Here ya go, Rascal. All the info on your Hero you could ever ask for.
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General to the Rescue?
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 17, 2003; 10:56 AM
During his seemingly endless Hamlet act about jumping into the presidential race, Wesley Clark has acted as if the country was eagerly waiting for him to put on his red cape and save the Democratic Party.
The reality is that most people have never heard of the guy.
But Democratic insiders sure have, and some believe the retired general could be a significant force when, to no one's shock, he announces his candidacy today.
I've met Clark, and he seems like a smart, engaging, determined and very talkative fellow. I think he made a mistake by granting dozens and dozens of TV interviews in which he was always promising to make up his mind one of these days, and took months to pronounce himself, to no one's surprise, a Democrat. He should have just decided what to do and then done it.
On the other hand, his leaking of his plans yesterday -- first to CNN, where he did analysis duty during the Iraq war -- had the effect of upstaging John Edwards' big announcement (which was itself upstaged by the senator's decision to break it on Jon Stewart's "Daily Show"). Every political show led with Clark, who steals some thunder from Kerry (military background), Edwards (a southerner) and Dean (the newest outsider).
While some Dems are salivating for a candidate who can match Bush on the national-security front -- more than match him, in fact, since Clark had some stars while Bush served in the National Guard -- simply having served as a general doesn't turn you into Ike.
Clark would be getting in late, and he's never run for dogcatcher. That means some missteps are practically inevitable.
More important, he'll be on a shoestring budget while the likes of Dean, Kerry, Edwards and Gephardt have big bucks (which translates into TV ads) and big staffs (which helps you organize in states like Iowa and New Hampshire). Clark might catch fire, but he won't have the resources to compete in the blizzard of primaries that follow the first two contests.
That doesn't mean he won't have an impact on the race, or wind up as someone's running mate. But the deck is stacked against him.
The Los Angeles Times sees potential in the 10th candidate:
"His candidacy would add another unpredictable element to a Democratic race already marked by the surge of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose use of the Internet helped galvanize Democrats opposed to the war in Iraq.
"Clark, 58, has never run for office. Political analysts say that looms as both his biggest asset and his greatest vulnerability. . . .
"Stuart Rothenberg, an independent political analyst, expressed skepticism. Referring to Clark's frequent appearances on cable network news shows as a military analyst, Rothenberg said: 'I think it's just very different from when you're whizzing onto CNN to do some commentary . . . vs. if you're really under the scrutiny of the national media.' "
The Boston Globe charts Clark's appeal, and lack thereof:
"Some campaign analysts said that Clark's military background could help him compete for support from veterans, whom Kerry has targeted by emphasizing his experience in Vietnam. Clark, 58, also served there. But he has opposed the war in Iraq, making it possible that he could draw antiwar voters away from Dean, whose surge started with his criticism of the invasion. Both Dean and Clark have also won the affections of Web-savvy activists who have boosted their prospects.
"Clark could compete for Southern voters with Edwards, who is from North Carolina, and Graham, of Florida. Lieberman, of Connecticut, has also sought to attract moderate voters in the South and Southwest.
"But Clark is so unknown to most Americans that his initial impact is likely to create both confusion and curiosity in the campaign. In a poll taken earlier this month for the Globe and WBZ-TV, Clark was favored by 5 percent of likely primary voters in New Hampshire. But listing his name as a candidate more than doubled the number of undecided voters, to 23 percent from 9 percent."
His core constituency: People who can't make up their minds.
The New York Post is skeptical:
"Many centrist Democrats see Clark, 58, as a dream prospect from central casting -- a man who can make the case against the Iraq war as a general with a chest full of medals and could be more credible than Dean on national security.
"But Clark has a reputation as a man with a high opinion of himself and a high-handed manner that may not appeal at the grass roots. Former President Bill Clinton now praises his fellow Arkansan, but he effectively forced him out as Supreme NATO commander."
You'll be reading a lot more about Clark's controversial military background, as in this Washington Post piece:
"From his plebe year at West Point, retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark was always first in his class, a step ahead of his peers. His rise to the top of the U.S. military seemed almost preordained, given his drive, intellect and burning will to win.
