General Wesley Clark on MSNBC. He gets it.

[Tom Rinaldo]

64. He missed the first two or three, then took part

Clark held his own in the debates. He rarely was asked questions about Domestic policy however, which was a real shame since he was advocating a broad progressive agenda. Clark is an excellent debater, but he was trained in classical debate. It took him a little while to adjust to the truncated political version of debating that having 8 candidates on stage responding to gotcha questions delivers. Wes speaks 5 languages, but in the prelude to 2008 when it seemed like he might run again I used to say to people that he hadn't had time to become fluent in "Sound Bite" prior to entering the 2004 race. Clark was learning that as he went along and had it down cold by the time he was campaigning as bne of Kerry's top surragates against Bush.

The last debate in NH right before the primary was an organized ambush against Clark staged by FOX news which, believe it or not, was the host. All the questions Clark got were attacks and they tried to sink him by tieing him to Michael Moore. FOX actually cut away from the debate befor it even ended. They did not broadcast the candidates final comments (where Clark would have been free to make his own points) and cut instead to their studio where rightest commentators continued to belittle Clark. It was unreal. They hoped to destroy Wes Clark and take him off the national stage thereafter. They failed at that part at least because for all of their efforts Clark still finished ahead of Edwards in New Hampshire, and they couldn't lable him a flop while the national media was hyping how great John Edwards was. So they all contented themselves with ignoring Clark instead.