Now That Clark Has Said He's a Democrat, What Is Your Opinion...

[Composed Thinker]

on his possible candidacy? I'm hoping that a ticket like Kerry/Clark or Dean/Clark can push Bush out of the White House in 2004, even more so than I was before.

[MidwestTransplant]

1. Before Dean caught on,

did people express hope that Dean would be a VP for Kerry?

I honestly don't remember if that was a common theme.

[Composed Thinker]

3. Well, since...

there would be somewhat meaningless criticisms that he doesn't have the kind of experience necessary to be president, it might be easier to have him as the vice presidential candidate.

As odd as it might sound, I'd love to see right wing polemicists like Ann Coulter go nuts trying to defend Bush and Cheney over two decorated military man, one of them a general.

[sistersofmercy]

6. I agree with the VP thing, really do think it's the best route.

[graham67]

36. Ann Coulter

has already taken stabs at Clark. It doesn't matter to her whether it's the truth or not, she'll just make shit up.

His competence to judge American generals is questionable since his command was limited to working for NATO. We prefer to hear from American generals. :eyes:

http://www.anncoulter.org/columns/2003/032603.htm

[Pepperbelly]

2. what makes you think he won't take the whole thing?

Politically, I think his timing on this is superb and if he is getting advice from the Big Dog on the matter, I expect the rest of the candidacy to be equally well planned and orchestrated.

[elfin]

4. It's the first step

to declaring candicacy on Sept 19. I hope I hope I hope.

I like both Dean and Kerry, but I see VP as either Graham or Richardson with Dean in a major cabinet position and Kerry as a senatorial powerhouse - perhaps Senate majority leader if we really get the message out to dump some of the worst ones in the Senate. Gore for EPA??? Homeland Security??? NSA??? And I dream on.....

[maveric]

5. IMHO, Clark is the only dem capable of beating bu$h.

If nominated dems will vote for him as would a great portion of the "patriotic" swing voters and the repugs who are just disgusted with bu$h.
Dean and Kerry are seen as too liberal by many of the swing and repub crowd.
Plus Clark is from the south which is usually a strong voter base for the GOP. Southerners tend to vote for their own.

[MODemocrat]

30. Clark would be tops to run the military

but how about the civilians in this country? Unless we're expecting perpetual war, what's the point of having two military people in the civilian slots?

[Demobrat]

7. I couldn't care less about military service.

Any other reason I should vote for Clark?

[Pepperbelly]

9. there are many and in fact ...

there has been a huge volume of threads posted on the subject. The military thing is, to me, just one more factor.

[Doctor_J]

8. VP won't do it

if he's #2, the whore media will not mention his name, ever. He must be a the top.

[BettyBoop]

11. I AGREE....

he's got to be #1

CLARK/DEAN Looks good to me!

[LouKYDem]

19. How about my idea??

I've said it before, and even though I'm a Dean supporter myself, I would accept this...

2004: Clark/Dean
2008: Clark/Dean
2012: Dean/???
2016: Dean/???

Although I would personally prefer to see Dean win in 2004...

[newyawker99]

35. Hi BettyBoop!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Walt Starr]

10. I like Clark

I would definitely vote for him if he is nominated, although at the moment a Dean/Clark ticket is most attractive to me. Clark at the top of the ticket would be a definite win in my opinion.

I'm not a Kerry fan, would probably vote for the guy if he got the nomination but not much more than that. A Kerry/Clark ticket would get me out to work for the campaign though.

A Lieberman/Clark ticket would probably get me to at least vote for the Democrats....

[ObaMania]

12. I think he would make a great VEEP..

.. to Al Gore!

Where was this ticket in '00? Instead, for reasons unbeknownst to me, he chose whiny Lieby.

[sandnsea]

13. I really am concerned

I don't know anything about his politics at all. Nothing. And what kind of stinky doo is buried in HIS military career. The Kosovo thing also has some problems. If he ends up being a laughing stock, he could hurt us more than help. And we don't know a thing about him. I really can't get what's so exciting about somebody you know nothing about. I guess it's just me. :shrug:

[Pepperbelly]

14. speak for thyself rather ...

than using the royal 'we' cause 'we' know a great deal.

The 'Kosovo thing', when compared to Iraq, is a pristine example of how operations should be run. I kinda hope they do bring it up. Compare and contrast for 50 points ...

