Hillbilly Lite - the Saga Continues

[SuperScout]

Clark Contradictions Raise Questions

Thursday, October 30, 2003

WASHINGTON ? Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, a four-star general and [alleged] strategic military thinker, is a longtime opponent of war in Iraq. At least, that's his story and he's sticking with it. [This time.] "I've been against this war from the beginning. I was against it last summer. I was against it in the fall. I was against it in the winter. I was against it in the spring, and I am against it now," Clark said in last Sunday's debate of the nine Democrats seeking to replace President Bush in 2004.

But a number of conflicting statements raise questions about Clark's positions. Before the war, Clark emphatically declared Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. [As did former Pres. Clinton, Sec. of State Albright, and Sec. of Def. Cohen, the governments of Germany, China, Russia and France.] As U.S. forces were deployed to the Persian Gulf, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander said U.S. credibility was on the line, and "we're going to go ahead and do this, and the rest of the world's got to get with us."

As coalition forces captured Baghdad, Clark celebrated their success in a Times of London column printed on April 10.
"Liberation is at hand. Liberation ? the powerful balm that justifies painful sacrifice, erases lingering doubt and reinforces bold actions [A beautiful collection of words and sentiments, I might add!]... As for the political leaders themselves, President Bush and Tony Blair should be proud of their resolve in the face of so much doubt," he wrote. [Hear hear, as they say in Jolly ol' England!]

With comments like that, Clark's credibility as an opponent of war is under increasing attack. "I've been over Wes Clark's record and statements on this so many times. I heard him tonight. He took six different positions on whether going to war was the right idea," Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman said in Sunday night's debate. [That's about the same number we counted, Joe!]

In a speech Tuesday, Clark, who has long praised Bush for his immediate response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, appeared to blame the president for failing to stop the terrorists in the first place.

"There's no way this administration can walk away from its responsibilities for 9/11. You can't blame something like this on lower-level intelligence officers, however badly they communicated memos with each other," Clark told a satellite audience attending a conference hosted by the liberal Center for American Progress and Century Foundation. [Is it just me, or dosn this sound like professional pandering?]

A day later, Clark followed up with a statement in which he said Bush has to produce memos from his CIA briefings in August 2001, instead of withholding them from the commission investigating where intelligence broke down prior to Sept. 11.

The statement implied that somehow Bush should have known that the United States was going to get attacked, said Mort Kondracke, executive editor of Roll Call and a frequent contributor to Fox News. Kondracke [No conservative shill, he] called that contention nonsense. "There had been reports that the president was told that Al Qaeda intended to hijack American airplanes. When? Where? How? I mean what could you do? It was not actionable intelligence," Kondracke said.

Clark is also drawing scrutiny for his positions on other national security issues, such as the scope of U.S. responsibility in postwar Iraq. "We broke the dishes, we're going to have to pay for them," Clark told supporters in New Hampshire this week.
Reporters covering the candidate asked Clark if that is really his belief, how can he oppose Bush's $87 billion package to pay for postwar Iraq? "I'm against giving the president a blank check. I wouldn't have approved of that $87 billion," Clark replied. [Has he bothered to look at the bill: the dollar amount is closer to $20 billion, with the remainder for our troops. But like many of the critics, it is easier to bitch about $87 billion than the real dollar amount.]

"[Clark] had a little line there in which he said 'we broke the china in Iraq and now we have to pay for it.' Well, that's just not true, and he would be someone who would know for sure because he is a military expert and knows the precision bombing there," said Weekly Standard Editor Fred Barnes, also a Fox News contributor.

"Most of the $20 billion in the new $87 billion for reconstruction in Iraq is for reconstruction of things that Saddam Hussein ruined, not George Bush or the American military," Barnes added.

Clark has said the White House and Pentagon still have no plan to rebuild Iraq, but defense analysts say Clark's call for greater U.N. control in Iraq doesn't answer the crucial question of how the United Nations would be able do a better job than the United States. [Can Clark demonstrate one single instance where the UN has done a better job than what we are doing?] "Mr. Clark has a right to oppose the $87 billion as long as he comes up with something better, and so far, I don't think he has," said Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution. [This failure to propose any viable alternative by any of the critics is not just a fault of Clark, but by the entire spectrum of opposition.]

