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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elpolvo who wrote (29766)	10/8/2003 10:36:29 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

My local representative, Congressman Pete DeFazio, takes care of his constituents regardless of their politics. He voted against raises for Congress. Then he took his raise and started a scholarship with the funds. He continues his fight in Congress - having voted against the Patriot Act. Ted Kennedy publicly questioned Bush on his $87 billion for Iraq. Those two are honorable. Sure, Bush had a reasonable platform, but his administration saw it differently and they've implemented their agenda. As you point out, we shouldn't only look to the candidate but to his backers. I just saw Leon Panetta on Today Show talking about Arnold's election. Will AS be another Jesse Ventura disaster? Will he be another Ronald Reaganomics governor. Maria sure looked happy and very much the first lady, which seems to suit her better than her tv news personna. IMO

To: elpolvo who wrote (29766)	10/8/2003 8:08:20 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Clark engraves his own fingerprints on party's hot buttons _______________________ By David Sarasohn Columnist The Oregonian 10/08/03 oregonlive.com LOS ANGELES -- Back in the Cold War, presidential politics was about The Button: the question of who voters would trust with the power to launch the missiles that might postpone the next election indefinitely. Now, Democratic presidential politics is about the hot buttons: the issues that can make a Democratic crowd believe the next election might turn out differently from the last one. Retired four-star Gen. Wesley Clark doesn't miss one -- and he hits them in a way that nobody else in the Democratic field can. Clark, the former NATO supreme commander, puts his own spin on a Democratic campaign favorite: "I spent three years building Eastern European democracy," he tells the crowd outside the Los Angeles Fire Department Museum, where he tried to help California Gov. Gray Davis stave off recall. "I can't tell you how awful it was to see people trying to count ballots in Florida being intimidated by an angry mob." The roar it stirs is not just anger, but actual excitement. Every Democratic candidate -- these days, even Joe Lieberman -- endorses affirmative action. Only Clark can put it like this, in an explanation of why he became a Democrat: "In the United States Army, we learn it's not just about mission and equipment, it's about the troops. So when I looked around, and looked for which party carried my vision of people, of diversity and human potential, it wasn't much of a choice. . . "I was either going to be the loneliest Republican in America, or a happy Democrat." It's the kind of line that produces other happy Democrats, including some who don't usually see themselves cheering military policy. And Clark brings a special impact to the central issue of the campaign: "I've been on the battlefield. I've worn a uniform for real" -- that gets a roar by itself, from Democrats who have George W. Bush's military background memorized -- "and I've had some holes shot in it. "Like most of us who've been in the military for real, I've understood that when it comes to using force, it's only as a last resort." The policy is just like the other Democratic hopefuls; the melody is all his own. The Democrats in front of the museum, a group assembled by the Clark campaign and carrying signs reading "The Wes Wing," hear every note. "I tend to be a little more hawkish for the self-defense of this country," explains Mark Brull, a television producer, toting his one-year-old daughter with a Clark button on her jumper. "I look at the image of George Bush landing on the aircraft carrier, and I look at General Clark, and who do I want to be the president is pretty easy." The idea also appealed to the two non-Democratic lawyers in dark suits holding up home-made signs reading "Armenians for Clark." "Mr. Clark always talking about a New American Patriotism, that grabs me," explains Henrick Mosesi. "We Armenians are highly patriotic, and vote mostly Republican. But he stands for everything American, and he'd be a strong commander in chief." But Clark's military background lands differently on some of his fans. "I believe he has been very direct in speaking on why this invasion of Iraq was absolutely needless," says Virginia Classick, a social worker holding a sign reading, "Peace Activists for Clark." "He knows war, he's been in war. As a peace activist, I'm very impressed by that." But Classick's reaction isn't entirely uncalculated: "Defeating this administration is the most important thing to me. I do not believe this country or this planet can survive this administration." OK, Clark didn't hit that particular button. It's early to know how well Clark holds this all together. But after telling the crowd exactly what he wants to hear -- in his own special way -- he dives into a crowd with the eagerness of another Arkansan. This week, his campaign reported fund-raising totals of $3.5 million in two weeks, better than some other campaigns did in the entire third quarter. And on the ground, his campaign will always look a little different from the others. All his campaign buttons -- like all his campaign posters -- seem to have, somewhere on them, four stars. They might just turn into hot buttons. ________________________________________________________ David Sarasohn, associate editor of The Oregonian, can be reached at 503-221-8523 or davidsarasohn@news.oregonian.com