This Clark campaign is going to be fun. The retired general has been making the rounds in New Hampshire, and in this house party settings, he’s able to go off on any number of topics. He recently shared his views on time travel:

“I still believe in e=mc², but I can’t believe that in all of human history, we’ll never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to go … 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.”

Leon Sparx was kind enough to drop me a note to point me to his blog. He took a trip to Baghdad recently and affirmed what I’ve been reading elsewhere about the conditions and the atmosphere on the street:

The Iraqis I met were all delighted to meet a civilian American–most of them have never seen one without a rifle at arm’s reach. Just as they wanted to convince me that not all Iraqis are maniacs throwing stones at soldiers, so too did I want to show them that Americans are nice, open-minded people who have no quarrel with Muslims or Arabs. As a tourist, I could walk the streets freely and talk to people as I liked. I didn’t have a cumbersome motorcade or armed escort following me around, which I think encouraged people to open up.

Visit his site for photos and more. Help the guy buy a digital camera, too.

The majority of the media stories have covered the attacks on American troops and the unrest among Iraqi citiznes. But is that the full story? An Iraqi Catholic bishop thinks the media is lying about the postwar state of the country. An Iraqi journalist writes that Basrah is moving towards religious stability. There are other stories of the renewed economic opportunities in Iraq. An American federal judge visited the country and found overwhelming support for Americans. Even a Democratic Congressman thinks the negative media coverage is dangerous. More coverage from in-country and polls (NY Times) that show Iraqi optimism.

I posted this over at Metafilter too, so you can read the reaction.

Everyday that Clark is in this race, the more I think his chances of winning the nomination fade away. He might have the best shot at winning the general election, but he’s going to have a hard time getting out of the primaries. Especially when he makes speeches like this:

I didn’t get to go to the celebration of Normandy, but we heard the speech when he [Reagan] gave it. He talked about how the rangers took Pointe de Hoc. He talked about how they did it for love. And we all cried. That’s the kind of president Ronald Reagan was. He helped our country win the Cold War. He put it behind us in a way no one ever believed would be possible. He was truly a great American leader. And those of us in the Armed Forces loved him, respected him and tremendously admired him for his great leadership …

But if you look around the world, there’s a lot of work to be done. And I’m very glad we’ve got the great team in office: men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condolzeezza Rice, Paul O’Neill–people I know very well–our president, George W. Bush. We need them there, because we’ve got some tough challenges ahead in Europe.

Now that Bush’s approval rating is bottoming out somewhere in the 40’s, the long task of rebuilding this presidency must begin. Certainly, Karl Rove knows better than I, but here’s my case for Bush.

Bush needs to be clear about Iraq, because the media and the Democrats won’t be. Did Bush lie about weapons of mass destruction? No. At the worst, he had bad intelligence, which is to say that Saddam Hussein did a good job fronting about his weapons capabilities for the sake of self-preservation in the region. Bush didn’t need to make the case to invade Iraq. The UN made it again and again. The US shouldn’t be asked to bear the burden of a weak international community’s inability to police its members. Bush made the best argument he could, and in the end, America and the Middle East is safer. The only people who really believe that Bush needed to make a case for invasion are the ones that would have refused whatever he brought forward, so don’t even pretend to be shocked if your expectations haven’t been met.

While it is unfortunate that the US must bear the burden of paying for the reconstruction and police work in Iraq, I suspect the long-term savings in regional stability will be worth it. What’s more disgraceful is the media’s insistance on mis-reporting the situation in Iraq.

Bush’s Middle East policy has been brilliant because it stops pretending all the players are morally equivalent. He’s the first president to call for a Palestinian state while at the same time making Arafat’s non-involvement a prerequisite. The more stable Iraq becomes, the more stable Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iran, Egypt, etc., will become.

