Republican columnist Kathleen Parker writes:

Clark is right that getting shot down doesn't qualify one to be commander in chief. But it is relevant to wonder with whom one would rather share a foxhole.

Last time I looked, the White House was not located in a foxhole. Which I sort of think was General Clark's point.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Will John McCain demand the "cutting lose" of Maureen Dowd:

When McCain zoomed in the New Hampshire polls in 2000, W.’s supporters insinuated that McCain’s years in Vietcong dungeons, including two suicide attempts, left him with snakes in his head.

. . . McCain himself has joked: “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.”

Off with MoDo's head, John McCain? Actually, the interesting point here is that MoDo, who lives in the center of the Beltway Village, turned on McCain on this issue. As I said last night, McCain overplayed his hand. Even McCain loving Fred Hiatt has had enough. The Media looked silly, realized it and now has tired of the story - leaving McCain to have to do the whining himself. Which makes McCain look weak. The further this story goes now, the worse it becomes for McCain. This was always an Alpha Male issue (h/t Steve M) and whining looks weak. The question now is as Atrios put it, has John McCain stopped crying yet?

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Via Huffington Post, here are Obama's current top choices for Vice President:

Top Tier:

• Jim Webb
• Hillary Clinton
• Bill Richardson
• Joe Biden
• Brian Schwietzer

Worth Watching:

• Janet Napolitano
• Sherrod Brown
• Chuck Hagel
• Wesley Clark
• Kathleen Sebelius
• Tom Daschle

Honorable Mention:

• Michael Bloomberg

Aside from Hillary and Wes Clark, not a star among them. If Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel or career prosecutor turned Governor Janet Napolitano make the grade, I'll be rethinking my support the Democratic ticket. If it's Hillary, Clark, or Richardson, he keeps my vote.

Are any a dealbreaker for you?

ABC:

"I think it's up to Sen. Obama now to not only repudiate him, but to cut him loose," McCain said to a small group of reporters somewhere between Indianapolis, IN, and Cartagena, Colombia.

Hmm. Cut Clark loose from what? At this point, the McCain Freakout is turning this into a loss for McCain. I think Obama is done with this issue. And McCain's continuing to harp on it will hurt him.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Sen. Barack Obama is returning to Colorado tomorrow to give a speech on national service in Colorado Springs.

The morning event, at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus in northern Colorado Springs, is by invitation only. The audience will include active military personnel, as well as what campaign spokesman Matt Chandler described as those serving in the nation’s other essential services — the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and ROTC.

Obama's visit reportedly also will include a $1,000-a-head fundraiser and possibly a visit to one of the region’s five military bases — though any details of additional planned events have not been released to the media.

It is not expected that Obama will meet with James Dobson while here.

The McCain Outrage Skit continues:

On MSNBC last night, Webb told McCain that he should "calm down" with the use of his military service in the campaign, adding that it was time to "get the politics out of the military." Now the McCain campaign is responding to Webb, arguing that Webb's comments prove that Obama "can't control his surrogate operation." McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers sends us this:

If you didn't think this was a coordinated attack on John McCain's credentials before, it's clear now that it is. Barack Obama's surrogates are telling the McCain campaign to "calm down" about attacks on his military record? Seriously? Now somehow Wes Clark's attacks are John McCain's fault? It's absurd. If Barack Obama can't control his own surrogate operation, how can he be trusted to run the country?

I hope someone in the Obama camp remembered to turn off Bill Burton's fax machine and Blackberry this time before he has Obama cower with a rejection of Webb.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

First Read:

“Inartful” was the word Obama used Tuesday to characterize remarks Gen. Wes Clark made over the weekend and subsequently about McCain’s military service. . . . At a press conference, the Illinois senator was asked what he thought about Clark's comments, which seemed to downplay the significance of McCain’s military service -- he was shot down and held as a POW for five and-a-half years during the Vietnam War -- and whether he felt they were similar to the Swift Boat ads used to attack John Kerry in 2004.