[sandnsea]

16. How can you know anything?

Sorry about the we. "I" don't know anything about him. I'm wondering how you do, considering he's been in the military all his life. The only thing anyone can say they know is what he has claimed to believe in the last few months. Pretty flimsy information to elect a President on, in "my" opinion.

And yep, Kosovo compared to Iraq, much much much better, that's a very good point. I was referring to whatever incident happened there that consistently gets hounded on. Since "I" don't know all of what it entails, "I" am concerned.

[Pepperbelly]

17. well ...

he's a relative of mine so that's where I start knowing about him, ever since I was born 'lo these 50 years ago.

[sandnsea]

lol well, that helps!

I have vague recollections of a couple posts along those lines. So, yep, you know him. So are you saying I should vote for him, if he decides to run? And should that be enough for me to make that decision on?

[Pepperbelly]

25. not saying that at all ...

I didn't decide to support him for it until a couple of weeks ago because I just didn't think he would do it. After so long in the military and moving every year, getting shot at, getting shot, and a healthy retirement, a good gig on CNN, board memberships in a few corporations that some of the folk here freak out about and a quieter pace, I really thought that he would probably just kick back and enjoy life. I didn't think that he would trade a really sweet existence for a fish bowl.

But from as early as I remember, he has never shirked what he thought he should do and if he is as convinced as I am about the horrible damage that Bushco has inflicted, he might well perceive it as his duty to try and fix it if he can. The longer it drug on, the more likely I viewed it that he would run.

I tell you, as a kid, he was the one that the adults ALWAYS held up as an example but the odd thing was that we couldn't dislike him for it. He wasn't a thing like Sid in Tom Sawyer. He was just a regular dude who studied hard, worked his ass off and did well. When the rest of us were growing our hair long, partaking in various substances and playing rock and roll (yes, a BUNCH of his relatives are rock musicians), Wesley had his nose to the grindstone.

And when I lost a year or two somewhere (onward through the fog), Wesley was in Viet Nam getting shot. He didn't make a big deal of it either. Hell, I didn't even KNOW he'd been wounded.

No, you shouldn't make your decisions based on my experience but I do know this: Wesley is not some evil monster as some paint him to be nor is he anyone's puppet. He's a decent guy with decent values and I am very pleased that he has done so well for himself and the country.

If he decides not to run, I will applaude the decision and say, "Well done, cuz."

[sandnsea]

31. Good enough

My uncles are military guys like that. My dad still doesn't really know how one of his own brother's was wounded. The other just said he was standing there and wondered if he got hit by a rock or something, and holy cow, he'd been shot. And that's what I know of WWII and Korea from my 5 uncles who were there! Well, the drinking stories, they love their drinking stories!

So anyway, that's good information on him, thanks. "We'll" wait and see what comes down the pike.

[dudeness]

20. i suspect it would be difficult for any mud

to stick to clark regarding kosovo..the fact it was a UN mission and clark would only be following orders..the repubs might look elsewhere (for mud) but the guy seems solid..

[sandnsea]

22. There's something there

and I really don't understand what it is. I'm not a war person. I can't even beat a 7 year old at chess. But I don't think 'following orders' would be a sufficient answer when somebody is claiming they have the leadership abilities to be President.

[dudeness]

26. the" following orders" excuse is a good one

if a particular military person is under the microscope ..as far as I am aware ..milosovic is the one on trial for war crimes and the UN under Clarks leadership won the PR battle and the mission was deemed a military success..the only point I make is ..i do not believe the repubs can attack him along his military lines..perhaps he might be thin on the ground policy wise ..time will tell..

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. "If He Ends Up Being A Laughingstock"

Respectfully, if Jesus ran with a D after his name the * spin machine would try to marginalize him....

[sandnsea]

18. Well yes, that's true

But I really don't know anything about the man. He's an affable enough fellow on television. So now he's going to be President? Oookaay. Aaron Brown seems like an affable guy too.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

24. If

Aaron Brown was a Rhodes Scholar

Aaron Brown finished first in his class at West Point

Aaron Brown was a successful investment banker

Aaron Brown was the Supreme Allied Commander and managed the militaries of the nineteen most politically, and economically powerful nations in the world

Aaron Brown said the "invasion of Iraq without U N approval was the biggest strategic blunder in American history"

Aaron Brown favored rescinding Bush's tax cuts for the rich


I might support him for president.

