TV Alert: Clark gives speech/Q&A. CSPAN 9:30 EST.

[Renew Deal]

This was on before. It got raving reviews.

www.cspan.org

[WillyBrandt]

1. Thanks, Bleachers!

Tell Bleachers6 and Bleachers8 I say hello.

[Renew Deal]

2. lol

:hi:

[mzmolly]

16. I gotta be honest, but as a zealous Dean supporter...

who was very apprehensive about Clark, he is growing on me. He'll never be my number one but... :)

[FrenchieCat]

3. Hey Bleachers7....

I saw it once...but feel a need to see it again. I really enjoy watching and listening to this guy!

[LauraT28]

4. Me too... missed the beginning before....

:toast:

[Renew Deal]

5. He was great.

I saw it thanks o you. I felt obligated to pass the info to others.

[LauraT28]

6. Anyone watching?

:)

[WillyBrandt]

7. I am--quite good

Not up to Clinton's level, but extremely good.

[Gloria]

8. Great humor during the VP question/answer....

Like the fact that he HAS a sense of humor!!

[LauraT28]

9. And a personality!

What a concept....

[1songbird]

10. He is very personable

I loved his remark about AARP. :)

[Kahuna]

11. He has a boyish charm and enthusiasm.

Looking at him and then looking at smirk's stupid mug makes me :puke: Nov. 2004 can't come soon enough.

[LauraT28]

12. Love his view

On the arts...

[Kahuna]

14. Me too. He wants us to be normal humane, happy..

Americans again. I know all the candidates want that. But, just having Clark as my Prez would make me happy. :7

[LauraT28]

13. Love his view

On the arts...

[AmericanDem]

15. Great program

He did very well. You can see how is coming into his role of president now.

[elfin]

17. Just saw it for the first time

Missed the beginning - he is steadily and surely getting his political legs - into the rhythm of campaigning and looking like he truly enjoys it.

His intelligence astounds after these past few years (but then all our potential nominees are mensas compared to the moran) - and I thought his closing statement was terrific.

Liked the way he was with kids and was heartened by the number of retired military who approached him with raves.

In a word - he is "Presidential".

Have shifted between Dean, Kerry and Clark - now it's Clark for the long haul for me. He is a classy guy - and his wife looks like a winner as well, even though that shouldn't be a factor.

[Kahuna]

21. Welcome to the Wes Wing!

:grouphug:

[Donna Zen]

23. Gert

Did you notice...she's got the great smile too.

The General's general.

I also loved that she finished his sentence about the coming grandchild. Just in time for NH.

[1songbird]

24. Welcome aboard :)

[Renew Deal]

25. Great

You were a real tough Dean person. Welcome aboard. Besides, all supporters will be on the same team in a few months.

[Clark Can WIN]

18. Anybody know if it'll play again?

[Kool Kitty]

27. If you're still up, it's on

C-Span right now-12:45 AM EST.

[AmericanDem]

34. C-Span often archives its shows

Start checking the C-span archives. Many of there broadcasts are archived for online viewing. It's worth seening. Good Luck

P.S. Search there archives by entering Wes Clark, that should bring up all available programs dealing with him. They are date sorted so you shouldn't have any problems.

[Gloria]

19. "Likeability"--we're always told that Bush is "likable" --what will

the American public think if they saw someone who actually IS likeable??

I think that's one of my problems with Dean in the final analysis---I like his fight, but how well will he wear? We only seem to see him angry...

[Spazito]

20. There is something inately appealing about Clark....

beyond the obvious skills he would bring to the White House. He has a wonderful laugh that tells you he enjoys life, enjoys people.

[Donna Zen]

22. Wes 101

What a learning curve I am on. Does anyone else feel that way after hours of reading and listening to Clark?

Take his answer on the differences between the situation in Kosovo and Iraq. Paragraph one...lay out the theme and a sketchy thesis. Paragraph two...basic points on Kosovo; diplomatic effort, the imminent threat, the planning, the result. Paragraph three covers Iraq: lack of diplomatic effort, no imminent threat, no planning, mess Paragraph four: Summary and ticking off of points. I even think he finished with the universal out look for a brief paragraph. Type it, check for typos, turn it in.

Mostly, I enjoyed hearing about the assessment strategy for determining our goals and then funding our goals. Clark has an orderly mind, and while democracy is not necessarily orderly, he intends to put the structures in place to push the process along to more satisfactory results than we are getting now.

I especially noted his referral to the current intelligence mess that we have in Washington. It was part of an answer to the Homeland Security question. A while ago, a friend explained to me about the existing pipelines that function or rather don't function in the government. We have 24 separate agencies moving intelligence info. It is like a series of non-connecting conduits where raw data flows up but not necessarily to the top. That means if a particular bit is seen as unimportant to a particular branch, it may never be seen by the branch who needs it. She said that Clark would be very aware of the problem, and with his past experience one could expect him to want to see the system sorted out. I hope so. It is not a matter of what library book I'm taking out, it is a matter of a broken system.

