My Wes Clark Experience

[Dinger]

Anybody else have stories in meeting the Generaql in person? I'd love to hear your stories. Here's mine, in brief:

I met Wes Clark and Gert Clark in Green Bay on Nov. 25, 2003. It was at the University of Green Bay, a town-hall meeting. I worked up some nerve to ask a question. I was sitting next to someone whoworked under Wes in Kosovo. He took a couple of pics as I asked the question (education-related). i wa so damn nervouse, before I asked my question, I said (sounded like an idot) "I'm so nervouse. I can't believe I'm doing this right now." he kindly said,"Don't be nervous. Go ahead and ask your question," so I did. After the meeting, Wes was given a Brett Favre jersey, and put it on. Our Lt. Governor, Barbara Lawton, took my picture next to Wes. Then we had our arms around each other's shoulder (I melted), and she took our picture. Unfortunately, his head was cut off, but I got several pics that were pretty good with my digital camera.
Then, I had his book, "Winning Modern War," which he autographed. As I was waiting, I said to the person next to me that I thought I sounded like a nerd, but then, the lady standing on my left said,"No, you were very articulate." That lady was Gert Clark, and I got a nice pic of her too. What a day I had!

[Gato Moteado]

1. did you travel into the future?

;)

[cjbuchanan]

2. beat me to it.

I was going to ask the same thing.

[sallyseven]

4. Lets be nice.

Your jealous that you didn't meet Wes Clark in person I thought the young woman put her best foot forward and you guys shouldn't chastise her for a wrong year.

[Dinger]

6. Thank you

OBVIOUSLY it was a typo. Excuse f*&kin' me everybody! Sheesh!

[cjbuchanan]

8. Don't take things so serious

It was only a joke. Sorry if you found it offensive.

[cjbuchanan]

9. I would thank you for not guessing at my reasons

Thanks for just assuming that because I would make a joke (something that happens a lot at DU) I must just be jealous. If you think pointing out something in a humorous manor is chastising a person, then I guess I did. I however do not feel that way.

I have had a number of typos on DU and people have made similar innocent jokes. I see it as a thing a community of friends does. If this offends you, please feel free to block my posts from your eyes.

Just my thoughts on this whole funny thing.

[Dinger]

10. OK Cj, I'll Try To Chill Out A Bit

I didn't really think you were jealous. Actually, I was wondering how my experience compared with others' on this board.

[cjbuchanan]

11. I'll try to do the same

Congrats on meeting Clark. Sorry if I dampened it in any way.

Onward we go!
:grouphug:

[Gato Moteado]

12. hell yeah, i'm jealous she got to meet wes clark.....

....but i'm even more jealous she figured out how to travel through time! i wish i could go back about 15 or 20 years and fix a few mistakes i made. and wouldn't it be great to go back to the 90s and invest heavily in dell and amazon.com??!!

[Dinger]

5. Yes I Did

No, obviously it was a typo.

[coloradodem2005]

3. Awesome.

So you travelled to the future, after the election and met Vice-President Elect Clark. So tell me, were the invesitgations of Bushco underway?

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. I've met Wes 4 times.

:loveya: The first time we met him was at a fundraiser in Chicago. He gave a short stump speech and then we stood in line to shake his hand. My son, who was 10 at the time, asked Wes..."What's your position on the draft?" and Wes said..."Oh! We don't need a draft! You see this man down here (a man standing a few people away) his son has just graduated from West Point and will be serving our country so, if we have enough young men like his son, we won't need a draft." THEN he asked my son..."If your country needed you, would you join and help us?" My wonderful little son said, to a 4 Star General, "No!" LOL! We laughed about that for days!

Then, the second time we met him was when my son and I drove from Illinois to Nasville Tennessee to work for the Clark Nashville Campaign Office. We went to the Tennessee Democratic Convention while we were there and met Wes that night AND Wes Jr. :hi: My son and I were out on the patio at the hotel where the convention was, I was having a smoke and out walked Wes Jr. to have a smoke too. My son asked him if his dad smoked too? Wes Jr. said..."Oh no! My dad doesn't smoke!" Also, out on the patio, a Kerry supporter walked up to Wes Jr. and asked him if he would sign his sign and Wes Jr. said "Sure I will!" He handed Wes Jr. a "Real Deal" Kerry sign! Wes Jr. said, "I'm not signing that! I work for the Wes Clark campaign." I LOVED it! Some nerve that Kerry supporter had. :eyes:
Anyway, we got to meet and greet Wes Sr. THAT night and at a rally he had at the Sheraton Nashville.

