Rich’s post on the awe Wesley Clark elicits reminds me of similar reactions to Colin Powell during his 1995 book tour, which was his own personal Iowa caucus (he was clearly tempted by the thought of running, though he decided not to).
Generals are the only pool of non-politicians to which Americans have turned for presidents or presidential candidates. They don’t always win elections or even nominations, but they have a better record than doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs.