Calling all Clarkies!

[senseandsensibility]

I'd really like your input. Is he going to run? Is there a chance? What do you base your opinion on?

I count myself as a Clarkie, but I have to admit I haven't been following him in recent months. Not that there has been much to follow, since the corporate media hasn't "chosen" him for us.

I'd love him to run, and I'm waiting until he declares one way or another to choose my candidate.

[Bucky]

1. My gut says yes. But my heart says no. But my head says maybe. But my tingly spidey sense says...

I think we're gonna have to wait this one out. I'm hoping that he's just waiting for a window of opportunity and planning a big dramatic entrance. That's what I'd do. I think we have to respect the general's strategic sense of timing.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Oh, I respect it.

I respect everything about the General.:)

[Mz Pip]

3. Sigh

My gut says no. He's out there but doesn't really seem to be doing the dance. He'd be a terrific president, but with Hillary and Obamba sucking all the oxygen and money out of the room, he may pass and end up with a spot in the Cabinet. We shall see.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[xkenx]

30. Wes should not pass up running on the grounds of a cabinet post because

there is rampant Washington-insider-cronyism at play. If Clark is not President, the President will select cabinet members from the insider group, and certainly not someone like a Clark who is so morally and intellectually courageous, so "Duty, Honor, Country" that he could not be controlled. That is why the DLC ignores him. He is fine to use now to bolster their National security creds, but they will dump him later, except as a consultant. Wes must run and win. Then we will have his leadership and expertise.

[Adelante]

4. We just have to wait

The head of the Democratic Party in Arkansas said today that it will be in two more weeks, the decision, that is. But we've heard two weeks before. So we wait.

[senseandsensibility]

5. Thanks for the tidbit.

That's more than I've heard in a long while.

[FrenchieCat]

6. I think so, but it is hard to really know.......but as Wesdem said....

the head of the Democratic Party in Arkansas has quit and says his alliance is to Wes if he chooses to run. This guy did some good work in Arkansas....as we see the results, Governor, 2 senators, etc...

[jenmito]

7. Since he still hasn't said no,

I think he WILL run. It's as if he's letting the Obama flame burn a little longer while he and Hillary compete. Then he can slide in there and people who are already tired of the Obama/Hillary contest can smack themselves on the head and say, "I could vote for a GENERAL!" :D

[Auntie Bush]

12. We must be soul mates as we certainly think alike!

I also don't think he'll announce before this conference on March 6 & 7.
His opinion and advice will seem less bias if he isn't a presidential candidate.


March 6 thru 7, 2007 - Host: Burkle Center for International Relations (UCLA) Inaugural Conference on National Security
Start: Mar 6 2007 - 1:00am
End: Mar 7 2007 - 11:00pm
description:
On September 2006, Gen. Wesley Clark, former supreme allied commander of NATO and author of “Waging Modern War,” joined the Burkle Center as a senior fellow.

Clark will host the center’s inaugural conference on national security.

The first conference, to be held March 6-7, 2007, will explore the emerging challenges of nuclear weapons in the 21st century.


Edited because I forgot to edit. :crazy:

[jenmito]

13. Well, in that case,

Happy Valentine's Day, Auntie Bush! :toast: :hi: I certainly agree with you!

[Auntie Bush]

16. Well in that case...I'll join ya.

:toast: And I'll bring some :beer: and :popcorn: and we can :party:

[Adelante]

20. Me, too

:beer:

[Auntie Bush]

22. Love to have ya.

What are you going to bring?

[jenmito]

34. Sounds good...

I had no idea these smilies were capable of drinking so much in one gulp, no less! :D

[xkenx]

31. BTW, this is a free, open to the public event.

There are links on www.securingamerica.com to be able to register online.

[Clarkie1]

8. My gut feeling is he's mainly interested in influencing the policy

than in trying to figure out the best time to hop into an early, crowded presidential race.

I think he may be waiting to see how things develop both poltically within the Democratic Party, if and how much administration policy changes, how things develop internationally over the next few weeks (months?). He'll see what positions various candiates stake out. If he feels none are adopting the right course of action, I think he'll get in. I think he's seeing how much he can influence the policy from the outside first...if he were a candidate now I think he feels he'd be less likely to influence the policy and thinking of everyone with polical power or potential poltical power. Then again, I really haven't a clue. Except I think what's happening with Iran and the wider Middle East right now is his largest concern.

Let me put it this way (some Clark supporters may disagee with me): Clark doesn't want to be President as much as some of the current candidates running (although he has said he enjoyed running last time). What he wants more than some (frankly, in my opinion all) of the other candidates is to do whatever good he can to get America back on the right track. He's trying to figure out if goal #1 coincides with running, and what is realistically possible.

I think that's were things are right now.

[senseandsensibility]

9. Thanks for the insight

One thing I know is that he will not enter just for crass political one upsmanship. He will do what is right for the country. I just happen to think that his running is right for the country. And I worry about him waiting too long.

