Blog Buzz: Special Wesley Clark Swift-Boating Edition

Our daily look at stories and topics lighting up the Internets today:

Wesley Clark: Swift-Boater or Swift-Boated?

Were Wes Clark's remarks about John McCain's Vietnam War experiences out of line? Of all the things one can criticize McCain for, The Huffington Post's Robert Guttman notes, "lacking command experience" doesn't seem very important. And Andrew Sullivan on the Atlantic's Daily Dish accuses Clark of "swift-boating McCain," maintaining that McCain's military record (like Kerry's) should be revered, period. But Jon Soltz, another Huffington Post blogger, believes Clark is "100 percent absolutely right" and should not back down. TPM's Josh Marshall thinks the idea that Clark's comment was a case of "swift-boating" is both inane and a reflection of how out of touchthe D.C. media bigwigs are. Other Obama-ites agree, pointing out that Clark wasn't questioning McCain's service but rather the manner in which it translates to presidential credentials (and one wonders why Clark is getting more ink than Joe "Be Afraid" Lieberman.) On the right, NRO's Jim Geraghty says Clark's comments were in keeping with other Democrats' McC-attacks. And John McCormack writes at Weekly Standard's blog that Clark's off base because qualities like courage and heroism count in a presidential candidate. Other McCainiacs are similarly outraged by Clark's comments. Was Clark out of line? Tell us what you think.

Veepstakes

McCain-Romney? Hot Air's Allahpundit is mildly surprised. Apparently, it's all about the bucks—and TNR's Noam Scheiber isn't clear on how more cash would help, while his colleague Jason Zengerle wonders if it would lead to McCain opting to back out of the public financing system. Mark Halperin on Time's The Page notes that Sen. Joe Biden, one of the most talkative Dems on the Hill, was once terrified of public speaking.

—Robert Schlesinger and Johannah Cornblatt