Obama rejects Clark's comments, his campaign said.

(CNN) — Barack Obama formally rejected Gen. Wesley Clark's recent comments Monday that questioned whether the John McCain's military experience qualified him to be commander in chief.

"As he's said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General Clark," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.

The comments came in an interview on CBS Sunday when Clark suggested McCain's experience as a prisoner of war did not alone provide the necessary experience to set the country's national security policies.

"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility," said Clark, a former NATO commander who campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told CNN the comments were "the lowest form of politics," and the Arizona senator himself expressed disappointment with the comments on Monday.

"I know that General Clark is not an isolated incident but I have no way of knowing how much involvement Sen. Obama has in that issue," he told reporters. "I know he has mischaracterized some of my statements in the past including our involvement in Iraq but I'll let the American people decide about that. "

Watch: McCain upset over Clark's comments

Responding to the Obama campaign's rejection of Clark's comments, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said, "We've learned we need to wait and see what Senator Obama actually does, rather than take him at his word."

Meanwhile, in what appeared to be an attempt to soften Clark's comments, Obama said in speech Monday that "no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters of both sides."

"We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform. Period. Full stop," Obama said.

Update, 8:40 p.m.: Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.) issued the following statement Monday night:

"There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain's service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear. As I have said before I honor John McCain's service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation.

"John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country – but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area his judgment has been flawed – he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America But as an American and former military officer I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues."

Bill Clinton and Obama spoke Monday morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama talked by phone Monday morning, representatives of both sides said, as the Democrats sought to quash rumors that Clinton holds a grudge against the man who knocked his wife out of contention for the party's presidential nomination.

Obama called Clinton and they spoke for about 20 minutes Monday morning, the Obama campaign told CNN.

Clinton wants to campaign "with and for" Obama after the hard-fought primary campaign between Obama and Hillary Clinton, Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said. Clinton "renewed his offer to do whatever he can to ensure Sen. Obama is our next president."

Watch: Obama, Clintons: Hard feelings?

Obama "had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is honored to have his support in this campaign," Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said.

The chairman of Sen. Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful presidential bid, Terry McAuliffe, said Sunday the former president was angered by media reports suggesting he did not plan to actively support Obama in the general election.

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John McCain's military service doesn't automatically qualify him to be president according to retired General Wesley Clark.

General Clark is a former NATO commander who backed Hillary Clinton and now supports Barack Obama. He says that performing heroic military acts is not a substitute for command experience. Clark says he honors McCain's service as a POW, and calls him a hero. He credits McCain's time on the Senate Armed Services Committee and his travel worldwide, but he points out that John McCain hasn't held executive responsibility. General Clark says, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.”

McCain was more than just a fighter pilot, though. After being a POW, he went on to become the commanding officer of the largest squadron in the U.S. Navy.

To read more and contribute to the Cafferty File discussion click here

Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism comes days before the Fourth of July.

(CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama defended his patriotism Monday, telling a crowd in Independence, Missouri, that his "deep and abiding love for this country" is the reason he is running for president.

"At certain times over the last 16 months, I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged — at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears and doubts about who I am and what I stand for," he said in President Harry Truman's hometown, just days before the Fourth of July.

Obama vowed to never question the patriotism of others in the campaign, adding "I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine."

Full story

Obama is out with a new ad Monday.

(CNN) — Barack Obama’s campaign announced the release of its second general election television ad Monday, a 30-second spot designed to highlight his working-class roots and economic agenda as he ends his three-week economy tour but continues his efforts to woo that key Democratic constituency.

Watch: Obama courts working women

The campaign said ‘Dignity’ will air in 18 states, including perennial blue-collar battlegrounds like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and some traditionally Republican areas where the presumptive Democratic nominee is hoping to compete in this fall, like Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

“He worked his way through college and Harvard Law,” says the announcer. “Turned down big money offers, and helped lift neighborhoods stung by job loss.”

The ad will begin airing Monday in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia.

Earlier this month, the Obama campaign’s first ad of the general election highlighted his patriotism and values.

(Full script after the jump)

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Michelle Obama.

(CNN) – Her husband may be running for the most powerful job in the world, but Michelle Obama says the couple’s lives are as boring as anyone else's.

"Barack and I don't have interesting lives, never did," the potential first lady told USA Today in comments published Monday. "We're basically family people. When we go on a date, it's either dinner or a movie because we can't stay awake for both."

