Gen. Clark's statement and Obama's campaign plan controlling the news cycles this week.

[grantcart]

Gen. Clark's true statements about McCain are nothing new. He has been saying the samething for months in almost the exact same words. This time Schieffer jumped on the words to try and sensationalize it and it jumped to the MSM.

This week the Obama campaign has a very specific plan for message to get out. This is the week that they want to address the slimy rumors about his patriotism and they will be showing him off in a number of patriotic ways including a 4ht of July parade in Montana.

In the meantime Senator McCain has, remarkably, gone to Columbia and Mexico the week before the 4th of July.

The juxtaposition is perfect for Obama and the campaign does not want to be sidetracked with explaining the nuance truth of Gen. Clark's statements.

We finally have a candidate and a campiagn that has message discipline and is intent on controlling the news cycle.

Sometimes that means that the candidate and the campaign is going to have to brush aside messages from surrogates that will prove a distraction, even if they are perfectly true.

Watch the media this week and see who has better control of the news cycles - Obama or McCain. This could be one of those weeks that the General Election is determined.

[Tatiana]

1. THANK YOU. Why does no one get this? We are winning the news cycle

(in spite of some fierce opposition!)

Wes Clark has been saying this same thing for MONTHS. He's been waiting for someone to catch on and blow his comments out of proportion. This is a calculated risk - the benefits outweigh any perceived negative attention from commenting on McCain's war record.

I'm waiting for someone to ask on a mainstream "news" program how many planes McCain has crashed.

And don't think for a moment that Obama hasn't known about Wes taking on McCain in this way. If anything, Wes Clark is the ONLY DEM who has the credentials to take on McCain in this way.

Good cop/bad cop.

It's out there now. It is time for this lame ass media to do some digging. There may be something there. The media was complicit in the glossing over of Bush's service record. I don't think such duplicity is going to be possible in this cycle. There are so many other venues to disseminate the information now.

WES CLARK FOR VP!!!!!!

[cbc5g]

2. Completely agree and notice..

That Obama said "I will never question anyones patriotism" to loud applause...The RW 527's are going to try and do just that and Obama knows it. He's going for a patriotic win in the media this week and the Clark comment positioned him to do just that.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. We have a role to play in this grantcart

I understand Obama's need to manage his own message and stay on focus. We are something else. We are not the Presidential candidate. We are the Netroots. We are the ones who will ultimately decide whether the MSM gets called out for their pro McCain bias. We weren't there to do it in 2000 when the MSM built up George W. Bush into the guy America wanted to have a beer with. Now they are building up John McCain into the go to guy for all matters of national security. If they get away with that Obama will always be fighting back from inside a deep hole.

That is what this is about now. It is putting in place the framing for coverage of the entire Presidential election. If they can make John McCain a national security untouchable by swiftboating a Four Star General who honestly explains the difference between being a patriot and a war hero from being a skilled national security tactician, then McCain will get a free ride from here on out. If the media does not feel hot blowback for this naked attempt to fluff up John McCain's expertise based on his getting shot down over Viet Nam, that is the narrative they will stick to and that is the narrative that will stick from now until November.

We can allow Obama to maintain some strategic distance from Clark on this now, but only if we step into the breech instead to defend him ourselves. I don't want to make this into Obama vs Clark. I want to make this Democrats vs Republicans and the people's media calling out the corporate news agenda loudly when they try to deliver this election to McCain. We don't need Obama to defend Clark right now, but we have to if he can't. If the media gets away with nuetralizing Wes Clark's impact on this race, if they take out the viability and respect shown to the Democrats Four Star General NATO Commander who has the stature to confront McCain head on when no other Democrat can or will, they will have accomplished what they set out to do, and it is much longer range than just the control of one weeks news cycle.

[Tatiana]

4. Agree with this. Clark has forced a potential change in framing of this election.

Whatever Obama says or doesn't say will be neutralized by all of us standing up to defend his comments and his right to say them.

Clark deliberately put himself out there as a lightening rod. We've got to have his back.

[grantcart]

5. good point and we can also make them pay for their statements

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6431484&mesg_id=6431484

[FrenchieCat]

6. On this Tom, you speak for me.

I cannot stress how important our participation is on this. We can blog all day long, but we must speak to the media on this....not just let them come to the blogs and harvest what they seek.

Again, this may be close to spamming, but I am providing these email addresses again. Folks really need to start using them. Passivity and outrage without action is not going to do us, the Democratic Party, Barack Obama, or Wes Clark any good.

CONTACTS:
Morning Joe Contact page - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789 /
Chris Matthews [e-mail]
Race to the White House contact page http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23598392
Rachel Maddows [e-mail]
Keith Olbermann [e-mail]
Dan Abrams Contact page http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19599749 /
(Fill in the "Beat the Press" feedback section in lower right column)

Also:
CNN contact page: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/cnntv /
If you look at the bottom of that page, there is all of the anchor's names. Just click on the name, and it takes you to an individual contact page for that commentator.

FUCK Fox. I can't even start with them.

[grantcart]

7. thanks for the contacts again Frenchie

[Me.]

8. Agree

Further I don't want to see dem strategists on talk shows tut tutting Clark. He has nothing to apologize for and I hope for one that he doesn't back down. Votevets has a petition.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/right-on-general-clark-do_b_109977.html

How like McLame to set up a 'Truth Squad' and put the guy who swiftboated Kerry in charge of it. Also glad the swiftboat vets are doing a campaign to take back their name. We've had enough of this type of Con trash and if Obama can't fight back we darn well better do it.

[Catherina]

11. Very nicely said. Thank you Tom n/t

[DevonRex]

13. They played this perfectly. Great to see them working together. nt

[4themind]

9. He's playing chess to their checkers

He'll say that he'd never question McCain's patriotism or service, so when the RW 527 DO question Obama's he can either pass it onto McCain to get him to "reject" the 527's and if he does not (which I think he won't), he'd say that McCain's inability to reign in this groups further defy his promisses to curb out special interests (when he shows little willingness to do so when it benefits his election. Furthermore, obama can use it as further justification for opting out of the public-financing system)

[SuperTrouper]

10. Tweety is going to have a sissy fit tonight

I'll bet he will act upset about Clark saying the truth about St. McSame. Good for Clark, he has dominated the news cycle today. Now people will start taking a close look at McCain's strange career as a "military hero"

[monmouth]

12. This was well orchestrated....Good job....n/t

[Fire_brand]

14. Right. Up Next: Bill Clinton Meeting

along with some nice, juicy "leaks"

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Schieffer didn't sensationalize a damn thing...

This was a coordinated effort between Obama and Clark. Clark says something mean, Obama distances himself from it to appear "above the fray". Yet it's still said and it is still said and still in the news. It's a common political tactic.

[grantcart]

16. in another thread you find the citations where Clark has been quoted

saying it repeatedly - atleast 7 previous times - over the last month Schieffer jumped on the words to try and score his little coup.