Clark - Some of my

Clark - Some of my Democrat friends have been bloviating about a possible Kerry/Clark ticket in 2004.

Given Kerry's mad dash for the left, I think the top of the ticket is something Bush can deal with, presuming the economy picks up at all (and my own consumer confidence grows with each job interview).

As far as Clark goes, NRO's Jim Geraghty writes about it:

Clark’s reputation appears to be in better shape than the Republican Guard, but it’s taken some hits.

Morton Kondrake of Roll Call says, “The Democratic party should think very carefully about taking advice from Wesley Clark, who has been a doomsayer about this from the beginning.”

“The two big losers of the war in the media were Gen. Barry McCaffrey and Wesley Clark,” says University of Virginia political-science professor Larry Sabato. “They were so wrong. They got way out on a limb on criticizing the Pentagon and the war plan and obviously the success of the operation cut the limb off.”

Sabato says the massive media exposure was a mixed bag for a Clark candidacy.

“He raised his name ID, but it’s likely that now there are lots of people who just know his name and don’t have much of an opinion of him as a candidate,” Sabato says. “He certainly comes across well on TV — he looks good, he sounds good, and comes across as authoritative. Those are all plusses.”

But Sabato also says the general’s doubts and criticism of ultimately vindicated Pentagon war planners mean Clark “shot himself in both feet for general election.”

Kerry's "Regime Change" jape from last week - perhaps the stupidest thing I've ever heard from a serious presidential candidate this side of Pat Buchanan - is certainly something that can be used against him next year.

As to Clark, his performance on CNN was just the latest in a series of problems:

One political observer who had dealt with Clark said that the general’s fights in the Pentagon were not the usual results of disputes over policy, but a refection of Clark’s “arrogance… he’s always absolutely sure of the rightness of his position.” Clark doesn’t appear to be on great terms with the most recent Democratic commander-in-chief, either. It is rumored that donors approached by Clark went to President Clinton for advice and got the thumbs down on the general.

Someday we'll go into Clark's record as US commander in Kosovo.

Posted by Mitch at April 21, 2003 06:39 AM