Highlite quotes:even Karl Rove might have trouble turning a winner of the Silver Star into a weenie.in “War in a Time of Peace,” David Halberstam writes that Clark “saw brilliantly what was in front of him ... like a laser scope.” Great quality in a president... but Halberstam also writes that “his peripheral vision ... was considerably more limited.” Article ExcerptsIf Wes Clark goes nowhere, you can already hear the tired punditry: He didn’t have enough cash. He started too late. Blah, blah, blah. This analysis has already begun, though it is close to meaningless.
LET’S START WITH THE MONEY. In the primary season, fund-raising is mostly just a fancy and not terribly accurate poll—a way to measure support among the wealthy and, with the Internet, the passionate. You can have half as much money as the next guy and still win because, unlike Senate campaigns, presidential contests are fought out in the “free media,” where live-TV skills trump paid ads. Money helps build a field organization that can cushion later missteps, but it’s the symptom, not the cause, of success. I’ve seen candidates win Super Tuesday states where they had no ads on the air and only a half-dozen volunteers on the ground. Remember: momentum generates money, not the other way around.
Similarly, early starts are relevant only if the candidate is simultaneously obscure and in touch with the national mood, like Jimmy Carter in 1976. Four and a half months—the time between now and the first primaries—is plenty of time to introduce oneself to the voters.
Clark’s timing is exquisite. In any other election year, a former general wouldn’t have a chance in the Democratic Party, which is deeply ambivalent about the military. But active Democrats know that they must restore credibility on this issue to stay competitive as a party. Even if he fades, Clark helps in that process. Republicans are already trying to tar him with the Clinton brush; both are Rhodes scholars from Arkansas (though not close friends), and a chunk of Clinton’s staff is joining Clark. Yet even Karl Rove might have trouble turning a winner of the Silver Star into a weenie. Clark pushed so hard to liberate Kosovo in 1999 that he alienated the other brass. They were wrong and he was right, and millions of lives were saved. The timing is good for a humanitarian hawk. Although he hasn’t yet outlined specifics, Clark’s message is also strong. It will basically be that he is more in touch than Bush on domestic policy and more competent on foreign policy.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/969672.asp
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