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What if we had a president who understood science and technology?

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Clarkie1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-12-05 12:17 AM
Original message
What if we had a president who understood science and technology?
Edited on Sat Mar-12-05 12:19 AM by Clarkie1
The first meeting of the minds between Clark and Wavecrest <http://www.wavecrestlabs.com> was informal but intense. "I remember that day very clearly," said Perry. "Our company was very small, we had this dream, and Wes said, `I'd like to just come out and the engineers and have you guys explain what you're doing.' So people sat around on the floor and we had pizza and a couple of beers and did equations on the whiteboard. And Wes was at home. He immediately connected with the science and the engineers."

Allen Andersson, the principal investor and cofounder of WaveCrest, was astonished at the mathematical prowess and quick grasp of the new technology that Clark exhibited during that first meeting. "When it came to explaining what our company was doing, he understood it a lot better than I did," Andersson said. "He thought that I was just being modest; but no, he understood it and I didn't . I felt embarrassed because he went to West Point and learned how to march while I went to MIT and learned mathematics. He's a guy that does all the practical things, he knows how to move vehicles from one place to another and make sure they have good drivers and fuel and the right number of rest stops; but he's also right there on the theoretical science end of it."

...Perry remarked that Clark had a down-to-earth relationship with everyone at the company. "He would walk around building and talk to the janitor and people running the switchboard; everybody was equally important to him. He has that genuine connection that only a few people could make." ...According to Perry and other officers of the company, Clark had the ability to rally everyone and make morale soar. "Wes was really, in many respects, an inspirational leader," said Perry.

..."Towards the end he was becoming really distracted," said Joe Perry. "It was one thing to read in the papers about the rumors of him entering the race, but it was another thing to sit in the next office to him see what was going on. You could just see that it was tearing him up; he just thought that what we were doing was bad for the country." To his coworkers, Clark's ambition was not about politics but about problem solving. In their day-to-day talks with him about the war on terrorism and the bush administration's environmental policies, they witnessed a genuine concern that was personal. "You read that he's just another politician," said Perry. "He's kind of everything but."

(excerpts from: Wes Clark, A. Felix, 177-88)

"We need a vision of how we're going to move humanity ahead, and then we need to harness science to do it." ~Wesley Clark
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The Doctor. Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-12-05 12:24 AM
Response to Original message
1. You mean Like Al Gore?
Seriously though...

We should all be so lucky to have men or women like these to lead a nation.

The sad fact is - real problem solvers are more focused on the problems they want solved.
Politician are only concerned with the problem of becoming elected.

I loved Jocelyn Elders.
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Clarkie1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-12-05 12:27 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Him too!
That's a big reason why I have always been a big Gore fan. His book, "Earth in the Balance," was great but underappreciated.
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DBoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-12-05 12:48 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. or Jimmy Carter
I miss him. He was bright.
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Generic Guy Donating Member (224 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Mar-12-05 04:32 AM
Response to Original message
4. We do,
but, he had the job stolen from him.
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