Gen Engineering: Clark Seems to Splice From Dean To Mimic Web Personality

[Hawkeye-X]

By David Von Drehle
Sunday, January 11, 2004; Page A05

"Immature poets imitate," T.S. Eliot once observed. "Mature poets steal."

Perhaps the same can be said of political campaigns. Close watchers of retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark's Web site have recently noticed several features that appear to have been lifted from earlier efforts by Dean for America.

The youth-oriented Web page, for example.

In June, former Vermont governor Howard Dean's campaign created a "Generation Dean" site, complete with a blog for students and a red-and-white image of a name tag labeled "meet up." By clicking on the tag, viewers could find a list of "meet-ups" across the country. And "Generation Dean" was hiply shortened in several places to "Gen Dean."

When Clark entered the race in September, his minions went to work. The following month, a "Gen Clark" site was unveiled, complete with a blog for students and a red-and-white image of a name tag labeled "meet up." By clicking on the tag, viewers could find a list of "meet-ups" across the country.

Another reason why I don't like Clark -- why would Clark not be original to his own ideas, instead of stealing it?

I'm unimpressed.

Hawkeye-X

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6821-2004Jan10.html

[incapsulated]

1. "I'm unimpressed"

Funny, that's my response to most of your threads.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. So you got nothing substantive to say

and you think my posts are unimpressive? Sorry, my fellow friend. I'm sorry you disagree.

[wtmusic]

2. 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery'

And Kerry with his bat/hammer, and...

Doesn't bother me in the least. Everyone knows it was Dean's campaign that changed the rules and the strategy forever.

[Renew Deal]

4. Minions??? Is this a Limbaugh article?

Where is the link?

[Hawkeye-X]

5. Come on

You're ignoring this?

[Mattforclark]

12. LMAO

Clark! YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE CLARK?!?! IT MUST BE A SEX SCANDAL! AHHHHHHHHHH

[ReynoldsWrap]

6. I felt the need to register...

Just to set something straight here.

First of all the "Gen <whatever>" thing is -hardly- new, nor was it the Dean campaign's idea. I recall similarly named sites dating back to the 2000 campaign.

Secondly, the meetup tag isn't Dean's at all. www.meetup.com is a completly different site and organization, not affiliated (as far as I can tell) with DFA.

And shockingly enough, the meetup.com logo is a 'red-and-white image of a name tag labeled "meet up."'

Check http://www.meetup.com for more info...

Or you can even go to google and search for "meetup" in the image searcher, go a few pages in and...WOW, LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE RIPPING OFF DFA!

[sandnsea]

7. Didn't you already do this to Kerry?

Do you think you guys could come up with some original bashes against Clark. I'm getting bored with the same old he's for the war, he steals web sites, he's a Washington insider puppet. What next, Clark's French looking?

[eileen from OH]

8. Okay, THIS is stoopid.

Who comes up with the notion that this is NEWS?

I mean, these guys are actually getting PAID to write this kind of crap?

Copy cat, copy cat, nanner-nanner, boo-boo.

Geez.

eileen from OH

[NV1962]

9. Welcome to DU

ReynoldsWrap. :hi:

Don't know why HawkeyeW is insisting on lauding Wes Clark as more mature than Howard Dean...

[EXE619K]

10. Is this an issue?

I've been noticing that some Dean supporters here are suffering seriously from Ridiculosis.

Do you really believe that all these "tit for tat" will paint you as the better person or the candidate?

The "one up-manship" is a bore.

If Howard Dean saw you doing this, I highly doubt that he'd want you around as a supporter.

But, that's just my opinion..... :eyes:




DEAN LEADS THE WAY!

[Mattforclark]

11. What, students for Clark?

Is that "The youth-oriented Web page, for example."

That place existed well before Clark declared for the Presidency. AHHH! A GRASS ROOTS SITE! OH NO! :crazy: AHHH!

"Another reason why I don't like Clark -- why would Clark not be original to his own ideas, instead of stealing it?"

You mean like tax reform? And BTW, I think it is incredibly stupid to criticize a candidate for not adopting good ideas. I want a President who will use GOOD ideas, not BAD ones, regardless of the source. That way GOOD things are more likely to happen. It is a simple concept.

"I'm unimpressed."

We are well aware that Clark would have to walk on water and rise from the dead to impress you.

[NV1962]

13. Now now...

tread lightly on the students here! :evilgrin:

But it helps to read that "I'm unimpressed" rather as "please, please watch me reproduce the idea that I'm unimpressed - and then please, please copy it."

Ugh. :boring:

[Mattforclark]

14. LOL

"But it helps to read that "I'm unimpressed" rather as "please, please watch me reproduce the idea that I'm unimpressed - and then please, please copy it.""

That's just great. And so true. ;)

[Shakespeare]

15. I love it when somebody tries to claim the obvious as their original idea

This is a complete non-issue.

I love the logically unsound position that because two people have both seized an incredibly obvious approach that the one who does so first has some sort of ownership over the idea. I'm sure if I did a little clicking around the internet, I could find a site that pre-dates Deans that uses (gasp!) many of the same ideas.

[Mattforclark]

16. What! You mean it has links?

Like that new fangled a href stuff? Wow!

[TLM]

19. Hey Clark is just following in Dean;s footsteps and doing what worked

It is not about owning the idea... simply about being the first.


Niel Armstrong doesn't own the moon, and walking on it wasn't his idea. He didn't even write the line he spoke.

But if someone else went up and walked on the moon and said the line, wouldn't you agree they were coping Armstrong?

Dean's campaign is goign so well, the others would be stupid NOT to copy him.

[RafterMan]

17. Cause we all know...

...that Dean invented the internet.

Time for bed!

[TLM]

18. What the hell is Clark supposed to do Hawkeye?

It isn't like he's got some democratic roots or democratic history to draw on for progressive policy inspiration.

He doesn't have any actual experience in office on which to base ideas for policy improvements or reforms.

He has no experience either running or winning a campaign that didn't involve showering civilians with depleted uranium.

So how the hell else if he supposed to pretend to be a democrat if he doesn't steal ideas from their campaigns?

[Rocinante]

20. I'm afraid that I find it amusing

Gov. Dean and his supporters thought everything was decided. Then along comes Clark. I think you will have to count me as a 'minion.'

[Moderator]

21. Locking.....

1. If you start a thread in the General Discussion forum, you must present your opinion in a manner that is not inflammatory, which respects differences in opinion, and which is likely to lead to respectful discussion rather than flaming. Some examples of things which should generally be avoided are: unnecessarily hot rhetoric, nicknames for prominent Democrats or their supporters, broad-brush statements about groups of people, single-sentence "drive-by" thread topics, etc.


DU Moderator