The comments come as the Obama campaign has sought to soften Mrs. Obama's image among many voters who are less familiar with the Illinois senator’s outspoken wife. The campaign has retooled her stump speech to include more details about her family and humble upbringing on Chicago's South Side.

Watch: Michelle Obama's new image

She also made a recent high-profile appearance on the daytime talk show "The View," and graced last week's cover of U.S. Weekly under the banner headline, "Why Barack loves her."

Former Col. Bud Day appeared in a 2004 Swift Boat Vets spot.

(CNN) — One of the members of John McCain’s new Truth Squad — which his campaign says was launched to respond to unfair attacks on his record of military service –- was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for the group in 2004.

The group was created to attack 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry’s military service record.

"How can you expect our sons and daughters to follow you when you condemned their fathers and grandfathers?" asked former Air Force Col. Bud Day, who was a prisoner of war with McCain in Vietnam, in a 2004 Swift Boat Vets spot.

McCain has said that he opposed the group’s efforts.

On a campaign conference call Monday, a Politico reporter asked Day if there was any similarity between former Gen. Wesley Clark’s controversial Sunday comments about McCain’s military service and his own remarks about John Kerry during the last presidential campaign.

Day dismissed any equivalence. "The Swift Boat 'attacks' were simply revelation of the truth. The similarity does not exist here," he said. "…One was about laying out the truth. This one is about attempting to cast a new shadow on John McCain."

Do you have a question for Sy Hersh?

What questions do you have for Seymour Hersh? Send us a video question and you could be shown on air in "The Situation Room"! Hersh has written a new article on Iran, published in this week's The New Yorker. He claims Congress has given President Bush the go-ahead to conduct clandestine operations in Iran. He also said in an interview on CNN that he thinks the Bush administration believes it must either attack Iran or stop its nuclear weapons program before the next president takes office.

What do you think? Sy Hersh will be in "The Situation Room" today and you can ask him a question yourself.

Send us your questions on video, and be sure to keep them clear and concise. Your videos could be used on air — and your views a part of the best political team on TV.

Click here to submit your question for Seymour Hersh.

Lieberman is a backer of McCain.

(CNN) — Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-Independent who is a strong supporter of Republican John McCain's White House bid, suggested Sunday the United States will likely face a terrorist attack in 2009.

The controversial comments followed remarks by top John McCain adviser Charlie Black late last week that a terrorist attack leading up the the general election would probably help the Arizona senator's White House hopes.

Watch: McCain adviser apologizes for comments

"Our enemies will test the new president early," Lieberman told CBS Sunday. "Remember that the truck bombing of the World Trade Center happened in the first year of the Clinton administration. 9/11 happened in the first year of the Bush administration."

McCain and his supporters have long argued the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is better-suited to handle the country's foreign policy challenges than Barack Obama.

Watch: Lieberman touts McCain

"[McCain] knows the world," Lieberman said. "He's been tested. He's ready to protect the security of the American people."

But Lieberman, who served as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000, distanced himself from Black's contention that a terrorist attack would boost McCain's chances of winning the Oval Office.

"Sometimes even the best of them say things that are not what they intended to say," Lieberman said. "Certainly the implications there I know were not what Charlie intended. And he apologized for it. Senator McCain said he didn't agree. And, of course, I feel the same way.

Lieberman, who calls himself an "independent Democrat," endorsed McCain in early December.

McCain is launching a truth squad.

(CNN) – John McCain’s campaign announced Monday it was launching a new Truth Squad to defend the presumptive Republican nominee’s military record after controversial comments by former Gen. Wes Clark, an Obama supporter, who said Sunday that the Arizona senator’s service in Vietnam did not mean that he was qualified to serve as commander-in-chief.

Leaders of the latest group include McCain’s fellow Vietnam prisoners of war Air Force Col. Bud Day and Marine Lt.Col. Orson Swindle, along with former Navy pilot Carl Smith, who served with him.

Earlier in the primary season, the campaign created a similar effort in advance of the presidential primary in South Carolina, where McCain’s 2000 White House bid was derailed by rumors spread by supporters of then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

The South Carolina group included Adjutant General Stan Spears, state Attorney General Henry McMaster, House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy.

Earlier this month, Barack Obama’s campaign launched an aggressive effort to respond to and discredit e-mail rumors about the presumptive Democratic nominee, including a new Web site that gives supporters the ability to upload their address books for rapid response messages and a chart that lays out alleged sources of misinformation.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who ran for president in 2004, has questioned Sen. John McCain's qualifications.

