At the DNC Winter Meeting, Wes Clark introduced himself to the crowd of Democratic activists with the words "I'm Wes Clark. I'm a soldier and I'm fighting for our country."
Clark could have just as easily called himself
a retired 4 star general
a Rhodes scholar with a masters in politics economics and philosophy
a West Point professor of philosophy and economics
a businessman
an adviser to the Congress
a fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations
a member of several business boards
But, Wow
Instead it was
"I'm Wes Clark. I'm a soldier and I'm fighting for our country."
What an incredible statement of humble solidarity with the men and women serving in the military juxtaposed to the hubris and arrogance of the man at whose hands these men and women have suffered such terrible abuse and misuse.
The United States army is broken and the troops are demoralized and find themselves coming home to an indifferent government and 1 doctor for every 500 wounded patients and an unacceptable likelihood of winding up on the streets of this country. That's a rude awakening to the harsh reality of government hypocrisy for young peple who proudly entered the military to serve their country.
But what of those civilian leaders who put these men and women in harms' way? And what of those who in good faith had a right to believe that their service would not be taken for granted and they would not be asked to face the horrors of war unless it was absolutely necessary to defend the people of this country against imminent threat? They were callously abandoned to a horrible fate along with millions of Iraqis.
Their callous misuse was at the hands of a notorious President, who himself avoided active military service, and with the consent of 77 of the 100 Senators who advise and consent.
And it is that same notorious callousness that even now threaten our constitutional way of life, our right to clean air and water and our hope for a secure and bright future.
When Wes Clark talked about the future of this country and bringing security and transparency and hope for a brighter future he said that achieving those ideals here at home would best honor the terrible sacrifice paid. A sacrifice that he deeply feels every day as news of dead and injured from this tragic war reaches us.
If Wes Clark runs he will surely do so as a man of peace, a diplomat, a statesman, an enlightened policy maker.
But he will also run as the only person qualified to understand the enormity of the task to undo the damage and put a stop to the violence unleashed by Bush.
Watch this amazing interview:
http://securingamerica.com/...