Wes Clark for VP!

OK—I am biased, since Wes Clark would have been my first choice for POTUS if he had run this time, but I think he would be the perfect VP choice.

First off, I think we need a Southern white guy with a strong military record to counter the McCain advantage. And others have pointed out, we probably shouldn’t go for both a woman and a Black man this time around, since that really might freak a lot of white male voters.

Clark would appease the Hillary voters, since he has been a staunch supporter of hers all along, but he wouldn’t offend the Obama voters, because he has never gotten down in the dirt or attacked Obama as other Hillary campaign operatives have. Also, he has been absolutely selfless about campaigning and fundraising for all sorts of Democrats since 2004, so there are a lot of favors to call in.

He is a brilliant Rhodes Scholar, and also from Arkansas, which carries the cachet of Bill Clinton for those who were hoping this would be Bill’s third term.

He is a handsome son of a gun, which does count with a lot of people.

He has been a FOX News analyst, so he is known and admired by a lot of the voters we might otherwise never attract, and yet he has always smacked the FOX Fools down whenever they tried to pull any of their BS in his presence.

He speaks well in public. Two great public speakers on the ticket would highlight McCain’s clumsiness and gaffes.

Notice that he brings all the same advantages Jim Webb would bring, but none of the disadvantages, since he isn’t DINO, but rather a genuine progressive. (Webb is right on the war, but wrong on a lot of other progressive issues.) Also, Clark has served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and he has the ear and the trust of much of the military brass, who spoke to him when they wanted to make stuff public that they did not dare to say themselves in public.

He has even been a Republican in the past, but has left that behind. But he still has connections to that side of the aisle and can work with them, as well as fans among Republican voters.

His heroism in trying single-handedly to save, at great risk to himself, those men who were killed in Bosnia when their Hummer went over a cliff would be a nice counterbalance to McCain’s MSM-pumped up war hero persona.

Also, his military experience includes command positions--i.e., executive roles--whereas much could be made of the fact that McCain has never had any executive experience.

Clark for VP!

**BTW, Edwards (who was my second choice, after Clark, for POTUS this time) probably would not take the VP slot again, and I hoe he will be named Attorney General, to clean up that snakepit over at the DOJ and to do some real investigating of the Bush administration's crimes.

How could he support someone stupid enough to vote yes on the IWR?

That's enough for me to disfavor him as VP choice, but you make some good points. It would be a strong ticket.

Should Obama repudiate Kerry's support because of his IWR support? As long as we don't reward an IWR supporter with the presidency, I'm cool with accepting their support.

PS Clark opposed the Iraq War.

2. Clark endorsed Clinton even though he opposed the Iraq war. So, he endorsed someone he knew had bad judgment?

3. Clark's opposition to the Iraq war was equivocal, at best.

4. The VP is one heartbeat away from running the country.

I like Clark but I do not support him wholeheartedly as the VP. But if he is chosen, I won't be unhappy.

Wes would be excellent.

He could perhaps help bridge the gap to the Hillary camp.

Kicked and Recommended. Gen. Clark would be a great choice - and there's a lot of "Wes Clark Democrats" in both Sen. Clinton's AND Sen. Obama's camps.

also between the Dem nominee and moderate Republicans and Independents. And on top of that, he has excellent qualities even if he were not such a perfect bridge.

Obama's personality is fairly laid back, so is Clark's.

I think Obama needs an aggressive personality (with foreign policy experience) to be his VP choice in order to offset his low key approach.

Someone who will come out and say things Obama wouldnt when the race gets dirty down the final stretch to the GE.

As brilliant as Clark is, as much experience as he has, he doesnt have the fire in his gut to tell people to go to Hell when its needed.

He is also unflappable, so he is always able to come back at them, while they get all overwrought and pop their corks.

Wes was making a point I didn't agree with, but he defended it vehemently and created an uncomfortable moment in the panel with his challenge. (I think he was challenging Andrew Sullivan)

I think he's got the chutzpah, I would be happy as hell to have Wes Clark on that ticket.

n/t

Why can't he be in the joint chiefs of staff? Why can't he be in the SoD dept.? Hell, why can't he be the head of the SoD, for that matter? It is after all, a very powerful position that has the president's ear. Look at the power wielded by scumsfeld.

I don't want anybody in the military in a position to take over potus in the event of the sitting president's disability or death. There are many important positions in the cabinet for the military, he does not need to be the VP.

Even JFK was in the military at one time (remember PT109?)

the dangers of the military-industrial complex.

Active Duty officers in the regular services cannot hold public office. (Reservists can, but they're usually not called into active service while they hold office.

Dwight Eisenhower was an interesting case, Since he was a five-star "General of the Army", he was considered to be always on active duty. So before he became president, he resigned his permanent commission as General of the Army before entering the office of President of the United States.

When he left office, his commission was reactivated and he was recommissioned. However, during his time in office, he was not considered to have rank other than the normal POTUS Commander in Chief

n/t

Seriously, yes.

As for the whole 'he supported Hillary' thing, I think he had to. He owes his--albeit brief--political career to the Clintons. I have nothing against someone showing loyalty, and early in this race it was appropriate for him to come out in support of HRC.

My big fear with him on the ticket would be anit-military bias. I think a lot of people--even some here on DU--might buy into the whole 'OMG he nearly started WWIII!' crap that went around back in 2004. Fortunately, I think that's a small part of our base.

He's bright (Rhodes scolar), adept at diplomacy (NATO), and is a cosmetically appealing pairing, being both a "Southern white male" and (I'm told) good-looking. As a Clinton surrogate, he'd help "heal" whatever rift might exist. He has command experience and an insider's knowledge of the military that'd be invaluable.

Not that good a speaker.

Really, not a guy who could or should be president.