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain's campaign on Monday called retired Gen. Wesley Clark's remarks that McCain lacks command experience "the lowest form of politics."

Clark, a military adviser for Sen. Barack Obama, questioned Sunday whether McCain's military experience qualified him to be commander in chief.

The McCain campaign has called on Obama to condemn the comments.

"I think it's kind of sad," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Monday on CNN's "American Morning."

Full story

John McCain is unveiling his brand new campaign plane Monday. The plane will is designed to be an extension of the Arizona senator's popular and laid back "Straight Talk Express" bus. (Photo Credit: Tasha Diakides)

Watch: Check out McCain's new plane

Watch Bob Barr explain why he left the Republican Party.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Bob Barr was once a loyal soldier in the Republican Party — ­ a lawmaker GOP leaders could count on to return home each weekend and echo their talking points at local political events, town hall meetings and civic lunches.

As a young political reporter in Marietta, Georgia, I often heard Barr serve up generous helpings of Republican doctrine over buffet lunches and chicken dinners.

For Republican leaders such as House Speaker Newt Gingrich,­ who represented a neighboring district, ­Barr was a dedicated warrior. And he remained so even after he lost a primary fight in 1992 to colleague John Linder,­ a battle set up by redistricting.

But a few years later, Barr went AWOL from the Republican Party — or, as he tells it, the GOP abandoned him.

He is now the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee and is crisscrossing the country promoting its principles and hunting for votes.

So why did Barr abandon the Republican Party in 2006?

"It probably wasn't any one thing," he said during our conversation last week outside the White House.

Read full story

Van Hollen said Bush's policies were responsible for high gas prices.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Democrats will use a President Bush impersonator in a new radio advertising campaign that seeks to link 13 incumbent Republicans to rising gas prices as the country heads into the Fourth of July holiday.

The ad will run Monday through Friday in radio markets throughout the country, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, with a total buy of more than $100,000.

After an opening tailor-made for each targeted Republican, the impersonator then reads this boilerplate script:

"'W' here, wanted to thank you for your support of the big oil energy agenda. 'Preciate you voting to keep giving billions in tax breaks to the big oil companies. Sure, gasoline is over four bucks a gallon and the oil companies are making record profits, but what's good for big oil is good for America, right? I guess that's why they call us the Grand Oil Party. Heh, heh, heh."

CLICK PLAY to HEAR the DCCC's Bush impersonator

Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the DCCC, told CNN that Democrats chose to use a Bush impersonator because the president's "big oil energy policies delivered high gas prices to the American people, so who better to deliver our message than someone who sounds like him? Every time Americans fill up their tanks or buy groceries high gas prices grab their attention, so it's important to give credit where credit is due."

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, sharply criticized the ad and said Democrats were being disingenuous.

"It is an outrageous attack," Diaz said. "It seems like it would be more appropriate leveled against Barack Obama who voted for the '05 energy bill, yet Democrats rail against subsidies to energy companies. The hypocrisy is stunning."

(List of targeted Republicans after the jump)

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Obama has been looking to emphasize his patriotism.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama plans to deliver what his campaign is calling a "major speech" Monday, centering around an issue he's been trying to highlight for months now: his patriotism.

The remarks come in Harry Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri, just days before the Fourth of July.

"Sen. Obama will discuss what patriotism means to him and what it requires of all Americans who love this country and want to see it do better," Obama spokesman Bill Burton wrote in a morning email to reporters.

The Illinois senator has been defending his patriotism ever since the days of Iowa when he was first criticized for not wearing a flag pin — which he now does much more frequently — and when false rumors began circulating that he did not say the Pledge of Allegiance.

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Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas

CNN Washington Bureau

CNN: Congressional Democrats hire Bush impersonator
House Democrats will use a President Bush impersonator in a new radio advertising campaign that seeks to link 13 incumbent Republicans to rising gas prices as the country heads into the Fourth of July holiday.

CNN: Preston on Politics: Barr says he's no Nader
Bob Barr was once a loyal soldier in the Republican Party — a lawmaker GOP leaders could count on to return home each weekend and echo their talking points at local political events, town hall meetings and civic lunches. … So why did Barr abandon the Republican Party in 2006? "It probably wasn't any one thing," he said during our conversation last week outside the White House.

