Wesley Clark appeared Saturday at a fundraiser for Wespac in connection with the California Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.
Clark is running for President in 2008. He stopped just shy of a formal announcement, but left no one in doubt about his intentions. The crowd of about 150 seemed delighted.
The speech was, I thought, terrific (in stark contrast to the boring emails that have been going out under Clark's name and the so-so website).
The message was straightforward: the Democrats are better able to keep the country secure than the Bushites, but they need to "get over Vietnam" and convince the voters of that fact. (Thoughts on that problem in this earlier post.) And they need to stop letting the GOP define "faith" and "patriotism" as partisan issues.
Clark urged his troops to get involved in Democratic Party organizations, something that's already been happening in Los Angeles through Michael Webber's LA Grassroots group.
This site rarely offers gambling advice, but the contract on Clark's being the Democratic nominee is trading at 1.7 asked on Tradesports. At effective odds of 60:1, that sounds to me like a good bet.
Prof. Bainbridge and Matt Yglesias point out that Clark's military career won't protect him from being called a coward and a traitor by his Republican opponents if he becomes the nominee, any more than John Kerry's Silver Star protected him.
But it's not Clark's uniform I'm counting on; it's his record and his persona. Kerry was a war hero, but Kerry was also a dove. That was what the Swifties couldn't forgive, and the some otherwise Democratic voters couldn't stomach.
Clark, by contrast, is a hawk, with owlish tendencies. More important, in addition to his thoughtfulness, he carries a strain of unreflecting flag-and-country patriotism that most post-Vietnam liberals find it hard to match.
Article comments
1 - Richard
Great! Now I can wear my Clark for Prez shirt again! I always wanted a president who talk good.
2 - SFC SKI
Gen. Clark was also a political animal,
and there is a difference between types of senior officers. This means he won't get whole-hearted support, not in the way soemone like Powell or Schwartzkopf would, for example.
3 - Joe
pssst... Vietnam - i before e and all that jazz.
4 - Anisha
Wesley Clark for President 2008!!
http://www.securingamerica.com/biography
A 4-Star General, Won the war against Milosevic and secured the NATO coalition, First in his class at West Point, Rhodes Scholar - Wes Clark is who the Democratic Party needs!!
100 Year Vision:
http://www.securingamerica.com/vision
http://securingamerica.com
5 - Demi
Clark was there... and then Groupthink took over the nomination.
Not to mention he was Klintoon's boy.
The party wanted to shed the GIANT SHADOW of Klintoon, so anyone remotely associated with Klintoon was taboo. Gore, no longer the insider took to the rant circuit in the style of a Southern Hell Fire preacher man. Jimmy Carvelle came back as disgusting as ever, and just in time to remind every swing voter of his abhorrent personality and putrid soul.
Kerry, looked good… he wanted it so badly, he forget his premeditated past â€" the press and other interest groups put the hooks to him and dragged him down. When I think of the Kerry bid, I hear Jim Morrison singing in that overbearing tone of his â€" something like Horse Latitudes “AND DRAGGED HIM DOOOOOWWWWWWNNNNN! Get some Jim.
Anywho… I am formulating a very opinionated outlook towards presidential candidates. Here is a partial list:
I don’t think past governor’s work
Retired Generals or Admirals (Clark belongs to this club)
Vietnam vets (all the good ones aren’t in politics)
Draft dodgers, deferment experts, expatriates, wanna-be Kennedy’s
Old farts like Benson and Reagan
Benson was a blow hard. Reagan out spent the USSR, but now who’s in charge of the button?
Most prior Vice Presidents
Senators (undecided)
Southern Democrats
Northeastern Democrats
Goldwater
Wallace
The list is growing.
My brother, who was a Vietnam Grunt Loved Nixon, because he actually ended the war in Vietnam, and saved my brother’s ass by doing so.
But everybody Hated Nixon for ending the War… no wait, that was Watergate…. Libs still hated him, and I understand he was a paranoid â€" but he ended the war which saved my brothers ass, so I claim exclusivity of opinion.
It will an interesting run in 2008. I really hope that HillBilly Klintoon doesn’t (see Senator above).
6 - The Duke
"Kerry was a war hero, but Kerry was also a dove."
Audi Murphy... THE MOST DECORATED American soldier in WWII, and to date, was a war hero.
Were you aware that Kerry won more medals for valor in a shorter period of time (less than 4 months) than Murphy?
Does that pass the stench test?
I think he excelled in creative writing, and knew the paper drill.
7 - Richard Montgomery
I USED to have a good deal of respect for Wes Clark but, after watching his rabid dog routine during the past Democratic campaign, I've come to the conclusion that he's simply a whore.
The very idea that someone of Clark's charcter would think himself suitable to be President, is beyond incredible.
I hope the Dems pick him to run. He'll certainly never win!
8 - Anisha
Richard Montgomery, you've GOT to be kidding. There was no "rabid dog routine" - I'm not sure where you're getting your information or perception from, but I can attest to Clark having incredible character and integrity. I knew him and people who worked with him at NATO and on the campaign trail and that's not the impression people have of him.
Have you ever read Col. Hackworth? His perception of Clark before meeting him or hearing about him was that Clark was a "perfumed prince." Once he met Clark, Hackworth wrote a column admitting that he had been totally wrong in his initial perception and had a great deal of respect for General Clark.
He spent his life serving this country with intelligence, bravery, and dignity - FAR MORE than the current Commander in Chief could ever even dream of doing.
9 - Ret LTC
Ski is right about one thing. "There is a difference between types of senior officers." And Wes Clark is the best type.
Don't buy the RW koolaid about Clark. He has more muddy-boots time than almost any other 4-star today. A helluva commander: tough as he had to be, but took care of his soldiers and their families.
10 - Haypops
Anisha: Richard may have gotten his negative opinion from the earliest comments of Col. Hackworth, but more likely were the comments of another general. The other comment directly berated Gen Clark's character. I will not name that General, nor the Democratic candidate for whom he worked. Eventually the unamed General was called before an international tribunal at the Hague and admitted that he had lied about Clark; that it was just politics that made him say those ludicrous comments about Clark.
11 - guruoo2
RM, how many four star Generals
do you know of that would be willing to rapell down a mountain to assist injured soldiers instead of just ordering someone else to do it?
12 - Joe
This Marine Sergeant will support General Clark, even if is an Army General! Hoorah!!!!
13 - Eliza
Clark represents the best this country has to offer. Integrity, courage, vision, humanity. Just once in my lifetime I would like to have a president the whole country could look up to. Clark is one of the few candidates who could inspire that kind of respect.
14 - Joe
I was an Army captain when Clark was the SAC. Word was he is the second coming of Courtney Massengale.
15 - CalifSherry
Courtney Massengale? Wha?
16 - ron s.
i agree with anisha, at least clark is a bonafide patriot, unlike the current deserter in chief!
17 - Arlene Montemarano
On Liberal Talk Radio:
There are some programs on Air America that are worth paying attention to. Here is a website for the archives of one of them:
She is a very smart lady who uses original documents as her source material most of the time. It would be hard to listen to an entire program from these archives and not be impressed by her.
Arlene Montemarano
Silver Spring, Maryland