The General Has Left the Building.
Yesterday, I had a not too enlightening exchange with GOTV regarding my reply to what I felt was an uniformed post that argued that Clark had no business running for President because there was no rationale for his candidacy.
I would add that, more so than any other candidate, General Clark had a very clear imperative for running, the dangerous times that Bush has largely created through his reckless foreign policy. While most of the other candidates were running (with the very large exceptions of Gov. Dean and Rep. Kucinich), my view is that they were running because that's what politicians do -there was no strong rationale for a Kerry candidadcy or an Edwards candidacy or a Gep candidacy.
But yesterday was a hard day for Clark supporters, and I, more than most, did not handle the day with grace.
I apologize to any I offended.
For those who might be interested, I explain my support for Clark in Extended Copy.
To me, Clark was, first and foremost, an extraordinary person who offered great talents, experience and insight to the Democratic Party, for the battle to defeat Bush, and for taking on the role of President in a time when we are going to need the best we can get.
My view may be different than others, but to me, the overriding crisis facing our nation is the catastrophe of the Iraq War and all its implications. I believe the situation in Iraq is very bad, it is getting worse, and will not improve unless and until Bush is out. The consequences go beyond the many lives, casualties and dollars being squandered. Bush's actions have shaken the fundamental stability of the world, sabotaged the fight against Al Queda and terrorism, severely weakened our key alliances and placed the nation in a very precarious situation internationally.
In my view, the Iraq War, and the policies underlying it, are the #1 problem the country faces and should have been the the #1 issue for Dems in the Fall.
That Bush is a disaster on domestic issues goes without saying. But the pressng need for the country is a reversal of the Bush foreign policy by a President with the talent, experience, credibility and knowledge to extricate the U.S. from the existing disasters while at the same time rebuilding that which Bush destroyed, America's credibilty, alliances, coherence and purpose.
Because of General Clark's experience, intelligence, ideas and idealism, I believe that Clark was the right person to steer the country through these dangerous times.
I believe that Clark believed this. I believe that he also thought that he could run an effective campaign against Bush on foreign policy, as well as domestic issues. That was his rationale.
Indeed, it is my view that events will bear out that Kerry will not emphasize foreign policy in the Fall, because he voted for the War. Moreover, I have not seen great insight from Kerry on foreign policy issues in this campaign. Is Kerry the man to steer the country through these dangerous shoals? Certainly he is much better than Bush. Is that good enough for what the times require? I don't know, both for the first task of beating Bush, and for the more difficult task of straightening out Bush's mess. I hope he is. The country needs him to be.