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(via WesPAC)
News coverage includes:
Links via Daily Kos diary
]]>Update: Florida Today cover the Melbourne event.
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A parade of generals walk out on stage, including Wesley Clark, to sand behind Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, USAF (Ret.) who is up there to talk about why they support Obama as commander-in-chief.
Friday morning, Clark appeared on Morning Joe although he didn't get much time to speak. Highlight (intervening comments by Scarborough removed for clarity):
That's what Americans are going to ask, and they're going to expect people like Joe Biden in the Vice Presidential debate to be able to handle those questions. I just can't imagine who's going to go up against Joe Biden based on the discussion we're having right now, because what you saw from the Democrats last night is a really strong team. You saw Barack Obama who's talking about judgment. He's talking about the important judgment calls the President has to make. He's saying if there's going to be a debate about who's ready to be Commander in Chief and who's got the judgment and temperament, let's have it. And then you've got Joe Biden right behind him who's very experienced and savvy, just returned from Georgia. It's a heck of a line-up, and I think it's the kind of line-up that's going to reassure Middle America that Democrats are a party that can take care of this country's national security.]]>
Update: Could this item on the convention schedule be why he's going to Denver?
Retired Generals Tribute Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration (Ret) Accompanied by additional generals
--
I'm in Munich right now, but I can't tell you how ready I am to head to Denver and join my fellow Democrats.
The Democratic Party is ready to lead and address the many challenges ahead, and Barack Obama is the leader we need for our country and to help humanity meet today's global challenges.
We're a party loaded with talent. Like many of you, I've been thrilled by the speeches at the Democratic National Convention so far. Hillary Clinton was great last night. Her strength, her character, her call for unity. Her speech just proves once again that she is a great American and has many years of distinguished public service ahead of her.
And what an inspiration Ted Kennedy was, as was Nancy Pelosi, our Speaker of the House. Brian Schweitzer, the history-making Governor of Montana and Mark Warner, a business executive, distinguished former Governor and soon-to-be a remarkable U.S. Senator.
Tonight, I'm looking forward to catching the speeches of our honored former President Bill Clinton and our vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden. We are so fortunate that these two outstanding men are Democrats.
And then there's tomorrow. Our Party is so fortunate at this time in history to be nominating Barack Obama. After Michelle's incredibly warm and personal speech on Monday, any American can see the strength of character in their family. It's clear that when the Obamas become first family, they'll definitely bring change to America.
I can't wait to hear Senator Obama's words in person. He's warned us not to expect that he can duplicate the electricity from his memorable speech in 2004, but I think he's just being wise to play down expectations. He has proven to be a remarkable human being with incredible judgment, an outstanding sense of direction, and unmatched communication skills. I fully expect to be inspired, as I was in 2004.
I'm proud to be a Democrat, and I'm proud to ask you to pull together with me. It's time to help elect our candidates to every office. From mayors to governors, from state legislators to Congress. And especially to come together behind Barack Obama.
Barack is going to be the leader of a great team of Democrats in this election campaign. And he's going to become a great American President.
I believe he has the skills and resolve to strengthen America's security, rebuild America's economy, and restore Americans' faith in the future.
Our challenge is clear. We must win in November.
Sincerely,
Wes Clark
]]>Meanwhile, Tom Baer hopes Obama is listening and will take heed.
CNN appearance below:
Update: Later Clark appeared on Fox and the Ed Schultz radio show, which also covered Pakistan.
Video of Fox appearance:
Later still, the Jon Elliott radio show.
]]>Clark to help Tuke raise cash for race
Dem Senate candidate hopes to narrow Alexander's $3M lead
By Tom Humphrey
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Later: A report on the day
]]> NASHVILLE - Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Bob Tuke will have help from retired Army General Wesley Clark and other nationally known party members in trying to narrow Sen. Lamar Alexander's $3 million advantage in campaign cash.Tuke's campaign manager, Ben Chao, said Monday that Clark, a former presidential candidate who carried Tennessee in the 2004 campaign before losing nationally to John Kerry, will host a fundraising reception in Nashville on Thursday.