In discussing the war on terror, Clark suggested that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may have been responsible for the release of a now-famous internal memo in which he questioned the United States' anti-terror strategy. [Does Clark offer any proof or substantiation for his bogus claim?]

"You've got the secretary of defense leaking his own memos. Now, that's the most bizarre situation we've had in American government in a long time," Clark said. In the dust-up last week, Rumsfeld said the memo mistakenly was copied and distributed by a staffer to one of the four top aides to whom the memo was written.

But when Clark was asked for proof about his allegations that Rumsfeld planted the memo, the general cited Beltway gossip.
"Well, that's what the rumor is and it has been talked about on the Sunday talk shows," Clark said. [Can we take anything he says seriously, if he uses the Beltway gossip as his source of info? Has he ever been asked again about his claim that somebody in the White House called CNN and got him fired?]

"If he is going to continue to substantiate claims by saying he heard it on the Sunday talk shows, he is in big trouble," Barnes said. [If Clark had an opportunity to review his comments, would he offer an apology for being so foolish as to make the claim that a talk show was his source? And this guy made 4 stars?]

Supporters say Clark is still learning the ropes. But analysts wonder if Clark's early stumbles aren't eroding his No. 1 asset ? that of a military strategist capable of seeing tough issues clearly and communicating policies succinctly. "I think it's fair to say ... Clark has not yet distinguished himself as clear, confident and persuasive," O'Hanlon said.

Clark is tied with front-runner Howard Dean in national polls, but is trailing far behind in the crucial first primary state of New Hampshire, and has decided to skip the first caucus state of Iowa, knowing it would be difficult to catch up there after his late entrance into the race. Despite the challenges in critical early primary states and his seeming contradictions on Iraq, some analysts say Clark is not out of contention for the nomination to take on Bush in 2004. "I don't think it's over, but I don't think he's making big progress," Kondracke said. [If the other of the Nine Dwarfs are not taking him at his word, why should anybody else? It seems that Clark has more waffles than the entire chain of International House of Pancakes. By continually failing to get his facts or stories straight, he has earned the title 'Hillbilly Lite' with Oak Leaf Clusters.]

[Seascamp]

My least favorite memory of US Navy service is of how the various descriptions of Officers didn?t get along and I grew totally weary of their backbiting, turf-protecting ways and supposed blue blood arrogance, especially the USNA types. They didn?t give me a bad time at all, ever, but they sure gut and skinned one another right in front of me and I found that horribly demeaning to the propriety of the relationship I was supposed to have with the victor and vanquished alike.

As I watch Clark vacillate, maneuver, dodge, weave, and fabricate seemingly miraculous social bag balm for all hands, I get an uncomfortable feeling that I have seen all this before and thought it totally sucked at the time and doubt I have changed my mind in the interim. If he were the usual Attorney turned politico, I?d just accept it a business as usual and more of the SOSDD. But a Four Star, man-oh-man, I don?t know how he got them twinkles but maybe that wraps back to the first part of my thought.

Scamp

[SuperScout]

Clark Plays Politics with Chopper Shoot-Down

Just hours after being informed on Sunday that more than a dozen U.S. soldiers had been killed when their helicopter was shot down in Iraq, presidential hopeful Gen. Wesley Clark was making political hay over the tragedy, telling a California audience that President Bush should be held accountable. "On a day in which 15 more Americans were killed in a tragic escalation of the war there is still no success strategy, there is no plan, there is no leadership," Gen. Clark complained. "Where is the leadership? Where is the accountability?"

The New York Sun reports that Clark told the crowd that if he were commander in chief he would remove Paul Bremer, the head of the U.S. civilian authority there. He also pledged to cancel Iraq reconstruction contracts awarded by the Bush administration to Halliburton, the oil services firm that has become the favorite bogeyman of Bush haters because Vice President Dick Cheney used to run the company.

