Obama to General Wesley Clark: Your Services Not Needed

(General Wesley Clark speaking at Yearly Kos Convention in Chicago, 2007)

General Wesley Clark is not attending the Democratic National Convention. I was told by General Clark's personal office in Little Rock that he would not be attending.

He was informed by Barack Obama's people that there was no reason to come.

General Clark has been given no role of any kind at the convention.

Rubbing salt in the wound even more, the "theme" of Wednesday's Democratic convention agenda is "Securing America."

Wesley Clark's PAC also happens to be called SECURING AMERICA.

This is a mistake in my view. There are a lot of perspectives and competing agendas about how to direct America's next national security posture -- and General Wesley Clark should be one of the top tier names and personalities at the table.

Clark is loved by the netroots -- and I'm sure that they would hope that the Obama campaign will revisit this decision to exclude General Wesley Clark from the entire Democratic National Convention ageda.

-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note

Update: I have reconfirmed with General Wesley Clark's office that he has not been asked to play a role at the Democratic National Convention. His staff have told me that while his schedule remains tight, he would rearrange his schedule to help play any constructive role on any days of the convention if asked.

Comments

[clipper291]

I don’t know why all are so afraid of a military background for VP, Ike was so much aware of the military corruption that he warned us about the giant industrial military complex, and actually diverted money from the pentagon to start our highway program, this administrations worst hawks were all civilians, starting with the VP, and on down the line. Rumsfield, Wolfowitz etc.

[ellim]

I completely agree. Eisenhower was prescient. Too bad the nation didn't better heed his warnings.

It often seems to me that the guys with the most executive military experience, from Wes Clark to Colin Powell, have a much greater understanding of the limits of military power, that bombs and guns won't solve every problem. I see a greater willingness to focus on diplomatic solutions from the former military executives. They also don't make the mistake of treating our soldiers like disposable toys.

[moonwatcher]

Clark may not be a candidate for vice president nor a speaker at the Denver Convention but he should be there. If elected Obama should consult Clark on military affairs. Obama should quit throwing valuable people away. A warm invitation to the convention by Obama would help. If Obama thinks that he is going to get great support from the religious right he is sadly mistaken. It is the core group of Democrats who have supported him and young people who are flexible in their thinking who will be with him at the end win or lose. Start being more inclusive with your base, Obama and get off your high horse and mend fences. If you're afraid every time a Democrat opens his mouth and rocks your election plans, I wonder how willing Obama will be to listen to the American people when elected.

[nikto]

(continued)...

I bellieve Obama's got it in him to fight super-hard & clean, but so far,
he's mainly just fighting CLEAN.

He needs to fight much HARDER than
he has so far, to counter McCain's non-stop smears and name-calling.

McCain has legitimite ties to very questionable lobbyists, including one
who has conceivaby played an exacerbating role in the current conflict in Georgia!
McCain is vulnerable on many many fronts.

I just hope Obama fully "gets it" while enough time remains.

[nikto]

The Democratic Party needs it's Wesley Clark/Howard Dean/Russ Feingold sector to stand up and stop being afraid of bad words flung at them by rightwing slimers.

This election could just possibly be lost of Obama tries too hard to walk a tightrope
to impress perceived "swing voters".
Obama's rejection of Clark is an example of this. It is hard not to see it
as a Neocon victory as well, which is truly a disappointment.

Obama can win by FIGHTING, clean and hard and true, on Iraq, the Economy,
alternate energy solutions, etc, and by RESISTING the Neocons, rather than
appearing to bend to them without compromise in return.

And another thing, how come Obama can't even use the term, "Neoconservatives"?

It is perfectly legitimate, and their philosophy can be dissected rationally and
argued for/against academically.

America has never had that conversati­on/explana­tion with real media coverage, led by a major figure.

Obama could gain a lot of support by explaining and bringing discussion of the Neocon "philosophy" and its recent influence on America's foreign policy to the public front. He could open a lot of minds and start millions of conversations between Americans.

Now THAT would be Leadership, as he displayed with his speech on race.

...(continued)

[PoliticalAnimal]

If Wesley Clark is not included in Obama's foreign policy team, we'll know the same Dem neoCONs that helped enable Bush are still in charge.

[Oldtt]

I suggested a few days ago in another thread, as a remark to a comment extolling Wes Clark and Madeleine Albright as potential key Omama advisors, that both were too much Hillary Clinton loyalists to play any role with Obama. His principal advisor for national security is Zeigniew Brzezinski. Too bad for all those who admire Clark and Albright, but Obama is much too intelligent to take advise from the enemy camp, especially when neither was ever the head of the Harvard Law Review.

[jsinclair]

I would take Clark any day over a hawk like Brzezinski -- or Obama's other favorite, Nunn.

I hope there are better people among his other 300 foreign policy advisors.

Very disappointed about Clark (who I suspect has been sabotaged by someone in Obama's campaign). But...time will tell. I suspect that, over time, he'll be able to see General Clark in a different and positive light after all. It just may not be until his administration gets in gear.

[Oldtt]

So would most Democrats. Obama has the same problem as Bush, but wants to solve it in a different way. He is being painted as too inexperienced for the job by Republicans, but he can't solve this by picking a VP who outshines him on domestic and/or foreign policy like Cheney did for GWB. As long as Barack was just campaigning against other Dems, he could avoid hard comparisons by sticking to hope, change, etc., but as the Presidential nominee he is increasingly forced to assert policies in response to major events. His VP choice must not be a subject matter expert on vital issues whose knowledge and reputation eclipses his own, but needs to select someone not well known but still credible to voters. All the discussion about picking this or that person to fill in his resume is idle because it would diminish him with voters.

