When I was proud to be an American screen doors slammed, cricket's chirruped lullabyes outside open windows on hot summer nights, their voices and the occasional baby's cry wafting from the neighbor's house 3 doors down sang America to sleep, and coal smoke could be seen streaming from chimneys on nearly every building in town on cold winter mornings.

The cumbersome box with the tiny glass screen sitting atop the Philco radio presented a world "out there" that came only in shades of grey. Though called black & white the only white that could be found was the "snow" and the only black, the too oft noticed horizontal line that fell slowly from top to bottom until someone jumped up to fiddle with the rabbit ears perched precariously on whatever surface might offer the best reception.

When I was proud to be an American kids might actually FAIL a grade in school and have to repeat it, and parents weren't arrested for using the form of discipline known as a sift kick in the pants.

The net roots can be an impatient bunch. We tend to want what we want when we want it.

That said, for the past few months we have been witnessing the exception to the rule.

How often have we seen, "I’m leaning/supporting (fill in the blank) ‘unless Clark’ or ‘unless Gore’ jumps in."

What’s with that?

What is it about these two men that can cause so many to sit back and wait (albeit with many fidgets) for them?

Why?

My thoughts on the matter follow. What do you think?

If Wes Clark had not made a presidential run in ‘04, if it did not seem that he may do the same in ‘08, it's highly unlikely that we would be seeing his name in diary titles at Dkos.

But he did and he may, so we must try to search out not only who he is today, but also ask, is the picture of the man we see today consistent with the man he was before coming into very public notice.

Checking the before against the after is just one way of learning more about the individuals who want to represent "we the people". One way of discerning the truth behind the public persona presented to us during heated campaigns.

So what of Wes Clark? Is the consistency lacking?

Does what came before jive with what we see today?

Does what came before give us a window into what a President Wes Clark would be like if he would run and win?

What follows is an attempt to connect the dots between the past and the present with an eye to shedding light on the future

The Bush 43 presidency has proven the overwhelming necessity of the "3 C's"--Character, Compassion, Competence--that should be required qualities of any person elected as president.

Any one of the current Democrats who have declared their presidential aspirations stand head & shoulders above POTUS 43 when it comes to these three traits.

There are other things that play a part in our quest to find the candidate who best meets the criterial of what we want in a president to be sure, but I truly believe that the "3 C's" are prime indicators of a person's core values.

This diary is about the Character, Compassion & Competence exhibited by one man who has yet to declare that he too has the desire to be our presidential nominee for '08--Wes Clark.