|
 Wesley
Clark
 excerpts
from
the Iowa Daily Report
July
2003
… On the
Clark Watch: Los Angeles Times’
headline – “Retired Gen. Wesley Clark
Ponders Bid for White House…Backers of the
onetime NATO commander see a would-be
politician with defense credentials.” Excerpts
from Johanna Neuman’s Friday report from
latimes.com online: “NATO's supreme allied
commander during the Kosovo conflict in the
late 1990s, Clark is the darling of a small
group of enthusiasts who see his resume as
electoral magic and are trying to draft him to
run. Democrats uneasy with the current
lineup look at Clark — first in his class at
West Point, honored for valor in Vietnam — and
see a warrior who can criticize President Bush
without seeming weak on defense. Clark,
a four-star general who has never held
electoral office, said he has voted in
Democratic primaries but is coy about
officially declaring himself a Democrat. Like
the last general drafted to run for president,
Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, he clings to
the military officer's preference for
globalism in politics. ‘I've been
nonpartisan my whole life,’ he said in an
interview this week between a speech in
Philadelphia on homeland security and a trip
back to Arkansas. ‘I served in the Ford
administration. I've also been a senior staff
officer in the Clinton administration. I know
people from both sides.’ As one of CNN's
military analysts during the Iraq war, Clark
criticized the administration's tactics but
supported the strategic goal of fighting
terrorism. Now, as he considers a campaign
for the presidency, he said he is trying to
negotiate ‘personal considerations of family’
against his concerns as a citizen. ‘I've been
increasingly concerned about the direction of
our foreign policy,’ he said. ‘We've got a lot
mortgaged on success in Iraq, and I'd say the
odds of success are maybe 60-40. If Iraq
collapses, we lose a lot. There are lots of
lost opportunities in the war on terrorism.’
Clark is quick to mention his concern about
domestic issues as well. A corporate
consultant to emerging technology companies,
he is worried about "jobs in the near term"
and investor caution in the long term…Clark
has told Democratic Party officials that he
will make up his mind about an election bid by
the end of summer. Terry McAuliffe,
chairman of the Democratic National Committee,
is one of the few party elders to have
discussed a possible campaign with Clark,
who first met with potential financial backers
last fall. The two talked in January, and
McAuliffe thinks Clark has the bug. ‘In
his heart, he wants to run,’ McAuliffe
said. ‘His mind is trying to figure it out.’
The two talked about procedural issues — how
much time there is, for instance, to file
delegate slates in the states — and
McAuliffe reminded Clark that Bill Clinton
didn't get into the 1992 presidential race
until October 1991. ‘The more the
merrier,’ McAuliffe said, referring to the
wide field of hopefuls. ‘We've got nine
candidates out there energizing people. To
have Wesley Clark talking about the failures
of the White House on foreign affairs is great
for the process.’” (7/6/2003)
…
Prospective wannabe update: Washington
Whispers says Biden at least 50-50 – possibly
“80%” -- toward run, Clark to decide over next
couple months. Under the headline “Sen.
Joe Biden likes his chances in ’04 prez
race,” Paul Bedard reports in his “Washington
Whispers” column in U. S. News & World Report:
“With many Democrats unenthusiastic about
the nine presidential candidates, two more are
sizing up the race and could join the bid to
take on President Bush by September. A top
Democratic official says that Delaware Sen.
Joe Biden is at least 50-50 on joining ‘and
some days is 70-30.’ A family member says
it's closer to ‘80 percent’ a go. Biden thinks
his experience in foreign affairs is a plus in
the post-9/11 world. Two hurdles, say allies:
How does Biden deal with his speech
plagiarism, which helped doom his 1988 bid?
And will the public believe that he's healthy
despite suffering two aneurysms? Then
there's retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark,
the beneficiary of a vast ‘Draft Clark’
effort. A close aide tells Whispers Clark
will decide whether to run within the next two
months. ‘He feels he owes an answer to all
of the young people who are trying to draft
him,’ we're told. In fact, some aides are
already getting in place to run his campaign
if he gives the green light, and
potential allies, like Arkansas Sen.
