Ex-general enters U.S. presidential race

[Jason Jarvis]

Oh great, just what the US needs -- a general that nearly caused a war when he ordered British troops to seize Pristina airfield from Russian airborne forces during the advance into Kosovo.

Thank God the British general (whose name escapes me, sorry) had the good sense to stall until he talked to Whitehall -- who of course said no way!

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Ex-general enters U.S. presidential race

Associated Press

Little Rock, Ark. — Retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark entered a crowded and wide-open race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday.

“We‘re going to run a campaign that will move this country forward not back,” Gen. Clark said, promising to “talk straight to the American people.”

Gen. Clark, 58, became the 10th Democrat in the race, joining a contest that has been under way for months.

“My name is Wes Clark. I am from Little Rock, Ark. And I am here to announce that I intend to seek the presidency of the United States of America,” he began.

He entered with no experience in elective office and no history on domestic policy but offered one thing Democrats crave: New hope of undercutting U.S. President George W. Bush wartime popularity.

Gen. Clark immediately took aim at Mr. Bush, saying his economic policies “have cost us more jobs than our economy has had the energy to create.”

Nearly three million U.S. jobs have been lost since Mr. Bush took office in January, 2001.

Gen. Clark vowed to “restore the millions of jobs that have been lost.”

The former Vietnam veteran and commander of all NATO forces in Europe also said that, “More than 100,000 American troops are fighting abroad, and once again Americans are concerned about their civil liberties.”

He made his announcement at a boys and girls club in the state capital, under clear blue skies and on a small stage bearing a sign of his Web site: “americansforclark.com.”

Supporters waved U.S. flags and “Draft Clark” signs while volunteers passed out “Clark” chocolate bars to an audience of several hundred.

Although a late entry in the contest, Gen. Clark declared, “We‘re firm in our intent, we‘re clear in our purposes, we‘re mustering the resources, building the nucleus, drawing in the support of people across this great land.”

“We‘re under way and moving forward” he said to enthusiastic applause in a speech that lasted about ten minutes and was interrupted briefly by chants of “We want Clark.”

A fellow Arkansas Democrat, Senator Blanche Lincoln, said in a statement that Gen. Clark “offers strong, tested leadership on critical challenges that confront our nation.”

He enters the race as a new national poll showed Mr. Bush leading the current field of Democratic challengers. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found Mr. Bush outdistancing his rivals by 10 points or more in the survey conducted Sept. 11-15.

 

[nbk]

I really like Clark and I hope he gets in. He is much more respectable then bush. Personally I think the former NATO commander would know a lot more on how to deal with the mess bush has gotten their country into, then someone who never went to war when his country was at war, and never even went on national guard duty, which was his alternative to go to war.

Call me crazy but I still think the americans are somewhat intelligent, and voting Clark into office will prove this.

 

[onecat]

"As an American Clark would be the last person I would ever vote for....he is a putz, and a democratic worm! Your post shows how little you really know and understand the US."

Everyone has a personal opinion, but I don‘t see how you could call him a putz. Clark from what I‘ve seen of Clark... and it‘s limited, already out classes Bush. If it wasn‘t for 9/11, people would be jumping ship, and USS Bush would sinking under its very poor economic policies. As for being a Democrat, again I don‘t see much difference apart from democrats being somewhat more open minded on a women‘s right to choice. Oh they‘re not by the Christian right.... that‘s a plus in my books.

Yes I‘m not American, but judging someone ability to rule a gov‘t doesn‘t stop at the border.

 

[Enzo]

Democratic worm eh? I suppose that shows where you stand with that party and it‘s personnel. That‘s fine.

What concerns me about Clark is his complete lack of experience in the political field. He‘s a military man. Running a country requires more balance. What exactly does he know about social programs, health, education, energy, etc... The list goes on. That could be a good thing, as he may not be tainted by the political system. And rising to command means he‘s used to a degree of political infighting. Overall, this could go either way; depends on his handlers. Bush is by no means a great leader, but he has some intelligent and experienced people on his staff who are assisting him. The decisions out of Washington aren‘t neccessarily the best one‘s, but that‘s more for history to decide, and armchair commentators to enjoy.

Personnally, I‘d like to know more about Dean. Wondering if he has a chance? Then there‘s always Rev. Al

 

[Marauder]

Have any of you ever seen an interview with Clark? It would be funny if it wasn‘t plainly sad how out to lunch this cat is.

In addition, from talking with guys who worked at NTC when Clark was CG, this guy is a prick who treated his enlisted as mere stepping stones to future promotion. This guy put career-climbing in front of the "My Mission, My Men, My Self" creed. This guy had his personal driver DUST OFF HIS BOOTS and PUT HIS WEB GEAR ON FOR HIM whenever he alighted from his Humvee. He was universally disliked by all the enlisted and JOs who had the misfortune to serve under him.