They eat their own, part III

Michael Kinsley of Slate has some interesting things to say about former general Wesley Clark, a former general who has been in the military and is running for president:

Then there is Gen. Wesley Clark. Much of his support comes from people who think they haven't swooned themselves but believe that others will do so. But most of these people are in a swoon whether they realize it or not. They think that Clark has the best chance of defeating George Bush, and that nothing else matters. Their assessment is based on what seems to me a simple-minded view that you can place all the candidates on a political spectrum, then pick the one who's as far toward the other side as your side can bear, and call it pragmatism.

As you might imagine, he's not much impressed by this kind of pragmatism. Now, I am not huge fan of Kinsley, as should be fairly obvious to anyone who has read Remove All Doubt at all, but he has an interesting perspective here. But the rejoinder, it seems to me is this: The reason Clark is doing so well is that almost no one else seems to have any chance of winning, and that does matter, to some people. But I say to Kinsley: Good luck. Bring on Dean. We'll be looking forward to it.
- posted by Anonymous @ 9:15 PM