The 4th time we met him was at the Nashville Campaign office. He and the reporters and camera people from one of the NY station came in. He saw my son and said..."Can I ask you a question? Why aren't you in school?" My son explained that his teacher had given him his homework before we left for Nashville and he already finished all of it. THEN, Wes sat down right in front of me :loveya: to talk to a voter on the phone....we were working the phones that day. I was also interviewed by the reporter and filmed. :( Since I don't live in NY, I have NO idea if it made the news. Anyway, Those are my Wes Clark experiences. What a wonderful candidate we had. :cry: He dropped out of the race 2 days later. :cry:

[x_y_no]

13. I met Clark ...

at the Miami Clark meetup at the Rusty Pellican the week after he declared. There were maybe 250 people there all of whom wanted to shake his hand, but when I asked him a question about Iraq he instantly focused on that and gave one of the the most perceptive analyses I'd ever heard. I swear I felt like every other person in the room disappeared.

I've met him twice since, just a handshake and a quick couple of words of support, for which he returned thanks. But that first meeting made an indelible impression on me.

[cosmokramer]

14. I call it "Four Star Struck"...

...I felt like an utter idiot in the mans presence...you immediately know when he enters a room as the energy erupts!

[Claire Beth]

15. yes, I met Wesley Clark on December 30th....

in Nashville. He was campaigning here and I was fortunate enough to have my picture made with him. He would make an excellent veep.

[Nashyra]

16. Yes I have met him twice and talked with him

The first time I got to talk to him was at the Clark House Party I hosted, we were fortunate enough to be picked to ask a question during the conference call and we invited him to Lake Tahoe. I was supposed to go to a fund raiser and paid for it but missed my flight the day after Christmas when he was in LA, all the extra security took more than the 2hours ahead that I allowed to make the flight. I vowed that day to go to New Hampshire and volunteer, I went to NH 6 days before the primary and took my dad, my son and his roomate. We met him after the first rally and then got to talk to him after he had dinner and had our picture taken with him, the next day we met him again and we got to talk with Wes Jr. and Gert and have our pictures taken with them. On May 24th my dad and I went to NYC and took part in a WesPac fundraiser and my dad was able to get his previous picture taken and I was able to get another picture taken with him. The wonderful thing about the WesPac fundraiser is that we were able to meet so many Clark people in person, so many that worked so hard and traveled a great distance to help this great man make a real distance, as much as I enjoyed meeting the General again it was even more exciting meeting all these people who are so dedicated, my dad thought so too. By the way my dad says hi to MadMax and Mr. MadMax

[Tom Rinaldo]

17. I've "met" Clark on several occasions

The first was an early fund raiser in NYC. That's where I got to tell him (as a "member" of the Draft Clark movement)"thank you for answering our call" while he was moving by shaking hands with people. Clark did what I have come to realize is his classic prolonged hand shake coupled with firm eye contact, and he simply replied "thank YOU" in return, with his emphasis on the second word.

I subsequently saw him at a "small" county Democratic party fund raising dinner early in his New Hampshire campaign, and again the next morning when he spoke to a group of us supporters when he filed his official papers to run in NH. I saw Clark again the day of the NH Primary when he visited a polling station where I was "stationed" by the campaign, and later that night saw him address his crowd of supporters as the returns came in. Last time I saw Clark was when he launched WESPAC in NYC.

So I shook hands with Clark several times but never really spoke with him. I feel lucky though to have been around him a few times in small groups of people, as well as in front of larger crowds. Being near Clark in a small group gives you a strong sense of him; his brightness in both senses of that word. Clark is a very upbeat person. He clearly was tired one or two of the times I noted, but he also clearly loved getting out and being with people to talk about important issues. That part is unmistakably obvious and genuine. Clark does not want to leave a room after he finishes speaking, he wants to mix with the people who are seeking him out. Clark has a real smile, not just a stage smile, and the twinkle in his eye is really there also. Clark comes off as being enthusiastic about life, and as a man with a very clear sense of purpose, and he has a marvelous dry sense of humor usually directed at himself.

Actually I got a better chance to meet his wife Gert than I did Wes. Again it was in NH on Primary day at a polling station. There were 6 of us Clark volunteers standing out there in the cold with our signs, when we got word she would be stopping by. When she did it wasn't a photo op at all. It was a morale boost thanking "the troops" type of visit. She just came directly over to us and spent about 10 mins just chatting with all of us. Gert is simply wonderful. There was absolutely no pretension in that woman, we immediately felt like peers out there on the line together. Great sense of humor also I might add. Gert was very down to Earth but obviously she had the capacity to charm essentially anyone, which makes sense when you realize that she is accustomed to being a hostess for Heads of State also. I can't remember what we talked about because the conversation we had was so natural, kind of a "roadie" type theme about the nuts and bolts of being out there doing the politics thing, which we all felt naturally part of since, hey, we were out there doing the politics thing also.

