Make it 10 - Wesley Clark for president

[TCO]

He is not a people person. But that is not the be all/end all.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I have to confess a prejuidice against electing military men who have no political experience. The military isn't democratic, and skills required to rise in the military are not the skills required to lead a democracy successfully; men who've spent years having their orders followed without question are probably not men who know how to work with a Congress controlled by the opposition. More of our general-presidents have been failures than successes, and of the two clear successes -- Washington and Eisenhower -- Washington owes a great deal of his success to having been smart enough to turn the political aspects of his position over to Hamilton. Ike's the real marvel, but seems far more the exception than the rule.

[Dinner]

Ike had to be a diplomat in order to keep all of the allies happy.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

true enough

[Stefu]

America should elect Clark for one simple reason - he looks like he should be an American president. I mean, compare to the amazing hooting monkey in office now or some of the Democratic candidates, like "My face is melting, my face is mellltinnnng" Kerry or the Kucinich, the little Vulcan who got his ass kicked after school by all the other little Vulcans.

[TCO]

Coming from andro-Stephanie...

[Stefu]

Well I'm not running for U.S. president, now am I?

[TCO]

Well- do you really think it matters so much?

Clinton was kind of fat. W looks like a monkey. His dad looks too patrician looking. Reagan was too old. Carter was goofy. Ford had bad knees and fell a lot. Nixon had the nose and stubble. Johnson pulled that dog up by its ears. I guess Kennedy was the last real pretty-boy.

I don't care how Clarke looks. It is more his mind and his policies that I care about. He has a good mind and a very disciplined, aggressive method to problem-solving. He really does have something there.

I'm actually not totally satisfied with it, though. For instance in his book, I thought he never really examined and articulated the argument for going into Kosovo versus not doing so. It seemed like a staff juggernaut that lurched along. He never really tees it up and gives the pro-cons on intervention itself.

[Ned]

If the Democrats nominate Clark, I may vote Democrat. The guy is outstanding - very much like Rumsfeld.

I still wonder why Clark insisted that we need far more troops for Iraq than Rumsfeld used. Rumsfeld turned out to be right, but did Clark ever acknowledge that?

There is no doubt, however, that Clark was fired as NATO commander for two reasons: his clash with the Brits over the Russians, and his continued insistence on using ground troops that apparently pissed off Clinton. He had gotten his NATO command because of friends at the White House and elsewhere outside the normal chain of command. When he pissed those same people off, his fate was determined.

But, my Democrat friends, if getting along with our European allies is more important than being right, Clark is not your man. The Brits (and perhaps all of Europe) were convinced that Clark would risk starting a war with Russia and apparently went out of their way to see that he was relieved of his NATO command. What does this say about Clark's capacity to shove his ego into the background when cooperation with a differing point of veiw is necessary to get along with Europe?

I would particularly like to hear from those Democrats who routinely bash MacArthur. MacArthur was fired for essentially the same reason as was Clark. He was willing to risk a world war and publicly critized his president's war strategy. If MacArthur was a lunatic, as so many Democrats think, so is Clark.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by TCO
He is not a people person. But that is not the be all/end all.

OMG -- you're saying that even though he has some serous questions about Bush's policies in Iraq, that he is not a bad person, or evil incarnate, or an unpatriotic moron?

[DanS]

I have to confess a prejuidice against electing military men who have no political experience. The military isn't democratic, and skills required to rise in the military are not the skills required to lead a democracy successfully

In modern times, the skill sets seem to be similar. A generalship is a very political job.

[Dinner]

The latest poll shows more likely Dem voters would rather see Clark the nominee then Dean. Kerry & Gephardt tied for third place.

[Ned]

I would still like to hear from MacArtur-bashers.

[Ned]

No MacArthur-bashers out there? How quaint.

It appears that there is a double-standard here. Only Republican generals who oppose their president or who risk a broader war with the Russians are "lunatics." Democrat generals who do the same thing are excused.

[Saint Marcus]

Ike's the real marvel

Ike's a racist.

outstanding - very much like Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld is one of the main reasons your Iraqi adventure is going so ****ty.