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Should the Democrats Draft a General?
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Candidate
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jul 12, 2003 12:36am |
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| Category | Commentary |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Saturday, July 12, 2003 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | According to a recent Washington Post poll, 72 percent of the public trusts President Bush to handle terrorism better than the Democrats. Republicans have held an advantage on national security issues for two generations, but 9/11 instantly magnified both the size of the gap and its political consequences. The extent of the problem this poses to the Democrats' chances of winning back the presidency in 2004 has not yet penetrated their minds. It's not remotely comparable to mistrust of Republican health care or education policies, as many Democrats seem to believe. It reveals a fundamental worry that voters have about the party, one that cannot be overcome with small measures.
Some of the presidential contenders have a better chance of minimizing this problem than others because of their biographies, expertise or hawkishness. But it's an Achilles' heel for all of them. The good news is that an ideal solution has landed in the Democrats' laps: Wesley Clark. The bad news is that because so few Democrats recognize the scale of the problem, not many of them grasp the solution.
For the past several months, retired Gen. Wesley Clark has been campaigning for the post of reluctant warrior. He has tirelessly dropped hints that he would enter the race. It seems that he's just waiting for the party establishment to rally around him and begin clearing the field.
In fact, Clark's shot at beating Bush is exponentially better than those of any of the other contenders. |
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