I was at my college’s football game with 74,000 other people when I received a text message from my dad informing me of the news that General Clark endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. I texted him back three words immediately, "God damn it."
I wanted Wes Clark to run for president so bad I had kind of made it my personal political mission to make sure that his "conditions" to run were met. I wrote twelve diaries here is direct support of Clark. I gathered $100,000 in pledges for his campaign on the internet. I made a myspace page and rounded up 900 friends. I even recently started making Youtube videos in support of Clark08 and have had 1,237 hits on my two videos so far.
There was one part of me that thought Wes was going to use upcoming appearances on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time, and Meet the Press, to declare his candidacy. There was another part of me, however, that feared my hope wasn’t going to become a reality. It’s such a shame when you pour so much time and energy into something only to see it evaporate into nothingness. There are so many people right now saying "Oh, I am so disappointed Clark isn’t running," and "I have so much respect for him, I was sitting on the fence waiting for him," and I can’t believe it. Where were you? You should have been shouting your lungs out for Clark instead of sitting there waiting! Wes had preconditions. He needed to see a certain level of support before he could run and I am here to tell you that what happened today is because all these people who thought that Clark’s entry into the race would be good sat quietly twiddling their thumbs while he was watching and waiting for his opportunity that never came.
I’m disappointed today not only because people didn’t speak up but because we have now lost our best candidate. Not only could Clark have reshaped the political map in favor of the democrats, he could have made one fine president. You’ve heard this all before. He is experienced beyond belief, he has impeccable character, he has been a leader on the Iran issue, and his intelligence and vision are unmatched. What a shame it is that the system through which we choose our leaders has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the candidate, but rather that candidate’s money and media.
I am not upset with Wes Clark, this is not his fault. He is a leader and I don’t blame him one bit for endorsing Hillary. He has a strong relationship with the Clintons and I trust him to do what he thinks is best for the country. This endorsement won’t cause me to support Hillary immediately, but I will be listening to what she has to say with a much more open ear now I suppose.
There are some people on DailyKos who are so anti-Hillary that they have now removed themselves from Clark’s mailing list. They want nothing to do with him. Although it sucked the wind right out of my sails to learn there will be no Clark08, I will continue to support and admire one of the few public figures who has ever inspired me. Wesley Clark has lived the life. He’s put his money where his mouth is. He’s injected a massive dose of reason and truth into our national dialog. If you don't agree with who he is supporting for president, then you are missing the point. We owe a lot to Wes Clark, and we should continue to support him. He could become the next Vice President of the United States, so I’m not giving up hope.
"Rest assured: I'm not going anywhere."
Wes Clark