By Ray Barrington
News-Chronicle
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark took aim at President Bush's Iraq policy to start an appearance in Green Bay on Tuesday, but said he found the people he talked to were more concerned about the economy.
"When I looked at the faces of the people here and we talked, what I saw was an extraordinarily deep concern about employment and jobs," the Democratic presidential said after a town-hall style meeting at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Clark spoke to about 350 people in the first local appearance by a presidential candidate of either party before the Feb. 17 presidential primary. The crowd was a mixture of young and old, including many local Democratic Party figures.
After an introduction by Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton - a UWGB graduate - Clark, in shirtsleeves, emphasized that while he wasn't here to "bash" Bush, he was opposed to the president's Iraq policy and domestic policy.
"I never thought I'd be running for president," said the former NATO commander.
"(But) after 9-11, I saw our president take us the wrong way. I never thought the country would be in this bad a shape and so badly led.
"I'm not running to bash George Bush; I'm running to replace him," Clark said.
Despite that, when local activist Edith Valentine prefaced a question with a lengthy comment about Bush, finishing with a suggestion that Bush would be happy to be a dictator, Clark laughed and called to her, "That's why I'm running ... I want you campaigning with me."
Clark emphasized a desire to get the government back to using international organizations, such as NATO and the United Nations, and using force as a last resort.
And he called Bush's attacks on Iraq "a $115 billion distraction," saying there was no evidence Saddam Hussein was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.
But he quickly moved to the economy, where his central proposal is a $100 billion jobs plan - including $40 billion for state use, $40 billion in homeland security jobs and $20 billion in tax incentives aimed at employers to encourage adding jobs.
Pressed by one man on how he would pay for the proposal - "what rainbow are you getting this from?" - Clark said he was willing to run a deficit to grow a tax base that would overcome it. He compared it to Bush's tax cut, which he called "borrowing from our children to give to millionaires."
He said his plan would "ask those making over $200,000 to give back their Bush tax cuts."
As for health care, he urged guaranteed health insurance for every person under age 22 "and if their parents can't afford it, we're going to make sure they get assistance so they can."
He also urged an emphasis on early childhood education and said public schools must be given proper support.
"We can not compete 10 years, 20 years, 30 years from now against the jobs going to China and India if we don't have great education," he said. "And we can't do it with private schools. If you're going to have great education in America, it's got to be through public schools. And you don't get great education in public schools with teachers who just 'teach the test.'"
But he saved his most emotional appeal for his pet phrase, a "new American patriotism," saying the desire of the Bush administration to put down dissent was a strike at American ideals.
"Patriotism is about protecting the essence of the country, the essence of our democracy," he said. "Above all, whether in a time of peace or war, the right to dialogue and disagree with our government."
As applause interrupted him, he added, "don't you ever let anyone tell you that in a time of war that if you disagree with the government and express it, that's not patriotic. It's the highest form of patriotism. I support it, I honor it and that's why I'm running."
In a session with reporters after the public meeting, he again ripped Bush for blocking media access to the return of the bodies of soldiers killed in Iraq. He also noted that Bush finally met with families Monday of some soldiers killed in action.
"I think if you're a leader, you've got to connect the top of the policy, all the theory, heads of state and position papers, with the bottom of the policy, where it's really conducted, and in this case it's the men who serve and their families.
"I'm afraid there's someone out there who thinks it's bad politics to honor the men and women who serve. And I'm afraid we're in an administration where politics rules."
Inevitably, the first candidate visit to Green Bay was marked by Green Bay Packers references, with Clark saying "I hope Brett's (Favre) thumb gets better" and later receiving a Favre jersey from a student.
"This state is very significant to me," said Clark, who spoke in Milwaukee on Monday. "Wisconsin ranks right up there as one of the critically important states for me. It represents all that's great and good about America."
One reporter asked Clark about his view of a concealed-weapons bill such as that vetoed by Gov. Jim Doyle last week.
"I don't support concealed weapons," Clark said. "I don't think people need concealed weapons for protection. I'm a gun owner, I've got 20 guns, and I've shot big guns and little guns. If you like big guns, come into the Army."
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