From America Needs Wes Clark in 2008

A Mountain Lion Herding Cats

Will Rogers once famously said, "I don't belong to any organized party. I'm a Democrat." Witty, yes, but also true. The Democratic Party has always prided itself on being the Big Tent party, tolerant of dissent and diversity. This diversity of opinion broadens the party's appeal, but also makes it difficult to form consensus on many hot button topics. Getting a bunch of Democrats to agree is like herding cats.

Ever tried herding cats? I don't recommend it -- your medical insurance might not cover it, assuming you can still find affordable health coverage nowadays. But if uniting the disparate factions of the Democratic Party is like herding cats, don't we need someone up to the task? Fortunately, we have a mountain lion named Wes Clark.

Presidential politics expert Gene Lyons, author of The Hunting of the President, once described Clark as being like a mountain lion encountered upon a national park trail. No fence or barrier separated Lyons from mountain lion. The raw animal power was held in waiting stillness by willpower alone, each move precise and deliberate, effortless power and feline grace. Being in Wes Clark's presence reminded Gene Lyons of the time he stood mere feet away from a mountain lion, and the awe and epiphany he felt. Clark possesses the same skill and self-control of effortless power.

Although a mountain lion herding cats may be evocative imagery, let's get to the bottom line -- does Clark possess the political skills to unify a fractious Democratic Party? I thought he was only a soldier, not a politician! You're half right -- he's a soldier, a politician, a scholar, a statesman, an environmentalist, a humanitarian, and a heck of a lot of other things besides. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said, "To those who say that Wes Clark has never held political office: anyone who can command NATO, and keep all those forces together, and win that war without losing one American life, knows what it means to hold political office."

-more