Clark's keynote at YearlyKos

[Adelante]

Watch here - he is introduced by John Soltz of VoteVets

http://www.yearlykosconvention.org/node/726


A great welcome by Kossaks!! :D

Oh, ha ha, Wes.

[pstans]

1. Thanks

[Adelante]

2. Some nice reviews here

The Washington Note 8/3/07
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/002259.php

Wesley Clark to Bush: "Stop Hiding Behind David Petraeus!"

General Wesley Clark delivered a humdinger of a speech this morning in Chicago at YearlyKos.

There's much to it -- and he puts the target for the failure in Iraq not on the military, nor on the Congress, nor other participants in this mess other than President George W. Bush.

snip

Clark has an approach to national security and foreign policy that is very solutions-oriented. He has clear-headed views on how complex military, political, and economic systems need to be molded to achieve results. And he is open to the feedback of failure -- so that systems can learn.

It's probably late in the day for Wesley Clark to get into the race, but the various Democratic presidential competitors would find it well worth their time to learn from Clark who can both get beyond vapid, binary responses on foreign policy issues and still give a straight answer.

Taylor Marsh Huffington Post 8/3/07
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/yearlykos-general-wesley_b_59020.html

Wesley Clark unloaded both barrels today and gave a tremendously powerful keynote speech this morning. This man has learned a lot since his 2004 presidential run. The way he speaks and delivers his message is nothing short of exhilarating and inspiring. Hope to have the full audio a bit later.

Brilliant at Breakfast 8/3/07
http://brilliantatbreakfast.blogspot.com/2007/08/greetings-from-conclave-of-great-order.html


Right now I'm at Wesley Clark's Friday morning keynote. Those of you who were hoping Clark would throw his hat into the ring, it's time to take the bumper sticker off the car, because Clark made it clear this morning (albeit not in so many words), that he is not running. Clark is a far more effective and engaging speaker then I expected him to be. He's speaking to his particular area of expertise, which is the military and the handling of Iraq in particular and terrorism in general. I wish that anyone (*cough* Republican s *cough*) who thinks "Democrats don't get it" could hear this guy.

-snip

(Aside: Clark is really on fire here, noting what every Democratic candidate ought to say to George W. Bush and the Republicans. "THIS IS YOUR WAR." Damn, he is really, really good. Diplomacy. Engagement. Strategy. Notions that shouldn't be radical, but in the context of six-plus years of Republican warmongering seems so.

[BeyondGeography]

3. "Clark is a far more effective and engaging speaker then I expected him to be"

Why do so many "observers" still parrot lines like that about Clark? Every time he speaks he does a great job as far as I'm concerned.

[Adelante]

4. I know, that it comes as a surprise is the surprise to me, too

Eh, as long as it comes. The audience is really responsive. I'm still watching it online.

[Tom Rinaldo]

9. Clark kept interrupting his perfectly fine barnburner

to ask people to actually think. That's what makes it so hard to comapre his speech to say the one Given by Howard Dean. Dean's speeech was intelligent, it had real content and important themes, Dean gets the big picture on domestic politics that many national democrats miss, which the netroots however get. So Dean gets on a roll and the energy builds and builds.

Clark got on several great rolls during his speech, and the energy built and swept over the room, like when he said, "We aren't questioning the Generals, we're questioning you Mr. Bush"! But then Clark shifts back into instructing, raising issues that most of us never think about, challenging our assumptions, framing new struggles rather than reenforcing the ones that we are already fully engaged in. That makes people stop and think.

Clark forced people in this crowd to be thoughtful this morning. He took this group of people very very seriously. He acted as if we can help save the world, if we are willing to be prepared to take the lead on changing critical parts of the public debate. And then he tutored us on what needs to be addressed,

So repeatedly Wes Clark wins the respect of the grasssroots, but refuses to just play to our emotional high about fightng the good fights that we are already good at fighting. People like to feel good about what we are already doing, and we want to be taken seriously too, maybe in that order. Clark took us seriously this morning. He told us what it is up to us to now do, to change the overall role the U.S. needs to play in the midddle east now.

He could have gone for the non stop instant emotional high, he could have completely intoxicated us this morning, but he made a different choice.

I think it throws his listeners who are not already familiar with Clark, to watch a politician who is so obviously very capable of bringing a crowd to their feet screaming, show just as much if not more interest in having them stay seated listening closely and thinking deeply about what he has to say. What is happening to our nation, to Clark, is too important to use as fodder for a pep rally. He wants us to really understand the issues and reach for new solutions.

Though the odds are stacked against it, I still somehow hope Clark finds a way to run again. Sitting there watching him face the real complexity of the issues confronting America, not depending on applause lines to propell him through it though he certainly delivered his share, not avoiding telling us some things that I know he knows we really don't want to concentrate on right now, such as the landscape in the Middle East that will remain to be dealt with after our last troops leave Iraq, an image came to mind that I can't shake. I see a possible YouTube parody commercial, that millions of us may watch in about 4 months, based on the V8 commercial: Visual: Palm smacks forehead. Audio: "I could have had a Wes Clark!"

[BeyondGeography]

17. Great points, Tom, he's not a conventional speaker

for those who are looking to learn something, a distinct minority in the media certainly, he is a dream come true.

He's the only candidate I got excited about last time, and it would put me into an ecstatic state to see him pared with Obama, who I feel ALMOST as strong about as I did with Clark the last time. Reason: there are several candidates who can probably win in 2008. In 2004, I got on board with Clark because I felt he was the only candidate who could win. As time went on, I gained more respect for the conventional skills of the politician, which Clark lacked, and which the media punished (and continues to punish) him for. When you look at how the 2004 GE campaign was based entirely on fearmongering, however, one can feel pretty validated as a Clarkie.

