Last Tuesday, Darcy Burner, Congressional candidate in Washington's 8th district, had her home burn down. Darcy needs to focus on her family -- but that means she can't fundraise. Every dollar that we raise for Darcy gives her a little extra time to take care of her family. Show Darcy that we've got her back -- click here to donate to her campaign!

Politics is tough. So when one of our own is down, we have to have their back.

Last Tuesday morning, Darcy Burner, Congressional candidate in Washington's 8th district, had her home burn down. Darcy's 5-year-old son was awakened by the fire alarm in his room. He woke up his parents, and thankfully, the family escaped safely. However, Darcy's home was completely destroyed.

At this difficult time, Darcy needs to focus on her family as they work to get their lives back in order. That's what she should be doing -- what any of us would do after a similar tragedy.

But in Darcy's case, that means she can't fundraise, she can't campaign. And in an election as important and close as hers will be, every day she's off the campaign trail puts her at a disadvantage. She needs our help.

Every dollar that we raise for Darcy gives her a little extra time to take care of her family. So let's step up and show Darcy that we've got her back. Contribute to Darcy's campaign today!

http://www.actblue.com/page/havedarcysback

Darcy is in a tight race and represents one of our best pickup opportunities in the House. She's going to be an advocate to bring our troops home from Iraq. She's going to stand strong to fight warrantless wiretapping and protect the Constitution.

We can't let this tragedy stop us from adding Darcy's voice to Congress. Though Darcy says she lost "just stuff," she needs time with her family now.

Help me give Darcy the time she needs. Every donation provides Darcy with more time to put down the phone for fundraising and focus on her family. Contribute to Darcy's campaign today!

http://www.actblue.com/page/havedarcysback

One of the keys to our success over the years is that we stick together. We take care of each other. I am so proud to have supporters like you in the Clark community.

Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

P.S. I've heard from many of you over the past week, and I can't thank you enough for your support. Now help me support Darcy by contributing to her campaign today!

New York Times | July 4, 2008

Rove’s Third Term

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn’t scream. Hillary Clinton didn’t say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn’t impugn John McCain’s military service.

Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, titled his tell-all memoir “What Happened.” But a true account of modern American politics should be titled “What Didn’t Happen.” Again and again we’ve had media firestorms over supposedly revealing incidents that never actually took place.

The latest fake scandal fit the usual pattern as an awkwardly phrased remark, lifted out of context and willfully misinterpreted, exploded across the airwaves.

What General Clark actually said was that Mr. McCain’s war service, though heroic, didn’t necessarily constitute a qualification for the presidency. It was a blunt but truthful remark, and not at all outrageous — especially given the fact that General Clark is himself a bona fide war hero.

Yet the Clark affair did reveal something important — not about General Clark, but about Mr. McCain. Now we know what a McCain administration would represent: namely, a third term for Karl Rove.

It was predictable that the McCain campaign would go wild over the Clark remarks. Mr. McCain’s run for the White House has always been based on persona rather than policy: he doesn’t have ideas that voters agree with, but he does have an inspiring life story — which, contrary to the myth of the modest maverick, he talks about all the time. The suggestion that this life story isn’t relevant to his quest for office was bound to provoke a violent reaction.

But the McCain campaign went beyond condemning General Clark’s remarks; it went out of its way to distort them. “This backhanded slap against John as not being a worthy warrior because he just got shot down is one of the more surprising insults in my military history,” said retired Col. Bud Day, who participated in a conference call organized by the campaign. In fact, General Clark had said no such thing.

WorldNetDaily | July 4, 2008

The relevance of being shot down

By BILL PRESS

It's only July, but already we know the rules of this year's presidential campaign. Actually, they're the same rules that apply every election: You can say anything you want about the Democratic candidate, but you have to treat the Republican candidate with kid gloves.

In 2000, for example, you could accuse Al Gore of taking bribes from China, but you could not question George Bush's use of cocaine. In 2004, it was fine to smear John Kerry's war record, but forbidden to wonder why George Bush never showed up for National Guard duty.

Here we go again. In 2008, it's OK to suggest, as conservative bloggers do daily, that Barack Obama is a gay, American-hating, chain-smoking Muslim. But not OK to suggest that just because John McCain was shot down and spent six years in the Hanoi Hilton does not, in itself, qualify him to be president. Unfortunately, Gen. Wesley Clark learned that lesson the hard way.

Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Clark began by praising McCain's military service, calling him a "hero" for the courage he showed as a prisoner of war. However, Clark correctly pointed out, donning the uniform alone does not make the wearer presidential timber. In choosing a president, what's important is the judgment that a candidate has shown and his experience in making executive decisions.

Host Bob Schieffer persisted. Didn't his being shot down give McCain an advantage over Obama? Whereupon Gen. Clark gave his now-famous answer: "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president."

Ironically, Clark didn't say anything John McCain hadn't already said himself. I've heard him, several times, entertain audiences with the same self-deprecating, joke: "It doesn't take a lot of talent to get shot down. I was able to intercept a surface-to-air missile with my own airplane."

But for his comment, Clark was not only condemned by the McCain campaign, he was thrown under the bus by his own candidate. Why? Clark did nothing wrong. He merely told the truth. Yes, we honor every man and woman who wears the uniform. We especially honor those who are shot down and taken prisoner. But that doesn't mean they're all qualified to be president.

Again, what counts is judgment. How much judgment did John McCain show when he suggested it would be OK for American forces to remain in Iraq another 100 years? When he opposed the latest version of the GI Bill? When he supported the CIA's continued use of waterboarding? When he condemned the Supreme Court's granting prisoners at Guantanamo Bay the right to challenge their confinement in civilian court "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country." Some former fighter pilots might have shown better judgment on those issues. This one did not.

The way Gen. Clark was treated was unfair. But what's more unfair is the double standard applied to Democratic and Republican candidates. Why is John McCain's military service out of bounds in 2008, when it was considered perfectly fair to challenge John Kerry's war credentials in 2004, or Max Cleland's in 2002?

Atlantic Eye: Defending Gen. Wesley Clark

By MARC S. ELLENBOGEN, UPI Internationall Columnist | Published: July 3, 2008 at 7:20 PM

...Had the Bush administration had more men with character; had those who have it not been afraid to use it; and those who received the information not been terrified to stand by it; the United States would not be in the disastrous muddle it's in today. A Democratic president -- any new president -- needs men and women around him who will tell the God's honest truth -- blunt, unfiltered and accurate....

OXFORD, England, July 3 (UPI) -- Gen. Wesley Clark has served the United States with honor for 45 years -- 38 of them in the military.

He was valedictorian of his class at West Point. He was supreme allied commander Europe. He is a great military strategist, a great commander.

Wes Clark was my choice for president in 2004; I co-hosted him in Geneva. He was my choice again in 2008. I have gotten to know him. I like the man.

Like all great leaders, Clark can be a very difficult compatriot. He has great character. He is temperamental. He is tough, smart and forthright.

General Wesley Clark on CNN's The Situation Room

July 1. 2008
Transcript by Melange

John Roberts: Wesley Clark is not backing down. The retired Army general reiterates something that has ignited a political firestorm. Clark says, while he respects John McCain's military service, that military service does not automatically qualify McCain to be Commander in Chief. General, thanks for being with us today. You ...you've been under a lot of fire since Sunday over some comments that you made talking with my former colleague Bob Schieffer on ...on Face the Nation. You were talking about John McCain's wartime experience and how you believe that that did not qualify him to be president on ...on its basic merits. Let's play that particular part of the interview where Bob Schieffer asked you a question about qualifications and you responded.

General Wesley Clark on MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell

July 1. 2008
Transcript by Reg NYC

Andrea Mitchell: Good day, I'm Andrea Mitchell live in Washington. Welcome to MSNBC's Super Tuesday special coverage. Today we are going in depth on the politics of the war in Iraq, a reality check on what is happening on the ground and where the candidates stand. Here with us now retired U.S. General Wesley Clark. The General is an MSNBC analyst and a Barack Obama supporter after having supported Hillary Clinton during the primaries. General Clark, welcome. We want to talk to you about Iraq-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Thank you very much, Andrea.

Andrea Mitchell: -and about foreign policy. First, we want to give you an opportunity to respond to a lot that's been said since Sunday when you went on Face The Nation and had the following exchange between yourself and Bob Schieffer.

Let's watch:

(on tape)

Bob Schieffer: How can you say that John McCain is un- untested and untried? General?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He, he was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, 'I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it-'

Bon Schieffer: Well-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: ' -it publicly.' He hasn't made those calls, Bob.

Bob Schieffer: Well, well, General, maybe-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: So-

Bob Schieffer: Could I just interrupt you. If-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Sure.

Bob Schieffer: I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down. I mean-

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President.

(end tape)