New Newsweek Article: Clark on the Issues, Including Defense Spending

[ignatiusr]

There's an extensive interview with Wesley Clark on Newsweek online. He talks a lot about the issues. This should really help people who feel they don't know enough about him. Some of the excerpts:

A little on defense spending:

"In terms of the economy itself, the fundamental economic problem has been a lack of aggregate demand. The spark you have seen over the last quarter has been in large part because of increased defense spending. I think there are far more productive ways to use that additional money.

Newsweek: Like what?

Instead of spending money on the development of Iraqi infrastructure, I would rather see it go into U.S. infrastructure. Helping Iraqi schoolchildren get back into the classroom is a good thing to do, but I would like to see American children achieve more in the classroom."

On Education:

"..one could argue that they (teachers) are the country’s most important leaders. And they are not only underfunded but underdeveloped. The classrooms are underresourced. People are finally recognizing this. There are efforts in some school districts to put more resources into professional development like teacher coaches and other programs. We know these principles work, we saw them work with the U.S. Army. I also think there are problems with achievement testing for students. It’s useful but it’s not necessarily definitive.

Newsweek: So you don’t support the use of achievement tests for graduation or class advancement?

I think it leads to teaching the test and puts enormous restrictions on leadership in classrooms. What you want teachers to be doing is stretching themselves so that every student can live up to his or her full potential year by year, grade by grade. You can’t have a committee legislate that by creating standardized tests. I don’t have any issue with having student performance as part of a system. But we would have to go beyond that too.

Newsweek: That would surely require more resources though. Would you increase federal funding for education?

Yes, that’s one failure of the current administration—the failure to put the resources in place for education."


On the tax cuts:

"...virtually every economist will tell you—if they are honest about the tax cut anyway (laughs)—that the tax cuts are very inefficient in creating the kind of increase in demand that is required to pull the economy out of recession. They are not antirecessionary tax cuts. Primarily, they have been designed for other issues—partisan issues and theological issues."

Newsweek: Not economic.

Correct.

On the war in Iraq:

"In the first place, I think you have to go back to the logic of why we went. The administration’s case was, to put it mildly, weak. A.) The Iraqi threat to the U.S. wasn’t significant; B.) there were other ways to work the issue, and C.) the threat wasn’t imminent—at least, in so far as any evidence anyone has been able to present has established."


On the "military man" persona:

"People have an impression of you based on how they last saw you, and they have seen me in uniform and as a commentator. But people in uniform are just ordinary Americans. I grew up in a normal home and I went to a normal school and I chose public service as my calling. I went to West Point to pursue my public service in uniform, but that doesn’t change the fundamental humanity underneath the uniform … The military is an organization like other organizations—it’s full of human beings."


I agree with Clark on all of these issues.

Full Article: http://www.msnbc.com/news/953102.asp

[Avalux]

1. Excellent article

and I agree with everything he says. Please someone try to tell me this man is not a democrat, a liberal. Just try it.

[CMT]

2. Very good interview

He complements Dean's position a great deal especially on the economy and tax cuts (and of course Iraq) Dean has been talking about how it has been defense spending which propped up the economy in the last quarter as well.

I welcome Gen. Clark to the race if he gets into it--which now seems likely--though I understand his wife is the one who may have misgivings. I think Clark will be a strong addition to the debate.

[MoonAndSun]

3. I just finished reading the article and it was very thorough,

and he answered most of the questions pretty well. I do wonder why he declines to say which political party he would run for. All of his views trend towards the liberal slant. Does anyone know why he won't say?

[ignatiusr]

5. Party

His waiting is just part of a strategy. By waiting to become partisan, he's gaining support from every party, instead of just Democrats. He'll announce that he's a Democrat when he announces that he's running, which should only be a few weeks.

[MoonAndSun]

8. thanks, that does make sense.

n/t

[Avalux]

12. He's spent his life

in the military. You are not allowed to be political, to openly state your party or support anyone. You have to be nonpartisan in order to lead the troops. That's one of the things I like about him -he is liberal but is most concerned about the nation as a whole, EVERYONE.

[xray s]

4. The article still leaves me hungery

In particular, his solution to the health insurance crisis he correctly identifies as a major threat to our economy.

If anyone can help with links I would appreciate it. It is one of my top concerns.

Thanks

[ignatiusr]

7. Yeah

I wish he would talk about health insurance too. He makes repeated references to it, but he hasn't elaborated. I think it's mainly just an issue of him not being asked; if you'll notice, he always has in-depth answers when being asked about domestic policy, he just rarely gets the opportunity to talk about it. If he doesn't get asked about it before he announces, then he'll surely make it a priority to start talking about it post-announcement.

