Ret. Gen Wesley Clark was on CNN over the weekend, addressing a variety of issues — including his possible presidential campaign — on Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.
He had a particularly good line about Bush’s deceptive claims in advance of the invasion of Iraq. “You’d be taking them to the Better Business Bureau if you bought a washing machine the way we went into the war in Iraq,” Clark said. Cute line; might sound good in a stump speech.
The best part was hearing Clark going after Tom DeLay. You might recall, shortly after the war began, DeLay lashed out at so-called “blow-dried Napoleons,” who DeLay said “come on television and, in some cases, have their own agendas. General Clark is one of them that is running for president, yet he’s paid to be an expert on your network.”
When Blitzer brought this up, Clark showed that he’s still pretty irritated about DeLay’s criticism. I loved Clark’s response.
“Well, first of all, I’d be happy to compare my hair with Tom DeLay’s,” Clark said. “We’ll see who’s got the blow-dried hair.”
Clark added, “[DeLay’s] got it exactly backward. It’s upside down. I am saying what I believe. And I’m being drawn into the political process because of what I believe and what I’ve said about it. So it’s precisely the opposite of a man like Tom DeLay, who is only motivated by politics and says whatever he needs to say to get the political purpose. And so, you know, it couldn’t be more diametrically opposed, and I couldn’t be more opposed than I am to Tom DeLay. You know, Wolf, when our airmen were flying over Kosovo, Tom DeLay led the House Republicans to vote not to support their activities, when American troops were in combat. To me, that’s a real indicator of a man who is motivated not by patriotism or support for the troops, but for partisan political purposes.”
Damn straight. As Eric Alterman said yesterday, “This Wesley Clark fellow has real possibilities.”
As for whether he’ll actually become a candidate, Clark still sounds conflicted.
“This is a very tough call for someone who hasn’t been climbing the political ladder,” Clark said. “I’ve been in public service my whole life, but it’s been in the military. You’re dealing with a new language, new groups, new issues, new ways of thinking about how to do this.”
For those of us trying to read between the lines, however, Clark offered signs of his willingness to run.
“I’m concerned about the issues, more concerned about the issues than the process,” Clark said, for example. “And I think this country right now is — we’re at a turning point in where we are. We’re at a turning point both in our foreign policy and in our policies at home. And to me, that’s the real motivation, and it’s why I’ve been speaking out.”
When Blitzer asked if raising money and being competitive in early states such as Iowa and New Hampshire will be difficult for a candidate making a late entry, Clark seemed to be disinterested in the political angle. “That’s not the issue. The issue really is the issues. It’s what the — what does America stand for? How do we want to behave in the world? What does it take to fulfill America’s dreams at home?
Lastly, Clark took a little time to explain why he’d make an appealing candidate. These comments, too, sound a lot like the kinds of things Clark could include in a good stump speech.
“I think the American people are looking for, first of all, hands-on leadership experience,” he said. “They are looking for a proven track record in leadership. And I think, secondly, they are looking for, and especially people in the Democratic Party, are looking for the articulation of what the Democratic Party means, what it can represent for America. And as I’ve gone around the country, again and again, I find just an enormous hunger for leadership. And I think the draft movement is evidence that, to some extent, there is still that hunger out there, despite the number of candidates in the race and despite the president’s polling. I’m getting a lot of letters from Republicans and people who say that they wish they hadn’t voted the way they had in 2000. They want an opportunity to do it a different way in 2004.”