He hopes to get revenge

Under a banner headline "Politics of Hope" with a picture of John Edwards, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a story on the front page about former Georgia Senator Max Cleland. The headline of the article was and interesting choice: "Cleland relishes his 'resurrection'".

The article talks about the renewal of Max Cleland:

Cleland left both legs and an arm in Vietnam and struggled to recover his life. Two years ago, he took what he has called his "second grenade" when he lost his U.S. Senate seat after one term.

Politics, the thread of Cleland's life, suddenly was cut. He was bitter. He talked heatedly about the "slime machine" that took him down. He went into a deep depression.

Tonight, he'll take the stage in one of the most coveted of convention roles to introduce the party's nominee for president, a man he calls his "brother and closest personal friend," John Kerry.

"It's a miracle," Cleland says of the journey. "No, it's beyond a miracle."

And it's a part of what he calls his personal resurrection.

And who has been persecuting poor ol' Max Cleland? Satan, perhaps? No, it was the Republicans. But in the ethos of Max Cleland, I repeat myself.

James Carville, speaking this week at a rally featuring Cleland, sums up the Dem argument:

Carville told the gathering that Cleland will go down in history for the injustice he suffered in 2002 at the hands of "Saxby Shameless."

Recalling the historic battle cries of "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember the Maine," Carville declared, "We're going to make a solemn pledge. We're going to 'Remember Max.' "

Neither Carville nor Cleland points the finger at the people who actually got Cleland out of office, the voters, myself included, of Georgia.

Now that Carvel mentions it, 'Remember the Maine' is an interesting rally cry to use to parallel Cleland's experience. An investigation in 1976 found that the Maine actually self-destructed. Though unintended, the analogy is very appropriate.

Cleland exploded just last week when conducting a conference call on behalf of John Kerry: (Source article here):

In a conference call with reporters, Cleland said the president went to war in Iraq “because he concluded that his daddy was a failed president” for not having removed Saddam Hussein from power after the first Gulf War. Therefore, Cleland explained, the younger Bush decided to “be Mr. Macho Man” by removing Saddam himself.

Cleland also said the president “flat-out lied” when he asked Congress to authorize war in Iraq. “He told us four things,” Cleland said, listing Bush’s claims of Iraq weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons programs, attempts to acquire yellowcake uranium in Africa, and ties to al Qaeda. “All of that was a pack of lies,” Cleland said.

Cleland, obviously never one to let a couple of bi-partisan Congressional reports get in the way of a good conspiracy theory, will be introducing the John Kerry when he accepts the Democratic nomination. Cleland will also continue to represent the Kerry campaign throughout the election.

The party of "the politics of hope" sure better hope their poster child against Republican evil does not tear the happy face off of the Democratic campaign . Cleland has revenge on his mind, and there is no telling what will set off the next secondary explosion.

Comments

[Paul M.]

George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are two different people and two different presidents. They do not agree about everything, and I'm certain Daddy Bush would have quite a few criticisms of his son if the media weren't so doggish when it came to reporting such things.

Fact is, Bush II has done a good job doing what he said he would do, which is more than can be said of most politicians.