I believe Wesley Clark when he says he isn’t sure whether he’s going to run for president again. However (rampant speculation alert!) I am pretty damn sure he wants to run again, and is paving the way just in case he decides to give it another shot.
The former NATO allied commander spoke to us this morning, taking 70 minutes out of a scheduled 45-minute slot to compliment us (the assembled alternative press), to implore us to do more and to explain why he is, in his words, worried about this great nation of ours.
He started off by explaining how America needs the press, especially in a time when we have a presidency that’s issuing releases and expecting them to masquerade as “real” news. However, he chided the media for not doing enough homework to give proper context to the news of the day.
After discussing his blog and detailing a little of his Arkansas background, Clark abruptly changed topics with: “I am worried about our country.”
He then laid out (CUE THE STUMP SPEECH) a litany of problems facing these United States: the low graduation rate; more than half of the graduate students here being from outside of the country; the high number of uninsured people; the current industry-friendly, people-unfriendly business environment; the immigration dilemma; the distribution (or lack thereof) of wealth; and the fact that the country is “struggling in a war we didn’t have to fight.” He boldly predicted a troop reduction, probably shortly after Labor Day, when elections are just around the corner. Finally, he bemoaned the lack of a “big idea” to unite our efforts in the post-Cold War era.
It was an impressive speech by an impressive man. I am sure we’ll be hearing more from Wesley Clark in the future.
Tomorrow, we hear from Susan McDougal and a man you may have heard of—William Jefferson Clinton. More on that tomorrow or Sunday.
This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2006.
I too hope we will hear much more of General Clark in the future. He’s one of the few leaders who truly leads by example. His grasp of the intersection of technology with human potential is sincere & deep rooted. Haven’t seen much out on the web yet about this conference- but hope to read more. I was excited when I saw the line up in a press release a few weeks ago. Thanks for posting this.
Clark was sharp. Made you want to go do an early vote now.
I talked to him before the speech. Warwick Sabin, a writer from our office, asked Clark if he wanted an intoduction. Clark said sure. Warwick asked how would he like o be introduced. I butted in and said “the 45th President of the United States”. Clark chuckled and replied “No, that’s 44th. But I’m not saying I’m running.”
He’s really wanting at least one side of Congress to have a Demcrat majority and mentioned he is working hard to get more Democrats elected this November. Sounds like he’s getting his troops in order.