“I realized that this was the man who could be one of the greatest presidents of all time”
Lt. Colonel Jai Johnson-Pickett
Kansas
What attracted me to Clark? Initially, competence. Later, character.
I first signed on to the Draft Clark movement knowing little about the man except by reputation. I knew he had been a hyper-competent commander. The way the Bush administration was making a mess in Iraq and against terrorism was literally making me sick, so I was actively "candidate shopping." While I respected many of the candidates running before Clark entered, I just didn't think any of them could challenge Bush on national security and I knew that would be critical to winning in '04.
But after I started listening to him speak, and reading more about his background, talking to people who knew him personally and in many cases who had served with him, I realized that this was the man who could be one of the greatest presidents of all time. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but it's what I believe.
Clark has an incredible intellect and depth of knowledge on so many different subjects, and an almost innate ability to cut thru to the heart of any problem, and yet understand it in its full complexity. He knows what's critical and what's just extraneous, and can look over the horizon and see long-term implications. He "gets" the vision thing.
But more important, he has heart. He cares. About people, this nation, the world. He has what Sy Hersh called "a great streak of integrity" -- he looks you in the eye and you know he's giving it to you straight. He has the courage to accept whatever risk to himself that's necessary to do what he thinks is right, whether it's bucking the Pentagon to save a million lives in Kosovo, or rappelling down a hillside amid mines and mortar-fire to save a handful of folks trapped in a burning French APC. Or to take on the Karl Rove reputation-destruction machine to try to put this country back on course. And he's one tough hombre.
Yeah, issues are important. And for me, Clark comes down on the right side of just about every issue that's important: an internationalist foreign policy, civil rights and liberties, protecting the environment, personal choice, fiscal responsibility, educational opportunity. But what I've been most impressed by is his grasp of the bigger, more fundamental issues: the very nature of our democracy, the role of the individual in society and the responsibilities of our government to the people. He KNOWS that we're in grave danger of losing precisely what America is all about.
Clark is the first presidential candidate I ever thought was worth working for, donating money to, or making any kind of personal sacrifice for. The rest are just politicians--some better than others, some a whole lot worse. But none have ever inspired me the way that Wes Clark does.
