WES CLARK ON MEET THE PRESS….I just watched Wes Clark on Meet the Press. I was surprised that there was so little discussion of Bush’s latest plan for Iraq, just a brief exchange in the middle of the show.
Overall, Clark did OK, but not great ? although given Tim Russert’s interviewing style that’s about the best anyone ever does. I sometimes wonder how Russert himself stays interested in doing the show with such a narrow and formulaic approach.
(If I ever went on Meet the Press, I figure he’d ask something like, “Mr. Drum, you took a 19th century literature class when you were a student at Cal State Long Beach, and your professor gave you a B- on the final term paper. Let’s take a look at his comment: ‘This isn’t bad, but it seems rushed and I think you’re capable of doing better.’ And yet now you think you can be a blogger. Can a guy who got a B- in a college literature course really be taken seriously in a writing medium like blogging?”)
(Further aside: if I am ever interviewed on TV, I want to go on Larry King. Nice and friendly, that’s for me.)
I can’t really say there was a highlight of the show. Clark was bit hesitant responding to the nonstop blitz of critical comments and past “inconsistencies,” but he stayed pretty calm and had some good moments. “I’m fair, and when the president does something good I say so. When he doesn’t I criticize it.” That sort of thing sounds good on a national stage.
On the negative side, Russert showed a clip of the ad Clark is running in New Hampshire and I’m not sure I liked it much. Too heavy on the military stuff, and too many pictures of Clark in fatigues. His military background is a plus for him, but it should be just that: a background.