[Clarkie1]

10. I really don't have any special insight

just my gut feeling as a Clark 04' supporter who has been listening and observing since than.

He said he hasn't set a deadline for making a decision on the presidential race.
“I don't deal with timelines,” Clark said. “For me, it's talking to people and working separate related issues.”

http://securingamerica.com/node/1983

Neil Cavuto: Well, are you running? Are you going to run?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: -is about that communication. Well, I haven't made a decision on that yet. I haven't said I won't run, but for me it's about the message. I'm very concerned about where this country's heading-

Neil Cavuto: Okay.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: -strategically. We're not taking America forward the way we should be.

Neil Cavuto: Alright, General.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: We're bogged down in the Middle East, Neil, and I'd love to pursue the points you covered with Tony Snow on the economy.

http://securingamerica.com/node/2168


And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

[Nashyra]

11. Rhetoric

With all the rhetoric about Iran and of course the media starting up the drumbeat again maybe it will be time for General Clark to announce and start the dialouge we need as a nation to put an end to the insanity. I can always dream.

[Auntie Bush]

14. Yes, we can always dream. But let's hope

it doesn't turn out to be a nightmare...like the 2004 election. Nothing could be worse than that fiasco though.

[Leilani]

23. Clarkie1, I agree with your theory.

I think Clark does not have that driving ambition to become Prez. He has achieved much in his life, & seems confident with himself. He doesn't "need" it the way others do.

Obviously the policy is what he's most concerned with. He knows now what it takes to run for Prez, & unlike some, he hasn't been campaigning nonstop since the last election. His efforts were concentrated on electing Dems in the midterms, & advising on issues of national security.

I truly hope he runs, but at this point, I wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't.

[xkenx]

32. Anything short of the Presidency for Clark means that lesser leaders, lesser intellects

will be calling the shots, and we, as Americans, will be the worse off for it. IMO we all should be urging Clark to run; he should be our "decider."

[Bucky]

40. I feel like that traipses too close to the cult of personality problem other candidates have.

I agree that Clark has a first rate intellect. That alone doesn't make him the best possible leader. I think he's a great candidate for president and that in a sane world he'd be running for reelection right now while the Republicans tried to smear him over the way he ended the Iraq war by "negotiating with extremists."

But being brainy alone doesn't always do the trick. Probably two of the most intellectually gifted presidents in the last century were Nixon and Carter. FDR wasn't as notorious as Reagan for how shallow his thinking could be, but he wasn't any great light of his generation, either. He was just clever, socially agile, and patrician-minded.

We have several excellent candidate to choose from. I agree Clark is the preferable candidate, but he's hardly the only worthy in the line up.

[Trajan]

15. Is Clark going to run ?

GODDAMNED Edwards !

Obama is black, isnt he ?

Hillary loves the Devil ....

Ad Nauseum ....

:sarcasm:

A clue: Why would a 'Clarkie' discuss Clark when a 'Clarkie' could instead write some cutting commentary about the other Democratic hopefuls ? .... FYI: I love Clark .... But I love the others as well .... The Democratic Party isnt a personality cult ....

[FrenchieCat]

17. Have a Heart!

Happy Valentine!

[truebrit71]

18. I think he will run. He will bide his time for a while and let the pressgasms over Obama...

...turn into full-blown attacks, and then BINGO! up he'll pop as the Democratic alternative to a woman everyone fears and/or hates and an African-American that scares the living bejeezus out of the honkies...then the press will have to try and justify attacking a white, four-star general that has been proven to be right on every one of his calls about Lt Cokespoon's Whacky-Iraqi mis-adventure..

[kevsand]

19. I am gradually coming to think that he will not run.

I could easily be wrong, but I think if he saw a compelling need that only he could fill, nothing would have stood in the way of his announcing already. I'm also increasingly convinced that the longer he waits, the less likely it becomes.

We've been hearing "two weeks" for a couple of months now. Granted, a lot of that is wishful thinking on the part of the sources, but let's face it, people hear what they want to hear.

I know it seems like the primaries are a long way off, and on some levels, they are. There's no question that things could change significantly over that much time. But in the normal course of events, considering how much time it realistically takes to build an effective organization on the ground (and how long it will take for him to come from as far behind as he is now), the window for getting started is not going to be open very much longer.

I will support whatever decision he makes, and do absolutely whatever he asks of me, but I grow less and less optimistic for a presidential run with every day that passes.

[FrenchieCat]

21. Chin up!

Jonesboro Sun 2/14/07
http://www.jonesborosun.com/story.php?ID=26064
Willett to leave position
By Rick Fahr

JONESBORO -- The head of the state Democratic Party is stepping down.

Chairman Jason Willett of Jonesboro said he will leave the post at the end of March, a little more than two years after he took the reins of a party in debt and out of the governor's mansion.

But after November's Democratic sweep of constitutional offices and gains in the General Assembly, the party is in better shape than when he took over, Willett said Tuesday.

