Originally posted by: Gaard
"Today George W. Bush made a very compelling and thoughtful argument for why he should not be reelected. In his own words, he told the American people that "...a political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your Commander in Chief."
"President Bush couldn't be more right. He jumped to conclusions about any connection between Saddam Hussein and 911. He jumped to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction. He jumped to conclusions about the mission being accomplished. He jumped to conclusions about how we had enough troops on the ground to win the peace. And because he jumped to conclusions, terrorists and insurgents in Iraq may very well have their hands on powerful explosives to attack our troops, we are stuck in Iraq without a plan to win the peace, and Americans are less safe both at home and abroad."
"By doing all these things, he broke faith with our men and women in uniform. He has let them down. George W. Bush is unfit to be our Commander in Chief."
link
I guess this makes eight, huh?
Position 1: October 2002: For The War. Although he publicly questioned the Bush doctrine of preemptive war, Clark said he supported the war resolution in early October 2002 ? the day before it came to a vote ? and advised then-congressional candidate Katrina Swett to vote for the resolution ?after vigorous debate.? ??Certainly in certain cases we should go to war before our enemies strike, and I think this situation applies here,? he said. He now says ?I don't remember all of the specifics? about his conversation with Swett. As late as April 2003, in an op-ed in the Times of London after the fall of Baghdad, Clark wrote that
Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair ?should be proud of their resolve in the face of so much doubt.? [AP, 10/9/02;
www.politicsnh.com, 10/9/02; ABC?s Good Morning America, 10/15/03; Wesley Clark, What Must Be Done to Complete A Great Victory, The London Times, 4/10/03]
Position 2: September 18, 2003: Probably For The War. The Washington Post reported that Clark said he ?probably? would have voted for the resolution, and characterized his position as resembling that of Senators Lieberman and Kerry, ?both of whom voted for the war but now question President Bush's stewardship of the Iraqi occupation. ?That having been said, I was against the war as it emerged because there was no reason to start it when we did. We could have waited,? Clark said.? [Washington Post, 9/19/03]
Position 3: September 18, 2003: ?I?ve Said It Both Ways.? But the New York Times reported that on the same day, Clark admitted that ?I don't know if I would have [voted for the resolution] or not. I've said it both ways, because when you get into this, what happens is you have to put yourself in a position. On balance, I probably would have voted for it.? [New York Times, 9/20/03]
Position 4: September 19, 2003: Against the War. ??Let's make one thing real clear, I would never have voted for this war,? Clark told the Associated Press the next day. ?I've gotten (sic) a very consistent record on this.? The New York Times reported Clark said ?What I would have voted for is leverage. Leverage for the United States to avoid a war.? [Washington Post, 9/20/03; New York Times, 9/20/03]
Position 5: October 6, 2003: For The War?With Exceptions. Just a few weeks later, Clark reportedly told a town hall meeting in Little Rock that ?the only resolution he would have supported were proposals giving the president the support of Congress to go to the United Nations and see a war resolution? and requiring that the President return to Congress for final permission to go to war. ??I would have voted for leverage to get the problem internationalized,? he said.? [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/6/03]
Position 6: October 22, 2003: ?I Wasn?t Following the Resolution.? In a call to a Boston Globe reporter, Clark reiterated that he ?would have voted no on that resolution." Asked why he had advised Katrina Swett to support the resolution, he responded, ?Because I wasn't following the resolution and I didn't even know what was in the resolution ? My message is that I am not a political consultant, period.? But according to the Associated Press, Swett said that ?Clark was ?extremely intelligent and well-spoken? on the resolution when discussing it with her. 'At that time, frankly, he spoke with great knowledge about Iraq and the upcoming vote,' she said. 'My impression is that he knew more about it than most of us.'? [Boston Globe, 10/24/03; AP, 10/24/03]
Position 7: November 24, 2003: ??I Bobbled the Question?? ?With respect to the opening of my campaign, I want to tell you, I bobbled the question on the first day of the campaign in the back of an airplane.? [Clark, DNC/MSNBC Debate, 11/24/03]