Posted on September 13, 2003 in Campaign 2004
It may strike some as odd that a pacifist would contemplate endorsing a military man, but I am seriously considering General Wesley Clark as my first choice after Carol Moseley Braun. It’s very important for me to consider the proposed candidate’s every position, stack him up against Braun, Kucinich, and Dean before making my decision. But I will say this: Clark’s experience in the military is not a strike against him. In fact, I take it as a positive attribute in a day when the country is on the brink of everlasting war at the hands of a pack of chicken hawks. Clark knows what war is all about and he has defended those who speak against it.
I am hard pressed to think of a former general (other than Washington who suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion) who waged war while President. Generals know that people die in wars. They do not like them and they strive to get them over fast. Clark, I feel, may be a person who will get us gracefully out of Iraq, restore our relations with our allies. So far, his other views — on the environment, affirmative action, choice, support for military families and veterans, the deficit, and the ridiculous tax cuts that Bush has given those who need it least — mesh with my own.
He is a man to watch, carefully. He might be worthy of my vote.