[xray s]

11. I want to know if he agrees with the medical profession's solution

http://publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=533938

Doctors Call for Single-Payer System


PORTLAND, OR 2003-08-13 (Oregon Considered) - The Journal of the American Medical Association or JAMA published an article today advocating a single-payer national health care system. The writers for the Physicians' Working Group for Single Payer National Health Insurance included doctors from the Harvard Medical School and one from Chicago.

Dr. Colin Case, president of the Oregon Medical Association told Oregon Considered host Allison Frost, he's not surprised to hear that doctors are advocating such a system.

[juajen]

15. I'll take Budepest!

N/T

[depakid]

6. Bright guy- good interview

I agree with everything he says- it was pleasantly surprising that he knew how to talk (and think) economics... nice.

I think he'd make the perfect running mate for Dean. Since he's entering the race with little organization and at this point no money, I don't give him much of a chance at the nomination- unless, of course, the DNC pulls some shenanigans with the superdelegates, which is my worst political nightmare.

[ignatiusr]

9. Well

I think he's more presidential material than he is running mate material. He just has too much going for him. The way I see it is, if Dean and Clark's positions on the issues are so similar, why choose Dean, when Clark is more articulate, more telegenic, and is miles above him in the credibility factor? People chose Dean because of his anti-war stance and his ability to take the fight to Bush; but now there are two candidates who fit that bill. I don't see any reason to stick with Dean just because he entered the race first, if he isn't as inspiring or as electable. It's not surprising that he understands economics; he did major in at Oxford when he was a Rhodes Scholar. Hehe. And he's an investment banker.

[xray s]

13. Conventional wisdom on president/vp tickets

The top guy stays above the fray, looking presidential, while the vp candidate goes on the attack.

[tjdee]

10. His master's degree is in economics.

And politics and philosophy.

He could kick Bush's butt on foreign policy AND the economy.

Makes him VERY attractive as a candidate.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

17. He Has Government Experience In Economic Policy Matters

General Clark was a White House Fellow in 1975-1976 and served as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

[tjdee]

14. Good answer on his "lack of political experience":

"It would depend on how you define political experience. My political experience is in dealing with governments. I dealt with 19 governments in NATO and 20-odd governments that were part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace. I worked with ambassadors and ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of defense and, in some cases, heads of state, in Latin America and Europe and parts of Africa. I dealt extensively with the U.S. Congress, as well as, in some cases, local authorities here and in Europe. "

But it *does* bother me that he "hasn't crossed that bridge yet" about whether he'd run as a *Democrat*.

I like him and he'd shoot to near the top of my list if he entered, but a part of me would prefer someone who has been proud to be a Democrat.

I realize there's a reason he isn't giving his political agenda yet, though, and I'm probably willing to get over that.

[juajen]

16. The military, especially the upper echelon

are supposed to remain neutral. How they vote is nobody's business. I think this neutrality position was a convenient position to take and builds interest in his possible candidacy.

[tjdee]

18. That's a good point.

I hadn't considered that, but I think now of the Joint Chiefs sitting in the front of the SOTU not clapping.

Okay, gotcha.

[tameszu]

19. Duuude...Clark said the tax cuts were enacted for "theological issues"

That's a beating!

Also, on the whole VP thing, I think Clark would probably accept such a slot, but that's not what he's thinking about right now. As he said in the interview, he is thinking about whether he wants to run for President. And it's looking very much like he will run for the Democratic nomination.

If he doesn't run, though, then it will be unlikely that he will accept a VP slot either, since his main consideration right now seems to be family issues, and I doubt he and his wife would be happier running for VP than President.

[ignatiusr]

21. I hadn't thought of it that way

That's a very good point about the whole P/VP thing. If the only thing that could cause him not to run is his wife, then it's gonna be the same scenario for veep. So this may be an all or nothing situation.

[tameszu]

22. Pretty much, although if he runs and doesn't win...

...then I could see him taking VP.

But this seems a bit unlikely, since his main competitor if he enters would be Dean, who I think would want a more traditional-type politician pick as VP. Kerry might also be compettive against Clark, and there is a chance that if Kerry beats Clark, then Clark might get picked. That would be a good way to get southern votes and to take a bit of the edge off of his "northeastern elite liberal"-ness without taking someone completely philosophically incompatable.

Clark may have a pretty significant edge over Kerry, I think, since Clark takes the vet thing away from him and has an easier time advocating liberal policies without getting stuck with the aforementioned label.

[Kahuna]

23. He's honest! Whew! He puts it right out there!

Go Clark, go!

[neverforget]

20. I want Clark to run! I will vote for whoever the nominee is but Clark

lights my fire.

[Palacsinta]

24. Keep talking, Wesley......

I like what I'm hearing. His strongest asset for me IS his military backround. We need a chicken in charge of the chicken coop, not a hyena. That analogy makes no sense. More coffee, please.