Clark was on the defensive from Day One, and his public schizophrenia over the war in Iraq alone should have disqualified him. The Self-Destruction of General Clark

In the time between the New Hampshire Democrat Primary and the rest of our lives, the presidential campaign of retired General Wesley Clark should become nothing more than a bizarre footnote to history. That does not mean that Clark will fade away, because the grace to do so is nowhere evident in his personality.

Whether Clark’s candidacy was the invention of the Clintons — or a bunch of their made guys so attuned to the bosses’ wishes that they need no overt orders — is an open question about which the pundit ducks quack. On one hand, it is difficult to imagine political masters of the universe (who well knew the General before the rest of us) having such a low regard for the intelligence of voters, even liberals. On the other hand, when the goal at the time was to derail the candidacy of Howard Dean, pitching one resident of the asylum against another might well have seemed smart. Who knew that both would fly over the cuckoo’s nest?

Clark was on the defensive from Day One, and his public schizophrenia over the war in Iraq alone should have disqualified him. Even his political affiliation proved vexing, strongly suggesting that the Opportunistic Party would be the only honest fit. Never mind his positions on issues, which constituted some kind of political Kama Sutra for their numerous, shifting variations, his knowledge of issues paled beside that of congressional interns.

Clark’s hyperbole had no credible moorings, and his butterfly campaign flitted between the flowers in his hair and his resume of military service. Having been a general and having also played one for CNN, there was a disconnect between his appearance and the goofiness that frequently emerged from his mouth. There are midnight bloggers who live in their mothers’ basements who are a lot more adept at conspiracy theory. When tortured by the media on most of his accusations and the sources for same, his information seemed to have emanated from the gossip arc of those who have themselves personally investigated the nefarious government secrets of Area 51.

That radical leftist filmmaker and author Michael Moore was one of the most prominent and most public supporters of a former four-star general and Supreme Commander of NATO posed serious questions about Clark’s judgment. But Moore’s labeling of the President of the United States as a "deserter" at a campaign rally introducing Clark without immediate repudiation by the general answered those questions.

After the incident, Clark was several times given the opportunity to restore some semblance of a responsible posture, most notably by Peter Jennings at a candidate’s debate and by Tim Russert on "Meet the Press." He would only dig the black hole of his reputation deeper.

Retired General Hugh Shelton, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff largely responsible for the recall of Clark from NATO, has said, "the reason [Clark] came out of Europe early had to do with integrity and character issues, things that are near and dear to my heart." In short, the same reasons that Clark is not going to be President of the United States.

January 29, 2004
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