General Wesley Clark Becomes Anti-War Fave Overnight

by Jim Lobe

While untested on the campaign trail, the 58-year-old Clark's good looks, media savvy, military record, and general scepticism over Bush's war on terrorism -- particularly the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq -- make him a particularly strong candidate, at least on paper

While Clark, who officially announced his candidacy in his hometown, of Little Rock, Ark. on Wednesday, faces an uphill fight for the nomination, his presence in the 10-person Democratic field ensures that the U.S. adventure in Iraq and Bush's conduct of his two-year-old ''war on terrorism,'' about which Clark has been unrelentingly critical, will become even more of a focus of media and public debate than before

Moreover, Clark's ''star quality'' as a prominent media commentator on military affairs and the backing he enjoys from key members of the administration of former President Bill Clinton, who has encouraged the former general to run, automatically make him a serious candidate despite the lateness of his entry into the race and his political inexperience

Clark, who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at the top of his class and eventually rose to supreme commander of NATO during the brutal attack on near-defenseless Serbia, is also certain to benefit from the clearly rising unhappiness of the uniformed military -- bitterness in the army's case -- about how Bush's defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has operated

This was brought home in a remarkably melodramatic column published in the 'Washington Post' on Monday by Jeffrey H. Smith, a prominent Washington attorney who graduated from West Point with Clark in 1966 and served for many years as general counsel to the influential Senate Armed Services Committee

Recounting a recent funeral at West Point for another graduate of the Class of 1966, the class that suffered the highest proportion of deaths in the Vietnam War, Smith noted that the attendees quietly discussed under a ''magnificent old locust tree'' after the burial the similarities in the way the army was treated in that debacle and the current situation in Iraq

''A hushed moment followed,'' wrote Smith, ''and then with choked voices several classmates said almost in unison, 'Tell Wes to go.''' With that kind of support, Clark, who has yet to tread the campaign trail, could go very far, particularly at a time of war, when neither the sitting president nor his vice-president or top military advisers have any combat experience

Indeed, it has been clear for several months that the Bush administration considers the one Democratic candidate with real combat experience, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, its most formidable potential foe precisely because of his military background and expertise

Clark's candidacy, should he make it onto the Democratic ticket, even as the vice-presidential hopeful (which some speculate may be his aim given his late entry) raises even greater fears in that regard

In the short term, Clark's announcement is likely not only to heighten media attention to what has been seen as a largely unexciting contest for the Democratic nomination, but also to change its dynamics

Given his military stature, Clark will almost certainly affect Kerry's support, precisely because his military record was considered a strong selling point for the 2004 race. He may also further dampen the hopes of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who was former Vice President Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and has campaigned as a hard-liner on national security

As a native Arkansian, Clark's presence is also likely to detract from the campaigns of two southern senators, John Edwards of North Carolina and Bob Graham of Florida, who have benefited from the fact that the three last Democratic candidates to be elected president -- Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who was also from Arkansas -- all hailed from the South

Most importantly in the short term, Clark's entry into the race may also slow the momentum of Vermont Governor Howard Dean, the candidate whose anti-war positions and Internet fund-raising have propelled him into the lead in surveys of Democrats in several battleground states whose primary elections will likely eliminate several of the lesser-known aspirants

In many ways, Clark's criticism of the ''war on terrorism'' has been similar to Dean's, a medical doctor with limited political experience and, until his recent fund-raising success, virtually no national media exposure. But, with so much military and international experience, Clark is generally seen as a much more credible critic of Bush's policy

Moreover, he has received support from two particularly interesting figures on the left side of the political spectrum

The long-time representative of Harlem and a leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, Charles Rangel, has spoken out strongly in favour of the general, as has award-winning film director and author Michael Moore, whose 'Stupid White Men ... And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation' still tops the country's non-fiction best-seller lists in its second year

In a letter to Clark that is being widely circulated on the Internet, the maker of the films 'Roger and Me' and 'Bowling for Columbine' commended the former general for coming to his defense on national television immediately after Moore had issued a strong attack on Bush during an interview shortly after the president launched the Iraq war

''You boldly said that my dissent was necessary and welcome, and you pointed out that I was against Bush and his 'policies', not the kids in the service. I sat in Flint (Michigan) with the earpiece still in my ear and I was floored -- a GENERAL standing up for me and, in effect, for all the millions who were opposed to the war but had been bullied into silence,'' Moore wrote

He added that, as he explored Clark's other positions -- he opposes the USA Patriot Act that expands the powers of security agencies to look into previously private matters, is pro-choice on abortion issues, favours affirmative action for disadvantaged groups, and opposes Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, among others -- he concluded: ''I am sure there are things you and I don't see eye to eye on, but now is the time for all good people from the far left to the middle of the road to bury the damn hatchet and get together behind someone who is not only good on the issues but can beat George W. Bush."

"And where I come from in the Midwest, General, I know you are the kind of candidate that the average American will vote for.''