A veteran's Kerry vs. Clark quandary

[Feanorcurufinwe]

Don Duhamel, a grizzled, 69-year-old Vietnam veteran, does not seem like a power broker in the presidential campaign. All he wants to do, he says, is get enough money to open Liberty House, which will house a dozen homeless veterans who promise not to touch alcohol.

Yet Duhamel has found himself at the center of an unlikely bidding war between Democratic presidential candidates John F. Kerry and Wesley K. Clark, both of whom are Vietnam veterans vying for the support of other vets. Kerry has sent Duhamel's Liberty House two checks totaling $20,000, and Clark might top that amount with the proceeds from the eBay auction of his newly famous argyle sweater, which last night had a top bid of $16,000. Along the way, Duhamel has pledged his support to Kerry, and then publicly announced he was switching his allegiance to Clark. And then -- after receiving Kerry's second check -- back to Kerry.

<snip>

The letter also mentioned that Clark's "campaign has made a financial contribution and donated volunteer labor to Liberty House, which I very much appreciate," Duhamel said that while he did not write the letter, he agreed to sign his name to it, and sent it off to newspapers, including the Boston Globe, which published it. When Kerry associates saw the letter, they were stunned. "It looked like something written by a campaign operative to tweak another campaign and exploit a do-gooder for political gain," said Mark Kornblau, a Kerry spokesman. Clark spokesman Mo Elleithee said that while the campaign provides talking points, he could not say whether the letter was written entirely by the Clark associates.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2004/01/21/a_veterans_kerry_vs_clark_quandary

Well, at least it's for a good cause.

[Democrats unite]

1. Either one will make a great President...

When is your Primary? You have until then to decide. Also a plus is you have two for the shot at the nomination! Your numbers just got better.

on edit: I think I am misreading something here?

[Jerseycoa]

2. Jeez

This is tawdry. :(

[Cuban_Liberal]

3. Unconflicted vet here!

Vote Edwards---problem solved. ;)

[LuminousX]

24. LOL - A third-way Vet.

[Red_Storm]

4. I'm a veteran and.........

i'm going to support Clark......I think his proven leadership abilities are stronger than Kerry's.......

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. I'm a vet and a Dean supporter, but I'd take Clark over Kerry

any day. In fact, if Kerry gets it, I'll be voting Green. Clark's support of the SOA bothers me a lot, but at least he didn't vote for or support the IWR.

[Red_Storm]

7. I don't think...........

there can ever be a perfect candidate. I don't agree with General Clark's support of the Navy bombings or "training excercises" in Vieques but there are alot of other Clark positions that I do agree with and support and a very important thing to me is that he has strong leadership skills and knows how to communicate and work with the world community ( he proved that during his time as NATO Commander).

[Semi_subversive]

9. I'm a Nam vet and Dean supporter, too

It's impossible to speculate on how Gen. Clark would have voted on IWR since he was not in a position to do so? Hindsight is always 20-20.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. Not too hard- Clark's FIRST comment on IWR was 'Yes'

"I probably would have voted for it."

[maxr4clark]

15. That quote is from fall 2003, look back to 2002

See the excerpts from his testimony to congress September 26, 2002 that I've posted in another thread. Or you can see his article in the Washington Monthly from September 2002.

Clark has been consistent on this question from the time of the IWR on. The quote you published is simply something a skilled reporter with an agenda got him to say.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

22. Sorry....

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=107

[maxr4clark]

28. Your reference supports Clark's claim

The statement at factcheck.org that you link to supports my point. Their note explains that the AP also reported in the same Oct 9, 2002 article about Clark's advice to Switt that Clark questioned the need for immediate military action, which is the crux of the issue.

The fact remains that Clark, Kerry, and Edward each expressed their view on the record in Congress. Clark recommended against military action against Iraq, in direct opposition to Richard Perle's case for immediate military action on the same day, in the same hearing. He did support passage of a resolution that would give the US leverage in the UN, and said the resolution did not need to authorize military action to be effective as leverage. I don't know whether Kerry or Edwards would have preferred that kind of resolution as well, but there are statements on the DU that Kerry voted against amendments to that effect. Kerry and Edwards said they support the resolution to use force against Iraq on the Senate floor, by voting for it.

Personally I don't hold anything against Kerry or Edwards for voting for the IWR. I do, however, see that as a potential problem for them in the general election. Bush has the truth on his side against Kerry and Edwards on the IWR. Despite the misstatements in the press, Clark is on record in front of Congress as opposing use of force against Iraq, and IMO that gives him a leg up in the general election.

[maxr4clark]

29. by the way

The factcheck.org link you provided also makes it clear that his advice to Swett came after his testimony to Congress, so his first statement on the issue was "No".

He also had an article in Washington Monthly, Sep 2002, that said "No" in the same way his testimony before Congress did.

It is interesting that neither the Washington Monthly article nor Clark's testimony before Congress are mentioned on factcheck.org. Maybe they have more of an agenda than I have thought to this point. :o

[democratreformed]

6. Really sad.... really really sad

Why do some people have to always try to make good things look bad?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. To whom are you refering?