Gert had "real friend potential", you know, what you think when you meet someone neat who you think, it would be great if we got to know each other better. Of course then it hits you, this woman might become our First Lady. And then the huge smile sets in; wouldn't that be wonderful...

[democratreformed]

18. My first meeting was with Gert in Little Rock...

My daughter and I went to participate in Wes' National Day of Service. We went to the Boys and Girls Club to help clean and spruce up the place. My son had had a sleepover the night before and been up very late, so he was grouchy and sleepy. After we arrived, I put my son in one of the rooms on the couch and he promptly went right to sleep.

We worked all morning. We cleaned from top to bottom. Gert was there cleaning sinks, desks, and storerooms. My daughter worked with her in the storeroom.

About 1 p.m., as we prepared to leave, Jeff Daily introduced me to Gert. I was holding my son, as he was still asleep. She was very nice and commented on Justing sleeping all morning long. We told her we were from Bald Knob and she was amazed we had driven 60 miles to work and be a part of Wes' service day. General Clark was sick that weekend (it was the weekend he had to cancel appearances because he lost his voice.). I told her to tell him I hoped he got well soon.

Oops, actually, the first time I met Gert was at meet-up. I saw her come in but didn't recognize her. She came around to all the tables. When she reached our table, she held out her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Gert Clark. Thank you for your support." She gave an incredible speech that night.

In December, my daughter and I traveled to New Hampshire with a group for the campaign. Before we left, we attended a house party where Wes was giving a speech. He then walked us to our bus that was taking us to the airport. He made small talk with some of the people he knew pretty well. He shook each of our hands as we boarded the bus.

Our trip to New Hampshire was an experience of a lifetime. We did door-to-door campaigning, visibility, and visited several small towns around the state. One day, we cleaned snow from the parking area and walkways of a veteran's home. There were too many great experiences to tell them all.

The last day, we went to Dover, New Hampshire,where Wes was doing a radio interview. It was a very small station. We all visited with Wes and Gert when they arrived. We had our radio playing in the parking lot as he was being interviewed. We all listened intently and many of us had tears in our eyes as he spoke about the war in Iraq. The radio station was taking call-ins. They went to commercial break and said they would take the first call after the break. We were all nervous wondering what question would be asked and how Wes would answer it.

After the break, we were all standing solemnly as we waited to hear what the caller would ask. A voice begins and says "My name is **** and I am standing outside here with 50 other people that came 1500 miles to show their support for you......" We all start looking around frantically and we see one of our group way off in the field on his cell phone. It was hilarious. Another of our group, a lady from New York, had gone in to use the restroom. She was watching Wes through a window. She said that he was looking all intent as well - waiting on the question. She said that, when the guy started talking, Wes pushed his chair back and started laughing.

After the interview, we all visited with Wes and Gert again. The most impressive thing was when Gert said to me and my daughter "Oh yeah, ya'll are from Bald Knob. How's the little sleepy guy?"

We campaigned for Wes all throughout January and went to Tennessee in February. We met Gert there as well. She gave another phenomenal speech.

The next time we saw Wes and Gert was when we stood with tears streaming down our faces listening to Wes withdraw from the race. I knew it needed to be done - but it was just heartbreaking. I felt like all my hope for the future of our country and its citizens were leaving with him. His speech helped, though, as he promised to continue to work on our behalf in every way that he could.

We met Wes and Gert one last time. We exchanged big hugs. Gert told us to cheer up. She said that a person's first political campaign is always the hardest.

Gert, of course, had faith in John Kerry from the beginning. During the draft days, she wondered why people wanted Wes when, she thought, John Kerry was a good candidate. Knowing that Gert thinks that makes it easier for me to accept him as our candidate.

[ArkDem]

19. >I was sitting next to someone whoworked under Wes in Kosovo

What position?

[Torgo4]

20. Got To Meet Wes and John Mellencamp!

Nov 22, in Carmel, Indiana--At Asherwood Estates (Mel Simon's Castle)

Private fundraiser. Mellencamp phoned in 4 songs (Small Town, Pink Houses, Stones in my Passway, To Washington) after Gen Clark spoke!

Since he was late for dinner and missed the cocktail reception, he stuck around until about 10:30pm. I was one of the few rube-like Hooisers that brought a digital camera (clunky Sony-Mavica), so I got requests to take a lot of pics. About 10:10, everyone had filtered away. Soooooo, me & the wife got to one-on-one with him for about 10-15 minutes; mostly RE: Iraq & Veteran's stuff.
He signed my copy of: "Waging Modern War" for my little 3 year old. I'll try to post some pix if possible.

We had a great time!