RK ARCHIVE - My Day At The DNC Winter Meeting

Recently as most know I have decided to support General Wes Clark in 2008. I also have deep admiration for Senator Obama, and former Vice President Gore.

I think anyone who stood up before the Iraq War began, and was against it is more of a leader to me than anyone running today. Not saying that the others aren't great Democrats, they are. But in time of critical judgment, they failed to stand up and let the other party lead them into this war.

So Friday, I attended the DNC Winter Meeting.
I got to the Washington Hilton around 8am. I registered and got my credentials that we had to wear around our neck to go to the various meetings and ballrooms through the day.

I quickly met a few people in the line while I waited, first was a woman who was originally from Iowa and living in DC as a CEO of a Non-profit organization. She mentioned she knew Jessica Vandenberg when I told her I worked on the Webb Campaign in 2006.

I first entered the international ballroom, where I saw Lowell Feld among hundreds of strangers. Feld, was a Netroots Coordinator for the Webb Campaign and is a great friend of mine. He was with the bloggers who were covering the event.

I sat down next to the lady I had met in line, and then began to walk around the ballroom. I then ran into Jessica Van denberg who as she saw me came over to hug me. I told her about the woman I was sitting next to and how she knew her from Iowa and I brought here over to where I was sitting.

I then next ran into Howard Dean, which I would run into on several occasions he thanked me for coming and for helping the party in the many ways we all do in past and future elections.

Then I heard all the '08 candidates speak. I stayed overnight at the hotel (due to drinking too many martini's with CA Dem Chairman Art Torres) and saw the rest of the speeches in my hotel room on CSPAN.

1. Sen. Chris Dodd: - He put a fire in the crowd with his message about the party & the war.

2. Sen. John Edwards -He gave the bloggers chills down their spines and had that crowds attention.

3. Sen. Hillary Clinton -Her speech didn't even matter, her campaign was machine-like organized.

4. Sen. Barack Obama -He put the crowd in a somber mood & this was his most serious speech.

5. Gen. Wesley Clark -Not his best speech, but excellent on content which others lacked.

6. Gov. Bill Richardson -Best speech of the 2nd day, very commanding and self-congratulatory.

7. Rep. Dennis Kucinich -He has no shot at winning, but he does know how to get a crowd riled.

8. Sen. Joe Biden -He acknowledged it's been one "hell" of a week, funny but could have been better.

9. Gov. Tom Vilsack -His speech didn't really stand out, and who if any did he connect to?

10. Sen. Mike Gravel -I was impressed that there were actually Gravel supporters that showed up.

In all, I thought the candidates or a candidate who emerge at this meeting. I really don't think a single one did. Clinton, Obama, & Edwards are still in the top tier with everyone else trailing. None of them did anything in my opinion to stand out above the other.

Later in the day, I met with Cathrine Grunden & Mary Lee Welch of WESPAC and they indivdiually talked with me for a while. I was very impressed with both of them. They truly have southern hospitality. Two very sweet and pretty women.

After I left to take a couple Clarkies to Capitol Hill and back, I ran in to Grunden & Welch again and Cathrine Grunden waved me over to make sure I had a little private time with the General.

He shook my hand again as he did earlier, and as we walked to his car I told him how I thought he could emerge as did Kerry and other previous Democratic Nominees from the bottom to the top very easily.

He is the dark horse candidate, and he needs our help. I am calling on everyone whether you like the odds against Clark or not please give him support now. Please contribute to draft fund, please sign up to WESPAC. Please comment on this diary, please recommend.

The grassroots and netroots gave Clark the power to run last time, let's give him the power to run again.. and win.

Other people I met and didn't mention, DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, FOXNews Reporter Kirk Cameron(who was very nice actually), & MSNBC's Howard Fineman along with great Democrats during this event.

Comments

Jim Webb '06 = Wes Clark '08! (cycle12 - 2/4/2007 3:14:15 PM)

Thanks, Dave; I certainly appreciate your detailed report and I'm very glad that you got to talk to General Clark. Agreed; we all need to continue to encourage him to run for president.

In yesterday's mail, I received an interesting letter from a Virginia-based "Wes Clark for President '08" organization, asking for my support.

Of course, I'm going to work with them, starting today.

Jim Webb '06 = Wes Clark '08!

It's just that simple...

Thanks again!

Steve

Terrific post, Dave (Catzmaw - 2/4/2007 5:47:00 PM)

Thanks for boiling the appearances down to their essentials. I'm still hoping Clark will announce. Until then, I have to admit being very impressed with Edwards's appearance there, and his appearance today on MTP. Finally someone explained how it's in our best interests not to attack Iran (Ahmadinejad is regarded as nutty and ineffective in his own country and becoming increasingly irrelevant) and in Iran's best interests to negotiate with us (see first parens above and also note that Iran does not want millions of Arab Shiites crowding into refugee camps on its borders, nor does it want to mix things up with all the Sunnis like Syria and Saudi Arabia). I think Edwards has been influenced by Webb on both the military and economic issues. He and Webb sound very much alike in their assessment of the income inequalities in this country, and he warmed my heart with his support for universal health care.

Edwards particularly got my attention when he pointed out that if we attack Iran not only will we make the Iranians unite behind "Imanuttajob", but we'll have over 100,000 easy targets right next door for them to retaliate against.

Webb won't endorse Edwards (drmontoya - 2/4/2007 7:46:08 PM)

Sorry, Edwards failure to stand up on Iraq when Webb has been since Sept. 2002 is something I am sure Sen. Webb will not forgive.

I think Sen. Webb will not endorse anyone, I do have some interesting information about some 2008 Contender he is personally talking to, but it isn't appropriate for me to discuss it's Sen. Webb's decisions to endorse or not endorse or just stay out of the mix.

So far I am please with just about everything Sen. Webb has done.

Clark has been saying this for years . . . (latinjum - 2/4/2007 11:10:22 PM)

And I notice you understood Edwards to say that it was in Iran's best interests to negotiate with us, not that it was in our best interests to talk to Iran. This is what Clark has been saying for the last 4 years. Also, Edwards has said that under no circumstances can Iran be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. So, while all presidents will always say that all options, including military options, are on the table, once you say "under no circumstances", you're pretty much on the road to military action if Iran ends up with a nuclear weapon. And in this case, without an attack on us by Iran, it would another preventive war, just like Iraq was, something Edwards supported. I think many people forget that what Bush was asking for and what Senators like Edwards, Clinton, Biden, etc. voted for was the authority to use military force in a preventive war, not a defensive war, not a preemptive war, but a preventive war, as in Iraq may do something at some time in the future that may be bad for the U.S., so we'd better strike militarily now, just in case. And that's the road Bush seems to be going down in regards to Iran and one which Edwards and Clinton seem to be giving some cover to Bush with their "under no circumstances" talk.

I'm not inclined to take "under no circumstances" (Catzmaw - 2/5/2007 1:19:25 AM)

that seriously as an indication of willingness to attack because they are in part addressing a foreign audience. For instance, I don't think we'll ever see Clark, or Webb, for that matter, saying that "under no circumstances will we ever launch an attack on Iran, even if Iran has nuclear weapons." It just wouldn't do to set up a situation where Iran feels it has a free pass on certain activities. Edwards has expressed enormous regret about his Iraq vote and is unlikely to be sucked into another preemptive war. Hillary Clinton seems less inclined to admit a mistake and I think it's hurting her pretty seriously. Neither Clark nor Webb nor even Obama has ever said, at least to the extent that I'm aware of, that they would never under any circumstances attack Iran, or even that under no circumstances would they have attacked Iraq. They'll never say never.