[teevee99]

11. kerry has had decades to fix this country.

time's up in my opinion. i'd support clark over kerry any day.

[Democrats unite]

12. Kerry is only 1 of a 100 where he is...

Sorry your statement doesn't hold true.

[blm]

14. Well, teevee, you disapproved of Kerry exposing IranContra and BCCI?

You didn't like his investigation of CIA drugrunning?

You have a problem with the man that has exposed more government corruption than any lawmaker in modern history?

You didn't like that he was the first to advocate for gays legislatively in the Senate?

You are angry he helped draft the Kyoto Protocol?

Geez....what do you prefer lawmakers do?

[dreissig]

16. What Democratic Lawmakers Should Do

Democratic lawmakers should uphold minimal humanitarian values, such as not invading sovereign countries that don't threaten us. (Actually Republicans should do that too, but they've been off my list for forty years.)

Kerry will never get my vote. If he is the nominee, I will go into the polling booth and mark every race for the Democrat. But I'll go back to the top of the ticket and remove the check mark. I'm 100% loyal to the Democratic party, not not at the expense of my conscience.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. ABK?

I'm confident that by November you will have come to your senses.

[teevee99]

20. i prefer lawmakers

to vote their conscience, like paul wellstone.
not to pander to special interests, like...well...most everyone else.

kerry is the same old politician. back slapping and making a living off of our (we the citizens') dime.

I'm tired of them all. not just Kerry. that is why if it's Clark vs. Kerry, I go with Clark. He has made a living at serving us honorably. Then he felt the calling to serve even more.

Congrats to Kerry for finding corruption in government. (though my gut tells me it's a bit like finding mud in a rainstorm...)
I just wish he and all the democrats and republicans could actually DO something to fix the root cause of the corruption they uncover.

Thank you, Mr. Kerry, for advocating the rights of everyone. You are to be commended for that, as you are for your work on the Kyoto treaty. If elected, you will be a much better president than b*, but until then, I prefer Wes Clark over John Kerry.

I also STRONGLY think senators and representatives should have term limits. Then they might be more likely to motivate themselves to make real change.

[tokenlib]

13. Kerry is a good man...however..

Coming from Massachusetts you just know he'll be tarred a NE liberal. Kerry can also be a bit boring--and remember what they did to Gore.

Clark on the other hand, is just as good on national security. He has great progressive domestic positions. He has more appeal to moderate republicans and independents. I feel more confident about the general election with Clark.

[dreissig]

17. Kerry Is a War Monger

I'm pretty reasonable about who I might vote for: no Republicans and no thugs. Unfortunately, Kerry is a thug. (Can't figure out what to do? Send in the troops). This is not a guy I want in the White House.

[IndianaGreen]

19. Kerry wants to turn America into a police state, just like Bush does

If Kerry becomes President he will bring the Homeland goons right next door into your neighborhoods.

There is no Posse Comitatus under Kerry, anymore than it is under Bush. The endless "war on terra" will go on for as long as the war waged by Oceania in Orwell's 1984.

When it comes to the war issue, Kerry is a Bush clone.

Check Kerry out:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/intheirownwords/kerry/6.html

[Feanorcurufinwe]

21. Dean is willing to execute innocent people to avoid 'technicalitiies'

such as the right to a fair trial.

When it comes to protecting the right to due process, Dean makes Ashcroft look like an ACLU member.

Check Dean out:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A1907-2003Jul2
http://rutlandherald.com/Archive/Articles/Article/31792
http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs08292003.html

[IndianaGreen]

25. Wes Clark is the real war hero and he will end this war!

Kerry will continue to wage this war and he will keep the police state that Bush and Ashcroft have built.

Never vote for a Skull & Bones!

[Red_Storm]

26. Kerry is a member of Skull & Bones ?

[IndianaGreen]

30. Yes, Kerry is a Bonesman! Check this CBS 60 Minutes story...

Bones is not restricted to the Republican Party. Yet another Bonesman has his eye on the Oval Office: Senator John Kerry, Democrat, Skull & Bones 1966.

“It is fascinating isn't it? I mean, again, all the people say, ‘Oh, these societies don't matter. The Eastern Establishment is in decline.’ And you could not find two more quintessential Eastern establishment, privileged guys,” says Rosenbaum. “I remember when I was a nerdy scholarship student in the reserve book room at, at the Yale Library, and John Kerry, who at that point styled himself ‘John F. Kerry’ would walk in.”

“There was always a little buzz,” adds Rosenbaum. “Because even then he was seen to be destined for higher things. He was head of the Yale Political Union, and a tap for Skull and Bones was seen as the natural sequel to that.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/02/60minutes/main576332.shtml

[dogman]

23. Both good men

I just believe Clark can win the GE.

[Columbia]

27. I'm a vet against both

I'm generally distrustful of high-ranking officers - it takes politics over principle to get up that high. Although Kerry was only a junior officer in Vietnam, I still don't like his attitude. I'm a vet for Edwards.