Meeting the General
So, General Clark was as good as advertised. Second row is always good! First, the set-up:
Columbus mayor Michael Coleman was the first one to speak- I did not even know he was coming. He just spoke a little about how important the election was here. He said when he was in DC, one Congressman said- "You're from Ohio? You guys are going to save the world!" He introduced some members of the Sisters Speak Out organization. They are a group of women who have loved ones currently serving in Iraq or have lost a loved one there. I met one the founders before the show- Judy Jensen, who is just the sweetest lady you'd ever want to meet. There were about 6 of them there, and they about about their experiences. Brooke Campbell's brother went into thwe Guard to get m,oney for college. He completed his one year of duty in Iraq was sent back again. 4 days after being extended, he was killed in a suicide bombing attack. Heavy. One lady's only child had been hit and even now after 10 surgeries, had not regained his eyesight. The lady right in front of me had lost her son just on August 23rd . All of them were crying and hugging together. Most of the crowd, including me, was crying. So the lady who had lost her son managed through her tears to introduce General Clark.
Clark came on to a standing ovation with his eyes moist, thanked the ladies for being there, and went down the line of crying women with hugs and reassuring words. I cannot tell you (and again, this is literally a foot in front of me) how sincere he was. This guy absolutely feels it in his gut. He thanks them and all the families and told how what is was like for him to kiss his 5-month pregnant wife goodbye and head off to Vietnam all those years ago. "It never occured to me that anything would happen to me. When I got back I had been shot 4 times." He described what it was like seeing his son (Wes Jr.) for the first time, and thinking of how close he had been to never laying eyes on him. After all of this, there was not a dry eye in the place. I thought "he would be ahead of Bush by 10 points."
After that, he gave a standard 5 minute or so stump speech about where the country was, what Bush was doing, why we need Kerry. Then he opened the floor up for questions. Most were about Iraq, or Osama bin Laden. A few about health care and the economy. In discussing Iraq, he said he thought as well Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction but that we "had him in a box" and that there was no need for the invasion. (He was in charge of the northern no-fly zone airstrikes for a while as NATO Supreme Commander-Europe). He gave very thoughtful and substantive answers about what we should have done to prepare for winning the peace: more coalition- especially Muslim countries, troops trained in Arabic, Arabic pamphlets expaining the new government system, training for the leaders on the ground in how to present these ideas. He said he loved our troops, but you have Sargeants and Lieutenants out there "trying to hold town hall meetings about democracy in a language they don't know in a culture they're unfamiliar with." He claimed that George Bush had "used and abused the armed forces."
One person asked him what he would do November 3rd if president-elect John Kerry called him and asked him to be Secretary of Defense or State. He laughed and demurred. I actually then pointed out he could not be Secretary of Defense since he has not been out of uniform for 5 years. (I researched it earlier). One person asked him to compare Bosnia on Iraq. Remember, we stopped ethnic cleansing there and got rid of a brutal dictator without the loss of a single American life. He talked about what had been done there (never mentioning himself once) and what Iraq is like now. Here, I suspect, he made some news. He said John Kerry and he "have been discussing this all along" and talked about how to improve the situation on the ground. My guess is, if Kerry is elected, Clark becomes the next Paul Bremer of Iraq. He is obviously qualified to do this type of operation, he as already commanded international forces, and he knows the leadership of the Europeans and thinks he could get them on board by changing the way things are being run. He thinks Europe must be "our closest ally" in not just Iraq but the War on Terror. We need their help, and we need international guidelines so that "someone cannot get away with planning an attack in Germany, carry it out in America, and get away with it."
I think- Clark would be winning by fifteen points. He is able to make an argument for internationalization without seeming like a wimp. He can criticize Iraq as not part of the War on Terror without being accused of being "soft" like Kerry is. His level of sincerity in the room was incredible. He was so "in the moment" you believed he was saying what he thought right then. He seemed so much more confident speaking then he did back in the primaries- practice, practice. So he finishes up to another standing O and stays around to shake hands and have his picture taken. A couple observations- he is shorter than one would expect, compact, but coiled. Very strong, good handshake. The ladies were swooning over him- he is really good-looking up close, chiseled like a Greek god.
Clark was every bit as good as I hoped he would be. A powerful presence up close.
