General Wesley Clark on the Ed Schultz Show

November 26, 2008
transcript by Reg NYC

Ed Schultz: 1-877-943-6833. Great friend of the program, General Wesley Clark. General, Great to have you back with us.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Great to be with you, Ed.

Ed Schultz: And Happy Thanksgiving to you. Looking forward to it?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Oh, I certainly am. I'm out with my family out in the Los Angeles area, and we're having a great time.

Ed Schultz: Fantastic. Secretary of Defense Mr. Gates, looks like he's going to stay in that position. What are your thoughts on that?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I think it's a, it's a good move. I think he's been a very effective, pragmatic Secretary of Defense. He's only been on the job a couple of years. There's some big issues that are going to be coming up for this administration right away, including both Iraq and Iran as well as a new strategy for Afghanistan. The President's clearly going to be in charge. Hillary's going to be the Secretary of State working the overall policy directions. Why not have an experienced guy who's got his, his feet on the ground for a few more months in the Secretary of Defense's position?

Ed Schultz: Has he been a good Secretary of Defense?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, by my view he has.

Ed Schultz: And is there anything that President-Elect Obama would be risking if he were to make a move at this critical time?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think that when you look at, at the way the Defense Department is organized, what you have typically had and what Rumsfeld had was a big problem at the transition coming in. He became the Secretary of Defense. It took him six months, eight months to get the team in. He didn't have a first quality team in there when he first got there. This was during the, the, the lead up to 9/11. I think that may have had some impact. And I think it makes sense to have Gates stay there. Gates is going to be loyal - he's going to have to be loyal - to a new Commander in Chief, and, and that's alright.

Ed Schultz: That was word that I used in the last segment. I mean, loyalty is awfully big when you've got a person in your cabinet. And the fact is, is that Mr. Gates has been against a timeline in Iraq, and we all know where Barack Obama stands on winding our involvement down in Iraq. How do you think that's going to work out?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I, I think that the Iraqis themselves will want the timeline. Now, it may turn out that the timeline doesn't work for reasons inside Iraq that the Iraqis themselves recognize, but I think the issue's gone away. So, I don't think it's an issue at this point.

Ed Schultz: What do you think this means for involvement in Afghanistan?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I think there's going to be in increase in troop strength certainly in afghanistan, but I hope that the Obama team - and I have reason to believe they will - will have a different strategy for national security, and that strategy will en-entail (inaudible) Afghanistan a great deal more emphasis on the non-military elements of the situation.

Ed Schultz: What does this tell the American people about President-Elect Obama that he would keep on the Secretary of Defense and, a-and having been very clear as to what he wants to do with Iraq and Afghanistan? What do, what do, what does this signal to the American people, General?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, it, it, it might signal that he's a very confident President-Elect who believes that he can count on the loyal support of a cabinet member, even one who has served a different master.

Ed Schultz: How long do you think Gates would stay in this position?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I'm told that, that actually (chuckles) he's not looking for lifetime employment. He'd be really happy to go back to his home and his other private pursuits, and I, I think maybe a year, maybe less.

Ed Schultz: If you were ever approached for this position, would you consider it?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Of course, but there are a lot of good people in the Democratic Party who could do this job, that-. We're so rich in talent, and I think that he's assembled a great cabinet thus far.

Ed Schultz: But no one has your resume. I mean, (chuckle) who could match that?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, it's not about resumes. It, it's really about picking people who are congenial, work together well and, and meet the President's needs. Those needs are both substantive and political.

Ed Schultz: How, how excited were you when Barack Obama won the Presidency of the United States.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: I was thrilled. I was out there in Chicago at the victory party. I, I, I was standing in the infield there. I watched him give that speech. I looked at his family come out on stage. I was just so thrilled. I turned around. I was with former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater. And I was with a man named Ernest Green, and Ernest was the - he's from Little Rock - and he was the first African-American to graduate from Little Rock Central High School. And, I mean, I just, I, I, it was just so powerful a moment in American history. I was just thrilled.

Ed Schultz: General, always a pleasure to have you on the program. Come back and visit us again and thanks so much. And I hope you are the next Secretary of Defense.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I'm happy in the private sector, but thanks for your vote of confidence, Ed. I appreciate it, and it's great to be with you.

Ed Schultz: Appreciate your time. General Wesley Clark, a favorite of our listeners and mine here on the Ed Schultz Show.