In September 2003, Bill Clinton said that there were two stars in the Democratic Party -- his wife and General Wesley Clark. Today, one of those stars endorsed the other one. Check it out:
Dear Lowell,Today, I am proud to announce my endorsement of Senator Hillary Clinton as President of the United States.
Senator Hillary Clinton has earned the support of millions of Americans in her campaign for president -- and today I am pleased to count myself among them. The world has reached a critical point, and we need a leader in the White House with the courage, intelligence and humility to navigate through many troubling challenges to our security at home and abroad. I believe Senator Clinton is that leader, and I whole-heartedly endorse her for President of the United States. Senator Clinton and I share a worldview in which diplomacy is the best first-strike tool in our arsenal; in today's complicated global system, the United States should be making more friends than enemies.
Never before have so many Americans had our well-being so closely tied to world events. Our economic and national security has become more complicated than ever before, and we deserve a leader who draws on wisdom, compassion, intelligence and moral courage -- in short, we need Hillary Clinton. She is tough but fair, a rock-solid leader equal to the many weighty challenges ahead of us.As I make this endorsement today, I realize this may disappoint many of you who hoped that I would run for President myself in 2008. But rest assured: I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to continue to speak out on issues I care about, to work with you to support good Democratic candidates who will help restore the kind of leadership we need in America, to make sure our nation is as secure at home and abroad as it possibly can be.
Your support has been absolutely essential -- to our country, to our Democratic candidates, and to me personally. I would never have run for President in 2003 without your support -- after all, you drafted me into the race! I can't tell you how much it means to me that you've been standing with me since my campaign for President and right up until now. And we still have so much work to do.
Together, we made a huge difference in the 2006 elections. We helped 42 candidates win their races across America, including 25 candidates who flipped their seats from Republican to Democratic seats. Our Clark community raised more than $1 million for candidates, not to mention the millions of hours of volunteer time members of the Clark community provided to campaigns in every corner of our nation. And I am most proud of the fact we helped elect a number of veterans to the House and Senate. What a tremendous victory for America -- and it wouldn't have been possible without the hard work that you and I and tens of thousands of us put in over those 24 months.
The fight is just beginning for the future of America. Through WesPAC, you and I and thousands of other Americans will continue to play a very active role throughout this entire upcoming campaign -- to support strong candidates, to get them into office, and to get our country back on the right track.
Your continued participation in the political process is absolutely critical. I hope you'll join me in supporting Hillary Clinton's campaign for President. And I hope you'll continue to be active here at WesPAC as we support many candidates up and down the ballot in 2008, and continue to speak out on the issues.
I'm proud to endorse Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. But I'm not going anywhere, and I hope you're not either. We have a lot of work to do in the months and years ahead to get America moving forward again -- and I need you with me.
I'll stop by at 4:00pm ET on Sunday to the Clark Community Network to liveblog. I hope you'll join me.
Thanks so much for everything you've done -- and everything I know you'll continue to do -- for me, for Democrats, and for our country.
Sincerely,
Wes Clark
By the way, Clinton supporters at Mark Warner's pig roast today were verrrrry happy.
P.S. It will be interesting to see how General Clark's endorsement will affect Hillary Clinton's standing on the blogs, given that Wes Clark is extremely popular among the progressive netroots.
Of course, then we'd lose him as our Senator. But I'd be willing to make the sacrifice for the good of the country. :)
And I do admire and respect Hillary Clinton and think that she would make a fine President
But that will ring hollow if she is not electable.
I fear that huge Repug. anti-Hill turnout will also bring down the Congressional gains that we have lately enjoyed.
The vitriol against her is unreal-even among many Democrats.
So now I will go back to lick my Wes-wounds for a while longer.
*sniff*
Jim Webb would not make for a good Vice President (he's Presidential timber ala Old Hickory) .... at least not with Hillary who is in a word: POLARIZING and to me represents the very same "careerism and cronyism" that is the legacy of Dubya. Sorry to say that but RK so easily ignores the $850 thou funneled to Hillary 08 from Mr. HSU. Anybody planning a sleep over in the Lincoln room?
Hillary is a divider, even within the Democratic Party and for Independents who are heavily leaning toward Dem-candidates.... They will THINK TWICE.
In stark contrast, OBAMA offers a fresh start and unity ... but he too needs a good VP choice. Should he get the nomination he should look to the south ... Tim Kaine would be good choice .... but ultimately Jim Webb would make for the best combination .... ala "Born Fighting" that teaming could reshape the Democratic Party for years to come.
*"Your endorsement today of Sen. Hillary Clinton is another giant step toward returning the White House to Democratic hands in 2008 and ending our national nightmare."
*"Personally, I still wish that your preconditions had all been met, and that you would have announced your entry into the race. But now that you have made this decision, I will give very careful consideration to joining you in supporting Hillary for President."
*"Wes should know how much of a profound dissapointment this is to his base....I didn't get involved this far so we can trade one group of insiders for another."
*"When I first heard about your decision I was upset and shocked- in angry disagreement with your decision. Thinking through it, I can see that the decision was made for the best of the country...No matter how some of us feel now about Hillary Clinton, the future of this country is not about individuals, about a particular man or woman, it is about changing the disastrous path of the last 7 years."
"I'll always be grateful for all that you've done, but, regretfully, I cannot join you in supporting Sen. Clinton for the Democratic nomination. I wish you and your family the very best. I'm out."