Our candidate shines

I just finished watching Wes Clark on Meet the Press. His growth as a candidate continues to be unbelievable. He is now a polished public speaker who looks like he has been doing this all his life. And he didn't say a single thing that he'll have to retract tomorrow. He didn't raise his voice, he didn't point his finger at anybody, and he didn't insult anybody except Bush. In other words, he looked, talked and acted presidential. He is everything that Dean and Bush are not. The Clark campaign is cleary gaining momentum, but we still have a long way to go; the outcome is not going to be decided quickly, so we all have to keep working.

I used to think that the outrageous things that Dean has been saying would come back to haunt him, but it now seems evident that Dean could do or say anything and most of his supporters wouldn't care. Their devotion is absolute and unshakeable. Dean's misstatements [and they are becomming legendary] have already doomed his candidacy in the general election should he get the nomination. This is another fact that his supporters refuse to acknowledge. Contrary to their opinion there is a significant portion of the American electorate that wants an inclusive president that governs from the middle. We have already seen what governing from the right does to this country and I don't think governing from the far left will be much better. Why someone would disparage one of the most successful presidents of the twentieth century [Clinton] is beyond me. I certainly did not condone Clinton's personal behavior, it made me mad as hell at the time, but Dean was not addressing personal behavior when he called the Democratic Leadership Council the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

I have said this previously but it bears repeating; Dean is the weakest candidate that the Democrats could run. He will get killed in the general election. He does not have the temperament, judgment or experience to be president. He does not have that core of likeability that we demand of our leaders. Nominating Dean means the end of the Democratic party for a generation, and, even worse, the packing of the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. The supporters of all the other candidates realize this, so let's hope the field is reduced quickly to Dean and someone else before it is too late. I think that someone else will be Clark, but if it isn't I will support whoever it is.

Mickey