Next Stop: New Hampshire
By Donna Zen, A Wes Clark Democrat
Some days you just love what the dawn brings.
We pulled out of town before the morning light and into the dark roaring wind. Well, at least it had stopped raining! About twenty minutes later a tangle of tree and power lines forced us back to “go” without collecting $200, and onto another route. Considering my town only has three roads, we were lucky that fallen firs hung on the lines failing to bar our second choice. But now the car held a new passenger, anxiety: “Oh please don’t let us be too late!”
Once again, 95% of what we worry about doesn’t happen, we made it.
My fellow travelers to the Great State of New Hampshire have much to say about this visit. Tom, Janet, Gordon, and whoever chimes in of those who committed to the entire two days. My story can only relate what happen at the Hampton Falls “meet and greet,” the one event I managed to attend. And so, this is what the dawn brought:
The morning gathering took place in a well-lighted place with high ceilings, glass, and a room of familiar and not familiar kind and happy faces. Whoever was handling the advance work did a great job. The program was just beginning as MrZ and I slid into chairs behind Tom and Janet. After a moment of silence for the recently murdered policeman and others who have fallen in service, we all stood to recite the pledge. It was then that the General pointed, gave the room a fine smile and said “our flag.” I was sitting too far back to hear the very words, but if my lip-reading skills were working at all, that is close enough.
Actually, his joy with the flag was an intimation of his over all mood, for while his subject was knotted with the bleakness of America’s current circumstances, he was definitely enjoying the morning. He was ready to tell us stories of the sad saga of how we got here, spiced with stories of our need to work together to change our course. Striking a theme of America’s greatest weapon against the forces of terrorism being the ideals of America, he lamented the contrast of torture and killing compared to the true spirit of our people. And as if taken by the October sun, the kind New England faces, and the possibility of a new day in America, General Clark made a beautiful observation. He said, “If we could bring people from Baghdad to New Hampshire, they would understand.” Thank you Wes Clark for “lifting us up.”
The General is not having any foolishness from smoke-and-mirrors-macho-talking John McCain. Nor is he buying that the North Koreans are suddenly “sorry.” Are we to believe that testing a nuclear weapon is just some new sort of bizarre accident? Nevertheless, he councils dialogue, and good ole fashion tough negotiations. (Oh yeah, we remember those.) Besides, the Democrats have a plan, and anyone who tells us differently is just spouting Republican “talking points. Well as the man who introduced Wes Clark said, “that while it seems peculiar to have to combine these words today, we now have to. General Clark is a leader-thinker.”
Another piece of advice Wes gave was that “fear turns to hatred.” A message we can deliver to the bomb ‘em now crowd. Instead Wes Clark prescribes that our most important task in the Middle East and elsewhere in the region is to encourage the establishment of a new framework. With over half of the people of the area unable to achieve ownership of their homes (they don’t even have addresses) we can help with their development of personal and intellectual property rights. In addition, there is a need for a framework of laws, and an exchange of ideas. Playing a positive role is not easy, but our part includes: leadership, relationships, and resources. Somehow, I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that this plan sounds healthier for all of us.
Apart from his story about the different ways of extracting fissile material, and why that makes a difference in dealing with Iran and N. Korea, I’ve come to the end of my notes. Wes would go on to introduce the lovely and talented Carol Shea-Porter.
Carol is everything we need in Congress. She is bright, with a voice we’d all love to hear on the evening news. Her experience is varied between social work, being an Army wife (gotta love those) and fifteen years of teaching Political Science. She’s the one folks. What made me marvel was her ease in addressing the nation’s rough divide between Democrats and Republicans. Pitch perfect. She said coming from a family that includes twenty Republicans, she knows the dance. It is not about what divides us; it is about what we can, and must, do together. In her pursuit of moving forward, she remains a staunch Democrat with liberal beliefs, but she accepts that all Americans want to live in a good country. It is the failure of our leadership that inspired her run for office.
When Katrina hit the Gulf, Carol packed up and went to volunteer on the Gulf Coast. She said that once there, she couldn’t believe what she saw. She also couldn’t believe, or didn’t want to accept, how inept our government was at handling the problems faced by our citizens. Nothing was done, and much was wasted. Carol’s seriousness about changing us for the better shines like this morning’s dawn.
I will end with a story from Carol, one that I believe I heard in General Clark’s closing words today on Fox. She said since talking so much about the war in Iraq, she decided that without fanfare, campaign buttons, or a press release, she traveled to “see off” some departing troops. Standing along the side, she watched as an 18 year old soldier cried as he walked the entire length of the runway. To paraphrase Carol, when we ask an 18 year old to leave home, we better be darn sure that we are certain that we know exactly why we are asking him to defend this country, a last resort. And if we don’t, then our government had better be prepared to fight with her.
I just love that woman. In fact, I love lots of people today. I spent the morning in Clarkie heaven with Tom, Janet, Gordon, Susan Putney and the entire assembled cast. A special thanks to General Clark, who shook my hand even though he really wanted to eat his muffin.
