You have to also recall that Dwight Eisenhower had a very similar background to Wesley Clark's, and Ike was the one who warned us about the military-industrial complex. So just having been part of the military doesn't make you favor wars or military spending. But it does mean you know how to administrate. Obama, a part of the legislature, has no administration experience, whereas McCain has been a governor. That will go against Obama if he doesn't pick a VP who has run 'something' at least. He doesn't need to duplicate himself; he needs to find someone with the experience he is missing for his ticket. Wesley Clark fits that bill completely and at the same time nips McCain's brief military experience (not leadership) in the bud. Obama could do a lot worse.
I like Wes Clark too. I am a little concerned about him not being enough of an attack dog... and whether his maleness would piss off the feminist who are a little sensitive right now. I like Seblius but again don't know how good an attack dog she is... and whether overlooking HC would piss off people. I would actually like Chris Dodd's name to come up mostly just because I think the guy is a great politician.
Do not envy Obama's choice... somebody is bound to be unhappy no matter who he picks.
I've got a little more faith in Clark than Biden. Seems to be an alright sort of guy. Not the best choice (Gore or Edwards still my favs) but still good.
I strongly dislike the idea of having a warmonger or warwager as no. 2 on the ticket. He did so badly in 2004 that I am suprised that anyone considers him now. I really think that he should pick a woman. It will be very dissapointing if he does not.
But what do I know I Strange Death convinced me that it should not be Hillary but I really like Sebellius
I've been floating the Clark idea here for a while. And yes, I do see the drawbacks. However, I think he'd be a good - um, "antidote" to old man McCain's main point about Obama's having no foreign policy experience. Also, as a former (current?) Clintonite, it could be seen as an olive branch to her people. (Maybe? Eh...)
Full disclosure: I know nothing about Sebelius so I can't say yay or nay either way. (Geez, is the weekend starting yet?)
As for Mr. Rollins - please. Actually, I think he's very intelligent and well spoken. But that's it.
Wes Clark is fine. He's not progressive but he isn't stupid, and he can tell the war wimps to go screw. As long as it's not a Senator being tapped. Obama can't pick a Blue Dog as a running mte, but if he picks a remotely progressive Senator it's a loss to the Democratic majority. Biden's probably smar enough to sense the change in the wind, so Obama might as well leave him in the Senate.
The object is to get Obama elected, not to feel good about who he runs with.
I was part of the woman's lib movement back in the mid-60s. There is nothing I would like more than to see a woman at the top of our govt. But realistically, only Clark gives Obama that edge to beat McCain.
Remember, they had to put Dick Cheney into the VP slot in order to get Bush elected since most people though he wasn't experienced enough in many areas, such as foreign affairs. It worked for them (unfortunately), and it can work for us too. Put up a VP who supplies what people think Obama is missing, and it will go a long way to getting him elected.
Don't forget that Clark can claim credit for running the Kosovo war to voctory without the loss of a single American soldier. McCain wants to continue Bush's bloodbath.
Disclaimer: I am not nor have I been a Clark groupie. My preference is solely realistic thinking.
wes clark is certainly a strong choice. as a combat commander in vietnam his conduct was superlative. his leadership in kosovo, holding together a very unruly coalition of various nato troops with shifting underalliances and political agendas and his accomplishing his task without a single US casualty should be held as an example in the proper use of force. there were some problems (like the bombing of the chinese embassy), but overall one has to rate his effort outstanding.
his participation in, and support of, the school of the americas (death squad university) needs to be brought into the light and explained. i respect the man enough to listen, while at the same time insisting that it be done.
i met general clark a couple of years ago. he was in tempe arizona helping to raise money for harry mitchell (spinless dweeb - az). as i went through the smile and shake line he noticed the lapel pin i wear that designates me as someone who was awarded the silver star. our exchange went like this:
general clark: where did you get that?
me: dong ap bai.
clark: was it wooly there?
me: charles had teeth sir.
Clark goes on the attack.
Huffington Post
Gen. Clark: McCain Is "Untested And Untried" On National Security"
In a wide-ranging interview with The Huffington Post, Clark offered opinions on the current state of American foreign policy, the Democrats' emergence as a more "full-service" party on security issues, and -- lest anyone doubt his potential use as a running mate for Obama -- the shortcomings of Sen. John McCain.