He said a "huge national Democrat," who he declined to name, will host an event next week.
The most recent campaign finance disclosures, covering the period through July 18, show that Republican Alexander had almost $3.2 million cash on hand while Tuke had $119,690.
Tuke won the Democratic nomination in a field of six candidates last Thursday. Alexander was unopposed for the GOP nomination.
The latest campaign disclosure for Tuke reported total spending of $320,990, considerably more than any of his Democratic competitors but far less than the $1.7 million in spending reported so far by the Alexander campaign.
Tuke got 58,990 votes, or 32.2 percent, in the Democratic primary. Runner-up was Gary G. Davis, who spent nothing and got 39,122 votes, or 21.3 percent.
Former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett reported expenditures totaling $121,400 and finished third with 33,453 votes, or 18.3 percent. Mark Clayton, whose name appeared first on the ballot, reported no spending to the Federal Election Commission and had 17.6 percent of the vote.
A total 182,724 votes were cast in the Democratic primary. Alexander received 243,056 votes running against no one in the Republican primary.
While acknowledging the primary results are not cause for confetti and balloons, Chao said the campaign was successful by targeting key areas where limited money could be spent most effectively.
The primary campaign focused on the Memphis and Nashville areas, including radio and TV advertising that ran nowhere else in the state. Tuke won in those areas, which typically have a high Democratic primary turnout.
"We only spent money where we knew we would get the maximum return on investment," he said.
Strategy for the fall campaign, Chao said, involves five targeted areas, an odd patchwork of coalitions and coordination with other Democratic campaigns.
"It's going to be a very different general election than any we've ever seen," he said.
While declining to elaborate in detail, he said coalitions would include urban voters, who may be inspired to higher-than-normal turnout by Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and veterans, who may be inspired by Tuke's record of service as a Marine and Alexander's "terrible record on veterans issues."
]]>WesPAC has the transcript. A highlight:
And so, the result is that you've got a split emerging in Europe and this is what the United States has to work with. If we're going really to check Russian aggression, we, we best do it not with force but with unity and resolve, and that requires leadership. And I think Barack Obama's the right person to provide that leadership.
Update: Later, Clark appeared on Fox to promote his view about how to resolve the Georgia crisis through strengthening U.S.-European unity and NATO. Cavuto seemed more interested in trying to trap Clark into saying that Obama was "weak" (i.e., not sufficiently warmongering), and looks to have cut him off at the end!
]]>--
A little over a month ago, following my appearance on Face the Nation, the right wing freak machine took me out of context, attacked me, and just wanted me to "hit the road."
Well, I'm here to tell you: I'm not going away.
We simply have too much to do in these final three months. We have to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States. And we have to give him a working majority in Congress. So let's give the right wing what they asked for. I'm ready to "hit the road" and help Democrats across the country!
Contribute to WesPAC's "Hit The Road Fund!" Help us raise $25,000 by this Friday.
http://securingamerica.com/HitTheRoad
I'm committed to doing everything I can to help Democrats win this November. I've opened up my schedule and am ready to hit the campaign trail across the country. That's why I'm traveling across the country over the coming weeks.
I can only do this if WesPAC has the financial resources to keep me on the road these final three months. That's why we started the "Hit The Road Fund." I need your help to make sure I can stay on the campaign trail to help folks like Charlie Brown (CA-4), Eric Massa (NY-29), and Bob Tuke (TN-Sen).
I've set a goal of raising $25,000 by this Friday. Make a contribution to our "Hit The Road Fund" today!
http://securingamerica.com/HitTheRoad
When people hit you, you have to hit back. I won't back away from a fight, and over the years we've gotten to know each other, I know you won't either. Please contribute to our "Hit The Road Fund" today!
http://securingamerica.com/HitTheRoad
Electing the right people this November will be critical to securing America's future. Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Wes Clark
]]>If you're interested, check out their arguments in favor of Clark as VP and sign the petition.
