It Takes a General
by matt at 5:10 am on January 31st, 2005 in '06/'08 Campaigns
Readers who have been with us from the beginning will remember that we endorsed General Wesley Clark for the Democratic nomination in early 2004. A late entry into the race and some disorganization in his campaign put him at too great a disadvantage for a first time candidate to overcome. His withdrawal on February 18, 2004 was a very disappointing day for us.
It’s too soon to tell what the field is going to look like for 2008, but I like the looks of this:
Among the earliest to start dialing for donors: Wesley Clark, who entered the ‘04 race just a few months before the first primary but quickly stumbled with a flip-flop on how he would have voted on Congress’s Iraq-war resolution. Now he is telling potential supporters, according to one he called, that he “learned from his mistakes, he knows it takes more time and preparation than he put in–and that his wife is fully on board,” which wasn’t true the first go-round.
Try sending flip-flops to or running slanderous TV spots about Clark. Go ahead, I dare you.
sac wrote:
Sounds good, but I thought that no way could Bush stand up against or impunge Kerry’s war record. We all know how that turned out.
Posted 31 Jan 2005 at 9:00 am ¶
Kevin wrote:
Oh great, just what we need. Clark, who related how a preacher telling him that “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” really brought the issue of gay marriage home to him. It’s bad enough with all the Pubbies finding it fashionable and profitable to practice wanton discrimination against the last group it’s openly OK to discriminate against. It’s a downright insult for a Dem to do so, and based upon such an enlightened argument to boot! Not that Kerry was a prize pig in this aspect, either. I guess we really do need to defend marriage, though. Liza, Liz, Britney, et al all need a few more for themselves, for starters. And I’m convinced that gays getting married in MA were DIRECTLY responsible for Brad and Jen’s heartbreaking split up. Not surprising from a country where the majority of folks willingly have their brains bludgeoned out by the greatest work of fiction ever.
Posted 01 Feb 2005 at 1:16 pm ¶
matt wrote:
Interview with Wes Clark in The Advocate.
Took me all of 10 seconds to find this. Sorry to take away your indignation.
Posted 01 Feb 2005 at 1:32 pm ¶
Kevin wrote:
Fair enough, I was soundbitten - I’m less enamored of indignation that you may think and am grateful to have it stripped away. I had originally heard the quote in his Hardball interview when it was broadcast in Nov 2004. In all fairness, I’ve since found the program transcript for proper context: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6469539/ (scroll about halfway down). So, mea culpa *flogs self*
Posted 01 Feb 2005 at 2:13 pm ¶
Cameron Barrett wrote:
Clark dropped out of the race on February 11, 2003 - one day afte rlosing the Tennesee primary.
As for Clark running again, it’s only a good idea if he gets a better staff. Entering the race late meant he had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for political consultants. Some of the people I worked with at Clark were very good at what they did — unfortunately, those people were not the ones who made the decisions. Too much infighting, improper handling of the media, and bad decisions are what did Clark in.
Posted 03 Feb 2005 at 1:47 pm ¶