"But Clark, 58, who won the Purple Heart and Silver Star in Vietnam in 1970 and commanded NATO's air war in Kosovo 29 years later, remains a highly controversial figure within the U.S. military, disliked and mistrusted by many fellow officers."
Salon's headline: "Wesley Clark: The New Howard Dean?"
How quickly the new guy becomes the old guy.
The New Republic's Jonathan Chait is in love:
"Clark seems like the creation of a Democratic strategist's fantasy: an articulate Rhodes scholar who hails from the South (Arkansas, no less). Even better, he has a too-good-to-be-true religious trifecta: He was raised Southern Baptist, converted to his wife's Catholicism, and discovered his father was Jewish. Oh, and he won a Silver Star and a Purple Heart during the Vietnam War. . . .
"That's why Clark's prospective candidacy . . . comes to the Democratic Party like manna from heaven. The notion of a general as a slippery prevaricator is so counterintuitive that it would be unlikely to take root with anybody but die-hard GOP partisans. And, needless to say, Clark easily passes the can-you-picture-him-as-commander-in-chief test.
"Clark skeptics have three main objections. The first is that Democrats could just as easily inoculate themselves on defense by nominating John Kerry, another veteran. The analogy is absurd. Even if he could equal Clark's military credentials, Kerry's profile as an aloof, wealthy liberal who once served as Michael Dukakis's lieutenant governor would make him a sitting duck against Bush's pseudopopulist shtick. . . .
"Objection number three is that Clark lacks political experience. Also true. But the skills you need to run a successful campaign are all things Clark has already shown he can do: schmooze with fund-raisers, inspire loyalty among a staff, and get a message across effectively both in person and on television. It's the latter talent -- on frequent display during his stint as a CNN commentator during the Iraq war and in interviews since -- that has some people so excited about Clark. While his publicly expressed positions on the issues -- abortion, gun control, taxes -- and his nuanced criticism of Bush's Iraq strategy are all mainstream Democratic fare, Clark articulates them better than most professional politicians. Sure, Clark would be slightly more likely than, say, Dick Gephardt to make a rookie gaffe. But Clark's prospects for beating Bush are so much higher than anybody else's that a small risk is necessary.
"Can Clark win? It's more likely than the pundits think."
You can almost hear Hail to the Chief playing in the background.
The Atlantic's Joshua Green has a mostly favorable portrait:
"Clark has a kind of bracing forthrightness guaranteed to attract notice in national politics. When I first went to see him, in his Washington office last December, Clark was working as a military analyst for CNN and had just begun to emerge as a political figure. Wiry and self-assured, with neat gray hair, he has the bearing of one accustomed to being in charge. Behind a lectern or on television this bearing is less fierce. But in person he is often so intense it seems that anyone who leaned forward and touched him might get an electric shock. . . .
"Clark is no Al Haig, but during our time together I began to suspect that he might have difficulty switching from general to candidate. When discussing whether he would run, he spoke often of 'seeing if people want me'; he seemed to have in mind the candidacy of another former general and NATO commander, Dwight Eisenhower, whom the Republicans drafted in 1951."
Nation Editon Katrina van den Heuvel sounds one of the few discordant notes:
"While media commentary on Clark's prospective candidacy has been almost entirely favorable -- even adulatory -- it's worth looking back at a forgotten chapter in his military biography that occurred when Clark was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and Commander In Chief for the U.S. European Command. Call it Clark's 'High Noon' showdown. It's an incident that deserves scrutiny because Clark's claim to be an experienced leader in national security matters is tied, in significant part, to his record in the Balkans.
"On June 12, 1999, in the immediate aftermath of NATO's air war against Yugoslavia, a small contingent of Russian troops dashed to occupy the Pristina airfield in Kosovo. Clark was so anxious to stop the Russians that he ordered an airborne assault to confront these units -- an order which could have unleashed the most frightening showdown with Moscow since the end of the Cold War. Hyperbole? You can decide. But British General Michael Jackson, the three-star general and commander of K-FOR, the international force organized and commanded by NATO to enforce an agreement in Kosovo, told Clark: 'Sir, I'm not starting world war three for you,' when refusing to accept his order to prevent Russian forces from taking over the airport. ..
