Wow, Clark's absence left HUGE foreign policy gap in debate

[digno dave]

I was a clark supporter and then i kind of soured on him towards the end.
That being said, i think we really missed his gravitas and general knowledge on foreign policy matters in the debate tonight. From haiti to iraq all four candidates looked like their tongues and frontal lobes were tied in knots. Edwards dropped the ball big-time on the Haiti question and Kerry inserted his version of the silver-foot in his mouth by implying that Bush was backing the insurgents. It may be true but this is not something you go spouting off about in a forum such as this. Watch, he'll catch some hell for this.
Edwards didn't handle the "regret" question about his IWR very well either.
Clark's was so good at ennunciating his solutions to specific forign policy issues with clarity & resolve.
I used to think that Edwards should be the VP for Kerry but the more i see of the two of them together the more i fear the possible outcome. How convincing can you be criticizing dubya for going to war with Iraq when BOTH of your opponents gave you the go ahead to do just that.

Also, regarding the general format of the debate:
What's with all teh aplauding? Geez, why couldn't CNN tell people to REFRAIN FROM CLAPPING. I totally disrupted the flow of teh debate. And Larry King needs to stick to his little pre-school style talk shows and leavethe debate moderating to the big boys. he had no control of what was going on.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[goclark]

2. Yea for the General!

I still don't understand why the General had to leave the race and Dean and not Al and Dennis?

I thought it was all about delegates?

Bring back the General, add some real class and intelligence to the race.

:bounce:

[KT2000]

3. Agree - he should come back

into the race. Maybe he could not continue because of money but I wish there had been a way for him to stay in.

[mobuto]

11. I disagree

I supported the General as well, but leaving the race was the right thing to do. We knew he couldn't get elected President - the campaign bet everything on TN and got their clocks cleaned - so what's the point of staying in? Clark wants to be a voice in the next Democratic Adminisitration, and the way to do that is not to unnecessarily prolong the process with a vanity run, but to leave gracefully when the time is right.

[Leilani]

4. I Miss Clark too

He was such an intelligent & honest (non-political) guy. It was refreshing.

However I believe John Kerry did a fine job tonight. He is certainly knowledgeable about foreign policy.

[lurk_no_more]

5. You never really appreciate what you've got till it's gone!

To me it's always been about getting rid of bush, the clear answer to that was Clark along with a better vision for America.

While Kerry was my second choice, he never was as strong a second as being able to completely fill the void Clark left.

I do hope that Kerry sees the importance that Clark brought to this race and gives him a slot worthy of that importance within the Administration and VP is not that job.

America needs Wesley Clark!



And then there were none!
” JAFO”

[mmonk]

Yes

Clark would be able to smoke them all in the foreign poicy arena by adding to the debate on what was really wrong with the war strategy. But I feel the media helped knock him out as well as many dems interested in the domestic agenda not giving Clark the benefit of really expanding on his domestic agenda (putting him as only a foreign policy candidate).

[robbedvoter]

6. I am still a Clark supporter and you are absolutely right

The RNC media elevated a light weight over Clark, the GOP-ers did the rest in the open primaries and we are left with second choices...
As Michael Moore said - we were given a gift, but were too dumb to accept it.
OK, back to leftovers...

[jpgpenn]

7. It sure was but that is probably why he is now...

Going across the country on Kerry's behalf talking about foreign policy. See Clark in capacity as VP or Sec. of State once Kerry is elected President!

[molly]

8. Foreign policy was not an issue in that debate

because Kerry would have cleaned up.

What possible outcome could you fear with a combo of Kerry/Edwards?

And, you obviously where not listening or had selective hearing when they were discussing the IWR. So here it is - Clinton went to war WITHOUT Congress. W did not NEED Congress to go to war. The resolution was a checklist of things W was supposed to do BEFORE he would go to war - AS A LAST RESORT. He played his game until it became clear to him that the UN would not sanction his agenda. Do you remember all of this?

Oh, and "silver-foot in his mouth by implying that Bush was backing the insurgents. It may be true but this is not something you go spouting off about in a forum such as this. Watch, he'll catch some hell for this." WHO will catch hell?

[diamondsoul]

9. Cleaned up HOW??

his entire foreign policy to date appears to be sending Graham to Haiti and getting more active duty soldiers. Other than that things are just dandy!

And then the man has the sheer GALL to defend his IWR vote by defending BUSH with the typical "Clinton did it first!" Right-wing filth!:grr:

Sorry, molly, your candidate didn't do himself any good in my eyes last night. It stinks because I started out very comfortable with him being the potential nominee, and part of the reason I'm so abrasively angry is because he's disappointed me at almost every turn lately. I was actually happy when he overook Dean for the lead, but since then he's just not been the man I thought he was.

[digno dave]

14. Kerry

The only thing that resonates from Kerry concerning the Iraq situation is "there was a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it". That's it. He needs to be more clear about his solutions regarding the matter. I know he has ideas about what to do but i don't believe most Dems could tell me what it is. I said most, not all.
OK, we all know Bush f'd up...so what are you gojng to do about it?

[Bread and Circus]

10. I thought Kerry did well on FP during the debate, but you gotta admit...

a Kerry/Clark ticket looks like it would reign supreme.

I used to think Kerry/Edwards but more and more I think Edwards
is a weasel.

And yes, I know, Mr. Edwards:

YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT MILLWORKERS!

For Pete's sake, If I hear John Edwards go on about his family's "millworker" sob story one more time, I am going to :puke:

[molly]

12. I think there is more of a possiblity of a Kerry/Clark

ticket this run for several reasons. Edwards appeals to many, but he would still be "young" for a bid in 2012 with a lot more policy experience behind him.

[Tim_in_HK]

13. I agree . . .

Actually, tonight was the first time I thought Kerry gave a well reasoned answer for his support of the resolution. It made me feel a bit more comfortable with him being the nominee (which has been an issue for me, truth be told).

But my heart and mind still belong to Clark. He was and is the best in terms of foreign policy. Actually, the best on everything. He's still the man.

edit: fail english? that's unpossible!