Time magazine seems to think it’s uncovered damaging evidence of Wesley Clark supporting George W. Bush. I think Time is wildly overstating its case.
Over the weekend, Time reported that it had received a copy of a Clark speech in Arkansas from January 2002 in which Clark said, “I tremendously admire… the great work done by our commander-in-chief, our president, George Bush.”
For those concerned about Gen. Clark’s Democratic bona fides, this may sound troubling. It’s shouldn’t be.
With quotes like these, context is everything. Clark was specifically praising the administration’s military efforts in Afghanistan. At the time, military operations were still ongoing in defeating the Taliban, capturing its leaders, and dismantling the al Queda network in the country. Clark saw the mission, at least in January 2002, as a success. (Shortly thereafter, Bush failed to show necessary follow-through on Afghanistan — a fact that Clark has frequently pointed out.)
So Time is telling us that Clark, like a lot of other people in January 2002, supported the administration’s efforts in Afghanistan. Does this mean Clark was insufficiently Democratic? Absolutely not. The overwhelming majority of Dems were saying nearly identical things at the time.
For example, six months after Clark’s January 2002 comments, Howard Dean was on Meet the Press expressing a similar sentiment. When Tim Russert asked Dean if he thought the military operation in Afghanistan had been successful, Dean said, “Yes, I do, and I support the president in that military operation…. I’ve seen others criticize the president. I think it’s very easy to second-guess the commander-in-chief at a time of war. I don’t choose to engage in doing that.” (July 21, 2002)
Should we question Dean’s commitment to the Democratic Party because he praised Bush’s Afghanistan mission and refused to “second-guess” Bush’s military decisions? Of course not. Dean can be a Democrat who agreed with Bush about Afghanistan, just as Clark can.
For that matter, another Senator was on CNN in September 2001 talking about Bush and the war on terror. When Wolf Blitzer noted Bush’s approval rating had soared to 90 percent in the wake of 9/11, this lawmaker said, “Count me in the 90 percent.” He added, “I think [Bush] has done a first-rate job. I’ve liked the balance he’s shown, the patience he’s shown, the tone he has shown and the methodical way in which he’s going about this.”
Was this pro-Bush sentiment offered by Trent Lott? Rick Santorum? No, it was Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), one of the Democratic Party’s leading voices on foreign policy. In light of Biden’s effusive praise for Bush, should we now question Biden’s loyalty? Does Biden, more than two years later, deserve to be called a Republican-in-disguise?
Of course not, that’s ridiculous. It’s equally ridiculous, however, to think that Clark’s support two years ago for Bush’s efforts in Afghanistan is indicative of anything sinister or suspicious.
Most Americans, regardless of party affiliation, believed the war in Afghanistan was a necessary response to 9/11 and that military efforts were very successful in destroying terrorist camps and training facilities. The fact that Clark said, early on, that Bush had done “great work” in waging war in Afghanistan should not be shocking to anyone. Indeed, it would have been odd if Clark had said anything to the contrary.