"I know he's trying to get traction by seeking to play to what he thinks is his strong suit of national security," Clark said of McCain while speaking from his office in Little Rock, Arkansas. "The truth is that, in national security terms, he's largely untested and untried. He's never been responsible for policy formulation. He's never had leadership in a crisis, or in anything larger than his own element on an aircraft carrier or [in managing] his own congressional staff. It's not clear that this is going to be the strong suit that he thinks it is."
Resume aside, though, Clark also took issue with the Arizona Republican's instincts on national security. "McCain's weakness is that he's always been for the use of force, force and more force. In my experience, the only time to use force is as a last resort. ... When he talks about throwing Russia out of the G8 and makes ditties about bombing Iran, he betrays a disrespect for the office of the presidency."
bjacques -
"He's not progressive"
Read his position papers from 2004.
??!! People complained in '04 about his no blinking!
I have previously posted my reasons for supporting Clark for VP, but here they are again:
OK—I am biased, since Wes Clark would have been my first choice for POTUS if he had run this time, but I think he would be the perfect VP choice.
First off, I think we need a Southern white guy with a strong military record to counter the McCain advantage. And as another poster said above, we probably shouldn’t go for both a woman and a Black man this time around, since that really might freak a lot of white male voters.
Clark would appease the Hillary voters, since he has been a staunch supporter of hers all along, but he wouldn’t offend the Obama voters, because he has never gotten down in the dirt or attacked Obama as other Hillary campaign operatives have. Also, he has been absolutely selfless about campaigning and fundraising for all sorts of Democrats since 2004, so there are a lot of favors to call in.
He is a brilliant Rhodes Scholar, and also from Arkansas, which carries the cachet of Bill Clinton for those who were hoping this would be Bill’s third term.
He is a handsome son of a gun, which does count with a lot of people.
He has been a FOX News analyst, so he is known and admired by a lot of the voters we might otherwise never attract, and yet he has always smacked the FOX Fools down whenever they tried to pull any of their BS in his presence.
He speaks well in public. Two great public speakers on the ticket would highlight McCain’s clumsiness and gaffes.
Notice that he brings all the same advantages Webb would bring, but none of the disadvantages, since he isn’t DINO, but rather a genuine progressive. Also, he has served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and he has the ear and the trust of much of the military brass, who spoke to him when they wanted to make stuff public that they did not dare to say themselves in public.
He has even been a Republican in the past, but has left that behind. But he still has connections to that side of the aisle and can work with them, as well as fans among Republican voters.
His heroism in trying single-handedly to save, at great risk to himself, those men who were killed in Bosnia when their Hummer went over a cliff would be a nice counterbalance to McCain’s MSM-pumped up war hero persona.
Also, his military experience includes command positions--i.e., executive roles--whereas much could be made of the fact that McCain has never had any executive experience.
Clark for VP!
**BTW, Edwards (who was my second choice, after Clark, for POTUS this time) probably would not take the VP slot again, and I want him to be named Attorney General, to clean up that snakepit over at the DOJ and to do some real investigating of the Bush administration's crimes.
BTW, I have been informed that Clark actually was never a Republican, but was registered as an Independent before becoming a Democrat. Also, he has supported both Republicans and Democrats in the past, but supports only Democrats now.
I think he would be a decent choice, but I suspect it will not happen...
I have this theory-- if you can't find a picture of the vp short list candidate with Obama-- then they are not as likely to be named.
I searched and searched and cannot find any public appearances of them together. Hence the general-mug-shot leading this post.
I think he is unlikely to be chosen based on my very unscientific litmus test.
If, as above, Wes Clark has some teeth to go after McSame et al... he rises in my estimation for Veep.
Let me just say that I want a serious attack dog on this ticket. I think we need our version of Dick Cheney... with less a black soul and maybe who didn't shoot his lawyer in the face but someone who can put the Republicans on notice we won't stand for their crap.
Being of the opinion that this race is going to get nasty and hard fought... I don't want elegant, I want fists of steel. Let Obama be the nice cop and his veep the bad cop.
