Reply #39: Thank you for you question [View All]

[Crunchy Frog]

I can't give you nearly as eloquent an answer as some others here have, but I will give it a shot.

Early on in the race, I supported Howard Dean. Of all the candidates running at the time, he was the only one who was really telling the truth about the Bush regime, and willing to unashamedly take traditional Democratic stands. If Clark had not entered the race, I would probably be a hard core Dean supporter at this point.

However,I never really felt completely comfortable with Dean. While I felt he was the strongest of the pack because of his willingness to fight, I nevertheless felt less than comfortable with his chances against Bush. I watched some of his television appearences and he never really resonated with me, although I really wanted him to.

As I became aware of the Draft Clark movement, I started to get intrigued, although I was sceptical that he would actually enter. I was a lurker on DU at the time, and after he entered I held off actually deciding to support him until I could wade through the massive shitstorm that occured over the following couple of weeks. People dug up every concievable bit of dirt on him that could be found, so I spent a couple of weeks looking at the evidence, and doing deeper research, finally reaching the conclusion that I was comfortable with him.

A big part of what I like is purely in the area of pragmatism. I think that he is the strongest candidate to put up against Bush, and that is my number one priority. Among other things, his foreign policy and national security credentials completely take those things off the table for the repukes. The fact that he is a military man, in my opinion, automatically widens his appeal to a larger cross section of the American population. The fact that he's southern also IMO makes him stronger electorally.

If it was just his resume and background, I don't think that alone would be enough to defeat Bush, but after watching a number of his appearances, it became clear that he had the ability to articulate an alternative message in such a way that it can resonate with people. He has a capacity to reframe issues that have traditionally belonged to the right, like national security, family values, and patriotism, and attach liberal and progressive meanings to them. In fact, I could imagine him being a sort of Reagan in reverse, moving the political landscape of this country back towards the left, and, like Reagan, bringing many members of the other party along for the ride.

Another factor for me is that he is also a fighter. When I watch him being interviewed by RW shills, he usually hands them their asses on a platter, does it without breaking a sweat, and with a beautiful smile on his face. After a couple of encounters with him, people like Tweety and Timmy act like they are scared and intimidated and they treat him with respect. He is the first person on our side that I have ever seen be able to do that, and it feels really good to watch. I especially liked how he threw down the gauntlet to Karl Rove in a recent speech, daring Karl to come after him. He simply will not take any shit. He won't let them do to him what they did to John McCain and Max Cleland (he offered to beat the shit out of them if they do).

If all this wasn't enough, I find that his positions are also among the most liberal of all the viable candidates running. That doesn't mean that I agree with all his positions but I do find myself agreeing with his overall principles and values. His foreign policy beliefs are precisely the oposite of the neocons. He is strongly environmentalist, and has most other views that are traditionally seen as liberal Democrat.

However, he has the appearance of being a moderate, and he frames his positions in a non-partisan way. This means he will likely be able to appeal to a wider section of the population including moderate Republicans, and will be able to present his agenda in a way that they find non-threatening. For this reason, I think he would be much more effective than most Democratic presidents in actually enacting a progressive agenda.

Finally, I have just found that he really resonates with me. I am incredibly impressed virtually everytime I see him do a telivision appearance, especially one that is unscripted and has unexpected questions coming at him. His brilliance, understanding and compassion really shine through.

I'm sorry this has turned into a rather long essay, but I am really enthusiastic about the subject.:)

I am not at all interested in swaying you to support my candidate. I am sure that you have the same sort of enthusiasm for Dean as I have for Clark, and I completely respect that. I genuinely do appreciate your desire to understand and respect why some of us really like Clark.:)