"It is believed in military circles that Clark's Pristina incident was the final straw that led the Pentagon to relieve him of his duties (actually retire him earlier). Clark had also angered the Pentagon brass -- and Secretary of Defense William Cohen in particular -- with his numerous media appearances and repeated public requests for more weapons and for more freedom to wage the Kosovo war the way he wanted (with ground troops). At one point, according to media reports, Defense Secretary Cohen, through Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Hugh Shelton, told Clark to 'get your [blanking] face off of TV.' . . .
"Perhaps Clark has learned that building alliances -- and not risking showdowns -- is more crucial than ever in these perilous times? It would be good to hear from the general himself --whether he runs or not."
Edwards, meanwhile, told "Good Morning America": "I think I'm doing everything right. . . . We're developing incredible momentum." How come no one else has noticed?
A few papers provide the faux-announcement story, including the New York Times:
"Standing by a shuttered textile mill where his father had worked, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina presented himself today as a champion of the working class who as president would bring more jobs to America and end what he considers special breaks for the wealthy. . . .
"In his speech, he extolled the virtues of his blue-collar roots and said his biography should be a model for the nation. He noted that he had gone from humble beginnings to a life as a medical malpractice trial lawyer, earning millions along the way, and then to a Senate seat in 1998. . . .
"Democrats say Mr. Edwards shows little sign of catching on, despite even rivals' praise that he is a talented candidate, a good, engaging public speaker and sharp debater."
The Chicago Tribune has this take:
"While Edwards has campaigned aggressively this year, after first disclosing his intentions in the driveway of his home in Raleigh on Jan. 2, the formal announcement ceremony here was designed to breathe new life into a struggling candidacy and to highlight a humble upbringing that he has built his White House ambitions around."
Not exactly Clark-like coverage.
Adam Nagourney ties the California craziness to the '04 race in the NYT:
"In the first Tuesday of next March, 11 states, from California to New York, will hold Democratic presidential contests, a flurry of voting that party officials say will probably produce a Democratic presidential nominee.
"But suddenly, it seems as if the Democratic presidential candidate will not have the night alone.
"A court decision to delay the recall election in California, from Oct. 7 to quite possibly March 2, the same day as the Democrats' big night, has created a new raft of complications, and potential chaos, for the presidential field.
"The candidates are now confronted with the prospect of six months, rather than just three weeks, of competing with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gov. Gray Davis for national media attention and financial contributions in a state that has proved to be perhaps the best source of campaign cash in the country."
The recall decision, which may now be reconsidered by a larger panel from 9th Circuit, is sparking all kinds of speculation, says the San Francisco Chronicle:
"The court's ruling Monday may have revived the candidacy of Republican businessman Bill Simon, who said he might re-enter the replacement race he dropped out of three weeks ago if the election is held in March.
" 'If it took place in March, I'd look at getting back in,' Simon told The Chronicle yesterday. 'But I don't think the election's going to be put off,' he said. . . .
"Simon's own considerations prompted speculation inside the campaigns that Arnold Schwarzenegger might drop out of a March election, something officials with the actor's campaign dismissed as 'ridiculous.' "
Gregg Easterbrook, noting that Dean now has his own ice cream flavor, Maple-Powered Howard, says that "other presidential candidates should demand their own Ben & Jerry's flavors! So, as a public service, here's what they would be:
"John Kerry: Very Kerry Irish-Jewish-Czech Melting Pot. Flavors from all over the world, blended together until indistinguishable.
"Joe Lieberman: Joe's Kosher Swirl. Corned beef flavored ice cream with real chunks of rye bread and ribbons of mustard. . . .
"Dennis Kucinich: Denny's Leftward Lurch. Bubble-gum pink flavor, with lots of nuts.
"John Edwards: John-Boy's Trial-Lawyer's Delight. Every carton contains a dead mouse; bite into it and Edwards will represent you in your suit against the dairy. . . .
"Dick Gephardt: Dick's Missouri Hometown Lemonade. When you've run for the nomination as many times as he has, the campaign takes on a lemon flavor. . . .
"Dick Cheney's Undisclosed Flavor.
"George W. Bush's Ice Cream of Mass Destruction. The label lists nuclear, biological, and chemical content, but inspectors have been unable to find these ingredients."
Delicious.
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