Questions for supporters of Clark

[uconnyc]

I'm debating whether to support Clark or not. One thing I'm worried about is that in the general elections, Rove and his henchmen are going to air commercials with the footage of Clark "praising" Bush.

I'm worried that Clark will have to spend too much time defending those comments (like Kerry has been doing with his Iraq vote), as well as the lukewarm support he has gotten from other military personnel, instead of talking about the real issues.

My questions are these:

1) How will Clark spin his praising of Bush in the general election?

2) How will he spin/dismiss the fact that many in the military don't support him?

[La_Serpiente]

1. hmmmm

2) How will he spin/dismiss the fact that many in the military don't support him?

Sounds like Repuke talking point to me.

[pinkpops]

2. I say

1) He gives credit where he think it is due, was let down by Bush.
2) Some support him, some don't. More support him than other Dems.

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. Hey, it sounds like a great commercial

to unite the country behind Clark! You'll get plenty of feedback on the fact that there are two people (Shelton and Cohen) who NOW have negative things to say about Clark, despite the fact that they gave him high praise upon his retirement. It's politics, donchaknow.

But how can the repugs criticize the man for having some positive words to say about some facets of the early bush admin? It certainly makes it clear that he's a uniter, not a divider, and that he will give credit where he feels it's due, despite the fact that it may not be politically correct. And he has certainly made it clear what he thinks of the current job that the administration is doing!

[elfin]

4. Showing former praise will remind mod Repugs

that they, too had hopes for Bush - and identify with Clark's turnaround. He's our best choice to capture these voters.

Former military - will be countered by other military supporting him.

[Gman]

5. No spin is necessary

You don't have to disavow everything that might be good about someone to run against them.

Clark completely beats the "hate Bush" thing with this. It's a non-issue. He doesn't defend it. He just says, yes, that's correct. But, here are the problems that Bush can't fix..... (or whatever).

Regarding the military, much has been published in no less than Stars and Stripes that shows without any doubt that all is not well with Bush's standing with the military.

[maxr4clark]

6. Nice to be able to be honest

Clark has the luxury of speaking honestly about his past because he has been an honorable man all his life. No dirty laundry means no spin required.

[Jerseycoa]

7. Clark does not spin

That's what we admire about him. Not to worry, it's all okay. :hug:


:dem:

[floridaguy]

8. Dean has a lot more problems to deal with . .

Just after 9/11, most people, myself included, tried to muster as much support behind our government as possible. Earlier in his term, Bush seemed to be doing okay, and to be choosing the right people. Later we learned that he wasn't doing okay, and not only did he not pick the right people, but there was a major leadership vacuum.
If you haven't noticed, the few military folks that made derogatory remarks have kept their mouths shut, since Clark challenged them to prove what they said. If you think Howard Dean will have less to defend when the Bush machine starts up the $200 million dollar machine, you're hallucinating. Clark is the only one who could stand up to the scrutiny and the only one with a chance of beating Bush . .period.

[kang]

9. The first is a plus, the second is not accurate

Many people don't hate Bush (independents, undecideds), so the fact that Clark (who voted for Gore) supported the President and hoped that they would handle the tough challenges ahead (like many in America) is actually a plus. It gives him much more cred when he says that we've all been let down and he speaks about where Bush has failed. It shows that he's not always going to play partisan politics (he hasn't the practice yet to do so!). He won't spend the majority of his time defending himself on this point since he's already said that he won't hesitate to applaud the administration when they do good things, his focus is on forcing Bush to take responsibility for the failures as well.

As for the second attack, this is a character smear that is an attempt to diminish Clark's military career and his acheivements. In fact, aside from Cohen, Shelton, and few other senior officers that have their own personal reasons for disliking him, Clark is not unpopular at all w/soldiers. He was the officer that was sent to underperforming bases or places with low morale to turn around the situation. And he was good at it. That's what this nation needs too.

I think he'll have more than adequate cover from soldiers who served with him and know him. The military is just like anywhere else, not everybody gets along. We civilians often tend to think of it as one homogenous society. Although the officer corps is largely conservative leaning, it's far from being so cut and dry. One of my co-workers (a partner at my firm) served with Clark as a junior officer and has nothing but respect for the man.

I hope that helps you in your decision.