Generals at war, on paper

e-mail this story Dan Hoover • Generals at war, on paper (11/22/03) • Beasley torn by Senate overtures (11/09/03) • Metro areas alter South's political landscape (09/28/03) • Good news, bad news for Edwards (09/20/03) • Faith's optimism on auto park tempered by Sanford (08/24/03)

No bullets this time, just letters and press releases, a curious development in South Carolina, a state that is both military-minded and holding a crucial Democratic primary come Feb. 3.

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, whose 2-month-old Democratic presidential candidacy has vaulted him over the other eight contenders in some polls, is unhappy that one of them, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, has signed on retired Gen. Hugh Shelton as an adviser.

What may have given the Clark campaign indigestion was a now widely reprinted comment Shelton made during an appearance at a nonpolitical forum sponsored by a small California college.

Shelton, who retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked whether he would support Clark's candidacy.

"I've known Wes for a long time," Shelton said. "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."

He wouldn't elaborate.

Blunt talkAs a soldier, Clark developed a reputation for expressing strong views, this in a military establishment that tends not to appreciate that quality. It may have played a role in how he left the Army four years ago. Amid rising tension with William Cohen, then secretary of defense, Cohen announced Clark's successor three months before the general's scheduled retirement.

Clark, a West Pointer and Rhodes Scholar, has had problems with another former general, Tommy Franks, an up-from-the-ranks Texan who rose to head Central Command. Franks has resisted numerous opportunities to say a kind word about him.

The Edwards-Clark spat comes on the heels of an America Research Group poll showing Clark had supplanted the Seneca-born Edwards as South Carolina Democrats' top choice, after undecided. The Edwards camp has questioned the poll's accuracy.

That brings us to last week's exchange of letters whose tough wording moved the respective campaigns from issues to personalities and allegations. Copies were sent to reporters — otherwise, why bother?

Going public could represent a calculated risk.

There's an old political maxim about not giving ammunition to the opposition, and by calling attention to Shelton's comments, ones that are unlikely to be withdrawn, Edwards' campaign faces their continued recycling.

Attention-getting"Voters pretty much see through the back-and-forth petty politics of two candidates fighting, but I think if all of a sudden a general or a preacher or business tycoon becomes the object of it, then people pay more attention," said Phil Noble of Charleston, president of the South Carolina Democratic Leadership Council and a former political consultant who now heads a technology company.

"In South Carolina, the military carries more weight, and I think people will pay more attention to it than if it was just a coroner's race in Bamberg," Noble said.

A "simply astounded" Clark communications director, Matt Bennett, sent a Veterans Day letter to Edwards saying that Shelton's presence "undermines the spirit of civility that you have urged your fellow candidates to uphold."

Suggesting that Shelton should be reined in from any further salvos directed at Clark, Bennett reminded Edwards of his own words last September, "We need to be really careful that our anger is not directed at each other."

He added, "Maybe you should share that advice with your own campaign team."

Then Bennett chided Shelton for "character assassination" in using the words "integrity" and "character" without elaboration or substantiation.

"By associating with Gen. Shelton on this campaign, you seem to have given in to the negative politics that you say you have risen above. I hope that throughout the campaign you will maintain the high level of dialogue that you have insisted on for others and that you will address this matter promptly," Bennett wrote.

Replying personally to Clark, Edwards said that "whatever your personal views on Gen. Shelton, I'm sure you agree that he is a respected military leader who served our country with distinction.

"Although Gen. Shelton has not endorsed me or any other candidate, I value his advice as one of our nation's top military leaders. He is a fellow North Carolinian and has been a friend and advisor for many years. I will continue to seek his advice" on defense matters, not politics, Edwards wrote.

That's probably not the last word on the matter.

To quote one of nonveteran Pat Buchanan's favorite military expressions: "Lock and load."

Bob Royall, the former banker who became President Bush's ambassador to Tanzania, headed home Friday, but left a little bit of South Carolina behind him in Africa.

When Royall discovered that teachers at a primary school near Dar es Salaam had classrooms, but no place to live, he worked the phone like the political fund-raiser of old. South Carolina pals were asked to kick in for houses built by Habitat for Humanity.

Ponying up, among others, were Gayle Averyt, retired Colonial Life & Accident chairman, and John Rainey, businessman and attorney.

The name of the complex?

"Palmetto Village."