I'm officially endorsing Wes Clark for VP

[woolldog]

I've become more and more impressed with him during his media appearances and his adept criticisms of McCain, all the while seeming very likable. I like the way he stays on message. And now I think he's the logical choice for VP.

1. He's got the foreign policy/military credentials.
2. He was against the war.

3. He's not a Senator.
4. He's a "good soldier"....i.e., he's loyal and doesn't have that potentially damaging independent streak that Webb has.

5. He's a stealth progressive (seems more conservative than he is).

6. He's squeaky clean....I think?

7. He's an "outside the beltway" candidate and so he dovetails with Obama's message of change, while still bringing substantial experience.

The only downside is that he doesn't bring a state with him. And I think he's a little untested on this type of stage. I mean he's never run for office and won.

Still there's no one else who comes close. Biden voted for the war, which will hamstring Obama's ability to attack McCain. Biden is also a Senator. Webb recently came out for offshore drilling and embarrassed Obama in the process, showing that maybe he's a little too independent to be happy in the role of VP.

:patriot:

[rug]

1. Hold the presses.

[woolldog]

3. why are you such a hater, rug?

I don't dislike anyone, not even those who don't like me. Peace. :hug:

[JVS]

2. How old is Clark?

I don't want us getting cheneyed in 2016 by having someone too old to run as our VP

[woolldog]

4. 63 yo...........n/t

[wishlist]

5. Clark will be 64 in December nt

[papapi]

6. 63

[ihavenobias]

7. He'd be an excellent choice...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x147962

Between what you said about Clark and what is said in the video above, that pretty much covers it.

[Skwmom]

8. I'm sure the Clintons would love it. Then if something happened to

Obama, Clark could step aside for Clinton if it was before November and pick her for VP if it was after November. And if Obama makes it through 2 terms, Clark will be too old to run, leaving an opening for Clinton.

So after it's all said and done, we'll end up with the Clintons back in control of the Democratic Party. No thanks.

I was a HUGE supporter of Clark in 04 but I don't support him for VP. Besides the above, his comments about Obama during the primary will be used against Obama.

[tishaLA]

9. my only concern is

about his lobbying. I was a Clark supporter in 04 and, going into this election, I was torn between Clark and Obama. When Clark decided not to run, supporting Obama became easy.

But Obama has built "his brand" (as the commentators say these days) around anti-lobbying reform and Clark is not in the clear on this matter. So it is not a natural fit from that perspective, whatever my personal feelings about his integrity and political positions might be.

[woolldog]

10. this is why I like this board.

good feedback.

[Adelante]

11. Do you mean from years ago, Tisha?

A brief period following 9/11 when he was a registered lobbyist. Or is there something more current that concerns you? I know how much you respect Wes, so I'm not challenging, just asking.

[tishaLA]

12. Yeah--from 02 and 03

(I think those were the years). Again, I don't have a problem with it, but I just think it conflicts with Obama's "brand" and I have a sense that it could bring about problems not unlike the issues the faced with Jim Johnson (who I also think is an admirable guy).

[Donna Zen]

14. Oh, I thought you meant his involment with wind power

General Clark is now director of a wind-power company....although he's not a lobbyist. Would his participation in an alternative energy company be a problem?

[tishaLA]

15. Not at all

and remember: I don't think his lobbying is a "problem" really; after all, I started supporting him immediately after he stopped lobbying. I simply think it appears to contradict Obama's message about lobbyists, much as Johnsn appeared to contradict the message about subprime lending.

[Adelante]

18. Yes, 2002, that's right

He was on the board of directors of Acxiom starting December 2001. He registered as a lobbyist for them in May 2002. He lobbied for them around 4 or 5 months, as I recall, although he remained on the board into 2003. Somewhere on DU is a copy of his lobbyist registration forms. But before all this, when I was thinking of after 9/11, he was already "lobbying" without pay or a license, trying to help get a system in place to identify terrorists on airplanes that would be an improved version of the Clinton era passenger prescreening system, CAPPS. If you recall, Acxiom did have 11 of the 9/11 terrorists in its database, but there was no way for CAPPS to tap that information and spit out a profile. In addition, Wes is well known as having insisted on privacy protections in the revision of CAPPS, as Robert O'Harrow has written about many times, and wanted the ACLU to pre-approve any plan that emerged. The privacy issues came later in the perverted CAPPS II, Homeland Security and the Patriot Act, all of which Wes criticized and had no involvement in. Doing security and civil liberties at the same time is basically what he's been about, as you know. That he was a registered lobbyist at one time, working on a matter of national security, for a pretty short period, at that, and which he did for months for free as a patriotic volunteer, doesn't have much impact, in my opinion, on his suitability for Barack and his brand. Maybe I should say, the nature of the lobbying in its historical context helps.

[CTyankee]

13. I'm with you on Wes's assets to this campaign

Those photos of him in his full dress uniform send a message to anyone who wants to talk about strength on defense issues. I find him very well informed on foreign policy and military issues. He is also an extremely attractive person. He exudes strength, tempered with wisdom from his own military career. And did he "win" the war he handled back in the Clinton admin. (Kosovo)?

[BootinUp]

16. Arkansans would support that ticket imho.

Maybe a small state but I'd still take it.

I second your endorsement (fwiw lol)

[New Earth]

17. I'm with you

officially endorsed by ME!

[JoFerret]

19. Very good looking couple

.

[GreenTea]

20. I agree Clark will be a great choice.

[indie_voter]

21. I agree. I hope he is the VP pick. n/t