Jack Beatty, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly, has written the strongest appeal yet for Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark to run for president. If you have any interest in the former Supreme Commander of NATO, this essay is for you.
“I can’t think of a man and moment better matched than retired general Wesley Clark and the 2004 presidential election,” Beatty explains. He adds, “[I]f you ask which candidate Bush would least like to run against, the answer has to be General Wesley Clark.”
Beatty also creates an “imaginary dialog” between two voters looking for an ideal opponent to beat Bush in 2004. It’s pretty clever; take a look:
Man: It needs to be someone with credibility on national security.
Woman: How does this grab you — the former Supreme Commander of NATO!
M: Why not? And let’s make him first in his class at West Point.
W: And a Rhodes Scholar.
M: And a thrice-wounded decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.
W: Pro-choice.
M: Pro-affirmative action.
W: With private-sector experience leading a company specializing in alternative-energy research to end our dependence on imported oil.
M: And to leave a cleaner environment for our kids.
W: Yes — and someone who would support restoring fiscal discipline so we won’t blight their future with debt.
M: He’s got to be from the South. The last three Democratic Presidents were southerners.
W: And the last three losers were from the North.
M: Articulate, with lots of experience on TV.
W: Handsome. Tall, graying, distinguished.
M: And imagine if you can a candidate who was, say, born an Orthodox Jew. Then, after his father’s early death and mother’s remarriage, raised as a southern Baptist.
W: And who converts to Catholicism in Vietnam.
M: The trifecta!
W: A critic of Bush’s war in Iraq who is skeptical about Bush’s…
M: misrepresentations…
W: …lies about Saddam’s WMD and the threat posed by a nation that spent $1 billion on defense last year to a nation that spent $400 billion.
M: A critic of Bush’s unilateralism. Someone who has worked with our European allies and can stand up and say, “Our strength lies in our alliances. Going it alone is not an option in a world threatened by transnational terrorism. Multilateral cooperation is a necessity.”
W: And why stop there? Imagine a candidate who would stand up for the UN! One who would remind Americans that it was our creation, that it can serve our interests in the Third World, which wants no part of U.S. “imperialism.” Peace, justice, human rights — a reformed UN, supported by an American President sensitive to the dignity of other nations and committed to helping the poor countries, can lead the way to a better world.
M: We’re dreaming. No candidate could be that good.
W: That right for these times.
M: That trustworthy on security issues.
W: That smart!
M: That non-political. Face it: the country can’t stand politicians.
W: But suppose such a candidate did exist… Wouldn’t he owe it to the country to run?