Bush needs to stress the long-term nature of thr war on terrorism — a war that is ultimately won when democracy is brought to the Muslim world. That’s the same way we killed communism. If the ripple effect in Iraq is that Iran and others see the benefits of free market democracy, then it was worth the risk.

On the economy, Bush needs to stand firm. Tax cuts will make a difference given time. There are no short-term fixes in this economy. Things will begin to right themselves at some point, but unless Congress is willing to curb spending, the deficit will increase.

Perhaps Bush’s biggest strength in this campaign is that none of his Democratic challengers have any original ideas, charisma, or credibility. Dean has been leading the pack because of his willingness to build a grassroots campaign based on tired, far-left ideas. The rest of the field, save for Clark, don’t stand a chance. Kerry is exactly what Democrats don’t need — a northeastern liberal (think Dukakis or Tsongas). Clark has almost no qualifications to run on and zero ideas. He was a sloppy commander in the Balkans who was disliked by his colleagues for being too political. He is a PR nightmare with no money and no grassroots support. He’ll fade early in the primaries if not before.

Bottom line, if Bush stands on his record against terrorism and doesn’t let the media or the Democrats try marginalize his successes, then he’ll see his numbers rise. It’s better to be Bush in 2003 at 45% appproval than Bush in 1991 with 90% approval. We remember what happened to that guy.

I’m among a minority among conservatives, in that I’m generally against the death penalty. I do not oppose it because I think it’s inherently immoral or because I don’t think the government has the right to execute convicted criminals. I am opposed to the death penalty because I don’t think its use can be accurate, save for a couple of examples.

If a defendant confesses to the crimes, then the state has the right to execute that person. There is no greater eveidence in this case than confession. Also, if there is some kind of indisputable evidence, like actual videotape or photographic evidence showing the crime being committed, then the death penalty can be used. In all other cases, regardless of the quality of the evidence or the alleged guilt of the defendant, the state simply cannot be sure of that person’s true guilt. Unless you can completely sure, then the death penalty is not an appropriate punishment.

All that to say that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is trying to convince people that he can come up with scientific standards that would meet this burden of proof:

Just as science can be used to free the innocent, it can also be used to identify the guilty … We want a standard of proof that is incontrovertible … When the legislation has been crafted superbly and has avoided the kind of pitfalls that it had in the past, we believe we will have sufficient support to proceed with capital punishment in these narrow circumstances.

Good luck, Mitt, but I don’t think it’s going to work out for you.

This is why presidential politics in this day and age are no fun. Wesley Clark must have all kinds of skeletons in his closet, because there seem to be quite a few people who don’t want to touch him. Here’s what former chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Hugh Shelton had to say about Clark:

I’ve known Wes for a long time. I will tell you the reason he came out of Europe early had to do with integrity and character issues, things that are very near and dear to my heart. I’m not going to say whether I’m a Republican or a Democrat. I’ll just say Wes won’t get my vote.

UPDATE: I guess there are some other skeletons in the closet, like exchanging gifts with a notorious Bosnian Serb commander who was an indicted war criminal.

UPDATE: Clark also has said that if Karl Rove had returned his phone calls, then Clark would have been a Republican. The only problem — according to White House phone records, Clark never called the White House.

Less than a week after he entered the race, Wesley Clark has become the frontrunner among the Democrats and has pulled even with President Bush among voters.

All of this sounds great if you’re a Democrat who thinks Bush can be beaten, and he certainly looks vulnerable. Dick Morris believes that Clark will fade and that Dean will re-emerge as the party’s candidate. I’d have to agree with his assessment, because the worst position to be in right now is the lead if you’re one of the Democrats. The election is more than a year away, and the first primaries are still several months off. Absorbing the media attention now can only hurt your chances down the road.

Craig Crawford thinks that Clark is simply fronting for the Clinton’s, and he’ll eventually pull a switcheroo with Hillary. As unlikely as it sounds, it might just be the best strategy the Democrats have right now if they really want to win this thing. The Clintons have the money and the people to make this race competitive. It’s all a matter if Hillary wants to chance it now or in four years.

