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Dean
gives great NH Primary night speech
by
IseFire
- Tues 01/27/04; 11:17 pm EST
Kerry's
speech was unimpressive; Edwards' was mostly lost between networks
shuffling back and forth between speeches; Dean's was damn good
(best of the night) and monopolized the network for many, many minutes
with a hugely enthusiastic crowd; Clark's grabbed key CNN time with
which he introduced himself to America. C-SPAN showed Clark's speech
in full at about 10:30, and it was undeniably better than Kerry's.
I finally heard more of Edwards' via CSPAN's broadcast of WMUR-TV,
Manchester, NH. It was more polished than Clark's in delivery, but
lacking substance. (Is Edwards emerging as just the feel-good candidate?)
Lieberman's speech was delusional; he thinks he can actually
win. (I recommend, Joe, that you drop out now.)
P.S. on Clark's coverage: Someone (in Little Rock?) knows what they're
doing. Clark was the only candidate with people of color behind
him within the camera shot.
Clark's
case against becoming just the extra horse
by
IseFire
- Mon 01/26/04; 8:07 pm EST
My impressions from
"out there" in
blogland is that Wes Clark is not the black horse, but the extra
horse. He's becoming many Dems' 2nd choice. Once Kerry clobbered
Dean in Iowa, Clark--who up until then was emerging as the "anti-Dean"--seemed
a bit superfluous.
Gen. Clark signing a copy of his book, and yours
truly on the far right. The occasion was an NYC fundraiser about
2 weeks ago. (Photo by friend and major Clark booster, Hilda Classon.)
But
his case for the presidency is unique.
Clark has been a leader
at the highest levels. As the Supreme Allied Commander
of NATO, he was Eisenhower's heir--the highest-level military diplomat
and decision-maker dealing directly with our allies' leaders. He
helped set policy and strategy; he dealt with everything from military
intelligence to the concerns of the common soldier, and he commanded
billions of dollars of American resources, human, material, and
intellectual.
Clark is a brilliant man, a
Rhodes scholar who has expertise in several fields, including alternative
energy and economics--the former of which comes from his recent
work as a private businessman, the second of which from his studies
at Oxford.
Clark is electable. Rove-Cheney-Bush
can't make Clark look soft on national defense or terrorism. He's
a Southerner, which could help the Democrats win "red"
states in the South. He's attractive and likable; he has a definite
buoyancy about him, and is a good motivator. Also, he is also a
Vietnam vet who was wounded in battle and decorated for heroism.
Clark is in the spirit of FDR and Truman, someone who harks back
to a muscular Democratic Party. He is bold in his criticisms
of the Bush Administration and exposes the GOP's would-be monopoly
on defense and patriotism as a lie. He's pro-choice; he has a great
progressive taxation plan, and has plans for universal preschool
and the expansion of domestic service opportunities, which would
match the skills of Americanvolunteers
with projects for the needy nationwide....like the Peace Corps,
only for home.
Whether Clark is the Democrats' nominee or not, the Dems would be
fools to let him go. Democrats want--need--more leaders like Wes
Clark.
Bush's
America: Vulnerable, misled, broke, and isolated
by
IseFire
- Sat 01/24/04; 9:57 pm EST
Nation's
Mayors Say Security Funds Lacking: [excerpt] The
U.S. Conference of Mayors released a survey of 215 cities that found
76 percent have yet to receive any of the $1.5 billion in federal
homeland security funds designated for "first responder"
teams such as police and fire departments.
Study
Published by Army Criticizes War on Terror:
[excerpt]
A scathing new report
published by the Army War College broadly criticizes the Bush administration's
handling of the war on terrorism, accusing it of taking a detour
into an "unnecessary" war in Iraq and pursuing an "unrealistic"
quest against terrorism that may lead to U.S. wars with states that
pose no serious threat.
GAO
head warns that federal borrowing leading to a crisis:[excerpt]
The head of Congress'
auditing arm warned Thursday that "imprudent and unsustainable"
federal borrowing is driving the nation toward a fiscal crisis.
Annan
Warns of Narrow Focus on Terrorism: [excerpt] U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned the United States and other
rich countries Friday that a too-narrow focus on fighting terrorism
could worsen global tensions and threaten human rights.
It's
the media, stupid.
by
IseFire
- Fri 01/23/04; 7:02 am EST
I'm disgusted with mainstream
American media's political
coverage. "Journalists" on TV especially are vapid, lazy
sensationalizers. Karl Rove's correct that they're now just another
special interest. It's crucial we all play watchdog. Report
media irresponsibility to CampaignDesk.org,
and read today's
column in The Seattle Times.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH GEN. CLARK
by
IseFire
- Thur 01/22/04; 10:42 pm EST
My dear friend Kathleen Murphy--an ace journalist now writing
for stateline.org--
interviewed Gen. Wesley Clark. It's a great interview--please
go check it out!
I
asked Kathleen if she'd give me an exclusive tidbit not in her article.
She e-mailed me:
Clark spoke
[with me] by phone after his visit with The Boston
Herald's editorial board, on his way to campaign events in the
deep freeze of New Hampshire. "It is 10 below zero, but that's
not the dominant consideration. What I like is that the skies are
blue and the people are sunny," Clark told me.
Maureen
Dowd can now own Clark's sweater
by
IseFire
- Wed 01/21/04; 10:41 pm EST
Clark's would-be infamous argyle sweater Maureen Dowd wasted
ink writing about in The New York Times
is now for sale on eBay.
Current bid is more than $5,400 and the money will be donated to
Liberty House, a shelter for homeless veterans.
Barbara
Boxer gets it
by
IseFire
- Wed 01/21/04; 8:21 am EST
Barbara Boxer on CNN this morning did a good job of deconstructing
Bush's State of the Disunion speech. E-mail
the DNC
and commend her performance.
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