Robinia is right. Clark did call for multi-lateralism. But so did Dean, Kerry, Edwards, Gephardt, and indeed all the dem candidates except Lieberman (and even he claims that's what he meant). The more crucial question is did the candidate naively trust GWB to handle the situation in the best manner and, thus, would they have given him the authority to do so? And in Clark's case he has given many answers to that question, which leave the impression that he would have done just the same as the other congress members (except Kucinich), and voted for the resolution to allow W. to take congress's power to declare war. ("Giving away the store" to use Kendall's phrase). Dean has been clear from the outset that this was a bad idea.

Another crucial fact is that Clark has openly and effusively praised W., Condoleeza Rice, Rumsfeld, and others in the administration at Republican fundraisers. This makes many Dems nervous, as most of us saw through these folks from the get-go. I'm not saying that he shouldn't be considered just because he hasn't been a democrat for very long (indeed it seems he may still not be registered as a democrat, but he has voted dem in several recent primaries and elections), but if he agreed with Bush, Rice and Rumsfeld I'd like to know when and where and how his positions changed, and what they changed into, etc. He's been a bit elusive on these questions.

One good thing: the candidates are appearing, one at a time, on Mondays, on Hardball with Chris Matthews (MSNBC). Matthews is one of my favorite interviewers on this kind of show. He lets people talk and finish their sentences, but tenaciously makes sure they answer the question by following up. He is kind of a centrist democrat himself, which is a nice change from the right-wing pap the network serves up most of the time. On these shows, Matthews and members of the public are allowed to ask the candidate questions, and the candidate answers without strict time limits or other constraints. This sounds like the kind of environment Clark needs, according to Robinia. I look forward to his appearance, as well as Dean's.