Taking Responsibility for Your Words

I rarely see a pointed quote from someone that isn't followed a few hours later with an apology and weaselly, insincere, penitent hand-wringing. The topic doesn't matter: politics, sports, even celebrity nattering. State your opinion at your own risk.

Even if you're fairly on-target.

Let's applaud the exception to the rule - one General Wesley Clark. Given much of the online reaction to his comments about Senator John McCain, I expected his words to be far more inflammatory. But his thoughts echoed my own: Does five years as a prisoner of war qualify a person to be president of the United States? Does commanding a squadron equal military acumen? General Clark's answer was, "eh, not so much."

I'm a bit disappointed at Senator Barack Obama for distancing himself both from General Clark and his comments. I would certainly have awarded him leadership points for saying "General Clark is entitled to his opinions. He didn't make them at my behest, but he is qualified to speak on this topic and he has the same First Amendment rights as any other American."

I would've given Senator McCain the same props for making a similar statement. I'm disappointed that both candidates are playing the same apologist/outrage game.

Speaking of which, I've had many people bring up military experience - or Senator Obama's lack of it. It amazes me that people are making this such a big factor in their votes. No single candidate knows everything about how to form their policies. When considering a candidate, I think it's smart to not just evaluate them, but who they're likely to include in their cabinets. We have cabinets because no single person is an expert in every single aspect of policy making. Think about that awhile.