Three Way News: Because I like Wesley Clark...

Monday, March 03, 2008

Because I like Wesley Clark...

and hate John Hinderaker I have to rip off TBogg's post wholesale:

Power Line's John Hinderaker, most famous for this:
It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.
...has this to say about Wesley Clark:
In my opinion, retired general Wes Clark is one of the least impressive people who have entered public life in recent years. He is, among other things, a partisan hack.
That would be this Wesley Clark:
General Wesley Kanne Clark, (born December 23, 1944) is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. Clark was valedictorian of his class at West Point, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics), and later graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in military science. He spent 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
[...]
Clark was assigned a position in the 1st Infantry Division and flew to Vietnam on May 21, 1969 during the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He worked as a staff officer, collecting data and helping in operations planning, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his work with the staff. Clark was then given command of A Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division in January 1970. In February, only one month into his command, he was shot four times by a Viet Cong soldier with an AK-47. The wounded Clark shouted orders to his men, who counterattacked and defeated the Viet Cong force. Clark had injuries to his right shoulder, right hand, right hip, and right leg, and was sent to Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to recuperate. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the encounter.[19]
In 1975, Clark was appointed a White House Fellow in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a special assistant to its director, James Thomas Lynn. He was one of only 14 appointed out of 2,307 applicants.[24] Lynn also gave Clark a six-week assignment to assist John Marsh, then a counselor to the President. Clark was approached during his fellowship to help push for a memorial to the Vietnam War. He worked with the movement that ultimately helped lead to the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Clark took two commands with the 1st Armored Division based in Germany from August 1976 to February 1978, first over the 3rd Battalion 35th Armor and then the entire 3rd Brigade.[21] Clark's brigade commander while in the former position said Clark was "singularly outstanding, notably superb." Regarding his term as brigade commander, one of his battalion commanders called Clark the "most brilliant and gifted officer [he'd] ever known."[25] He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his work with the division.
Not to be outdone, in 1976 George W. Bush was awarded a DUI.
Contrast and compare.

Yeah, first in his class at West Point (wasn't McCain something like 5th from the bottom at Annapolis?), wounded in Vietnam, four star general. Nothing impressive here, folks, move along. Many people see Clark as a likely VP for a Clinton ticket. I think he'd be an even better one for Obama. I think especially with McCain as the Republican candidate the Dems need to go with a military man. Plus he's from the south. If he could bring the Dems Virginia and his home state of Arkansas the race is over.

Labels: military, politics

4 Comments:

McCain, being old, just needs to pick somebody young. I believe Article 2 says the veep has to be 35 years old. I submit the following list of Americans who turn 35 before the inauguration:

Tori Spelling
Monica Lewinsky
Oscar de la Hoya
Carson Daly
Dave Chappelle
Neil Patrick "Doogie Howser" Harris
Nas

By Joseph Thvedt, at 9:54 AM