Reply #77: I got this email from a guy who knows Clark [View All]

[maha]

Mr. Arango is a sometime lurker on DU who gave me permission to use this, so here 'tis.

The reason for this note is to share with you some perceptions of Wes Clark ... I was in the West Point class behind Wes at West Point (class of 1967); we both taught in the Social Science department at West Point and overlapped one year. I took over Wes’ class in political philosophy after he left in 1974 (yes, he taught Political Philosophy, not economics).

Unlike Hugh Shelton, I have the highest regard for Wes’ character and honesty -- If Wes said he never smoked dope, take that to the bank. Wes is an outstanding intellect who has a remarkable ability to place events in a broader context. I imagine that folks like Hugh Shelton (good ole boy, special operations types) were very wary of someone like Wes. Bottom line: I don’t believe Wes has any negative character or integrity issues, and if Gen Shelton has some, he should make them public.

That being said, yes it's true that General Clark has taken on some old Clinton campaign staffers to run his campaign. He's also hired some Bob Graham people who became available when Graham dropped out. He needed qualified people who could put a campaign together fast and he got people who were available. Whether these people will run his campaign well remains to be seen. But this only disqualifies him from being president in a mind that is already absolutely closed to the idea. I assure you that less rabidly biased people do not see the significance of his campaign staff choices that you do.

This statement absolutely floored me:

"Perhaps you liked the Clinton years with the shrinking standard of living,"

Hello? Hello? Are we living on the same planet? Hello?

I weep for the fact that the Clinton economy is no more, and it is not likely to return in my lifetime. Never have so many had such good jobs. Only someone utterly blinded by ideology cannot see that. There were some parts of Clinton's policies I might have changed, but you are NOT going to tell me that the Clinton economy was "bad." Unlike you, I am not brainwashed. I actually remember what happened, not what I'm told.

As for the rest of your statement, you make a huge leap of logic that because the General has some Clinton campaign staffers running his campaign, this means he will copy Clinton policies.

Clark is famous for being an independent thinker, and if elected he'll do what he'll do, and frankly there's no way to predict what situations might arise or how he will face them. But he's a man of experience, intelligence, integrity, and character, and with liberal values. That's about all one can hope for in the real world.