on out

If they want to bring it on about AWOL, bring it on. Clark artfully dodged the question, but they've chosen to pin it on him. Game on.

All Clark really needs to do here is to be coy. "If you would like to compare my military record to the President's, feel free. www.clark04.com. It's there for you to see."

Any journalist can see the question begging.

Any non-whore journalist, that is.

[Touchdown]

49. He handled it well, but should have gone further.

When Peter Jennings set it up, and said Moore was making a slanderous charge that's "not borne out by the facts", Clark should've questioned that. He sould've brought up the FACT that GWB* refused to release his military records, so just how does Jennings know what these FACTS actually are?

The truth is that nobody has the FACTS, because those facts aren't being released.

[TexasSissy]

50. I thought Clark's answer was great and right on.

And true. Clark seems to be very truthful.

Anyone has a right to say whatever they want, and in any case, Clark wasn't focused on what others were saying about Bush. That's not particularly relevant to Clark's message---what others are saying about Bush. And besides, others are saying the same thing about Bush. Clark hasn't even bothered to check up on it, it's so irrelevant.

Excellent.