I fully understand that General Clark won't cross that bridge until we get past the 2006 Elections. And I am also just barely enough of a realist to admit that it is not certain that Clark will win the Democratic nomination for President in 2008 if he seeks it. So I do need to keep an open mind about other possible Democratic candidates as I wander across the web engaged in various political debates. We can say "focus on 2006" all we want, and we should, and we should believe that fully, and ACT on that belief, but you KNOW we're also going to be thinking about 2008 sometimes.
I admit, I was partly prompted to write this Diary because of all the talk I see on the net about how either and or both Gore and Kerry are our rightful Presidents, who deserve their denied chance to sit inside the White House. It starts taking on the mythic flavor of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, "Hail the once and future King!" I'm sorry but it doesn't work that way in politics.
It is getting spun and respun to the point where some online activists are reinventing the "defeat" that each man suffered into something positive, a plot line device setting up their triumphant return to power. My point here is that no, it is not a positive thing. Either man may make an excellent President, but they have to convince a reluctant America of that first.
I welcome Al Gore back to Democratic politics (John Kerry never left), especially if he will really engage in it again, and campaign for Democrats all around the country, and offer his ideas on what the United States should do in Iraq now, and what we should do also about the current drift to war with Iran. I want to hear Gore talk about those things, I already know where he stands on Global warming. I think Al Gore is one of the good guys who we are lucky to have on our side. But I think Wes Clark is the leader who will actually change this nation.
Wes Clark is the Democrat's Reagan, the man who can fundamentally shift the balance of power away from the Republican Party for decades to come in America. Clark can calm the security fears of Soccer Moms, Clark can return the veterans vote to the Democrats ranks. Clark can make Southerners proud to back a national Democrat again. And Clark can pull Independents away from the likes of false prophets like McCain, because Clark spent a lifetime of nonpartisan service to our nation.
Fox viewers watch Wes Clark speak and they nod their heads in agreement. When John Kerry or Al Gore come onto the screen they shut down and enter propaganda pre-programmed block mode. And we already know how they react to Hillary Clinton, who will be attacked as the biggest retread of them all, with a multi volume Republican play book against her already sitting waiting on the shelf.
The American people THINK that the American people already rejected Al Gore and John Kerry once already. These are both good men, I can find some faults with each (I can with anyone - including me), but they are both good men. But they each would need to fight the perception of being retreads should they run again in 2008. And they each showed serious weaknesses in breaking through engrained resistance to folks hearing the Democratic message in wide regions of the nation the last time they ran. Since then each man has moved further to the left. Now from my perspective, that's a great thing policy wise, but when one looks at the whole package, combining both the message and the messenger, will that help either of these men be able to compete better in 2008 in the many areas that they competed poorly in, in 2000 and 2004 respectively?
Maybe Al Gore or John Kerry can win a national election for the Democrats in 2008, but could they ever win the type of broad mandate to govern from all across America that General Wesley Clark in my opinion can? Will they help rebuild the Democratic Party in the South, and the Mountain and Plains States, the way Wes Clark can? I know Gore and Kerry can play well enough to Air America listeners, but what about FOX and CNN viewers? Clark can cut across the political spectrum and deliver a sweeping Democratic victory that ushers in a new progressive era in American politics, and I honestly think he is the only one who can do that for us in 2008.
My money remains on Wesley Clark as a man of vision who can reach out to virtually all America, who the general public is only starting to be introduced to. And when they finally get a chance to really meet Clark for the first time, with him running with easy stride, not scrambling to catch up to a race that started a year earlier without him, they will experience Wes Clark as we do here, a true breath of fresh air, a man who never had to recover from being a politician, and as someone with the skills and priorities to lead America in a dangerous era. Democrats may be able to win in 2008 with another candidate, but we can win big with Wes."