New Wesley Clark bio at Washington Post

[OKNancy]

This is a four page piece. Here are some tiny snips. Go there if you are a fan or you want to learn more about Clark.

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In interviews, people from throughout Clark's life made it clear that he always stood out -- a critical thinker of exceptional talent and drive. He is held in awe by his high school classmates, respected for his intellect by West Point peers, and liked by his 1975 White House fellows class. Evaluations from commanding officers over 30 years, which his campaign released last week, offer a lexicon of superlatives.

Scott Thompson, a colleague in the White House fellows program, is indebted to Clark for emotional support and advice when Thompson -- who was then married with children -- decided to publicly acknowledge that he was gay.

Dan Christman, a West Point friend and retired general, said that when he became very ill with spinal meningitis in the early 1980s -- before screening techniques for HIV-tainted blood were fully developed -- Clark doggedly canvassed their entire War College class to find a suitable blood donor for his friend, and he did

snip

Some allies attribute Clark's problems to simple jealousies. Clark was an unusual breed of soldier, they said, an extraordinary intellect in a good ol' boy culture. "Wes was just a bit too smart and too pretty for Army infantry," retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey and others track Clark's internal problems to early glowing publicly -- an Esquire article in the late '70s that called him "probably the most brilliant junior officer now on active duty," a 1981 Washington Post magazine piece that declared the young officer "the best the Army has to offer."

"He committed the sin of fame," said Jack Wheeler, a West Point classmate and friend.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45166-2003Oct18.html