[syllepsis]

Clark is too intelligent- and too honest- to have a place in a modern Democratic campaign, which leaves the field wide open for people like Brzezinski or Nunn.

[Tinsdale]

Oldtt, Sorry. I think you should become familiar with Clark's resume or Albright's before you post comments like this.

[cincigal]

The enemy camp?This dosent sound like uniting the party to me.Since when are lifetime menbers "the enemy camp"?By the way were you ever the head of the Harvard Law Review???Does this mean if anyone was never the head of the Harvard Law review,that they are not considered eligible to be in the Democratic party?I guess that rules you out. What a juvinile remark.Do you even know how many people actually held this position?One has to wonder about the ages of these ignorant posters(Egobama worshipers).You wouldnt know intelligence if it was staring you in the face.Inteligent people certainly do not make remarks like this.

[MyNameIsJames]

I hope that this is a smoke screen. If Obama picks whimpy Evan Bayh, then I figure Obama should prepare his concession speech for November 4th .
The security issue is going to loom even larger over the next few weeks. The Russian/ Georgian situation doesn't help. The resignation of Musharraf in Pakistan is another wild card in a very critical region. Foreign policy will matter greatly in this election.

For those glib Democrats who think that " It's the economy stupid!" You just wait and see. Events around the world will force Americans to think of "external threats". In most cases "external threats" are seen as more dangerous than "internal" ones.

Obama has yet to answer the question - Will we be "safe" with him. A general like Wesley Clark would be able to shut down a lot of the fear mongering that is being drummed up by the conservative noise machine concerning Obama's inexperience. Americans are LOOKING for a symbol of security --- in additon to the need for "Change".
If its all "Change" without the security component- the public will back away from Obama.

The other thing about Clark - I believe that he would punch back against McCain and demonstrate that McCain is in fact very mediocre on the foreign policy front.

[Oldtt]

Punches against McCain would have to be thrown by Obama himself, not by a surrogate who would make Obama look inexperienced by comparison.

[DebbieinPhx]

Ha! That's the first though that came to my mind.... It makes me laugh when I'm thinking something and then simulatenously reading it on screen..... word!

[galinha]

I trust Obama's judgment. He cannot be that stupid to throw Clark under the bus for stating the truth. I actually believe the campaign is sending us on a wild goose chase. Make it appear that he is being sidelined and then boom--he is announced as VP.! If it's not Clark it should be Biden.

[Nooneyouknow]

Biden's made some rather racist comments in the past; I doubt it'll be him.

[Oldtt]

As Chico Marx said in Duck Soup: "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"

(That's right folks, it was Chico dressed as Groucho.)

[robbep]

This is typical Obama, throw people who say the slightest thing that is controversial under the bus. It is getting harder and harder to see what this man believes in other than getting elected. His push to the right is going to hit him hard on 11/9 when he is sent back to the senate.

[kentuck]

Throwing General Clark overboard may turn out to be the biggest mistake of the Obama campaign? When General Clark made his comments about McCain, he hit at the very heart of the truth about the entire McCain candidacy. He was running on his experience as a POW as if that somehow qualified him to be the President? They squealed like pigs and the Obama camp thru him aside.

Considering the type of campaign that McCain is now running and plans to run until November, Obama may rue the day he did not use this tactic, which just happened to be true. Now, the McCain campaign squeals again when they are accused of maybe knowing the questions ahead of time when he was supposed to be in a "cone of silence". There's a pattern here...

[TruthStar9]

I just got off of the telephone with the Obama Headquarters in Chicago.

They have heard about the story.

The youngman whom I spoke with says that we are to go to http://factcheck.barackobama.com to see if the story is there.

While he could not speak for Senator Obama, he stated that the convention is only three days long and that there are only so many slots in which to speak.

I told him that I hope that General Clark has not been ostracized for his McCain comment. He replied that between he and I, he agreed with General Clark's statement. Further, he does not believe that the Senator has ostracized General Wesley Clark. That he/we do not know who the VP Candidate willl be -- I told him that I, as a 50 yr. old African-American woman, strongly supported General Wesley Clark as the VP Candidate.

He also told me that if the story is not on the above-mentioned website, that I should send it to watchdog@b­arackobama­.com.

Peace,

[ellim]

Thank you for this updated information!

[hawkseye]

I like Clark, but we don't need a general for veep.

[Tinsdale]

The citizens of the United States chose General George Washington and General Dwight D. Eisenhower as their President. They elected Andrew Jackson, a military hero. They also made General U.S. Grant our 18th President.(but maybe that last choice did not turn out so well).

[rudiy]

"The all inclusive party". No one of Wesley's Clark's stature should be excluded. And these people "dis" the Clintons!

[dayala]

I urge everyone to watch and listen to Andrew J Bacevich intervierw on PBS's Bill Moyers this past friday.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/profile.html

go the the blog in the link and read the comment by Howard Shapiro, it is fairly recent.
(could not post here too long).

he(Shapiro) is spot on, the media has become the gatekeeper on WHO WE WILL VOTE FOR.
Kucinich and Ron Paul were shoved out of the debates , Biden, Dodd and other more accomplished, qualified candidates were never given equal coverage, nor did they have the $$$$$$$$$$ millions to have their campaigns shoved down our throats, well the media is not going to shove down this throat who they want me to choose, I am voting for Ron Paul come this November 2nd and will write his name on MY BALLOT and I will exercise MY DEMOCRATIC RIGHT to VOTE FOR WHO I WANT.

I was one who was duped into believing OBAMA was the real deal, but he has shown himself to be a politican of convenience, I'm digusted with his position on FISA, oil drilling and now Clark.

WAKE UP AMERICANS!
RON PAUL'08

[sueno]

This is a troubling and stupid move,
something else is going on,
I don't buy this.