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Andy I'm sure you have seen this, but I thought others might be interested. This was initially posted at the Official Clark web site, in a blog (accessed through the "Generally Speaking" link)
"A DISPLAY OF ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER SOLIDARITY FOR CLARK
Today, I had the distinct pleasure of attending a town hall meeting in Koreatown, with General Wesley K. Clark. The focus: issues of particular interest to the Asian/Pacific Islander community. The host committee was a multicultural "who's who" of influential Los Angeles Asian/Pacific Islanders, including: Assemblymember George Nakano, Assemblymember Dario Frommer
Mayor of Monterey Park David Lau, Former Mayor of Monterey Park Lily Chen,
Mayor of Southgate Hector De La Torre, Mayor Pro Tem of Torrance Ted Lieu,
Councilmember of Cerritos Laura Lee, Councilmember of Carson Elito Santarina, President of "Southeast Asian Vote" Waqar Ali Khan, Community Service Commissioner of Irvine Mariam Khosravani, Civil Rights Attorney Angela Oh, and about 40 other notables. We packed the venue with over *500* interested citizens, from the aged halmonis tugging on their younger family members' sleeves for translation, to the slick, young, trendy American-born, to the respected, dignified elders of the community, to the Filipino military veterans in their smart, beige uniforms. This was GRASS ROOTS.
The word from the organizers was that the event was the LARGEST multicultural Asian/Pacific Islander gathering for an American political campaign/issue EVER, and based on my 15+ years in the area, I think that's about right. The Asian/Pacific Islander media was out in force, with about a dozen camera crews set up and even more reporters. General Clark walked into the venue to the strains of U2's "It's a Beautiful Day," and the place went wild. I counted seven standing ovations during the course of the afternoon, and one spontaneous, "We Want Clark" chant that lasted for over a minute. General Clark gave his standard stump speech, before taking questions from the Moderator and my old friend, civil rights attorney Angela Oh. The questions had been formulated beforehand by the host committee, representing all of the diverse communities (South Asian (including Pakistan), Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Filipino, Southeast Asian, and others). I wish I had written the questions down, because in all of the excitement, I just plain forgot some of them. But he did well on all of them, particularly knocking one question on the Patriot Act out-of-the-park by basically saying immediately and without hesitation that he would change it, that he would stop the racist enforcement of all laws, and that racial profiling was the typical resort of law enforcement agents who just didn't know where else to start, and that that needed to be stopped as well. He favored immediate dialogue with North Korea, and lambasted the administration for its utter failure to engage. But he also stood by South Korea and vowed to maintain its security; he merely rejected the notion that we were somehow made more secure by this administration's disengagement from North Korea. He then gave a strong line about how the Bush administration's "Axis of Evil" speech was perhaps the most counter-productive foreign policy statement in the last 50 years. He also supported small business owners, and pointed to his job creation tax credit plan, which dedicates $20 billion to small businesses that create new full-time positions. He supported fair immigration policies that did not discriminate against countries just because they might be of color, or Islamic, and he indicated his belief that immigrants have made this country great, and what it is today. And of course, he reiterated his STRONG support for affirmative action, and the concepts of diversity and multiculturalism that have made this country great. General Clark's appearance today was nothing short of incredible. I have never seen the Asian/Pacific Islander community appear THIS excited about ANY candidate for political office! At the end, as is typical for General Clark, he stuck around for quite a while, greeting people, talking with supporters, and he made a point of taking the time to speak and take many pictures with the veterans, who were clearly moved to meet him. As a final word to Clark supporters, please note that General Clark is an INCREDIBLY EASY SELL to many people in the Asian/Pacific Islander community, especially if you concentrate on three things:
1) His incredible educational background. By focusing on how he finished FIRST in his class at West Point, and was a Rhodes Scholar with a masters in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and was a Professor at West Point in Economics, you will probably win over the significant majority of Asian/Pacific Islander listeners! Practically EVERY Asian/Pacific Islander family I know values EDUCATION and SUCCESS in education to an almost extreme degree. General Clark wins IMMEDIATE respect when you tell people this. 2) His support for small businesses. The $20 billion job creation tax credit for for small businesses was a HUGE hit today, because many in the Asian/Pacific Islander community are small business owners. 3) His 38-year service to this country in the military. This, too, is an indicator of tremendous respect for many in the Asian/Pacific Islander community. General Clark will win California with the help and support of the Asian/Pacific Islander community, and I am proud of both his appearance today, and of the incredible showing by members of our community. DTH Posted by DTH at November 2, 2003 01:31 AM"
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