A Democratic answer to Dwight Eisenhower?
Just when you thought the field of Democratic presidential candidates would plateau at nine after Sen. Bob Graham files his FEC paperwork this week, be prepared for at least one more hat to be thrown in the ring.
Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, former commander of NATO, has been generating plenty of buzz since his stellar performance on “Meet the Press” last week. As the American Prowler reported, DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe was so excited after watching the show, he was “calling all over Washington and elsewhere touting Clark as a sure-fire winner for Democrats” in 2004. Slate’s Mickey Kaus blogged on Thursday that transcripts of Clark’s appearance are “being e-mailed around Democratic modems,” which Kaus believes hints at “a small groundswell for General Wesley Clark.”
Matt Miller, the best columnist you’ve never heard of, wrote last week that Clark could solve a lot of the Democratic Party’s problems in 2004.
“I didn’t pay close enough attention to the details of generalship in the Kosovo campaign to have a fully informed view of Gen. Wesley Clark,” Miller said. “But based on his performance the other day on ‘Meet the Press,’ I hope he runs for president. Why? If you’re a Democrat these days, you mostly cringe or close your eyes when the party’s presidential contenders talk national security…. Clark offers a nuanced, credible critique that seems to reflect his best judgment, not partisan calculation. He hasn’t gamed out the pros and cons of his ‘positioning’ on Iraq with his political consultants, as virtually every Democratic candidate has been doing. When someone with authority and experience is telling you what they really think, it shows.”
Carpetbagger personally heard from several die-hard Democratic voters who saw the Russert interview and wanted to know more about Clark and whether he might be persuaded to run.
Apparently, the answer is yes. According to U.S. News & World Report’s Washington Whispers, Clark recently called Ron Oliver, chairman of the Democratic Party in Clark’s home state of Arkansas, to ask him to put off endorsing any of the current candidates. Obviously, one can’t help but conclude that Clark’s call was motivated by his own political ambitions.
It’s hard to argue with the idea that Clark is an impressive individual who’d make an intriguing candidate. He’s a Rhodes scholar from Arkansas (hmm, why does that sound familiar?), he led a successful military campaign — with NATO allies — in Kosovo, and he’s a decorated military veteran who’s won the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. In short, as a Slate article recently described it, Clark could “lead the party out of its national-security wilderness.”
But, and you had to know a “but” was coming, is Clark the Democrats’ Dwight Eisenhower? Carpetbagger isn’t convinced quite yet. First and foremost, no one’s sure of his commitment to the Democratic Party. Indeed, no one’s sure if he’s even a Democrat. When Russert ask if he’d run for national office as a Democrat, Clark said, “I haven’t declared a party, but, you know, it would be hard to conceive of running as a Republican, only because the administration’s policy is what’s causing me to have these concerns.” Notice that “only because” phrase? One of the funny things about Democratic primary voters is that they like to vote for actual Democrats in presidential primaries, not candidates who joined the party “only because” they disapproved of Bush’s policy on Iraq.
Secondly, Clark has a total of zero years in elected office. Many Democrats, including Carpetbagger, thought W. Bush was far too inexperienced to be the nation’s chief executive when he announced his candidacy after just five years in public office. (Though, to be fair, Clark’s pre-candidate career of decorated military service is far more admirable and worthy of respect than Bush’s years as a floundering, failed businessman with a drinking problem who had a tendency of relying on family connections to get him out of jams. But I digress…)
Carpetbagger is left thinking Clark would make a great addition — perhaps the perfect addition — to the Dem’s ticket as the vice presidential nominee, especially if the top of the ticket features a military veteran such as John Kerry. That, of course, would set up a perfect matchup for an election that will likely focus on foreign affairs and use of the military — two Democrats who served valiantly in foreign wars against two Republicans who dodged the draft.