Richard Clarke: "Quick Draw" John McCain Wanted War Before Bush Did

[Waiting For Everyman]

August 20, 2008 Huffington Post, Seth Colter Walls

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/20/richard-clarke-quick-draw_n_120188.html

The campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain both held conference calls Wednesday afternoon to hammer each other on national security.
<snip>
Joining Rice on the Obama call was former National Security Council counter-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke, who dubbed the presumptive Republican nominee "Quick Draw John." Clarke drew on his experience on the NSC to talk about McCain's own judgment after Sept. 11, 2001, saying that McCain was pushing for war with Iraq before the Bush administration had even made its own mind up on the matter. "Sen. McCain had already decided," Clarke said. "He and his neoconservative foreign policy types that he agreed with are one of the reasons that George W. Bush decided to go to Iraq."

When asked by a reporter whether it was inconsistent for Obama surrogates to accuse McCain of misleading the public while also saying that discussion of patriotism should be out of bounds, Clarke had a retort ready. "I'm sure he loves his country. It's just that loving your country and lying to the American people are apparently not inconsistent in his view."

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My favorite quote by Clarke on KO's "Countdown":

"If Barack Obama is a military amateur as some people are saying, I guess the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is too."

"So I find there's a kind of interesting phenomenon going on... Obama is saying things that turn out later to be obvious and true, and even the Bush administration has to admit it and start doing what Obama was onto months before they were. And yet, McCain is the national security expert?" (That was said with a tone of... polite amazement, is the best I can describe it.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyqG4F_sBug

It's a terrific promo for Obama on national security.

[jasonberlin]

1. This is SO GOOD to hear

This kind of information needs to be broadcast as far and wide as possible. Richard Clarke is a GREAT guy to have on our side. That speaks volumes.

[bklyncowgirl]

2. Good one Richard Clarke

No doubt he will be villified for daring to criticize the one who is above criticism, but he has the street cred to do it better than almost anyone else out there. Let's hope the Obama campaign backs him up.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. One thing bothers me: The timeline.

What about when Bush and his team were briefed by Clinton and his administration about Al Quaeda and they were summarily rebuffed with "We're going into Iraq!". That was waaaay before John McCain added his two cents.

[Waiting For Everyman]

5. Good point, I wonder if McC's "push" for it goes back that far?

That would've been a good follow-up question though, wouldn't it? I wonder if something more was implied by Clarke there? I'd doubt that he'd be confused on the timing, since the point he was making was about the timing. ???

[MasonJar]

4. DU and KO and Huffington Post do NOT spread these allegations far

enough. The readers/viewers of these are already on board. Put these statements into ads NOW. The sooner these go out the better because soon the view of Obama put out by McCain and the view of McCain put out by McCain will solidify; then it will be too late. I am worried. A McCain presidency will not only continue Bush, it will be worse.