George -

No one, least of all Mr. Sewell, the putative Republican who advises Democrats to nominate General Clark, knows at this stage what it will take to send Bush back to the ranch. But none of our declared candidates, at this point, looks very promising. General Clark's great advantage would be two-fold.

First, he could nullify the foreign policy advantage the Bushites have. He would have the authority and the credibility to unveil the mendacity and the quite sinister motives behind the Bush foreign policy. And he could probably help the American people see what a silly commander in chief they really have. And for all those nervous nellies out there, he would credibly identify threats to American security. None of the other Democratic candidates seems likely to be able to do this.

Second, he is a centrist, not a leftist. Those of us on the left would be pleased that he is not a prisoner of the "right to life" lunacy or the anti-affirmative action zealots. And we could get along quite well with his middle of the road domestic policies. The Republicans would do what they could to discredit him because he is educated (a Rhodes scholar) and is a friend of Clinton's, but they'd have to do better than that. I don't think they could.

So, let's do what we can to persuade General Clark to run.

Paul Gaston (electronic mail, July 30, 2003)