General Clark,
I realize 2008 is three years off but I believe very strongly that you need to throw your hat in the ring RIGHT NOW! Before you think this is some off the wall idea, please pay close attention to my reasoning. I honestly believe that if you announced your candidacy right now, you would truly unite the Democratic party and set your self up as THE answer to the corruption and blatant disregard for American values of the Republicans, and their leader, George Bush.
First off, let's deal with a few of the obvious detractors to this idea. I imagine the first argument would be that common wisdom says that you wouldn't want to have a 3 year long campaign. "How could you possibly pay for that?" "What if support peaks too early?" All those thoughts are important to consider but they are not really relevant at this point in time. Announcing your official candidacy now, long before most other candidates, would provide you with a whole lot of FREE publicity for the novelty of the political maneuver. All the right-wing media are just dying for some other story than more corruption from the Republicans or the weakness of Bush and his administration. Further, just because you announce your candidacy does not mean you have to go into full campaign mode right now. I'll get into this more in a second...
One of the other reasons some might give for not doing this now is that people might grow tired of a candidate over that period of time or that it gives the press way too long to find ways to trash a candidate. All of these become irrelevant in a Clark candidacy because your whole life has already been in the public eye and it is an honorable life to be respected by all Americans you fought for. By doing this now, you will be letting them get to know you as a man outside of the glare of 9 other candidates vying for the slot. All you really need to do to campaign over the next couple years (before the others jump in the race) is to travel around and do honest and open town halls in every region in the US you can hit. Does this sound crazy? Why? I would be glad to donate to your PAC to see you go to a small town area and sit in a gymnasium and introduce yourself to a few thousand people. I'd gladly support you in going to suburban shopping malls and inviting people to challenge your views and show them what intelligence and courage looks like. This would obviously have the added benefit of refining your ability to communicate with people for when the big show starts, as well as solidifying your message.
The final question a move like this might raise that I'm going to deal with is that it might take away the momentum and focus needed for the mid-terms in 06 but I actually think the timing of this is an absolute positive in the opposite way in this respect. Why? Well I have spoken on dKos and other places about my experiences in observing the governing model in Australia, and while the parliamentary system has its positives and negatives, I was always impressed by the way their concept of shadow government works. Essentially, there is a "shadow prime minister" who is the leader of the opposition party and there are also "shadow ministers" for every important ministry, similar to our secretarys in the cabinet. These people "shadow" their mirror in the elected government and whenever they give major policy speeches, or make major policy moves, the shadow government responds, letting the people know what THEY think should have been done instead. The advantages to this should be self-evident but an important one is obviously to answer the question a large majority of voters constantly ask themselves: "What's the difference between Democrats and Republicans?" Show them the difference, plain and simple, by following every speech Bush makes with a speech or statement of your own. Every intiative he makes, you respond, showing what an honest, intelligent leader thinks about the situation.
Seriously though, THAT is how every candidate should run against an incumbent: shadow his moves and speeches and respond with your own opinions and positions. Now I know most career politicos would be screaming bloody murder at an idea like that because it would put them on the spot over some of the critical decisions that are made. And THAT is exactly why it would work, and is the right thing to do. The real, average American in this country is sick of the career politicians who talk and talk and talk and never deliver. They want leadership and they want it bad. They want someone to tell them that they are NOT bad people for NOT supporting their President. They need to know that they aren't "traitors" for supporting the troops but not the war. Who better to make that point than one of the highest ranking and most highly decorated men in our nation's history?
There is a small window for this opportunity and it should be siezed immediately. The disaffected in this country are growing and have now become the majority. They need a strong, confident leader to tell them that they are right. They need a focused leader who will make them feel good about doing the right thing in being in opposition to a government that mistreats the lives of its citizens for the benefit of the wealthy few. Take the initiative, let the people get to know you and hone your message. You will peak for awhile and then be a background story until the real campaign starts up again, but when the time comes for the primaries, people will KNOW you because they will have had an opportunity to hear you speak, or at least one of their friends will have. You don't need a huge staff or 60 policy writers from the DNC to work on your message as you travel around. Get a bus and drive from place to place. I would be more than happy to organize regular fundraisers for this both in the netroots and door to door if necessary. I think you might be surprised how much people will want to hear what you have to say, even if they don't agree with everything you believe.
And when the day comes to decide who they want, are they going to choose the guy they know and trust but disagree with on a few small points, or are they going to choose the guy they have never heard of until yesterday that they know nothing about?
We need your leadership today. Not in a couple years when everyone else is clamoring for votes. We need a person to stand up and loudly respond to the lies. We need someone to represent all those of us who HAVE no voice right now. Be that leader...take the reins now and lead us as I believe you are so very qualified to do...
Pride
