ON MONDAY night, Iowa voters emerged from their town halls, libraries and living rooms to proclaim Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry their choice for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Iowa caucuses are a crucial step on the road to the general election, with winners receiving a big boost in money, press coverage and popular support in the weeks following. But Democratic voters should not be too quick to embrace Kerry as their champion, as their best hope for victory in November may by the candidate who has yet to show his face in Iowa.
In recent weeks, as his rivals have taken up residence in the coffee shops of places like Coralville, Oelwein and Troy Mills, Gen. Wesley Clark has made impressive gains in New Hampshire, where he has shared the spotlight only with the lackluster campaign of Sen. Joseph Lieberman. And, by most accounts, Clark has made good use of his empty stage, drawing large, enthusiastic crowds and trailing only former Vermont Governor Howard Dean in the polls. Clark's surge in New Hampshire is good news for Democrats, who should think twice before riding the Kerry bandwagon into the general election.
If the primary concern of Democratic voters is electability -- the ability of their candidate to beat President George W. Bush in November -- then Clark should be the object of much attention as the campaign heads into New Hampshire this week.
Prior to Clark's late entry into the race, the leading candidates were a group from Democratic central casting -- Northeastern liberals and chest thumping populists trading on tales of blue collar roots and outrage at the excesses of the Bush administration. Such is well and good in a Democratic primary, but hardly the stuff to unseat Bush in November. No New England Democrat has occupied the White House since John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and the union friendly politics of economic protectionism and soak-the-rich tax schemes have proven less effective than Clintonian centerism in recent years.
But more importantly, none of the Democrats had a biography to inspire confidence in a time when voters are most concerned about war, terrorism and national security. Politicians all, they were well placed to prattle on about the foreign policy failings of the administration, but not to condemn Bush from a position of unquestionable authority.
Enter Wesley Clark, a telegenic Rhodes scholar, a former four star general and supreme commander of NATO, a silver star recipient and a longtime Arkansan in a nation that increasingly likes its presidents from the South and West. Emerging from a 38 year military career, Clark can point to a record of service and leadership unmatched by any candidate while remaining a Washington outsider with none of the entanglements of a career politician. And as an intelligent public speaker without a trace of policy wonkishness, Clark can make Bush look stupid without coming off as an intellectual elitist.
But most importantly, Clark can beat Bush at his own game. Administration officials have already announced their intention to make national security the focus of Bush's campaign, going so far as to hold the Republican national convention in New York, just days before the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Such antics are clearly designed to present Bush as the nation's best defense against terrorism, a wartime leader who Americans can trust in troubled times. But where the other Democrats might be forced to cede the national security ground to the sitting president, Clark can stand on his distinguished record of military service, face to face with Bush, and win.
Although a majority of Americans believe that the invasion of Iraq was a worthwhile endeavor, support for Bush's handling of the war's aftermath is slipping. According to a recent Newsweek poll, 45 percent of Americans believe that Bush does not have a well thought out plan for establishing security and stable government in Iraq and 53 percent believe that the capture of Saddam Hussein has not made America safer.
The administration's failure to secure and rebuild Iraq is a major weakness in Bush's campaign, and Clark is ideally placed to exploit it. With his impressive military credentials, Clark can criticize the negligence and deception that have passed for foreign policy under the Bush administration without losing the confidence of Americans concerned for their safety in a world plagued by terrorism. He can sidestep the Republicans' silly-but-inevitable charges that Democrats are unconcerned with national security, and he can render absurd Bush's shameless attempts to use the military as a campaign prop. Alone among the Democrats, Clark can strip Bush of his national security mystique.
Kerry has won Iowa, but Clark has the unique power to make Bush run as what he is -- not America's knight in shining armor, but the mere champion of its wealthy elite, a thoroughly mediocre president who has claimed the mantle of a wartime leader in order to win reelection. The Democrats' best hope is the candidate whose name starts with"General" and they would be fools to ignore him.
(Alec Solotorovsky is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at asolotorovsky@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | YesterdayInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
SHRAUGER: McIntire’s three-year model limits opportunities for first-year students
By Alex Shrauger | 4 days agoBy pigeonholing students into commerce so early, the University violates its own mission of providing a holistic education that produces students capable of succeeding in a variety of fields.
