Saturday Evening with General Clark
Submitted by jackehmer on February 7, 2006 - 11:45am.
Firsthand Accounts
Now that I am back home from a long weekend, it is time to record my thoughts about the reception for General Clark on Saturday night. There are two excellent diaries on DailyKos that are more descriptive than I could provide,
so I will provide my personal impressions:
I drove 3 1/2 hours (150 miles) to get to the Senior Center in Culver City, arriving there about 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start. I almost immediately struck up a conversation with a retired USA Colonel from Palm Springs who knew Wes from the Army. We had talked for 20 minutes nonstop when he remarked how refreshing it was to talk freely without worrying about offending the die-hard GOPers (the country club set not the retired military). We both agree that more and more retired military people are seeing the light mainly because of how badly this administration has screwed up in Iraq.
Once the doors opened, I tried to meet as many people as possible, one of whom (Jill Martinez) is running for the Democratic nomination for my congessional district (CA-24). Jill (http://www.jillmartinez2006.com/) is favored to win the nomination but has a tough fight against an entrenched Republican.
After about 20 minutes of mingling, the General, Gert and Wes Jr. came in and immediately began to talk to people. That is, the General and Gert began to talk to people and Wes Jr. headed for a corner. Gert took off on her own and went up to people and said, "Hi, I'm Gert Clark". I have known a lot of general's wives and have never met one so unassuming.
Eventually, the general headed in our direction and began to talk to two fellows who identified themselves as Kossacks (one of whom I talked to later and learned that he posts under the name of Alysheba). They were urging the General to get involved on DailyKos and were trying to set up an interview.
Then the General turned to me and we talked for several minutes. He noticed the gold pheasant tie-tac that I wear and we talked about pheasant hunting (no politics). One thing that I have heard about him is that when he is talking to you, he has his full attention on what you are saying and I found that to be absolutely true. For some reason, you expect important people like Wes to be tall. I am average height and he was about three inches shorter. However, you can't escape that impression of tightly-wound energy. He had been going full-tilt all day and looked like he was ready to go all night.
Now for my impressions of the rest of the evening: I didn't track how long the General spoke, but it wasn't nearly long enough. I didn't try to take notes but tried to pay attention to the manner in which he answered questions. I was looking for honesty, sincerity and real answers to the questions. I loved Jack Kennedy, but I marveled at how great his answers sounded without saying anything. Bill Clinton was also good at that.
Every single question that the General was asked (spying, Iran, wounded vets, it was obvious that he had given the subject a lot of thought and his answers were very comprehensive and very well structured (point- by- point-by-point). He also has a way of bringing in his personal involvement without making it sound contrived or self-serving. This was particularly true when he talked about visiting wounded vets whose situation was quite bleak and how important the support of their families was. He said that some of the families just can't handle the situation and opt out. He emphasized how important it is for all of us to support all of the returning troops, particularly those who have suffered debilitating wounds.
When asked about Iran, he spoke about the so-called, "axis of evil" and the relative threat of Korea, Iran and Iraq. GWB chose to attack Iraq (which the General described as a "two-foot rattlesnake in a box" as compared to the genuine threats of the other two to our national security). He stated that militarily, we could probably go in and knock out their nuclear capability, but that would leave us in pretty much the same situation as when GWB declared, "Mission Accomplished". Again, he stressed the need to exhaust all diplomatic avenues before taking military action.
Bottom line, I heard and saw what I was hoping to. As many people have said, "He is the real deal". While he didn't discourage talk about him running in 2008, he made it clear that everyone's priority right now should be on 2006.
Jack
Lt Col USAF (Ret.)
Thanks, Jack, for putting this in the blog for posterity.
See? Blogging ain't so hard, is it?
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
BE THE CHANGE you wish to see in the world.
If not us, WHO? If not now, WHEN?
....thanks so much for making us feel we were there too.
I'm very excited that a couple of Kossacks were talking to Wes about blogging over there. We've been lobbying for this for some time.
You cannot successfully run the world on comic book slogans and third rate biblical homilies.
Interesting.....your first impressions seem to mirror mine. That event took place well over 2 years ago and he has stayed true to form ever since. Of course, I never expected him to change. What you see is what you get. And that's a good thing, imho.
"COUNTRY before Party!" -- Wes Clark
Jack, thanks for posting,.. a great account! You've really identified Clark's strongest traits and his appeal. He's a great communicator, a natural gift.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Debate, Dialogue, Discussion, Disagreement - that's not wrong -that's not unpatriotic, that's one of the highest forms of patriotism and love of country, and we need to say it!" - Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.)
I love to hear these first-hand reports. And everyone has their own personal perception of events.
Leadership means lifting people up. --Wes Clark
You know, Vicky, I was thinking the same thing...Each account brings something else to the picture and the whole event just keeps getting more and more fleshed out...
Great account Jack. Thanks for sharing it. It really is striking how the General pays such close attention when you speak to him. I like how he noticed your tie-tac. Cool....I imagine he may have welcomed the opportunity to speak about something less serious for just a moment.
Wes is impressive though, isn't he? We used to say in the NY Draft Clark movement that we didn't have to "sell" him to anyone. We just had to make them aware of him...Then he sold himself. If only everyone could get the chance to see and meet him, I can't help but believe that everyone...except the truly evil ones (hehe)...would love him.
thanks for sharing it with us.
Welcome, and hope you stay in touch with our blog.
It's the best place to keep up with General Clark's many efforts to change what's happening in the US.
You'd be taking them to the Better Business Bureau if you bought a washing machine the way we went into the war in Iraq. Wes Clark, CNN Aug 17 2003
Thanks for the report, Jack. Funny you should mention this bit:
I have heard about him is that when he is talking to you, he has his full attention on what you are saying and I found that to be absolutely true.
In an article in the NY Times, there's this blurb (you must have caught him at "A quality time"):
He rated himself more warm than cool, more humble than arrogant, as intelligent as intense ("if you catch me in my A quality time; if you catch me in my D quality time, I can hardly pay attention to you").
Jack, thanks for coming by to share your perspective.
While it's true that November has to go our way, WesPAC also needs support. If an '08 run is in the cards, he'll need a war chest like no other.
Come back soon... And thank you for your service.
I think you really nailed the quality of a Wes-meeting--The General is incredibly tuned in to those around him--he is really open to people--and he does give real answers that are good answers. And Gert is a national treasure, imo. Thanks so much for sharing!!
The General gets it right. Competence--What a concept!
and yes, he's authentic and that is proven time and again! He's unique and extraordinarily diligent. He would give our Dems backbone, if they'd just trust him to lead them out of their murky messages. I just wish they'd listen to him and allow him to unify our party!
I enjoy your remark about Gert as well. She is solid and would be a huge asset to Wes during a campaign, and what a First Lady she would be.
Please come to CCN often!!!
Unitary Executive Theory is NOT a theory anymore!
trip to meet Wes. As you can see from the responses here, we all know in our heads and hearts that Wes is a very, very special man and we feel fortunate to be able to support him.
Gert is his secret weapon, certainly. Wes Jr is a bit shy, but campaigned his heart out for his Dad when Wes was running and he was very hurt at the way some treated his Dad. They will be a wonderful First Family.
Hope to see you here often.
and it's great to hear the stories of those who come to learn that first hand.
Thanks so much for posting. We hope you'll come back often.
Thanks for your great story. I, too believe that Wes Clark is the real deal, in that he is always about country first and never about politics or himself first.