Excellent Clark Endorsement from an Editor at The New Republic, and bizarre Lieberman endorsement from "The Editors"

here. Juicy bits below:

But all the talk about how Clark's biography makes him electable has overwhelmed the more important point: It would also make him a good president.

[ ... ]

More than just an asset for Clark's political campaign, this diplomatic and military experience provides the brains and the brawn behind a worldview that prioritizes threats to U.S. security without sacrificing humanitarian imperatives, that seeks to solve problems through negotiation but is bolstered with a proven willingness to use force. Unlike Democratic rivals who try to demonstrate their foreign policy bona fides by showcasing their Senate votes, the retired general has actually waged the "muscular multilateralism" that his opponents use as a catchphrase. For this reason, Clark is the best solution for a Democratic Party struggling to prove it can protect the United States from terrorists and weapons of mass destruction--not only because Americans will sleep better with a general, rather than a politician, in the Oval Office, but because they'll sleep safer.

[...]

Clark may also be able to persuade the antiwar left of the merits of a true muscular multilateralism--not least through his proposal for a New American Patriotism, which aims to restore the pride that Democrats, disaffected by the Bush administration's jingoism, feel toward the flag. In part, he plans to do this by encouraging the dissent on security issues that has been discouraged, implicitly and explicitly, by Republican leaders. On the stump, Clark of ten says, "There's nothing more American--nothing more patriotic--than speaking out, questioning authority, and holding your leaders accountable." Such declarations could ease the fears of an American public that, once bitten by the deception of the Iraq war, may be twice shy about future uses of military force. If the need arose, Americans would follow Wesley Clark into war. They should follow him to the White House first.

Strangly, "The Editors" (that strange multiheaded beast) at TNR have written a Lieberman endorsement. Huh? I thought at first, but then realized they were probably just using Lieberman to make a point. Turns out the good folks at TNR think Lieberman has important lessons for the rest of us Dems. But I'll have to cover that in another post, I have a screaming baby to feed.