YOU CAN TRUST YOUR WAR TO THE MAN WHO WEARS A STAR

Clark seen planning Democratic nomination bid (Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, 8/12/03)

In the strongest signal yet that retired US Army General Wesley K. Clark, the former NATO commander, is planning to join the Democratic presidential race, Clark told volunteers last week to step up their efforts and prepare for an announcement on Labor Day.

If Clark, 58, does take on the nine announced Democratic candidates, supporters say he would offer a strong voice on national security issues and sell himself as a newcomer untainted by the political process. . . .

Clark has begun to showcase his political instincts. Last week, in an interview with National Public Radio, he called Bush's decision to invade Iraq without international support "one of the greatest strategic blunders the American government has made since the end of the Cold War."

He has also moved beyond the realm of national security. Speaking on CNN, he recently blasted the Bush tax cuts, saying the growing deficit means "that the federal government can't do the kinds of things for America that Americans expect it to do. . . . That's things like taking care of our retirement security and Social Security."

So, General Clark is going to add a new dimension to the campaign by arguing that Iraq was botched and the Republicans can't be trusted on social security. I don't know why the other candidates haven't thought of that. But, if you asked people what were their two favorite things done by government this year, Iraq would be one and rebate checks would be two. Telling the voters that this makes them either evil or stupid may not be the vote getter the General is counting on. More to the point, isn't this the beginning of the race for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination? I'll go out on a limb and predict that Clark, from start to finish, never launches a nasty attack at any front-runner. Posted by David Cohen at August 12, 2003 3:20 PM