The December 2003 Atlantic has an excerpt of Douglas Brinkley's book, Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. Kerry gave Brinkley all of his journals, letters, and notes that he wrote during and after his tour in Vietnam, where he was a Swift boat commander. Brinkley also interviewed all but one of the still living soldiers who fought with Kerry.
I came across the article at Steven Johnson's blog, where a commenter challenged anothers' assessment that: "I really don't see Kerry doing anything. He's in the same secret society as Bush, and is aristocratic as they come."
Me? I'm completely undecided at this point - Edwards has a hopeful enthusiasm that can be both refreshing and irritating, Kerry has something that makes me look past the longest face in America, and Dean has a pretty good yeeehaw.
I have a suspicion that while Dean might be angry and loud, Kerry and/or Edwards might be angry and effective. And I'm not always so sure that someone who can play the Washington insider game is such a bad thing right now.
Posted by Jason at January 23, 2004 11:34 AM | TrackBackdon't rule out clark my friend. imagine this:
on a televised debate, the question is: describe your military experience.
clark speaks of kosovo, four stars, and zero american deaths.
does bush finally come clean with his one and half years of undocumented service in the national guard or wherever?
that's a pretty hefty media jam. that can be a seed for a sea change, don't you think?
Posted by: david at January 24, 2004 3:39 AM | Permalink to CommentI think Clark would make a fine VP, but I have my doubts about a full presidency. I want a president who can focus (and handle) domestic issues as well as international ones.
I'm sure Clark's military exp. would serve well in the Iraq/Afganistan issue, but I'm not so sure it translates to the domestic front.
Bush will simply refer to his past 4 years of 'military experience.' There's still an even enough split over this to make it a moot point (lots of people believe him to be a strong leader in international issues). Dems'll need a candidate strong on both fronts if they plan to actually win. Basically: "Hey, I can do better in Iraq ... but most importantly, I can do better for you here."
Not to mention that after Iowa's primary and the State of the Union, I saw both Dean (in Iowa) and Clark (in an interview w/ Brokaw after the SotU) flub their televised image (granted, Clark much less so that Dean).
My best guess at this point: Kerry or Edwards with Clark as veep. I think Dean's out.
Pure, uninformed speculation :)
Posted by: Jason at January 24, 2004 10:05 AM | Permalink to Comment