Clinton/Clark

By Ezra

As an endorsement, it may not mean much. Clark doesn't control a broad constituency, and his presence is not, I fear, sufficient evidence of influence within the Clinton camp. The Clinton campaign is very good at racking up endorsements and making people feel listened to. But its fairly clear that not all the people who're feeling listened to are actually being listened to.

That said, their prominent touting of Clark suggests they take seriously his potential political value. It would certainly make me feel better if, in the debates, Hillary Clinton could respond to Rudy Giuliani's assertions of national security knowledge by saying something like, "well Mayor, that may indeed be true, but you see, I was talking to my vice-president, four-star general and former Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, and he said..."

On the other hand, given recent speculation that the Republicans will choose Anthony Zinni as their VP, we could be in for a race in which each side elevates a friendly general for national security credibility. That would be a bit unsettling, I think.