A "must read" article about General Clark....."Waiting for the General"

[in_cog_ni_to]

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16795
This article was posted in another thread by poster charlie and it's SO good I didn't want anyone to miss it. Also, this article will be available for only a couple of weeks so, if you like it you should save it.

<snip>Waiting for the General

By Elizabeth Drew
Wesley Clark

The mystery at the center of the contest for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination is whether a late-entering candidate with no direct experience in domestic politics can win it. The entry of retired General Wesley Clark in mid-September dramatically changed the dynamics of the race: he has been at or near the top of polls of registered Democrats ever since and has a strong and enthusiastic following that began to organize months before he entered the race. Some polls show him defeating President Bush. Clark is trying to do what no other serious candidate for the presidency has done before.

Until Clark's announcement, the presumed front-runners were Howard Dean and John Kerry. Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, and perhaps John Edwards were also considered serious candidates. But none appeared to be a runaway winner. This lack of enthusiasm on the part of voters was one of the reasons why Clark decided to run. The mystery is whether such a belated and, to many, unlikely effort can succeed.

Never before has someone so in-experienced in national politics—at least one whose candidacy has to be taken seriously—entered the presidential campaign so late and under such difficult circumstances. Though, like virtually everyone who runs for president, Clark is immodest, he doesn't think of himself as comparable to Eisenhower. When Eisenhower decided to run as a Republican in 1952, both parties had been seeking him out, and he was handed the nomination by Republican Party leaders.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Howard Dean can be said to be leading a genuine movement; he has attracted a strong following through his opposition to the war in Iraq and his ability to express the anger that many Democrats feel toward Bush; he has strong organizations in Iowa and New Hampshire. But his irritability often spills over at inopportune times. On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos he responded testily to a question about his having strongly supported NAFTA and denied that he had ever done so, even though he had signed a letter saying that he had. On the other hand, a speech I saw Dean deliver recently at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee was strong and assured. He was able to arouse the Democrats' anger, though to a degree that seemed to me almost disturbing.<end snip>

This is a VERY long article..there's a lot more!

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. kick

:kick:

[sharonstone]

2. GO CLARK GO

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. sharonstone,

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[newyawker99]

6. Hi sharonstone!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[RandomUser]

12. Hi Sharon

Welcome to DU. And that's one funny letter :hi:

[FrenchieCat]

4. Tis was an excellent article.....

A good read....

and Welcome Sharonstone :bounce:

[Mz Pip]

5. Those who like to

throw out a lot of crap about Clark should read this first. Maybe it won't change minds completely but it does throw a lot of light on some issues.

MzPip
:dem:

[RandomUser]

13. You're right -- the Clark bashers should read this first

Maybe it wll change their minds. Probably not. But at least they'll see some of their criticism examined and analyzed in the article.

[Deb]

7. Thank you

A very informative article and well worth the read.

[DemExpat]

8. Excellent reference article, thanks,

:kick:

DemEx

[jumptheshadow]

9. This is the best article about Clark I've read

There is so much enlightening context in this piece. The author takes a cool, rational look at out-of-context talking points that are used against Clark, and puts them into perspective, one by one.

So many passages from this article are quotable. But its best summary comes in its last sentence:

~ snip ~

It is far too early to tell whether Clark can make the most of his advantages: his military record and his appeal as an intelligent, independent outsider. As I write near the end of October, the greatest challenge facing him seems the wider and wider circulation of unexamined charges by some people who have opposed him in the past.

~ snip ~

"Unexamined charges." So many of the one-line criticisms I see on Clark threads and so much of the media coverage seems to come from people who made up their minds without doing any research at all.

[RandomUser]

10. Interesting perspective

Thanks for the heads up. I just wish they didn't limit these articles to just a few weeks online.

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. kick

:kick:

[in_cog_ni_to]

14. Once more!

This shouldn't be missed! :kick: