Though Bill Clinton is considered to be the poster boy for the "New Democrat," historians may end up regarding him as the symbol of the Last Democrat. By out GOP-ing the Republicans in the 90s, the Donkey Party is now facing an identity crisis. And the field of candidates out there right now, with Howard Dean leading the mule pack, doesn't appear to have enough guts or vision to appeal to the millions of disillusioned, war-weary, financially struggling would-be Democratic voters in America itching for "regime change" in Washington, D.C.

The notable exception is Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who currently has a slightly better chance of winning his party's nomination than actor Gary Coleman has in winning the California gubernatorial re-call election, thanks to a "liberal" news media that has helped keep the Kucinich campaign far away from the consciousness of the news-starved masses.

Actually, Gary Coleman's trademark question from his "Different Strokes" days is a good one to ask of Clinton's Rhodes scholar buddy and most recent addition to the field of presidential hopefuls, retired Gen. Wesley Clark. What you talkin' bout Wes?

Oh sure, on the surface Clark looks like a strong candidate with the potential to uproot Bush in a showdown that pits "The General vs. the Texas Air National Guard deserter," as Michael Moore put it.

Though it would be nice to see "Mr. Either-You're-With-Us-Or-Against-Us" unable to cower Clark into silence with right-wing ad hominem attacks that call into question someone's patriotism for making the perfectly reasonable distinction between people and policy, Democrats shouldn't start licking their lamb chops quite yet.

Given our collective recurring political amnesia, let's turn to an eye-opening August 1999 report from our British friends at The Guardian, concerning Clark's role as Supreme Allied Commander - a post viewed by Clark supporters as a major qualification to be our next president.

"NATO justified the bombing of the Belgrade TV station, saying it was a legitimate military target. 'We've struck at his TV stations and transmitters because they're as much a part of his military machine prolonging and promoting this conflict as his army and security forces,' U.S. General Wesley Clark explained - 'his,' of course, referring to Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic. It wasn't Milosevic, however, who was killed when the Belgrade studios were bombed, but rather 20 journalists, technicians and other civilians... The targeting of the studio was a war crime, perhaps the most indisputable of several war crimes committed by NATO in its war against Yugoslavia."

If you think the Guardian editors were being overly harsh in describing this as a "war crime," keep in mind that a panel of 16 judges from 11 countries who, at a people's tribunal meeting in New York before 500 witnesses, found U.S. and NATO leaders guilty of war crimes against Yugoslavia in the March 24 to June 10, 1999, "humanitarian" attack on that country.

As for Clark's reputation among the rank and file in our military establishment, the highly decorated and straight-talking Col. David Hackworth has written that Clark is "known by those who've served with him as the 'Ultimate Perfumed Prince.' (He) is far more comfortable in a drawing room discussing political theories than hunkering down in the trenches where bullets fly and soldiers die."

And we haven't even scratched the surface in discussing Clark's idealization of the Powell Doctrine, which led to NATO forces dropping tons of depleted uranium bombs on Kosovo, creating widespread civilian sickness as a result of contamination associated with DU.

So why is Wes running? Political analyst Lloyd Hart theorizes: "I believe Gen. Wesley Clark is Bill Clinton's wrecking ball to destroy the work of the progressives in the Democratic Party...so that Bush can have his second term and the DLC can put up their candidate in 2008, Sen. Hillary Clinton."

However this all turns out, the DLC better hope Condi Rice doesn't run in 2008. Imagine: a black female Republican conservative hawk gunning for the presidency - a nightmare for PC-conscious Democrats.

Sean Gonsalves is a Cape Cod Times staff writer and a syndicated columnist.

Copyright © Cape Cod Times

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