Man Without Qualities

Posted 5:48 PM by Robert

Opportunism Knocks VI

The Los Angeles Times' report on the just-concluded Democratic contender debate notes:

Asked in the debate's opening moments about favorable comments he made about Bush as recently as 2001, Clark did not disavow them.

So, let's see. General Clark can run campaign ads along the lines of:

Sure, that President George Bush had the courage and the vision and we will always be grateful to President George Bush for that tremendous leadership and statesmanship. BUT I'M SO MUCH BETTER THAT IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE! ... GOD DAMN, I'M GOOD!

Will it play in Peoria?

Curiously, the New York Times coverage makes no mention of this.

Which is perhaps just as well, since while Gen Clark didn't expressly "disavow" his favorable comments about the President, he did say:

We elected a president we thought was a compassionate conservative. Instead we got neither conservatism or compassion. We got a man who recklessly cut taxes. We got a man who recklessly took us into war with Iraq. .... Now, this administration hasn't had a real economic strategy. ....Well, I think in this country we have to recognize we are in a health care crisis. .... George Bush said that he would protect Social Security, but all he's done is present tax cuts. His tax cuts total three times the amount of money needed to make the Social Security system solvent for the next 75 years. [also here]

It looks like having courage and vision and tremendous leadership and statesmanship just doesn't mean what it used to.