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So I've been granted the lovely honor of being a guest author on my brother-in-law Michael's blog. I'm so excited, and there are so very many things that I could talk about. But I think I'm going to talk about what was on my mind this morning at work (I work at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, which is just boring enough to provide me with plenty of opportunity for thought problems...).
Draft Wesley K. Clark for President in 2004!!
Why? OK, well, the Democrats don't really have anyone. Let's be honest. We've got Dennis Kucinich, who looks like a character actor from a terrible B movie. We've got John Edwards--TV psychic or South Carolinian Senator? John Kerry--looks like a bloodhound. Carol Moseley Braun--let's get serious. Howard Dean--flash in the pan, soup du jour, flavor of the month. He won't last. Joe Lieberman--right, because everyone wants a President who puts them to sleep with the very sound of his voice. Anyway, you get the point. It's been belabored by others, so I don't really need to elaborate any more...
And then you have Wesley Clark. Let's see...Rhodes Scholar, graduated number one in his class at West Point, winner of the Purple Heart and the Medal of Freedom, Supreme Commander of NATO forces Europe, serious about national security, pro-choice, pro-environment, distinguished, brilliant, an Ike for the aughts. But truth be told, he's got no money, no name recognition, and no organization, so in all likelihood Clark on the ballot will be as VP (Dean and Clark? ugh. Kerry and Clark? has a nice ring to it...).
But he's my man for '04. He can give to the Democratic Party the moral vision and clarity of purpose to raise the party out of its ideological quagmire. He isn't a dove, and isn't a hawk. He wasn't opposed to the war in Iraq, but was opposed to our brazen hegemonic stupidity in acting outside of NATO and the UN(Check out his article in the Washington Monthly from September 2002).
Sadly, he could run in '08, but Hillary's got that one all sewn up...though Bill Frist will spank her in a general election. She's the kind of candidate for whom the party faithful will love to vote. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Anyway, that's my thought for the morning.
Oh, one other, actually. This is a book recommendation: Bystanders to Genocide: Why the United States Let the Rwandan Tragedy Happen by Samantha Power. She's brilliant, insightful, thoughtful, and brazen. Witness one of my favorite quotes from the book..."We have a foreign policy based on our amoral economic interests run by amateurs who want to stand for something—hence the agony—but ultimately don't want to exercise any leadership that has a cost."
The book is a landmark in the costs and perils of a US foreign policy devoid of moral vision, decisive leadership, and a internationalist perspective. It's not a light, Sunday afternoon kind of read, but well worth the time.
I must disaggree. I think Dean is much more than a "flash in the pan." He keeps on surprising people and I believe he will continue to.
Here's something that almost keeps me up at night. What if both Wesley Clark AND Joe Biden enter the race in September? Joe Biden is an interesting fellow... he doesn't make mistakes. Clark and Biden and Dean and Kerry could split out the vote so much that the nomination goes to someone like Lieberman or Gephardt... who can't beat W. (I hate the fact that the letter W has been tarnished so...)
Posted by Chel at July 17, 2003 07:33 AMThanks for the strong reference - if you would like to get in touch with other clark bloggers we've started a blog -
http://www.theclarksphere.com just for Clark bloggers, with a blog roll of friendly blogs - and coming soon, resources for the pro-Clark blogger.
Hope to see you there.
Posted by Stirling Newberry at August 8, 2003 09:37 AMDear fellow Democrats,
Please consider sending the following message to your broadest possible audience and asking them to follow suit.
My best to you, Bob Zimmerman
September 23, 2003
Bob Zimmerman, Tiburon California
415-383-8481
For Immediate Release
Regarding the Leadership Potential of General Wesley Clark
Is it possible that only a distinguished retired general can save us and the rest of the world from our mean-spirited and dangerous domestic and foreign policies?
For lovers of peace, freedom, and humanitarianism, the idea of electing a retired general to reverse America’s war policy abroad and end our wars on working people, retirees, the disadvantaged, and the environment at home is problematical.
But we must remember that real generals think differently about war than do “windshield cowboys,” a phrase Laura Bush used to describe her husband. Real generals abhor war; for real generals their soldiers are an extended family; real generals would never send their family members into harm’s way to achieve narrow political ends or to gain dominance over the world’s oil supply.
Wesley Clark, the latest entrant in the Democratic presidential primary race, is a real general, a real general who led the NATO effort to put an end to the genocide in Yugoslavia. Under General Clark’s leadership, not only was the genocide stopped; Clark accomplished his mission without incurring the loss of a single life amongst the members of NATO’s peacekeeping force.
In these troubled times, Americans must look beyond their self-interests for real leaders who will govern our great country as a member of the world family of nations and not as a superpower that bullies any person or government that disagrees with us.
George W. Bush has disgraced America by creating and implementing a domestic and foreign policy agenda that fails to rise above the standards of a schoolyard bully. Throughout his presidential campaign, Bush declared himself a “uniter,” not a divider. Well, he was correct. He has successfully united most of the free world against us.
Bringing America back from the edge of the abyss will require the sophisticated political skills that General Wesley Clark so admirably displays. Only a few days after his announcement to run in the Democratic primaries, a CNN-USA-Gallup poll shows Clark ahead of Bush and a Newsweek poll shows Clark already leading the nine other courageous Democratic candidates. These nine candidates have done a great service for Americans by pointing out the vast body of lies and corruptions that are the foundation of the radical right wing Bush administration.
My crystal ball shows General Clark pulling way out in front of the other Democratic candidates by United Nations Day (October 24), establishing a considerable lead over Bush by Christmas, sweeping the Democratic primaries, and then leading Democrats to a landslide victory in 2004, including the Senate, and the House.
Then, guided by President Wesley Clark, Democrats will reverse all the ugly anti-democratic, anti-worker, anti-disadvantaged people, anti-retiree, anti-environment, and pro-war policies that have been the hallmark of the radical, right wing Bush administration.
# # #
Bob Zimmerman, author of:
The American Challenge: Twenty-One Winning Strategies for the 21st Century
bobzimmerman@usa.com
Hi
Thank you for a great site, it is truly superb reading :-)
While I am here, if anyone is going to Bali, Indonesia, may I please ask them to avoid Bali Discovery Tours of Sanur as they filed a false police complaint against my friend just because he works for a competitor of theirs (and because he caught them cheating on hotel rates). If you know anything about how corrupt and nasty the police are in Bali, you will understand. My friend was released without charge after 3 days, and had his illegally confiscated passport returned. It is a disgrace for such a beautiful island. Shame on Indonesia.