Reply #19: I don't think a working "alliance" means agreeing on who should be Pres

[Tom Rinaldo]

Electing the right President isn't an end in itself, it is a very important means toward reaching an even more important end, restoring Liberty and Justice, sanity and civility, wisdom and virtue, common purpose and compassion to our country and our relations with the World. As important as both men are, it isn't just for Clark or Dean that we are working. And pragmatically speaking, trying to elect the very best President, by itself, is not enough. We need to strengthen our Congressional representation, and we need them to be willing to stand up and fight when needed. We need to revitalize our Party, and elect bright and idealistic people to positions from the county level on up. We have to install leadership in the Democratic Party that is responsive to the constituency of the Democratic Party, not to careerist politicians, political hacks and mooned interests. We need new blood in our Party all the way around. We are about saving our country, not just furthering the career of an individual. We can agree on many things even if we don't agree on who would be the best candidate for the Democrats to run in 2008. And we can work together on many things so long as mutual respect is maintained, and as long as each of us can appreciate and understand how someone in the "other camp" might be drawn more to support "the other candidate" if it came to a head to head match up.

I make no apologies about thinking that Wesley Clark is a better choice to support for President than Howard Dean, for a number of reasons. That's my opinion. I know that some great Democrats make a different choice. I don't think Kucinich is the best person to propose for the job either, but that doesn't mean I don't have significant areas of agreement with both Kucinich and many of his supporters. I just think that, if the rivalry were somehow to be put aside, there is more intrinsic commonality between the supporters of Clark and Dean than between any other candidate supporters. I think this is about more than the Presidency. Four years out from the next election is a good time to explore areas of agreement and mutual respect, before intra partisan passions get inflamed again.