Richard Perle, the extreme neocon who helped plan the War in Iraq, squared up against General Wesley Clark today on CNN's Late Edition. If you missed it, try to catch a replay, either on television or somewhere on the internet (most Clark appearances tend to end up on the web after a short delay).

On a wide range of international issues -- from Iraq to North Korea to women's roles in the Armed Forces -- Clark proved once again what made him an attractive Presidential candidate. In short, he ran circles around Perle. Particularly of note was the difference between the two on the issue of North Korea.

Perle indicated that he believed America would have little trouble dispatching the North Korean army with only some losses in Seoul. (This echoed neocon claims that the War in Iraq would be easy and cheap -- neither of which have proved true.) Clark stepped in and took Perle to task for underestimating the strength of enemy armed forces, especially when the bulk of the military force south of the DMZ is South Korean, rather than American. Perle sheepishly backed off his claims.

Overall, General Clark was poised, telegenic and above all charismatic this morning. Why he has yet to take a larger role in Democratic politics is beyond me. Hopefully Democrats will begin to recognize Clark's strong traits as both a leader and a politician (he is much better than he was in the fall of 2003) and embrace him in a major way in 2006 and 2008.