Columbus mayor Michael Coleman was the first one to speak- I did not even know he was coming. He just spoke a little about how important the election was here. He said when he was in DC, one Congressman said- "You're from Ohio? You guys are going to save the world!" He introduced some members of the Sisters Speak Out organization. They are a group of women who have loved ones currently serving in Iraq or have lost a loved one there. I met one the founders before the show- Judy Jensen, who is just the sweetest lady you'd ever want to meet. There were about 6 of them there, and they about about their experiences. Brooke Campbell's brother went into thwe Guard to get m,oney for college. He completed his one year of duty in Iraq was sent back again. 4 days after being extended, he was killed in a suicide bombing attack. Heavy. One lady's only child had been hit and even now after 10 surgeries, had not regained his eyesight. The lady right in front of me had lost her son just on August 23rd . All of them were crying and hugging together. Most of the crowd, including me, was crying. So the lady who had lost her son managed through her tears to introduce General Clark.
Clark came on to a standing ovation with his eyes moist, thanked the ladies for being there, and went down the line of crying women with hugs and reassuring words. I cannot tell you (and again, this is literally a foot in front of me) how sincere he was. This guy absolutely feels it in his gut. He thanks them and all the families and told how what is was like for him to kiss his 5-month pregnant wife goodbye and head off to Vietnam all those years ago. "It never occured to me that anything would happen to me. When I got back I had been shot 4 times." He described what it was like seeing his son (Wes Jr.) for the first time, and thinking of how close he had been to never laying eyes on him. After all of this, there was not a dry eye in the place. I thought "he would be ahead of Bush by 10 points."
After that, he gave a standard 5 minute or so stump speech about where the country was, what Bush was doing, why we need Kerry. Then he opened the floor up for questions. Most were about Iraq, or Osama bin Laden. A few about health care and the economy. In discussing Iraq, he said he thought as well Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction but that we "had him in a box" and that there was no need for the invasion. (He was in charge of the northern no-fly zone airstrikes for a while as NATO Supreme Commander-Europe). He gave very thoughtful and substantive answers about what we should have done to prepare for winning the peace: more coalition- especially Muslim countries, troops trained in Arabic, Arabic pamphlets expaining the new government system, training for the leaders on the ground in how to present these ideas. He said he loved our troops, but you have Sargeants and Lieutenants out there "trying to hold town hall meetings about democracy in a language they don't know in a culture they're unfamiliar with." He claimed that George Bush had "used and abused the armed forces."
One person asked him what he would do November 3rd if president-elect John Kerry called him and asked him to be Secretary of Defense or State. He laughed and demurred. I actually then pointed out he could not be Secretary of Defense since he has not been out of uniform for 5 years. (I researched it earlier). One person asked him to compare Bosnia on Iraq. Remember, we stopped ethnic cleansing there and got rid of a brutal dictator without the loss of a single American life. He talked about what had been done there (never mentioning himself once) and what Iraq is like now. Here, I suspect, he made some news. He said John Kerry and he "have been discussing this all along" and talked about how to improve the situation on the ground. My guess is, if Kerry is elected, Clark becomes the next Paul Bremer of Iraq. He is obviously qualified to do this type of operation, he as already commanded international forces, and he knows the leadership of the Europeans and thinks he could get them on board by changing the way things are being run. He thinks Europe must be "our closest ally" in not just Iraq but the War on Terror. We need their help, and we need international guidelines so that "someone cannot get away with planning an attack in Germany, carry it out in America, and get away with it."
I think- Clark would be winning by fifteen points. He is able to make an argument for internationalization without seeming like a wimp. He can criticize Iraq as not part of the War on Terror without being accused of being "soft" like Kerry is. His level of sincerity in the room was incredible. He was so "in the moment" you believed he was saying what he thought right then. He seemed so much more confident speaking then he did back in the primaries- practice, practice. So he finishes up to another standing O and stays around to shake hands and have his picture taken. A couple observations- he is shorter than one would expect, compact, but coiled. Very strong, good handshake. The ladies were swooning over him- he is really good-looking up close, chiseled like a Greek god.
Clark was every bit as good as I hoped he would be. A powerful presence up close.
posted by Scott L. Stuart at
10:26 PM
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