Wesley Clark

Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark reversed an earlier opinion that he likely would have voted for war in Iraq, telling a cheering college-town crowd the invasion was "a major blunder" he never would have supported.

Clark sought to blunt a controversy that arose as he opened his campaign. The core is his resume as a retired four-star general with the credibility to challenge President Bush and oppose the war in Iraq.

Many of his backers expressed surprise when Clark told reporters he probably would have voted to authorize the use of force.

What we have here is a man who doesn't know what he thinks until his political handlers (the Clintons, apparently) feed it to him. I can respect either view on Iraq; I supported the idea (with the acknowledgement that it would be a risky move), but I can understand the arguments of those opposed -- at least, those who have actually thought about the issue rather than reflexively opposing Bush. But you've got to pick one or the other. I can't respect a man whose "opinions" change from day to day in response to what he thinks he has to say to get elected.

"Wesley Clark, the retired four-star general who is one of 10 candidates for the Democratic nomination for president, has written a new book that is just arriving on bookstore shelves. Called Winning Modern Wars, it?s mostly about the Iraq war and terrorism?and it is laced with powerful new information that he held back from the public when he was a CNN military commentator during the Bush administration?s preparations for the war."

Wrapping up a two day trip through New Hampshire on Wednesday, retired General Wesley Clark said he favored safety locks on firearms as a general principle though he said he needed to review the situation more before he would make any specific suggestions on how, if elected president, he plans to mandate such an action.

Clark said guns were always in his house while growing up in Arkansas , but he never touched them because his father warned they were always loaded. And even during a 35 year career in the military he said he always stored guns in an ?arms room? away from his son.

?My son was never exposed to guns back then because I didn?t believe it was necessary and I don?t believe it now,? Clark said.

So, let's see here. We have two scenarios: either a military general who grew up with guns in a positive environment has grown into a man who favors gun control, or Wesley Clark no longer exists separately from the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party. I know which one I believe, and I think less of Clark for listening to his political handlers over what should be common sense.

"Ultimately, the U.S. may need huge databases of commercial transactions that cover the world or certain areas outside the U.S. This information provides economic utility, and thus provides reasons why foreign countries would be interested. Acxiom could build this mega-scale database."

This email discussion was happening at the same time (Dec. 2001 through Oct. 2003) that presidential wanna-be Wesley Clark was on Acxiom's board and was a highly-paid lobbyist for the company.

Thanks to Declan's PoliTech for this one. Just to provide some context, the email at the link was sent to John Poindexter... the convicted felon in charge of TIA, when it could still be called TIA and not whatever they are calling it now. And it was sent from Wesley Clark, current Democratic Presidential candidate.