The Nation Faced

Face the Nation had the best action of Sunday's talk shows, with neither Wes Clark not Joe Lieberman distinguishing himself. Clark is just plain wrong when he says that "getting shot down" doesn't qualify as foreign policy experience. I think McCain's Vietnam war experience gives him important perspective on the horrors of war and should never, ever be discounted--even if McCain's more recent positions have been unduly bellicose. It's also just really bad manners on Clark's part, given the suffering McCain endured. I disagree with McCain's foreign policy positions in the middle east--you may have noticed--but he has traveled widely and, I believe, has worked hard to learn the rest of the world, especially the countries that spun out of the former Soviet Union.

As for Lieberman, he talks about the possibility of a terrorist attack on the US in 2009--which is subtle for "Obama Can't Protect Us!!!"--but focuses all of his comments on the situation in Iraq and Iran, rather than Pakistan, where Al Qaeda now resides. This is a chronic mistake for both McCain and Lieberman. If there is a national security problem that requires immediate presidential attention, it is in Pakistan, as the New York Times reports in great detail today. Again, I wonder why Lieberman is so fixated on Iran.