[sandnsea]

28. His politics

You've given me credentials, I still don't know anything about his politics. Wesley Clark's I mean, I actually think Aaron Brown is a closet liberal.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

37. I Hate These Threads With A F---ing Passion...

I kick myself for taking the bait.....


And it has nothing to do with you or your post....

I find the ideological rigidity on this board as disturbing as the ideological rigidity on the Freepers Board...

To me men and women of good will can disagree on just about everything and still be good people... Of course I can think of a few things like equal rights that a person of good conscience can't be on the wrong side of.

To answer your question Wes Clark

is pro choice

is pro affirmative action

is pro gay rights

is for an internationalist foreign policy which works through the U N and other multinational organizations

I think we can reasonably infer from his statememts that he falls well within the c-e-n-t-e-r l-e-f-t tradition of the Democratic party.

I think it would be fair to put him to the right of Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton, and Carol Mosely Braun and to the left of Joe Lieberman and right in the middle of the Democratic Party with John Edwards, Dick Gephardt, Howard Dean, and John Kerry. Any differences between those folks or with Wes Clark are more stylistic than substantive.

I did this post as a service to the truth and not to General Clark.
I will vote for the most liberal Democrat in the primary that I think has the best chance of beating *.

[dfong63]

21. so he finally managed to say he's a democrat,

after months of waffling and evasion. and he still hasn't declared he's in the race. he still hasn't demonstrated the ability to give a straight answer to a simple question. he's still an arrogant narcissistic primadonna with no track record in electoral politics. the presidential campaign is the heavyweight championship of politics: it'd be foolish to bet everything on a man who's never set foot in the ring before.

[Nashyra]

29. Why bother

dfong63 you obviously don't like the guy, legitimate answers to your questions don't satisfy you and you have to resort to name calling? If you can't stand him ignore the threads, all your post manage to do is kick this thread back on top. I do not agree that the presidential race being the heavy weight championship of politics becasue that would make * a champion and that is unacceptable. Makes no difference how many times you've stepped in the ring. Asshole lost every endeavor he ever attempted and he is sitting in the WH. So far the media like Clark, whether it is fair and balanced is yet to be determined but he has just as good a chance as anyone else and a better chance than most and I don't see anyone asking you to bet anything on anybody, just leave out the personal insults please.

[rucky]

23. Well,,,Duh

Honestly, i think his hesitance to announce his party affiliation comes from his ties with the military AND with the media - two industries where you just don't talk about that stuff openly. (unless said media is Fox).

A wink and a nod and we all knew he was a Dem, but he's remained professional about it. It was a classy thing to do IMO.

[Pastiche423]

27. What is professional

about not stating one's party affliation?

I believe the only reason he said it today, is that he realized he was losing a hell of a lot of Democrats by being "coy".

[Kahuna]

32. OR! ...

Potential donors made it a condition for him to recerive money. }(

[Donna Zen]

34. Or...

Announcing you're a Democrat on the same day you announce you're running for President on the Democratic tickey would be very shitty timing.

Some thoughts:

Woodruff was at the Aspen conference of the brainiac Dems. and squeezed in some time for Clark today.

Richard Holbrooke's roledex is said to be the envy of many world leaders. Holbrooke has always wanted to be Sec. of State and is Clark's bud.

Why was Clark in NYC today? And...were the reports of Hillary and Clark fundraising yesterday accurate?

Clark, Powell and one other person (can't remember, sorry) crafted what was later to be called the Powell Doctrine...basically don't go in without overwhelming force. This may not be a done deal folks...announcing as a Dem. may have been necessary because of the last date for declaring looming, but unless Clark and his advisors think they have enough of the pieces in place to keep from making fools of themselves, he may call this off. Personally I do not blame him....Would anyone in their right mind run against a lying machine without the necessary protection? His wife and son are going to be targets and as we should all know by now, the regime has never met a line it would not cross.

All of the candidates, and these are honorable people even when we disagree with some of their positions, will be open for any and all false charges as the BFEE gear up. That said we must unite and stand up for whomever we nominate, because four more years of bushco will be worse than what we've endured already.

[graham67]

38. New York Visit....

Clark went to a meeting of the Oxonian Society yesterday. Was Bill Clinton there? I don't have a clue.

[DoNotRefill]

33. I'm concerned.

think about it...do we really want to support a candidate that has to come on CNN and announce what party he belongs to?

Personally, I'd prefer a Dean/Kerry ticket...they'd offset many of each other's weak spots.