It is always good to see Wes in action. And it is especially good to watch him getting better and more comfortable by the day. All patriot, no act.

[Clark Can WIN]

26. LOL I love that! All patriot, no act

You are right about his ordered way of presenting his points.

My husband noticed that right away.

[Rowdyboy]

28. Great line: "Wes Clark: All Patriot, No Act" ....DAMN

I want a bumper sticker!

[cmd]

33. I love that slogan

Mind if I put it in my sig line?

[lumpy]

29. Clark's the MAN

A REAL man. He has the charisma, the smarts, the ideas, leadership experience, diplomatic experience, foreign experience, military experience, vital energy and certainly appears to be very genuine. After listening all this time to the other candidates (they are all good men), Clark
has all the necessary requirements for becoming an excellent leader for this country. It is nice to finally have made up my mind who I will root for.

[Kahuna]

31. Another one bites the dust! Welcome to the Wes Wing!

:toast: :grouphug:

[RandomUser]

30. Arggh...missed it

Going to have to wait till C-Span archives it online, I guess. Sigh. I guess this is what happens when I stay away from DU for a while :)

[Tracer]

32. Clark.

I'm very ambivalent about him. He says all the right things, but doesn't sound like he's even convinced himself.

And Ñ as a shallow aside Ñ he really needs to get himself to a good tailor. His suits are too big on him. So much shoulder padding that the collars stand away from his body.

[Renew Deal]

35. Actually...

It's not padding. He has huge soldiers and a big back from swimming. I think they have been working on improving his suits. The problem is his bulk. He is jacked. Check out the left side of this page. Clark is in a speedo. http://www.msnbc.com/news/969668.asp

[Tom Rinaldo]

36. Clark is very sure of the big picture

If you look at his biography you will find that once he makes up his mind to do something he gives it his heart and soul. If he believes in something he will risk his life for it. Clark did not come out of the military chomping at the bit to enter politics. He finally determined that he should enter politics after thinking long and hard on the direction the country is taking. Gert, his wife, was very very reluctant about the Presidential run. If Clark had not felt strongly about the urgency of opposing the policies of the Bush administration, he would not be putting her through this (with her grudging consent).

I didn't see the appearance being discusssed on this thread, so I can't comment specifically about how he came across. Clark is really burning the candle at both ends right now to make up for his late entry, so sometimes I think he seems a little tired.

You know how the Clark TV ad (the bio ad for NH voters) mentions that he speaks 4 languages? Well now he is learning how to talk in sound bites, it really is another language that the long term politicians have had years to proactice. The other thing about Clark, he is the complete opposite to Bush in this regard, he wants to read all the briefing papers, he wants to understand the complexities of a complex issue. That is evident from his educational record (the NY Times spoke a lot about his inquisitive mind in the 5 page piece they did on Clark on Sunday). First in his class at West Point, Rhodes Scholar, you've heard all that. It is also evident in his military record where Clark was brilliant at analysis and was given responsibility for Strategic Planning by the Pentagon.

I suspect it is frustrating for Clark that the nature of a full tilt campaign prevents him from taking the time to master all of the complexities of some of the domestic issues that all candidates must by necessity take a public position on. The general outline of his beliefs; need to preserve the enrironment, pro affirmative action, women's right to choose, need for a progressive tax system, preservaton of civil liberties, enforcement of consumer protection laws, right to unionize, etc. are solid. He owns those positions comfortably. But suddenly Clark is expected to produce detailed positions on a host of policies, proposed legislation, and court cases (not unfairly). The elected politicians in the race have all had large full time staff of politically adept aids for years, who have researched and prepped their guys (Carol is not in elective office now, so it's "guys") on myriad issues and drafted legislation for them. Clark never had 'em. His personal expertise has been in international relations.

For someone like Ronald Reagan or George Bush, it isn't a problem how personally knowledgable they ultimately were in the positions they publically advocated. Those guys are script readers, they want the flash card versions. They specialize in the delivery, not the substance. Clark is the other way around, he really wants to figure out the solutions. He is a problem solver. That's how the military used him. He knows how to lean on staff, much better than Jimmy Carter in that regard, but he is always fully engaged.

I think Clark shows his greatest passion when he is talking about anything he is knowledgable about. Iraq etc. certainly. Civil liberties and the role they play in a constitutional democracy, absolutely. The need for accountability by leadership, bingo. The poison of divisiveness in public and political life, Clark gets that threat, he had to create unity and a sense of shared purpose in the military. Even Clark's feelings about gay and lesbian rights are passionate, since he confronted that personally in the service. Clark is playing catch up on the fine details of domestic policies though. At this stage he isn't fully drawing from his own play book there yet, and he just is not a powerful script reader.

The thing is, Clark will master that too. It is in his nature. It is what he expects of himself if he is to take on the responsibility of leading this nation. One reason why Clark is more sure on the stump now than he was just 6 weeks ago is because he is starting to acquaint himself with the issues more deeply. It is easy to forget that Clark has only been in politics for 2 and 1/2 months.