In May of 2001, Bush had only been in office for 4 months. Even he needs more time than that to f' things up. Not
much more, as it turned out, but the point is that in May of '01 he was not yet a failure and Clark, being a patriot, was giving him his support and best wishes despite political differences. In Sept. of 2003, we can no longer call Bush a sucessful leader. I see no inconsistency in Clark's remarks. I also think that he would make one hell of a great President.
Can't wait for the debate between him and our sissy-hawk Prez.