Oh, about Sebelius: She is our governor here in Kansas, and she is quite strong, without being blustery. The Republican controlled state legislature keeps passing a bill to allow coal-fired plants in Kansas, and she keeps vetoing it because of environmental concerns. She stands up for what she believes in and doesn't bend when the RW attacks start--as they inevitably do. Kansans like her a lot.But I would prefer for her to stay here in Kansas.
Her spine is right where it should be--unlike the spine of so many Dems in the house nd the Sente.
No. 
Sebelius = DLC = No.
I have always liked Clark, and I think he would be a good choice for all of the reasons listed here. If I can't have Edwards (or Gore), Clark would be a good choice. Smart, handsome, articulate, and if his military experience doesn't trump McCain's, well, who's does?
And if y'all think that Hillary's supporters will accept a *replacement female* you are sadly mistaken, regardless of how good a choice she may be. This is not about women. It is about Hillary. They aren't interchangable. She has more grit than any 5 people I have ever seen, and THAT is what her followers responded to. I believe they will take the choice of another woman as a full on right cross to the chops.
Let's kill the "Al Gore for Veep" baby, right in the cradle:
Two words: Joe Lieberman.
Punkster, at this point, I think that most of the Obama supporters are rather tired of hearing how we're supposed to continue to kiss Hillary's ass.
I doubt she'll be the veep, unless Obama's thought processes have shut down, and the notion that Obama has to vette another woman through she and her supporters, is nonsense.
As for her "grit", I think a better term for it would be "frantic denial of reality".
tlg, love your theory, hope that in this case you're wrong. Clark would be a great choice.
Someone who's been in the military with its guaranteed healthcare* could be a huge plus in getting it through.
*not perfect, far from it, but better that what 47 million have now
I have absolutely no freakin' clue who Barack will pick. I wish him luck. It's not a choice I would want to make, because, as others have said, somebody's going to be unhappy no matter who you pick.
As for Wesley Clark, in 2004, when he was campaigning, he showed two things in abundance:
1. He entered the game too late to really hit the ground running. He lacked the money, the ground troops, and he lacked experience.
2. He really didn't start to be comfortable in his own skin as a political speaker until the primary race had already been decided.
Still, he has an awful lot of positives. His 2004 speech at the DNC is probably on YouTube. Go watch it. I consider it probably the second best speech of the whole convention, only behind Obama's Audacity of Hope speech.
He has become a lot more outspoken advocate of Democratic positions, particularly on national security and foreign policy, but also on economic fairness issues. These are precisely areas where Barack could use some help in.
Clark would also provide two powerful services to Obama beyond his resume:
1. He can serve the traditional role of a Vice President, and take a page out of Karl Rove's book, attacking McCain in the only place where McCain can really go on the attack, on the military, and foreign policy. Destroy McCain's foreign policy and military credentials, or at least neutralize him, and this election becomes a route.
2. He can shore up Barack in two places: older white voters, particularly men. He can also push 2-3 states in the South to situations where McCain will have to spend serious time and money to defend them.
As someone else noted, he did a yeoman's job in working for others across the spectrum in 2006. He's a good Democrat, and a war hero.
He'd certainly be on my short list along with a few others.
From the preface of his last book:
"Get that gun going!" I shouted again, as I looked back under my left arm and saw the troops come across the little footbridge. They were there. And they came running. Those peace-symbol-lovin', foul-mouthed, cussin', war-hatin' draftee American soldiers came, right into the the firefight. They rushed into the smack of the bullets, and the whine of the ricochets. They were called forward and they came! God, I loved them.
This was after he got shot several times.
Vets will get the respect and care they deserve if Clark is in the Obama administration.
".....It's about changing minds before it's about killing people."
-- General Wesley K. Clark Meet the Press 8-28-05
Clark is a great choice on many levels. Flawed on others. I echo the comments upthread: I don't envy Barack's choices this cycle.
But this:
Obama, a part of the legislature, has no administration experience, whereas McCain has been a governor.
When was McCain ever a governor? When has McCain ever shown evidence of possessing a governor? The man started out in the House and moved to the Senate. Governing? Not so much.
"cupcake" would not approve. I do agree that he should take Johnson's place on the vetters R us team.
