There's more to being presidential than running for president.
Clark has something more important to do right now than entering the primary race.
Let me explain.
In the last year, Clark has become increasingly concerned that we are on the verge of making war on Iran.
Huffington Post, January 4, Arianna Huffington:
At the packed-to-the-rafters brunch preceding Nancy Pelosi's formal swearing in, Melinda and I ran into Wes Clark (and I mean that literally; like I said, it was packed). Clark was really angry about what he'd read in this column by UPI Editor at Large Arnaud de Borchgrave. In the piece, which Clark quickly forwarded to my BlackBerry from his Trio, de Borchgrave details Bibi Netanyahu leading the charge to lobby the Bush administration to take out Iran's nuclear facilities, and paints U.S. air strikes against Iran in 2007/08 as all-but-a-done deal.
"How can you talk about bombing a country when you won't even talk to them?" said Clark. "It's outrageous. We're the United States of America; we don't do that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the military option is off the table -- but diplomacy is not what Jim Baker says it is. It's not, What will it take for you boys to support us on Iraq? It's sitting down for a couple of days and talking about our families and our hopes, and building relationships."
So what does this have to do with his not getting into the race? He talked to Mark Green on Air America, Politically Direct on January 11:
Once a person becomes a candidate, then everything they say becomes viewed through a political lens. I don't want this viewed through a political lens. This should be viewed as a policy issue. That's why I'm advocating.
Clark is using all of his considerable diplomatic skills on bringing about change in the current Iraq policy. Now. Not after he's elected president. Now.
Because just as Clark insists that we can negotiate with hostile actors like the leaders of Iran and Syria and find common ground, he insists that we can negotiate with another hostile actor --- the leader of the United States.
Look, we got to lift our heads up. Bush is trying to rearrange the deck chairs as the titanic sails toward an iceberg, and I don't want to see good people arguing about whether there should be more deck chairs in the front of the deck or the back of the deck.
That's not the appropriate question. The appropriate question is: How can we get the Captain to change course before he hits the iceberg, and his request for troops gives the Congress the chance to say, 'Mr. President, you know, we're not sure that this makes a whole lot of sense, but for it to make any sense, you need a better strategy. So, you'll come back with a change in strategy, and we'll look more favorably at your troops ideas.'
Clark doesn't like the idea of the surge. But it could be a negotiating point if this president needs it to save face.
It shouldn't be done without foreseeable benefit, however. He published an Op-Ed in the Washington Post recently entitled, "The Smart Surge: Diplomacy."
Vicious ethnic cleansing is underway, as various factions fight for power and survival. In this environment, security is unlikely to come from smothering the struggle with a blanket of forces -- and increasing U.S. efforts is likely to generate additional resistance, especially from Iraq's neighbors. More effective action is needed to resolve the struggle at the political level.
Clark is also a Member of the Board of VoteVets, which is targeting senators with powerful commercials to pressure them to work against a military surge that serves no purpose.
And now I read this from the Washington Post, January 25, 2007:
Senate Republicans, scrambling to head off GOP defections to a resolution opposing President Bush's war policy, are considering their own resolution demanding benchmarks to measure progress in Iraq and possibly a new diplomatic effort to end the war, senators said yesterday. [Italics added.]
Wesley Clark always says that force should only be a last, last, last resort. So what does it take to make it that kind of resort? It takes someone who will push, push, push for diplomacy.
Clark may not be president right now --- perhaps he'll never be president --- but he is doing his best for our country every day to keep us out of war.
And maybe, just maybe, he'll make the difference.