Speak up General!

Joe Conason highlights the abuse of authority that is the Bush administrations insistence that Wesley Clark's forthcoming testimony before the Hague tribunal be conducted in secret.

I agree with all the points Joe makes in his column, except one:

Wisely, Clark has said nothing about the restrictions placed on him by the State Department. This is an episode that requires no additional comment.

I could not disagree more. The mistake Democrats have made in the past is to remain silent in the face of outrages like this in the mistaken belief that the outrage would speak for itself. By remaining silent in the face of the administration's demands, Clark is giving his consent to it and making it look like it is a perfectly reasonable action. Unless and until Clark speaks up about it the press will ignore it and this outrage will fade into the background noise of all the outrages that have preceded it.

What the Democrats need now is an advocate. Not someone who continues to sit back and take it.

I'm disappointed that Joe doesn't understand this by now.