I do not think we should be, or that Obama, should be thinking in terms of placating the clintons or their supporters. You cannot in the same breath say "new mind-set" and "Clinton or Clinton backer". Clearly, the clinton backers do not have the "new mind-set" mentality or ..... well, it was a no brainer and they failed that.
I've already seen the msm and several blogs trying to force Obama into the same parameters that define their itty box of what "Presidential politics" is about. Its not about that anymore. They don't know how to think different. They have no imagination nor have the sligtest clue on how to create anything.... except the same thing over and over. To me, this is the criteria. Not how much time they have IN the same old box, but how much time do they have busting out of that box and what their success at doing that has been.
There's no one on the current "list" that I find the least bit qualified to be Obama's VP. Hell, David Axelrod has some pretty good cred at running things in my book. I'm going to bet that no one on the current "list" will be his choice. There's someone else.
Oh, and Jim Webb...... as much as I admire what he's done and said (cept for that gun incident), he was a REPUBLICAN. No thank you.
So, "cupcake" IS on my shortlist. With Chuck Todd 
I kinda like the idea of Gore as Obama's VP pick. Not sure Gore is interested in the least, but by choosing Gore, Obama would underscore a profound shift in US policy.
The downsides? Gore is linked to Clinton, but! He's really is his own man. He also made the horrible decision of picking Lieberman to be his running mate, which brought him NOTHING but backstabs.
But the Gore of 2008 is not the Gore of 2000 or 1992. And he's smart and a good VP. With gas at $4 and climbing, Gore has a lot of appeal.
Thanks Stickler! I don't know where that came from in my aging mind.
I love Al Gore, brat. But I can just hear the jest about "always a bridesmaid but never a bride." And being VP would pretty much halt Gore's environmental activism due to time constraints. I personally prefer him where he is, and somehow have an inkling that he does, too.
Comparing Clark with Eisenhower is not a good idea -- Ike in WWII was a political general not a warfighter. He spent his time behind a desk battling budgets and logistics problems and defeating bureaucrats in hand-to-hand combat. That trained him up fine to become President a decade later.
Wes Clark is a Patton-style loose cannon who nearly started WWIII in Kosovo before he was sidelined by his NATO allies. If he's the VP pick Senator Obama's campaign is shouting to the world "I'm incompetent to be CiC but I've got this guy who will take over for me while I hide under the desk in the Oval Office." The GOP have the attack ads already scripted.
I am very pro clark...but I would also be very happy with any nonhillary femail VP...aminly because Im a pissy basteared, and it gets rid of all the false feminists.
Punkster the fact that hillary supporters woudl be "upset" makes me happer...the ones that would whine about it are the ones who wouldn't vote or obama any way...no loss there...but it dose draw them out of the wood work so we can see who is who. I am also sick of people equating perfshional victem hood with grit.
"And if y'all think that Hillary's supporters will accept a *replacement female* you are sadly mistaken, regardless of how good a choice she may be."
-I am now at the point where I don't give a tinker's damn what Hillary's supporters want.
-I would like Obama's pick for VP to be Claire Mc Caskill; Kathleen Sebelius would be fine, too.
But it's Obama's decision; looking at his past performance, I think it will be a good one.
Robert, what is your definition of a 'warfighter,' please?
Robert Sneddon
How many McCain points for that smear?
This would bring a lot of moderates over - especially a lot of just-right-of-center veterans and other young-to-middle-aged men who would have otherwise voted for McCain in an almost reflexive way, without ever really looking at Obama. I'm not talking about undecideds here. I know a number of registered Republicans who would vote for an Obama/Clark ticket without hesitation.
As much as Obama wants to be perceived as a bridge-builder, he is polarizing in some audiences, and Clark can reach those very audiences without compromising the integrity of an Obama administration's essential policy positions.
And, as a currently uninsured ex-military wife, I completely agree with Aviva032. There are lessons to be learned - both positive and negative - in the military health system. Let's let the rest of the country benefit from those lessons, dammit.
After some of the things I read here about Clark I like him better, however I don't know if many Clinton supporters who are women will be happy voting for two men on the top of the ticket. That us why I really think that it should be a woman for vice. Maybe Madeline Albright(even though she did evil in my mind) or Janet Reno.
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