Clark endorses Kind for Congress
Originally published in the LaCrosse Tribune
Published - Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Clark endorses Kind for Congress
By KATE SCHOTT | La Crosse Tribune
There's more ways to settle a score than with fists.
That was the advice retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark passed on to a La Crosse teenager he met Tuesday at the Clinton Street site of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater La Crosse.
The young man said he recently got into a fight and asked the retired Army four-star general how to deal with peer pressure.
Find a few friends and walk away, Clark advised.
"Name calling, fighting, â€"these things don't define you as a man," Clark said. "The real men ... they will reason through their problems."
Clark spent 30 minutes talking about leadership with about 20 club employees Thursday. He shared the three life lessons from his own days as a Boys Club employee in Little Rock, Ark.: Have faith in yourself, teach children to feel responsible for others and help children find courage.
Later in the day, he pointed to another club alumnus, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, and said he was the type of leader western Wisconsin needs.
Kind is the first candidate Clark has endorsed for the 2006 election. Clark, who made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, heaped praise on Kind while stressing that the Democratic Party is one of values, faith and helping others.
"You've got probably one of the greatest congressmen in America and a guy who can change the future of this country representing your district right now," he told hundreds of people gathered at Kind's fourth-annual corn roast.
Kind said he admires Clark as someone who sees the "big picture" and stresses the need for diplomacy in all areas of politics. They also share an interest in making a higher investment in youth, Kind added.
One thing Clark didn't endorse was setting a deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. Although he called the war in Iraq "a mistake we should never have made" and said he wants American troops home as soon as possible, Clark said setting a deadline would work against the U.S.
"If you give a deadline for the Iraqis to get their constitution done, then you can do some arm twisting on the Iraqi side," he said. "But if you put the deadline on when our troops have to leave, then the arm twisting gets done on us."
He was evasive when asked if he was going to make another bid for president, saying only the Democratic Party needs to be a "full-service party" that can handle domestic and foreign issues with equal aplomb.
Marge Baecker, chair of the Wisconsin Third Congressional District Democrats, said Clark's message was needed.
"He focused on re-energizing the party and getting the message out that we are a party of values," she said. "We haven't been getting that message out enough."
