Clinton-Clark ticket looking more likely

Wes Clark has a new book out, a memoir done Washington style (with someone else doing most of the work and getting a "with" byline). He is going on a small book tour, which I am going to miss. But I will have to buy it to complete my Clark Anthology and see how the voice has changed by this other writer.

He finally got his name domain, but has to get Wesley K Clark.com because there is some crappy song writer with Wesley Clark.com. He was on Meet the Timmeh on Sunday, too. But the most telling part that he is on Hillary Clinton's short list is this:

"Vice President [Dick] Cheney came up to see the Republicans yesterday. You can always tell when the Republicans are getting restless, because the Vice President’s motorcade pulls into the Capitol, and Darth Vader emerges," Hillary Clinton said just now at a $100-a-head fundraiser at town hall near New York's Times Square, referring to Cheney's efforts shore up Republican congressional support for the Iraq war.

"I’m not invited to their meetings and I don’t know what he says or does," she said, in an informal conversation on stage with former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and retired General Wesley Clark. "But all the brave talk about bringing our troops home, and setting deadlines, and getting out by a certain date just dissipated." [emphasis added]

Vilsack ran a terrible presidential campaign, and Hillary helped retire his debts and has his wife Christie Vilsack endorsed Sen. Clinton (Christie Vilsack was a key Kerry endorsement in 2004). Of course, the former Iowa governor later also endorsed Hillary. So the Vilsacks are a strategic Iowa endorsement and possibly national ticket material. But that fact that Clark's endorsement of Hillary Clinton was toated to Bloggers $100 fundraiser in New York City (and Clinton's people probably are helping with this sudden publicity push of Clark) tells me they are floating the Clark balloon.

If he stumbles now in the spotlight, the Hillary camp can cut their losses. But if Clark passes his audition, he could be her ersatz Mark Warner. Moverover, anytime Hillary is critiqued about her foreign policy credentials or murmurs of people worried about a woman in charge of the military, she can point not just to her few years on the Armed Services Comittee, but also a four star retired General on her ticket who won the last war the US fought (that's right Iraq and Afghanistan aren't over yet)...one that involves ethnic conflict similar to the problems the Iraqis face.

Of course, I am biased and think the General should be our next president (and should have won the nomination in 2004), but as VP he could do a lot of good for this country and Hillary Clinton's campaign. I see him as being like Al Gore in 1992, someone who is similar and emphasizes the message the Clinton's wanted: then it was Southern moderation and youth, now it is Southern moderation and security.