Last weekend, the Democratic National Committee held its annual Winter Meeting and, as frequently happens in election years (even tho 2007 is not technically not), it included a "cattle call" of all the presidential candidates for 2008, to include, as party chairman Dean called him, the imminent candidate General Wesley Clark.
One by one, the presidential wannabes took the podium, in randomly assigned order, and extolled the audience as to why Democrats should nominate them to the highest office in the land (and a house worth I dare say more than even John Edwards').
But only one seized upon the platform as an opportunity to once again remind Democrats, as well as an expected TV audience (pre-empted by tornadoes in Florida), of those the aspirants would seek to lead, when he began the meat of his speech with:
But before I say anything else, I want you to take just a moment and reflect quietly, on the sacrifices that are being made by our troops in uniform and their families. [moment of silence]
You could have heard a pin drop in that room.
Even Brian Williams, who otherwise reported only on "The Big Three," remarked upon it on the NBC Nightly News that evening.
For his part, retired General Wesley Clark, who ran in '04 but has not announced he's running again, brought the room to a standstill today when he asked everyone to reflect on the sacrifices of US troops and their families.
The full text of General Clark's speech can be found at his WesPAC website, as well as video in both Windows Media and QuickTime formats. But I'd like to highlight the few paragraphs that followed the moment of silence. Because as with most of what he does, it was more about the troops than him, and all about what he expects from Congress and what we should all demand.
This morning I woke up and I did what I do on most days. I opened up the papers and I looked first at what's going on in Iraq. I look first at the casualties. And each day I hope that I won't see any additions to the ranks of the fallen, but lately there have been additions every day. I check the units. I check the names. I look for the faces. Because for me, it's personal.In the Army we've got a tradition of service that transcends generations. It's built on trust. It's predicated on the values that have spread throughout the Army of Duty, Honor, and Country.
Today, our Army has been called to action. Our soldiers are there and they've been asked to sacrifice. And you know the story. They're under-resourced. They're over-stretched. They're in constant danger. And after 34 years in service, I think I know what each and every one of them is thinking when they get up each morning. They're saying, thank God I have a chance to fight for the United States of America.
I know all of the units. I know many of the commanders. A lot of them worked for me. And sometimes I recognize a name or a face. But every time there is a casualty, I feel that pain personally. I say a prayer for the fallen and for the families and friends that get left behind.
It makes me sad. But also, I get impassioned about it. To be honest with you, I get a little bit angry. Angry, because in America today we have a president who mistakes stubbornness for strength and slogans for strategy! Truth is, he's failed to do the political work inside Iraq or the diplomatic work in the region that would enable our soldiers to succeed.
I get angry with an Administration that by condoning torture, using rendition, and these secret detention camps. By creating a sense of callous disregard for the innocent lives lost in that conflict, and by taking us to an unnecessary war in the first place has robbed our country of the legitimacy that is the birthright of every American and the source of our greatest power.
And I grow angry with elected officials who've dragged this country deeper and deeper into Iraq when there are so many other urgent problems abroad and at home.
And I ask, can't we do better?
Can't we do better... the easy answer is, we could hardly do worse.
But we can do better, and we must. The lives of our sons and daughters depend upon it. The very future of America depends upon it.
We can demand our representatives stop the President from throwing away more young American lives. And we can elect a new president with the intelligence, experience, and heart to repair the damage our current president has done. I only saw on of those at the podium last weekend. His candidacy is imminent.
