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I went to the LA for Clark meeting today. We had approximately 200 people attend, and the crowd was a bit more diverse than the previous crowds: slightly more men than women, and perhaps 10% people of color. Everyone was in high spirits, and of the twenty or so people I'd talked to, six had previously been volunteering for Dean, including one of our speakers, the Mayor of Manhattan Beach (whose name I've forgotten).
The first two speakers were the aforementioned Mayor, who gave a rousing speech about Clark and Bush, and a Corporal who had just returned from Iraq. The Corporal completely slammed Bush, raising his AWOL status and the lies he told about Iraq, and many other gems. It was fantastic to see a military guy go after Bush so strongly!
The next speaker was Mary Steenburgen, Academy Award winning actress. She was simply fantastic. She typically prepares speeches in advance, but this time she just spoke from the heart (I'm sure this was also due in part to the fact that she had only found out about the meeting yesterday). She'd grown up with Wesley Clark, with her mother and Wesley's mother (a single mom for a good chunk of Wesley's childhood) being close friends at the bank where they both worked, and with each mother bragging about her child. Since Wesley was eight years older than Mary, she felt like she was always trailing just a little bit behind him.
Fast forward to the Clinton administration. She was pleased to discover that both she and Wesley would be serving on a commission to choose elite students to participate in a program where they would serve in various branches of government, to learn all they could and then take what they learned back to their respective communities. As it turns out, once again, she trailed just a little bit behind Wesley when they all introduced themselves at the first meeting for the commission, with Wesley introducing himself right before Mary did. She said he was incredibly humble and gracious, and there was none of this "Rhodes Scholar," "Graduated First at West Point," stuff, which of course made him all the more impressive. (I noted this was in stark contrast to the reports of Wesley being so arrogant.)
The two of them reacquainted themselves with one another after that, and she was always impressed by his insightful and incisive questions of the students they'd interview. She was so complimentary of Wesley's intellect! It was obvious she held him in such high regard, it really shone through in her speech.
She also said that she'd been urging him to run for President since 2000, and his response had always been, "If I'm called to serve, I will." She kind of laughed, then, and said, "Wes, it doesn't really work that way, you kinda have to get started early, do fundraisers, form committees, gain support." But his answer remained the same: "If I'm called to serve, I will."
And that was exactly what he did. She said that the Draft movement was the main reason he decided to jump into this race, that WE had called him, and he had to respond. She said he had the greatest sense of duty and obligation and service to the country and his fellow citizens of anyone she had ever known. That even though it might be hokey, he really did believe in the importance of service.
She then introduced Wes Clark, Jr., who told us about his father's decision to run. He said that up until last Monday, his father still hadn't been sure, and in fact Wes Clark, Jr. thought his father was probably NOT going to run. Again, he brought up the importance of the Draft movement in his father's decision.
Finally, the most moving and powerful speech, IMO, was also the shortest. They brought up the wife of Wes Clark, Jr., whose name was (I believe) Astrid. She spoke for only a couple of minutes, and indeed, she hadn't expected to speak at all. The story she told was so incredible, though. She told us all how she had been nervous about meeting her boyfriend's father for the first time, not only because of all of the normal feelings of apprehension one might feel in such a situation, but also because he was "The General," and not just any general, but a FOUR-STAR general.
All of her feelings of worry disappeared when he welcomed her so warmly, and hugged her. She then proceeded to tell us what a great, incredible man General Wesley Clark is, and what an amazing President he would be, and indeed, she was so sincere and overcome with emotion at that moment, that she actually was moved to tears.
Certainly, one would expect a candidate's son and friend to speak well of him. But for some reason, seeing the genuine love and respect and reverence emanating from his daughter-in-law was by far the most powerful thing, for me. It reinforced my belief that I'm supporting the right candidate, and damn, did I feel good about it!
We then broke up into regional groups to work and plan and kick ass. A more motivated, enthusiastic group I have seldom ever seen.
This movement is real, folks. It's not "astroturf," it's not being directed by Bill Clinton, and in fact it's not even being directed by Little Rock right now...all of the signs and literature and buttons and refreshments were created and provided by local Clark activists, not even Clark himself.
Until the official Clark organization is ready to receive the reins, we're all continuing to work, pushing the General's name and credentials, increasing his exposure, raising money, and preparing for the long road ahead.
We are moving out, and goddamn, does it feel good.
DTH
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