On the thinnest of evidence, the right has from the very beginning of Gen. Clark's campaign sought to portray him as flaky, impulsive, inconsistent, tongue-tied and bumbling, when he wasn't looking in the mirror and admiring his reflection as Leader of the Free World. Given conservatives' preference for Middle East military intelligence experts who consider Islam to be the devil's work, it is strange that they consider Wesley Clark to be the only general to ever rise to four star rank with the common sense and mental stability of a special needs child.
Nowhere was that more apparent than in the delight with which those who would diminish Clark greeted his alleged belief in "time travel," subject to subsequent analysis by such highly regarded pundits as Dave Letterman. Comments on the execrable Newsmax.com were typical. In an opinion piece titled "Cuckoo Clark," former New York congressman Dan Frisa, coming from a compassionate, conservative, fair and balanced perspective, noted:
Former four-star general and newly minted Democrat presidential candidate Wesley Clark’s comments and behavior raise serious doubts about his mental and emotional stability and his very fitness to hold the highest office in the land.Well, surprise, surprise, what Gen. Clark was "thinking" was not what was originally reported and then gleefully disseminated by those who feel he is far less qualified to lead than someone who has managed a baseball team.Campaigning in New Hampshire last month, Clark discussed his fervent belief in time travel: "I happen to believe that mankind can do it. I've argued with physicists about it, I've argued with best friends about it. I just have to believe it. It's my only faith-based initiative."
What was he thinking?
Brian McWilliams, the Wired reporter who started it all, has been good enough to come forward with a more accurate version of what Clark said.
On September 30, I published an article at Wired News entitled "Clark Campaigns at Light Speed."Kind of reminds you of Clark's contention that the opposition likes to find evidence that supports their positions instead of vice versa.The article reported on remarks made by Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark during a campaign event Sept. 27 in New Castle, New Hampshire. At the event, Clark stated his belief that humans will someday be able to travel faster than the speed of light.
Due to a faulty understanding of physics on my part, I originally reported that Clark had professed a belief in the possibility of time travel. While some experts have previously said that travelling faster than light implies time travel, Clark in fact did not specifically profess an interest in time travel. . . .
Unfortunately, my reporting error is travelling at light speed and has been duplicated in media outlets around the world. Newspapers including the Washington Post and New York Times as well as late-night TV show hosts Jay Leno and Dave Letterman have borrowed the time travel idea from my story.
Given the current impossibility of rewinding time, my efforts now to undo this mistake may be futile. But I hope to prevent this mis-reporting of Clark's remarks from spreading further. To that end, I have made an audio recording of the relevant section of Clark's Sept. 27 campaign speech available here: http://www.pc-radio.com/clark-nasa.mp3
. . .Sincerely,
Brian S. McWilliams
PC-radio.com