Clark said that instead of Bremer, he would "put the United Nations or an international organization in charge of the political development in Iraq, but turn over the occupation authority to the Iraqi people."

Last week the former Clinton NATO chief alleged that President Bush was responsible for leaving America vulnerable to the 9/11 attacks.

[Editor's Notes: Does Clark really think he's endearing himself to anyone other than the virulently anti-Bush crowd with comments like these? It would also be interesting to study just how dedicated a voter bloc these types of folks are; my guess is that their dedication to any cause is quickly supplanted by absolutely necessary trips to the shopping mall, chit-chats over a cup of Starbucks, or reading some quasi-socialist newsletter.

And who would Clark have as a replacement for Halliburton? Is he aware of the fact that Halliburton got the contract because no other company was willing to bid on the deal? And who would he recommend to replace Bremer, some flack from the UN? Can he make a valid recommendation, or is this like other instances when he opens his mouth, just flapping his gums? Is the fact that Clinton pushed Clark really hard to get into the race an example of poor judgement on Clinton's part, like Clinton's decision to travel to CA to lobby for the doomed Grey Davis? As a retired general, one would think that he would be able to make more learned pronouncements, to inform his followers more lucidly with his experiences and knowledge, and to recommend more reasoned alternatives to current policy. Apparently, he fails mightily is all categories. Oh well.]

[BLUEHAWK]

And... the General would be the BEST dem candidate for Prez... the other guys could defeat him without loading a weapon.

[SuperScout]

In a move sure to garner thousands of votes in the South, Wesley Clark successfully completed another example of distal pedal oral insertion, or foot-in-mouth syndrome, with the following announcement:

New York Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove asked Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark for his reaction to rival Howard Dean's comment that he wants to win the votes of "guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks."
Mr. Clark replied: "Well, he shouldn't have said those things. I think all Americans ? and this is a joke! ? all Americans, even if they're from the South and 'stupid,' should be represented."

Latest news reports show that thousands of stupid Southerners are flocking to the voter registrations stations to sign up and campaign for this stalwart champion of medically challenged contenders. Now back to our studios...........

[BLUEHAWK]

The General is toast...

Next topic.

[MORTARDUDE]

Ya know, being a Libertarian I mostly view the Repubs and Demos as comedy relief to a certain extent. But now it is NOT funny any more. I cannot decide whether I dislike General Jello or Ho-Ho the most. It appears the 10 of them have decided amongst themselves that Gephardt should be the winner, so they are now just trying to see who can do and say the most stupid crap and get away with it. Ho-Ho had a lot of lead time but Jello sure is near caught up. What say you all ? Anyone interested in starting a pool to guess the Demo challenger for Bush ? Modest amounts, just for fun. We gotta do something to make this interesting !

Larry

[SuperScout]

Here's another little tidbit from the Littlest Dwarf, and his extraordinarily long record of legislative successes:

WASHINGTON ? Democrat Wesley Clark had never sought or held elective office until his bid for the presidency, but a commercial that begins airing Tuesday in New Hampshire highlights what his campaign says is his record on domestic issues.

In the 30-second spot, an announcer says that the retired Army general "fought for better schools and better health care for those he led because it was the right thing to do."

Bill Buck, a Clark spokesman in New Hampshire, said the ad refers to Clark's work as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, when his duties included overseeing a school system in Europe for soldiers and their families and ensuring they had adequate medical benefits. [Note: the school system and the medical care required for troops stationed in Europe and elsewhere are provided for in the Defense Appropriation Act, whether Clark lobbied anyone for them or not. His claim that this lobbying is some prima facie evidence of legislative prowess should add a bit of humor to the campaign trail, much like cow droppings add to the Chisholm Trail.]

"One of his responsibilities as a general was to make sure that the troops and their families had a strong quality of life," Buck said.

The campaign also pointed out that Clark testified before Congress in 1998 on the defense budget and the need for enough money to ensure troops a standard of living comparable to that of their counterparts in the United States.