"I'm pleased to say that when April 1 comes around, I'll leave the party in the best financial shape it's been in since Bill Clinton was governor," he contended. "I'll do whatever I can to help the next chairman, but Gov. Beebe and I talked all along that he needs a chairperson in there who is his person."

Willett, who has a long political relationship with 1st District Rep. Marion Berry and U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, said the move will allow him to focus more energy on his private consulting business and perhaps join a presidential campaign.

But which campaign remains unclear. He said his first loyalty would be to Wesley Clark, retired Army general and 2004 presidential candidate who has not yet announced a 2008 bid. Willett said he expects Clark to decide whether to run within the next two weeks.

[Clarkie1]

24. Thanks Frenchie I hadn't seen that one. nt

[senseandsensibility]

29. This does sound like a little more than wishful thinking,

doesn't it?:)

[Auntie Bush]

36. I hope this two weeks proves to be truly two weeks. I'm getting anxious.

I need to relax and know one way or the other. I'll be soooo disappointed if he doesn't...but I certainly will understand and know Wes will do what's best for him and his family AND our party and the the country. I have utter faith in his decision. :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[ooga booga]

25. I'm also thinking that he'll pass on 2008

Now, I'd LOVE to be wrong on that, but the 2008 race is already shaping up to be a race to see who can get to $100 million in the campaign chest first. It seems to me that Hillary Clinton's strategy is focused on raising the ante to the point that the competition folds before the early primaries. I heard Evan Bayh says that the two major party nominees would pretty much be decided (though not official) by this time next year. Big primaries are moving forward. Hillary has already passed on the option that would limit her cash flow.

Our guy, Wes Clark, is a VERY bright dude and a pretty fair strategist. He can see where this is all going. He can jump in, join the fundraising grind, and then hunker down for the mudslinging hoping to be the last Democrat standing. But, Hillary is off to the races, and it's going to be tough for any other Democrat to get mentioned in the same sentence with her. Right now, John Edwards is working very hard to keep up.

Clark's alternative is to act as a campaigner like he did for Jon Tester in Montana and for a bunch of other Democrats. He wants to influence public policy, but he knows that he doesn't have to join the presidential race marathon to do it. In fact, he'll be freer and less frassled if he passes on the race.

Now, if he decides to run after all, I'll be as happy as any other Clarkie out there. He's still the guy that I most want to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

[knight_of_the_star]

26. I hope he does, but

It wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't. My read on him is that he's doing what he feels is best for the country, and right now that doesn't mean running for President RIGHT NOW. I think that if he is going to run, he's waiting for the press to have exhausted itself on the current matchup, his issues won't be money I can say that right now, he can tap into the netroots and did quite well in '04 at doing that.

[DonkeyInChinaShop]

27. Money Money Money

[FrenchieCat]

28. I've got mine waiting.......

It will be worth it.
The man is good with money!

But the money ain't the problem, it's the free publicity that the others receive without earning it that is the problem. That's why I realize that it is the media that decides....not us.

I remember back during the 2004 primaries....

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, DALLAS
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2004
General Wesley Clark unleashed his most blistering attack yet on the Bush administration in the president's home state Monday, vowing to win Texas in November if he is the Democratic nominee.

"I think we're at risk with our democracy," Clark told an audience of about 500 people at a fund-raiser at the Westin Galleria hotel. "I think we're dealing with the most closed, imperialistic, nastiest administration in living memory. They even put Richard Nixon to shame. They are a threat to what this nation stands for, and we need to get him out of the White House."
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/01/14/2003087572

Not enough were listening to Wes Clark back then.

[Jai4WKC08]

33. I think he's gonna run

I'm absolutely positive he hasn't decided not to run, or 1) he'd have told us; and, 2) he wouldn't be jumping thru some of the hoops he has been.

Is there a chance? With a guy like Wes Clark, there's ALWAYS a chance. There's no one out there with more raw determination and half the talent. When Wes starts campaigning full-time, his poll numbers will go up and the money will follow.

We just have to keep the faith.

[kevsand]

37. While I'm not as optimistic as you (see above),

I have to agree with you on one thing: he has not yet closed the door completely. He has not yet made that final decision <b>not</b> to run. Which means there is still a chance, however small...

[Thirtieschild]

35. I hope he runs but hope he doesn't announce until after March 7

Mercury turned Retrograde Tuesday and doesn't go direct until March 7. Not a good time to announce.

[Adelante]

38. March 6- 7

He's hosting a public nuclear weapons conference at UCLA. (Just in case anyone can go.)

[jen4clark]

39. This fits perfectly

with my "guess" on when he'll announce. Seriously, I've always thought he'd wait until after the Conference at the Burkle Center which is March 6 & 7.

I'm with those who feel sure he'll run. He's not the kind of person to string people or things along. If he knew he wasn't running, he'd have told us by now.

And I for one am sick to death of the Corporate Press dictating who our candidates will be. We overrode them with Webb, Tester, Shea-Porter and others in the '06 elections. We will do it again in '08.

p.s. Thank you and a big :hug: for my secret heart gift!