A lot of interesting stuff in Forbes this week about megachurches:

Maybe churches aren’t so different from corporations. World Changers Ministries, for instance, operates a music studio, publishing house, computer graphic design suite and owns its own record label. The Potter’s House also has a record label as well as a daily talk show, a prison satellite network that broadcasts in 260 prisons and a twice-a-week Webcast. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has a chief operating officer and a special effects 3-D Web site that offers videos-on-demand. It publishes a magazine and holds Cashflow 101 Game Nights. And Lakewood Church, which recently leased the Compaq Center, former home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, has a four-record deal and spends $12 million annually on television airtime.

Welcome to the megabusiness of megachurches, where pastors often act as chief executives and use business tactics to grow their congregations. This entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the explosive growth of megachurches–defined as non-Catholic churches with at least 2,000 members–in the U.S. Indeed, Lakewood, New Birth, The Potter’s House and World Changers, four of the biggest, have all experienced membership gains of late. Of course, growth for them has a higher purpose: to spread their faith to as many people as they can. “In our society growth equals success,” says Scott Thumma, faculty associate at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. “And religious growth not only equals success but also God’s blessing on the ministry.”

Johnny Cash died last week. I can’t say that I was a particularly big fan of Cash. I knew some of his music and had grown up knowing a little about him. I’ve recently discovered more of the body of work he’s left, and with his passing, I guess I understand the tremendous artistic loss we’ve all suffered.

In the last week, I’ve heard a number of people talk about Cash’s faith. One DJ expressed his feeling that Cash’s Christianity was authentic because he lived his faith day-to-day and didn’t cram it down people’s throats. He didn’t judge others because he knew what it was like to be in their position. Cal Thomas wrote a piece on Cash’s faith that echoes that theme:

He had a face not to be looked at so much as to be studied. Like rings tell the age of a tree, each line on his face was part of a life story.

Mr. Cash hid little. He spoke openly about his wrestling matches with temptation. Some he’d won, others he’d lost. And he spoke unashamedly about the faith those stagehands mocked. He told me of his daily commitment based on Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”

He said when he was “faced with temptations of various kinds, whether it be a 200-calorie soft drink or something else beautiful, I try to remember to recite that Scripture and keep it implanted in my heart.”

Pat Robertson is doing his part to help prevent Hurricane Isabel from slamming into the East Coast … or at least the parts of the East Coast where he owns property:

Virginia Beach, Virginia-AP — The Reverend Pat Robertson, whose Christian Broadcasting Network could be hit by Hurricane Isabel, has asked God to turn the storm away from Virginia Beach and the U-S East Coast.

On today’s broadcast of “The 700 Club,” Robertson gave God credit for turning past hurricanes away in response to prayer.

Praying “in the name of Jesus,” Robertson said he believes that God will put up “a wall of protection.”

He added that he and those praying with him “command this storm to go out into the sea and to pass land harmlessly.”

Now that Gen. Wesley Clark is about to join the fray and begin his run for the White House, this race takes on a whole new appearance.

At this point, Dean, Clark, and Kerry seem like the obvious leaders, with Lieberman, Gephardt, and possibly Edwards trailing behind. Kucinich, Graham, Sharpton, and Braun might elicit a cult following of their own, but they have no real chance.

Clark has a lot going for him — his military career, his support from Bill Clinton, and the fact that he’s entering the race later. He stands out from the pack of contenders that have been jockeying for position for months. I think if Clark avoids campaigning on Iraq & terrorism and steadfastly focuses on the economy and jobs, then he can give Bush a run.

Assuming the electoral map from 2000 doesn’t change much in 2004, then Clark only needs to win places like Ohio, Missouri, West Virginia, or Florida to beat Bush, assuming the Democrats hang on to Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico.

Here’s an interesting story on Clark and Clinton by Paul Goldman.