Additional Titles

 

 

 

 

 

Related
Article

Confrontation
Over Pristina
Airport
 BBC

 

Other
Metcalf
Articles:

Contrasts

Taxing
Questions

No Place To
Hide

We Don't Need UN's Permission

Is Hillary Lying?

Katie Bar The Door!

More
Metcalf
Articles
:

 

 

 

AND MACHIAVELLI SMILED

 

 

By Geoff Metcalf

September 25, 2003

NewsWithViews.com

I had a nightmare

In it Peter Jennings was announcing the results of the November 2004 presidential election. He was beaming as he announced: �Clinton/Clark has just been confirmed by exit poll data the winners. � Senator Hillary Clinton and General Wesley Clark have defeated the incumbent administration. ��

I�ve been talking about this nightmare on the radio for over a week � maybe trying to talk myself out of the potential of it actually happening �

However, the potential for a Clinton/Clark ticket by July 2004 is indeed possible.

Notwithstanding her protestations to the contrary, demonic elements apparently continue to conspire to make Hill �The Man�.

Consider this litany of predicates:

* There is no clear dominant Democrat among the nine (now 10) dwarves.

* Dr. Dean peaked early � dragged the party to the extreme left � muddied the party�s positioning nationally � and ticked off the centrist Democratic Leadership Council and Al From.

* The DLC faction of the Dems wants a moderate centrist.

* The recent introduction of Wes Clark to the mix has already significantly shifted the political landscape. According to a Newsweek Poll,

  • �Clark � leads all Democratic contenders who are currently in the race with 14 percent of the vote among registered Democrats and Democratic leaners.

  • He's followed by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who both get 12 percent of the vote.

  • Clark's impressive debut is undercut, however, by the sizable percentage of all those polled (45 percent) who say they've never heard of him before now.

This is good and bad. Clark is shaping up to be an anti-Dean candidate. All form � not much substance � more sizzle than steak. Once assorted opposition research wonks start shoveling the anti-Wes stuff (and there is a LOT of it), the Boston Democrat Convention in July 2004 will have a muddied and probably closely matched top three.

Whether it was premature articulation or Scribean foreshadow, when Bill Clinton said that New Yorkers would forgive his wife if she broke her promise to serve out a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate and opted to run for president next year, the political Richter scale trembled.

Clinton watchers on both side of the partisan fence recall that in 1990 then-Gov. Bill Clinton made a similar commitment to his Arkansas constituents to serve out his full four-year term as governor. If he HAD, it would have precluded his running for president in 1992.

Team Clinton put together a series of town hall deals so Mr. Charisma could explain to locals why they �should� release him from a promise. The pitch was he could do more for Arkansas as president than he could as governor. And they bought it.

Hillary has been raising big money through her �Hill Pac,� allegedly to help Democrat candidates. However, it is significant to observe that so far (despite LOTS of money) she seems to be hoarding it � and many believe she is sandbagging so as to use the money for HER presidential goals and objectives.

When the former philanderer-in-chief told a Chappaqua gather that the two brightest stars in the Democratic Party were Hillary and Gen. Wesley Clark, the nine wannabe dwarves simultaneously threw a �spit take� and covertly responded, �Say WHAT?!?!?�

Before the wannabes� adrenaline rush had subsided, Clinton threw another log on the fire and said, "We might have another candidate or two jumping into the race."

Okay, so Wes Clark rose to the bait and now he makes TEN. According to comments in the New York Times, Hillary had encouraged him to join the race. Now that he is committed (and surrounded with former Clintonista advisers), the Clinton enthusiasm seems to be softening.

Clark is by all accounts (from friends and foes) a smart guy. However, he is also a very ambitious, vain and arrogant guy. It is curious that his ambition and ego seem to have prevented him from recognizing that he has been �played� by superior Machiavellian forces.

The dynamic duo has �suckered� the general and they aren�t through using him yet.

I really hope and pray I am wrong in this analysis. I hope it IS just a nightmare. However, here is my current (subject to change) best guess of what is happening in the Democrat primary:

  • Howard Dean is history.

  • The Democrat field will wade through the primary much closer than in those halcyon B.C. (Before Clark) days.

  • Clark, Dean, Lieberman & Kerry will take turns pulsing in assorted polls.

  • Going into the July 2004 convention in Boston, no one will lead by more than 3 percent to 5 percent.

  • The first ballot will fail to produce a consensus candidate.

THEN, in Boston (although all the leg work will already have been accomplished), the �perception� will be that Hillary Clinton is DRAFTED as the unifying candidate to mount her white horse and ride to the rescue of her party. Clark will �graciously� agree to serve as her vice presidential candidate.

Despite all his baggage, Clark will mitigate (most of) the military anti-Hillary feeling, and they will be packaged as a �dream team�.

Nightmare is more like it.

Please pray that I am epically wrong.

� 2003 Geoff Metcalf - All Rights Reserved

Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts


"Geoff Metcalf is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host for TALK AMERICA and a veteran media performer. He has had an eclectic professional background covering a wide spectrum of radio, television, magazine, and newspapers. A former Green Beret and retired Army officer he is in great demand as a speaker. . Visit Geoff's Web Site: www.geoffmetcalf.com. While you're at it - pick up a copy of Geoff's latest book!  E-mail: geoff@geoffmetcalf.com


 

Home

 

 

 

 

 

Despite all his baggage, Clark will mitigate (most of) the military anti-Hillary feeling, and they will be packaged as a �dream team�.