Electability

It's time to get back to basics. None of us know what's going to happen in Iowa today or how the results will affect Wes's campaign. So we shouldn't worry about things we can't control. What can be controlled is the message we try to get out in the next week in New Hampshire. Far be it for me -- a retired doctor and lifelong non-politician -- to give advice to the professionals running this campaign who have done a superb job to this point. But I will anyway. Nothing has changed or will change because of Iowa, and our message is simple: Wes Clark is the candidate best positioned to beat Bush in 2004. Kerry, Gephardt, and Edwards are all good men who would make fine presidents but each has weaknesses that can and will be exploited by the Republicans. Wes stands alone as the candidate most likely to return the White House to Democratic control.

The reasons for this have been discussed in this blog and elsewhere. They are based on two considerations. One: Wes was a four-star general and is thus bulletproof against the national security/ traitor argument. Two: he will appeal to many independents and Republicans whom no other candidate can attract and therefore brings into play several Southern states that otherwise would be beyond our reach. This is especially true in Florida, where I live.

So in this last week of the campaign in New Hampshire I would push Electability, Electability, Electability. Everything else is secondary. Sure, Wes has great policy papers, but so do the others. Sure, Wes would make a great president but so would at least three of the others. The reason Wes stands head and shoulders above the other candidates is that he can win and for me and a lot of other voters this year that is all that counts. The campaign's mantra this week should be that Wes Clark is George Bush's and Karl Rove's worst nightmare.

Mickey