Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who caused a stir over the weekend when he dismissed John McCain’s military service as a qualification for the presidency, stood by his remarks on Tuesday but sought to soothe ruffled feathers after Barack Obama was forced to distance himself from his campaign surrogate.On Sunday, Clark — who was NATO commander under President Clinton — said of McCain: “I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”
But after two days of angry responses and denunciations on both sides, Clark tried to clarify that while he respects McCain’s military service, he believes Obama has better judgment — without having served in the military — to be president. “As a retired serviceman, someone who came home from Vietnam on a stretcher, someone who spent 38 years in uniform, someone who’s worked his way up through the ranks of the United States Armed Forces, I would never discredit anyone who chose to wear the uniform. I fully respect John McCain and his service, and I’ve said so repeatedly,” Clark told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”