I personally think Gen. Clark would be an excellent vice president, though I think a Cabinet position like Secretary of State would make better use of his experience and talents. I do hope that Obama will consider giving Clark an important role, should he win in November, whatever it might be.
Updated: The Associated Press picks it up. VetVoice approves and points to other resources.
]]>WesPAC sends out an email on behalf of VoteVets, announcing their new ad, shown above. Very timely after Maliki's recent announcement in support of a U.S. withdrawal time line.
]]> Text of the email, from Jon Soltz of VoteVets:Today, VoteVets.org is announcing a new national television ad, and we wanted you to see it right away.
Senator McCain once said that if the Iraqis asked us to leave, we would have to leave. Those of us who served agree with that. Senator McCain now either has to back off his refusal to set a plan to leave Iraq, as Prime Minister Maliki requested a number of times in the past week, or tell the American and Iraqi people why he would overrule Iraq's government and turn our troops into an indefinite occupying force. Those are his only two options. Our new ad makes that clear.
Now is not the time to send mixed messages to the Iraqis. Even the Bush administration is bending on timelines for redeployment. Senator McCain does more harm than good when he signals to the Iraqi government that their request for a timetable for redeployment is a non-starter. We should be supporting the Iraqi government, not undermining it.
Further, there is a real enemy to fight in Afghanistan. It is time to set our focus on destroying the real terrorist threat in the Afghansitan/Pakistan region. We cannot want to be in Iraq more than the Iraqis want us to be there. We cannot referee Iraq's political problems with troops, especially when we have a real job to do protecting America from the terrorists in Afghanistan. And, we cannot do it all.
MoveOn has a similar idea:
]]>He backed Obama up on the following points:
He also gave some strategic advice about Pakistan and Afghanistan and attempted to set the record straight on the history of the surge (when Joe would let him speak instead of parroting McCain talking points endlessly).
Another superb performance by Clark.
Transcript via WesPAC.
]]>The key part of his appearance on the Dan Abrams show is where he explains the respective roles of the president and military commanders:
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Can I just underscore something here, Dan? Look, as the Commander in Chief, he does not have to take the advice of the Commander on the ground.Dan Abrams: As a General, you don't necessarily say 'you have to listen to me?'
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: No. You don't rule Washington. I mean, what Barack Obama's saying is he appreciates General Petraeus's judgment but he's got concerns that go beyond Iraq. He's mentioned Afghanistan. He's got the health of the United States Armed Forces. He's got other contingencies. He's got the War on Terror. So, Petraeus is in charge of, right now, one theater of this conflict and what Barack Obama is saying is 'I see it, I understand your concerns about risks, it's my job to evaluate the trade-offs of the risks and this is the way I see it.'
Dan Abrams: Let me play you
Tara Wall: If I can just ask. Real quick, General Clark, given you know...obviously respect for the fact that you are a general, but if you're saying to the Commander in Chief, 'here is a strategy I believe that works, we need to try this, we should give it a shot, give it time, let's see if it works,' I would think that you would hope that that Commander in Chief would take that seriously into consid...not just into consideration but give it an opportunity, whether it's a surge strategy or any other strategy you might be anticipating.
Dan Abrams: That's the distinction, because Barack Obama has said he would take it into consideration and it sounds like what Tara is saying is, shouldn't he at least say 'yes?'
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: And the answer is no - he's not obligated to say that. That's not the obligation
Dan Abrams: You say 'give it a shot,' I mean, how long more do you have to give it a shot?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: The President of the United States does not...is not subordinate to the Commander in Chief in the theater of conflict. He just isn't.
Complete transcript and other resources available at WesPAC.
]]>Live .TV show provided by Ustream
Transcript is available via WesPAC.
Also, see Clark at a reception for Rick Noriega.
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