More important, through it all and today, one senses that Clark's love of country and attachment to intellectual honesty transcends his own considerable personal ambition, a quality that is rare in anyone seeking the presidency.

[Tom Rinaldo]

24. Clark now has those conventional political skills

The liberal use of those conventional poltical skills by American political leaders is a big part of why our nation is in such trouble today. Some tools in a typical political tool box include over simplification into simple black and white views, telling people what they want to hear, changing the subject rather than talk about anything that might cost you the support of one faction or another, slogans over substance etc. Clark knows the tricks, but he doesn't believe that the ends deserve the means, if the means toward the end of ""getting elected" is obscuring true issues, sidestepping real debate, and avoiding direct answers to sincere questions asked by citizens in our Democracy.

His conventional political skills were shown on FOX when he was able to own their news networkd on their own tilted slanted home ground. It shows in lines like these that Talor Marsh lifted from Clark's keynote speech this morning to highlight in his Huffington Post blog:

"We are not questioning the generals. Mr. President, we are questioning you! Stop hiding behind Dave Petraeus."

"It seems everything reminds Rudy Giuliani of 9/11."

"Bush always listens to the generals. When he gets tired of listening to them he replaces them. ... "


Clark has the political skills now when needed, but sometimes it is too important to play politics.

[Dinger]

7. Wish I Could Have Been There

:-(

[Tom Rinaldo]

11. The prolonged standing ovation the crowd gave Wes Clark...

...when he entered the hall shortly after 8:00 AM would have made you feel proud Dinger. It was early in the morning, people stayed up late the night before, but they refused to stop cheering General Clark. People on their feet cheering, clapping, and refusing to sit down though Wes Clark was standing at the podium trying to start his addresse.

I did run into Catchawave here, and I'm really glad we were able to meet. She made a point to tell me later how important it is to see him speak in person, how obvious it is when you do to see that he is completely for real. Yes she still supports John Edwards for President, but now she is absoutely convinced that Wes Clark HAS to be our next Secretary of State.

[Adelante]

15. Catchawave got it

Wes is completely for real. Straight out there. You may not always want to hear what he says every time, but you always know you're hearing his truth.

[Tom Rinaldo]

12. self delete double post. Not used to blogging on a notebook, lol

[FrenchieCat]

27. That was an EXCELLENT question you posed to our general at the end.......

Hell, you nearly made a speech, Tom! And I appreciated Clark's answer as much as I appreciated your well thought out and pointed question! Kudos!

[Tom Rinaldo]

29. Thanks frenchie

Because I've done a number of Diaries at Kos that some folks here might have actually read, a couple of the Clarkie's here asked me to plan a question. I didn't know exactly what I was going to say, but I picked out the theme, and beyond that I winged it. But that is the question I would ask one of our announced candidates if I got the chance, so turning it around and asking Clark how we can get those candidates to really talk about real diplomacy wasn't that much of a stress. I am so tired of Democrats saying we should talk with Iran and then essentially define diplomacy as us giving them a lecture.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Clark's STILL my guy. Numero Uno with me. nt

[Adelante]

6. "Changing people's perceptions of their future possibilities"

The goal of diplomacy.

This was in answer to a question by DUer Tom Rinaldo.

[Cameron27]

8. That was a stunning speech.

I don't know anyone who can break down every issue into understandable pieces like Wes just did; from historical to future perspectives; from the tactics of Darius of Persia (!) to the "Baker barter-system" system of diplomacy. I felt like I was listening to a favorite professor, not some grasping politician looking for votes.

Wes is a leader who can actually lead, and who has the intellegence to explain why.

[IA_Seth]

10. "time to take the bumper sticker off the car"

Could anyone point me to the portion of his speech that had the above writer come to the conclusion that Clark is NOT running?

I am hoping they are off base.

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. Well, when asked about the current candidates

Clark was very gracious, he said all of them would be much better Presidents than the man who is now, and added that he has not endorsed anyone. He didn't use that as an opportunity to say that he hasn't said he isn't running.

Sorry, gotta go. Battery is low.

[Adelante]

14. Nothing's changed

They hear what they want to hear.

[Clark2008]

25. Hell, I'm about to put one ON my car - whether he runs or not.

I'll write him in. I simply cannot see myself supporting anyone running currently.

[AtomicKitten]

16. K&R#5

[Totally Committed]

18. So nice to hear he got a great reception.

Thanks for posting this WesDem! :hug:

TC

[Mabus]

19. Indeed

The difference is amazing. When people have the opportunity to hear Democrats speak we get a vastly different picture than the one the media would portray.

It's always nice to hear good things about Democrats. K&R

[Adelante]

22. I know, TC, it was so early, I was afraid

nobody'd drag themselves out of bed. But it seems to have worked out really well for him. So I'm happy.

[FrenchieCat]

20. The man who would be President ..........

:patriot:

[roguevalley]

23. From your lips to God's ear.

[tblue37]

21. Next to Gore, Clark is at the very top of my candidate list.

How perfect would a Gore/Clark ticket be?

[earthlover]

28. Perfect!

[ourbluenation]

26. Gore/Clark 08 nt

[Adelante]

30. Talking Points Memo interview with Wes

(video)

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/016196.php

Wes was the most asked for interview. :)

[druidity33]

31. is there a transcript yet? in dial-up land... nt

[CarolNYC]

32. Transcript....

of General Clark's remarks, the Q&A and Jon Soltz' intro are up at http://securingamerica.com now. Enjoy! :)