The General in San Francisco (or, “Mother Spiegel’s Report”)
by Tricia Keith Spiegel
February 2, 2006
This account was edited slightly, full report available here .
February 2nd, 2006. It was a memorable evening. The Hotel Monaco in San Francisco provided a stunning setting for the approximately 90 people in attendance.
He started by reading from an amusing script… Then he took serious questions. His answers to two questions (one he asked himself) stood out for me. He was asked how his patriotism was formed. He relayed stories from his childhood, and his warm sincerity and commitment to loving our country was truly touching. One could see so clearly the seeds back then of whom he would eventually become.
Before he could even be asked, he said he knew we were wondering if he was running for President again. He gave the most open and detailed response I have yet heard reported. Would he like to be President? Yes, he would. However, expressing an interest is very different from declaring that he is going to run
After a short break, about 28 of us went to a smaller room for dinner. the room was small enough for him to talk to the whole group the whole time. He spoke on a variety of subjects, and the questions were more direct than at the reception. Again, he spoke of wanting to be President, but also needing to be very realistic. He also noted that we need to focus all of our resources on turning at least one House blue.
At dinner he spoke more about domestic policies, especially health care. You can sense his military strategy models in his domestic policy planning—organized, efficient, effective, looking beyond immediate gains or consequences, and best bang for the buck. We spoke a bit about the VA as an example of a single payer system that has worked well for the most part. But now funds are being cut, making the VA difficult to shine (perhaps because the current administration would like to see it privatized, so the VA has to appear to be less functional?)
At the reception he said that Democrats are seen as the party that takes care of the poor and disadvantaged, BUT that this has lost many in the middle class, especially white middle class men. The middle class is now also vulnerable, and they don’t want to see ONLY a bunch of programs for the disadvantaged as “the Democratic message.” He noted how the Democrats are making mistakes here, and that they must also forcefully tackle issues that the middle class can relate to and appreciate. Some of these were discussed.
The most profound story of the evening was what he billed as “the worst day of my life”—one he thought was going to turn out to be a relaxing day of golf. It was that standoff with the Brit General Jackson (the incident involving the Russian helicopters and the airfield at Pristina where Clark’s critics claim he almost started WW III). The true story was harrowing. The pressure and stresses from the Americans (Pentagon v. State Department), the Brits (some of whom were disorganized) and the Kosovar leadership going round and round, trying to push one way and the other, and the decisions he had to make under such stress led him to understand better than any politician ever could what it means to be in that kind of crisis. The story was so exciting (I could never give it its due—he told it in great detail), and I hope that there is a way to tell it more widely. He said that stress has colors, and the most intense color is red—where you can see all of the red corpuscles in your face. This was red stress. I still like the idea of a BIG movie (Stephen Spielberg, are you listening?) called “Kosovo” where this and other stories about General Clark’s experiences with this whole conflict can be told ACCURATELY. It would be an exciting movie—a real winner.
He discussed Iran and how the military option could be used, of course, but the after-effects might be horrendous. How would the Middle East and the rest of the world see us then? Who would come to Iran’s aid? He noted that what kept him involved in politics (and not closing off the Presidential option) is because we are making so many mistakes. It is clear that he loves our country above all and wants to be part of making it strong and highly respected again.
Now comes the Mother Spiegel story, as an aside. We were all finishing dessert (it is now 10 p.m.), and because he was talking constantly from the minute we sat down at the table he ate only two bites of his steak and a tiny piece of bread. (Remember, his plate is 8 inches away from mine, so I could see everything left on it.) He was looking tired, and I was sincerely worried about him and trying to figure out how to allow him to eat something—like maybe taking a break for a few minutes. So, when he called on me I said, “There is only one thing more powerful than a Four-Star General and that is a Jewish Mother, and General Clark hasn’t touched his vegetables and only two bites are taken out of his steak and he needs protein.” Everyone laughed, including him (thankfully). Alas, he explained that he doesn’t eat much and he would rather “eat ideas”—and, in fact, he did not eat any more food and was never even served the delicious desserts. I REALLY don’t know how he does it! (Lewis Cohen, who was sitting on the other side of him at dinner, came up afterwards to dutifully report to me that he had eaten all of his vegetables. LOL!)
It is so hard to remember everything that was said in the almost 4 hours he spoke during the evening. What stands out most is the clear statement that he wants to be President (again, noting that is different from saying he will run), an even stronger conviction on everyone’s part that he SHOULD be President, and the clear understanding that we grassroots folks have a big role to play (and that we need to move faster!) to get his name out there and get some organizations set up with things for people to do. Again, we need to be highly visible Clark Supporters working for House and Senate candidates and also attracting funds into WesPAC. I truly believe that the world may depend on it!
