Sandwiched between OBAMA & EDWARDS, WES CLARK soldiers on at the DNC Winter Meeting unfazed.

[FrenchieCat]

Sandwiched between OBAMA & EDWARDS, WES CLARK soldiers on at the DNC Winter Meeting unfazed.
2/3/07
I'm giving the General a great big salute. The man has balls the size of Mt. Rushmore, IMO!
The General walked into the DNC Winter Meeting as an undeclared candidate to Johnny Cash's "I Won't Back Down" and does the job he came to do against CW calculated odds!
Snip
The DNC line-up for the 2007 Winter Meeting, instead of having the 3 top contenders (Obama, Edwards and Hillary) back to back in order to contrast and compare, chose to insert Wes Clark between two of them. There are some of his supporters who looked upon his placement on the speech roster as a great testament to Clark's abilities. Personally, I looked at it as a possible set up to benefit the two speakers that he was placed smack dab in the middle of. Obama being easily the most difficult speaker to follow, and Edwards, who would need a break between himself and Obama as to not provide the contrast that might sell him short (as Edwards speaking feats have never been thought of as consistent following his disappointing 2004 Dem Primary convention performance).

In addition, the roster listed Kucinich going before Hillary, providing her with a big ass break, IMO, as Kucinich's speaking style does not arouse in a way remotely close to that of either Obama or Edwards.
snip
I take my hat off to Wes Clark who did not flinch or hesitate. The man, undeterred, walked in, performed his duty very effectively, and walked out. He did not receive any standing Os...but then, he wasn't telling the crowd to stand up either....and he hadn't been touted by the media for months and months as a contender, let alone in the top tier.

And so I ask that you attempt this exercise; isolate Clark's speech away from where it was inserted, and see what you truly think.
snip
Watch the speech here.... http://securingamerica.com/

More.....
http://www.rapidfire-silverbullets.com/2007/02/sandwiched_between_obama_edwar.html

[EndElectoral]

1. I hope it's Gore or Wes....I'd really have a problem voting for Hillary.

[Cocoa]

2. that should be "Tom Petty's 'I won't back down'"

maybe Johnny Cash did a cover version, and Clark used that, in which case it would be "Johnny Cash's version of Tom Petty's 'I won't back down.'"

[FrenchieCat]

3. You are correct!

Which version do you prefer?

I love Johnny Cash's voice personally.

[Captain Hilts]

4. That's my guy. Go Wes! nt

[SharonAnn]

5. I thought he was great! I was very impressed - again!

[MasonJar]

6. Wes is great all the time. I will never forget his taking on some

idiot on Fox who questioned his support of the troops (before 04 election.) Do not ever question Clark's committment to our troops. That said I think we have so many incredible candidates already and welcome Clark. I am against no one, but will support Al Gore over anyone else if he runs. Otherwise I am going to wait and see...but would love a Clinton/Clark ticket. It's even alliterative.

[CarolNYC]

7. I loved Wes' speech and I agree he had a tough spot...

but those in attendance were told that the order of speakers was chosen randomly.

I don't trust the media at all and wouldn't rule out any conspiracy theories regarding them and Wes and maybe I'm being naive here, but I like to think that DNC at least, with Chairman Dean in charge, is being an honest broker in all of this. So, I'm guessing placement for Wes was just the luck of the draw....and I think he did a good job with it too, although I understand Obama is a very hard act to follow.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Certainly it may have been in random, which says that

the 3 top contenders suffered each an amazing luck of the draw.

[CarolNYC]

9. It happens....

Now the fact that C-Span's feed went out at precisely the time that Wes was scheduled to speak (of course, the schedule wasn't being kept as everyone went long so they lost some of Obama's intro rather than Wes' speech), that kind of makes me go hmmmm....

[Skwmom]

13. I heard them say the order was random but I remember thinking

what are the odds.

[Coexist]

10. What I love most about Wes Clark

is that he "gets it" as far as I am concerned.

What I hate most about what this administration has done to this country - is how it ripped out our conscience.

Maybe it was growing up under the shadow of the "evil empire", but we are supposed to be the good guys.

We are above rendition, Gitmos don't happen here. We are better than that.

And Wes gets it. It is in how he published his old field manual on the web, when the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib was in the news. Other politicians danced around it, saying it was bad, but sometimes necessary to save American lives.

Wes just said, "No. Read this, it tells soldiers NO." and how he refuses to accept the policy of 'toss-the-public-a-few-low-level-scapegoats' and be done with it. He is a military man who is not afraid to say his peers should be held accountable, whatever their rank. And he says it out loud and often.

When, during the 2004 cycle, the other Democrats were sliding around the gay marriage issue, "I'm for it but sort of against it." Wes Clark appeared on the cover of the Advocate.


He has core beliefs and fuck the spin.

He is not perfect, but I don't feel handled by him, and I don't feel he has shifting sand under his feet.

I love that man.

[Texas_Kat]

11. What the news failed to mention

After Obama finished speaking, he and his entourage (more than a few) got up and somewhat noisily left the room. Understandable I suppose.... but distracting for the next speaker (Wes) since they left the doors to the room open to the hall and the noise out there drowned out some of the early part of his speech.

I don't think it was deliberate, but having spoken to groups before, it must have been difficult to have to 'talk over' the noise. About halfway through his speech, someone finally shut the doors to the hall.

Soldiering on is a good way to put it.

[Clark2008]

12. I noticed that the applause got more robust after a time.

That must have been why.