General Clark

I just read Michael Moore’s open letter to Gen. Wesley Clark, who I am liking more and more every day. The candicacy of a general with no political experience to speak of can always be a huge question mark, but his speaking ability and his stances on the issues are very impressive. See Clark on Real Time with Bill Maher (mpeg or realvideo) for an entertaining interview, and a rather spurious rant on the word “liberal” that I found particularly stirring.

The excitement this man tends to generate is not unjustified. This is a guy that could beat George W. Bush. It says something about the state of GWB’s popularity that a real contender generates this much publicity – and he has not even declared himself a candidate yet. It’s no wonder the prospect of a Dean - Clark teamup is so tantalizing. They would be hard to beat.

Personally, I think a Clark/Dean ticket would be the best option. Why? Clark’s biggest influence will be in reigning in the undecideds votes, and the moderate/centrist/conservative democrat votes. This influence will be best magnified by a presidential candidate. Dean’s biggest influence is his hard-earned, loyal grassroots following. I don’t think Dean’s following would go anywhere if he was in the VP slot on a ticket, but I do think that Clark’s influence would be muted as VP.