“I don’t think that Gen. Clark, you know, had the same intent as the Swiftboat ads that we saw four years ago; I reject that analogy,” he said, before adding that he had said many times that McCain’s deserved honor and respect for his service to the country. “Now I have differences with him on policy, and I will vigorously debate a lot of the decisions he’s made when it comes to national security that have weakened our capacity to meet the threats and challenges of the 21st century. But that certainly doesn’t detract from his past service to America.”

[MORE . . . ]

The NYTimes writes

While Mr. Obama opposes requiring religious tests for recipients of aid or use of federal money to proselytize, The Associated Press reported that he supports letting religious institutions -- in the non-federally funded parts of their activities -- hire and fire based on faith, according to a senior adviser to the campaign who the news agency said spoke on condition of anonymity.

While that notion appeared controversial, it seems to find support in a 2000 case involving the Boy Scouts of America. The Supreme Court ruled that the group, as a private organization, had a First Amendment right to set its membership rules.

(Emphasis supplied.) The bolded portion of the excerpt is simply incorrect. The Boy Scouts case (the Dale case) is not relevant to federal funding of organizations. As Chief Justice John Roberts explained in his decision in Rumsfeld v. Forum For Academic And Institutional Rights, Inc., which I discussed in this post, Dale is inapposite to cases involving the Spending Power:

Via TPM:

Here's what Orson Swindle, a fellow POW of McCain's, said on the call, in a reference to generals, admirals, and other officers who back the Arizona Senator:

"General Clark probably wouldn't get that much praise from this group. I can't speak for them, but we all know that General Clark, as high-ranking as he is, his record in his last command I think was somewhat less than stellar."

BTW, this is not new, and in my view, not a dirty trick - both Republicans and Democrats attacked Clark's military record when he ran for President. It is and was fair game for debate. I think Clark's record was stellar and am prepared to debate it. Is McCain prepared to debate his own military record?

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

This to me is a stunning development if true. But the Media is not very good at reporting so I will wait to hear Obama's own words. But the AP is reporting that:

Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.

. . . Obama . . . supports letting religious institutions hire and fire based on faith in the non-taxypayer funded portions of their activities, said a senior adviser to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the new policy.

If religious institutions have such policies then they should not be eligible for tax payer funds period. This is an outrageous, indefensible and contemptible position. It is support for religious discrimination. If it truly is Obama's position, I would have to question whether I could continue supporting him for President.

IMPORTANT UPDATE - David Mizner points to this statement from the Obama campaign:

So I am watching MSNBC and they run a tape of McCain stating his campaign's theme of the day - Obama is a liar. After yesterday's contretemps, I find this incredibly amusing.

It seems McCain is the one bringing a gun to a knife fight. See how nice Obama was to McCain yesterday? And see how "nice" McCain is being to Obama today? I really have to laugh - this is the game every time and Dems always fall for it.

Thank Gawd George Bush has ruined the GOP brand because otherwise the Democratic Party would be capable of blowing even this election.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Go Arianna! Check out her latest at Huffpo, Memo to Obama: Moving to the Middle is for Losers.

The Obama brand has always been about inspiration, a new kind of politics, the audacity of hope, and "change we can believe in." I like that brand. More importantly, voters -- especially unlikely voters -- like that brand.

Pulling it off the shelf and replacing it with a political product geared to pleasing America's vacillating swing voters -- the ones who will be most susceptible to the fear-mongering avalanche that has already begun -- would be a fatal blunder.

Arianna references the LA Times article on Obama's move to the center. My post on the article and Obama's move to the center is here.

It's not just guns, NAFTA, FISA, expansion of the death penalty and the promise of a stepped up fight in Afghanistan. It's also his outreach to evangelicals -- the radical right. It's something to keep in mind as he makes his faith speeches tomorrow and Wednesday.

More...