Posted 11:01 AM by Scoobie Davis

Limbaugh Update
Today on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, Limbaugh was again denigrating Wesley Clark, whom Limbaugh was comparing to the character Ashley Wilkes from Gone With The Wind (based on a comment from a Village Voice story by Richard Goldstein). Limbaugh summed up Wesley Clark's candidacy as the triumph of "symbolism over substance." Limbaugh also referred to Clark as "a myth." Let's compare Clark versus Limbaugh on matters of substance:

Education:
Clark: First in his class at the U.S. Military Academy. Holds a Master's Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Limbaugh: Dropped out of Southwest Missouri State University during his freshmen year.

Courage:
Clark: General Clark is a recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He has received honorary Knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments and was made a commander of the French Legion of Honor. In August 2000, General Clark was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Limbaugh: Got out of serving in Nam because of of butt cyst. Limbaugh has repeatedly lied about this.

Experience:
Clark:During his thirty four years of service in the United States Army, he held numerous staff and command positions, rising to the rank of 4-star general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

From 1997 through May of 2000, General Clark was NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command. In this position, General Clark commanded Operation Allied Force, NATO's first major combat action, which saved 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.

From 1996 to 1997 General Clark served as Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command, Panama, where he was responsible for the direction of U.S. military activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

From 1994 to 1996, he served as Director for Strategic Plans and Policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff with responsibilities for worldwide U.S. military strategic planning.

General Clark is also licensed as an investment banker. He joined Stephens Inc. as a consultant in July of 2000 and was named Managing Director, Merchant Banking of Stephens Group, Inc. from March 2001 through February 2003. He is currently the chairman of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic advisory and consulting firm.

Limbaugh: Got into radio because his wealthy father owned the station. Fired from numerous radio jobs until catching fire with talk radio. Despite coming from a wealthy background, Limbaugh depended on government largesse, namely unemployment benefits, instead of relying on his family.

Family Life:
Clark: Has been married to the same woman since 1967.

Limbaugh: Twice divorced. Third wife was an aerobics instructor whom Limbaugh married when he weighed over 300 pounds--not that I'm accusing Limbaugh's current wife Marta of being a gold digger and trophy wife or anything.

Character:
Clark: read above and click here.

Limbaugh: among other things, along with Roger Ailes, Limbaugh tried to implicate the Clintons in the death of Vince Foster. Limbaugh has engaged in wholesale libel against those whom he considers political enemies.

UPDATE: Responding to a caller who claimed to have previously been under the command of General Clark, Limbaugh responded:

You said something. You called this guy a maniacal general. What did I say yesterday? This guy reminds me of these maniacal generals that are always in these Bob Ludlum novels, these malcontent generals that have retired from the U.S. or NATO or whatever and they join some super-secret conspiracy club that can take over the world. [unintelligible] Everyone still calls them general and they still dress in their military fatigues and everything and run around at super-rich private clubs having lunch, concocting schemes to take over the whole world. Here you’ve come along and confirmed it, that’s what Wesley Clark--We’ve got to take this all under advisement, I mean he doesn’t come across as one of these world domination types. It’s worse than that: he comes across as someone who might surrender to the world domination types, that’s my big fear with a guy like him, and the Clintons and everybody else.

REALITY: Can Limbaugh at least make up his minds with his smears? Yesterday, Limbaugh spread the bogus tale that Clark was going to start World War III. Today, he’s doing the opposite: Limbaugh is accusing Clark of cowardice. Where’s the outrage?