NY Times: Veterans Long to Reclaim the Name ‘Swift Boat’
Years ago, when William Miller talked about being in the Vietnam War — if he talked about being in the Vietnam War — he would tell people he served on a Swift boat. At least now they have heard of it. But not in the way he would like.

CNN: Clark: Getting 'shot down in plane' doesn't make McCain qualified
Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, on Sunday questioned whether Sen. John McCain's military experience qualified him to be commander-in-chief.

CNN: McCain: Obama's word cannot be trusted
Hours after sparring with Barack Obama over immigration, John McCain told crowd at fundraiser Saturday night that "Sen. Obama's word cannot be trusted."

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Compiled by Mary Grace Lucas, CNN Washington Bureau

* Sen. John McCain is in Pennsylvania today, holding a media availability in Harrisburg followed by a town hall meeting in Pipersville.

* Sen. Barack Obama holds a morning campaign event in Independence, Missouri.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will talk soon, according to Terry McAuliffe.

(CNN) — Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe assured CNN’s Candy Crowley that former President Bill Clinton and presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama will be discussing Clinton’s role in the campaign within the next two days.

“I believe that in the next 24 to 48 hours they will talk and off we will go,” McAuliffe stated on Sunday’s Late Edition.

Clinton has remained behind the scenes so far during the general election. He was not present at the Democratic event in Unity, New Hampshire on Friday and has only released a one-sentence statement saying that he will do whatever he can to help the Illinois senator win the election.

Many analysts have said that Clinton’s not-so-subtle absence from the campaign is because he is angry and bitter about his wife losing the nomination.

McAuliffe defended the former president, saying that he has been taking time to let his wife finish up her campaign and secure her relationship with Obama.

“She was the candidate, she got 18 million votes, she’s the political leader of the Clinton family now,” McAuliffe said.

Obama asked to talk to President Clinton on Friday and Hillary Clinton told him, “Absolutely,” according to McAuliffe.

Now that President Clinton is back from a five-nation tour during which he attended Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday party, McAuliffe predicts that they will be speaking shortly—but stressed that the attention should be on Hillary Clinton and Obama coming together.

From left, Billy Graham, John McCain and Franklin Graham meet Sunday in North Carolina.

(CNN) – John McCain spent 45 minutes meeting with the Rev. Billy Graham and his son Franklin at Graham’s North Carolina home Sunday morning.

The meeting took place at Graham’s home in Montreat, North Carolina, known as Little Piney Cove, about 25 miles outside Asheville. The house is a mountaintop retreat near Black Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The campaign says Rev. Graham, though quite ill, sat up in the chair during the meeting and participated in the talks with McCain and Franklin.

Advance notification of the meeting did not mention the 89-year-old Rev. Graham would be taking part.

Singer Ricky Skaggs, who was already scheduled to have lunch with the Grahams, came early and met McCain.

Franklin Graham issued a written statement a short time after the meeting. He said, “My father and I were pleased to have an opportunity to meet and visit with Sen. John McCain today. Sen. McCain’s office had requested a meeting in recent months and we appreciate the effort he made to travel to my father’s home. The senator and I both have sons currently serving in the military, and also have a common interest in aviation. I was impressed by his personal faith and his moral clarity on important social issues facing America today."

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell predicts his party will hold most, if not all, of their seats.

(CNN) — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) gave a bleak outlook on the prospects for a Republican-led Senate in 2009.

During an interview with CNN’s Late Edition, McConnell told guest host Candy Crowley that the numbers were not in the GOP’s favor.

“We are not going to be back in the majority in the Senate next year,” said McConnell. “The numbers make that impossible.”

Republicans in the Senate have been gearing up for the elections in November despite grim conditions. Five GOP senators are retiring this year: Sen. Wayne Allard (CO), Sen. John Warner (VA), Sen. Pete Domenici (NM), Sen. Chuck Hagel (NE), and Sen. Larry Craig (ID). Other Republicans are running in competitive elections, such as Norm Coleman (MN), who faces well-known comedian and outspoken Democrat Al Franken in November.

Each party holds the same number of members in the Senate (49-49), but the Democrats hold a slim majority with two independents, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman, caucusing with their party. However, many are predicting that the Democrats could pick up as many as six seats in the fall, giving them a clear majority.

Despite the GOP’s troubles, McConnell remains hopeful about his party’s chances and predicts they will hold most, if not all, of their seats. “I'm optimistic we can stay roughly where we are,” he told Crowley. “We have a robust minority.”