Let the General Lead the democrats' charge

[robbedvoter]

>From the LA Times: http://tinyurl.com/q2pp

Robert Scheer

October 7, 2003

In my reckless youth I briefly sported an "I like Ike" button, which
didn't go over particularly well in my corner of the Bronx, where
support of even a moderate Republican represented a betrayal of
everything decent.

In hindsight, though, I was right — the genial general-turned-
president proved to be a warrior for peace and an important critic of
what he saw as a "military-industrial complex" that threatened the
very fabric of democracy: "
snip
But in the very least it is enormously clarifying to have a battle-
scarred former general front and center to explain why the
president's reckless policies are weakening the nation's security.

As Clark put it last week, Bush's "headlong rush to war" resulted
in "dire consequences for our security." And I don't care if Clark is
a "pure" Democrat, a question that seems to trouble some of his
Democratic opponents. Pure Democrats like Lyndon Johnson have also
ensnared us in disastrous wars. On domestic issues, Clark
demonstrated a commitment to the party's progressive wing Friday,
telling the Democratic National Committee, "I want to make one thing
clear: I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-affirmative action, I'm pro-
environment, pro-education, pro-health care and pro-labor. And if
that ain't a Democrat, then I must be at the wrong meeting."

But clearly Clark's main strength is in challenging the
neoconservative clique that has brainwashed our naive president into
a hare-brained scheme of remaking the world into an American empire.
In the process, they have declared war, as Clark noted, "against
anyone who expresses dissent, questions their facts or challenges
their logic."

And just as with Vietnam, where Clark was wounded, Iraq is proving to
be a quagmire sucking up massive U.S. resources that prevent us from
addressing pressing domestic problems: Social Security, health care,
education, jobs, violence.

Last week, in calling for an "independent, comprehensive
investigation into the administration's handling of the intelligence
leading to war in Iraq," Clark raised the key issue facing this
president. "Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust
than to consciously make a case for war based on false claims," he
said.

And there you have it — the basic issue that the Democrats must
address in the next election, or it isn't worth having one.

Robert Scheer writes a weekly column for The Times.

[clar]

1. This is a dupe

but I want to add that in hindsight he was wrong. I think Adlai Stevenson would have been a great President. Ike, despite the recent makeover, was at best, a mediocre one. (BTW, I think Clark is way more qualified than Ike was) Adlai is one of my heros.

[realFedUp]

2. Dupe, locking this thread

Dupe, locking

rfu, moderator