Mark Pryor, say the fellow Arky is an
‘intriguing’ and attractive candidate.”(7/8/2003)
… On the
Clark Watch: New Republic’s Foer writes that
nobody could possibly consider Clark a
“McGovern pacifist” – especially when 7 of 10
trust Bush more than Dems to cope with
terrorism. In Saturday’s Washington Post,
Franklin Foer – a New Republic staffer –
wrote, in part: “According to a recent
Washington Post poll, 72 percent of the public
trusts President Bush to handle terrorism
better than the Democrats. Republicans have
held an advantage on national security issues
for two generations, but 9/11 instantly
magnified both the size of the gap and its
political consequences. The extent of the
problem this poses to the Democrats' chances
of winning back the presidency in 2004 has not
yet penetrated their minds. It's not
remotely comparable to mistrust of Republican
health care or education policies, as many
Democrats seem to believe. It reveals a
fundamental worry that voters have about the
party, one that cannot be overcome with small
measures. Some of the presidential contenders
have a better chance of minimizing this
problem than others because of their
biographies, expertise or hawkishness. But
it's an Achilles' heel for all of them. The
good news is that an ideal solution has landed
in the Democrats' laps: Wesley Clark. The bad
news is that because so few Democrats
recognize the scale of the problem, not many
of them grasp the solution. For the past
several months, retired Gen. Wesley Clark
has been campaigning for the post of reluctant
warrior. He has tirelessly dropped hints
that he would enter the race. It seems that
he's just waiting for the party establishment
to rally around him and begin clearing the
field. In fact, Clark's shot at beating
Bush is exponentially better than those of any
of the other contenders. Nobody could possibly
take Clark, the former NATO supreme commander,
for a McGovernite pacifist -- even when he
makes his critique of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When the press refers to him, his first name
will always be ‘General.’ Without being the
least bit exploitative, his ads will feature
him with stars across his shoulders. But
Clark's virtues go beyond foreign policy
concerns and his jacket full of medals.
When he articulates mainstream Democratic
issues, as he does on abortion, affirmative
action and taxation, he manages to sound like
a centrist maverick. In part, he benefits from
a southern accent and a cool demeanor. But he
also approaches politics as an outsider.
This isn't to say that he is a policy
ignoramus. On the contrary, he talks about
domestic issues with a surprising proficiency.
(He didn't finish first in his West Point
class for nothing.) Clark's appeal is that he
intelligently veers from traditional
Democratic rhetoric to make the party's case.
Take the gun issue. Instead of hemming and
hawing about the Second Amendment, he says, ‘I
have got 20-some-odd guns in the house. I like
to hunt. I have grown up with guns all my
life, but people who like assault weapons,
they should join the United States Army -- we
have them.’ In a flash, he could reverse
the damage of 30 years of Republican culture
warmongering.”(7/14/2003)
Iowa Pres Watch Note:
Based on reviewing several articles and
commentaries over the past couple days –
especially after Gephardt failed to
reach his fundraising goals for the last
reporting period – get ready for a realignment
of the “tiers” categorizing the Dem wannabes.
Even before the Gephardt numbers were
reported yesterday, it appeared that every
columnist and pundit already was writing about
the “looming” Dean-Kerry “showdown.”
(See the report by the Washington Post’s Dan
Balz below.) Then in this morning’s editions,
AP’s Ron Fournier wrote that questions are
being raised about Gephardt’s ability
to “remain a top-tier candidate.” (See a
Fournier excerpt below.) This situation is
further complicated by an earthquake-sized
shakeup in the Lieberman campaign –
which some have pronounced as a major setback
to his campaign. (See LA Times report
below.) This sets up a possible Wannabe
Shuffle. For months, it was a 3-3-3 alignment
–
Gephardt-Lieberman-Kerry…Dean-Edwards-Graham…Kucinich-Moseley
Braun-Sharpton. Now, the situation is
starting to look like a 2-2-2-3 grouping –
Dean-Kerry…Gephardt-Lieberman… Edwards-Graham
and the usual Final Three. Could Dynamic
Dennis Kucinich (who raised $1.5M
during the last quarter) – with Graham
and Edwards languishing – move up? Or,
even more critical to the Big Picture, could
another prospective wannabe – like Clark
or Biden – spot an opening and jump
into the mix? (7/16/2003) … Brokaw
for President? Some apparently want him, but
Tom says no way. New York writers scout
horizon for a Dem contender who’s not a
“midget.” Excerpts from report in the New
York Observer: “No, Tom Brokaw is not
running for President in 2004. Last month,
despite the urging of his powerful friends,
the 61-year-old NBC anchorman categorically
ruled out any sort of candidacy. And that
should have been that. But his friends
won’t let the idea drop. Claiming to see no
one with the stature to challenge President
Bush among the declared Presidential
candidates, they persist. ‘He simply is
the greatest draft choice you could ever
possibly imagine,’ said media executive Barry
Diller. ‘He’s such a natural on so many
levels that I can’t imagine how you could
create it otherwise. Of course it’s
absurd, but there it is.’ Alas, through a
spokesperson, Mr. Brokaw reaffirmed his utter
lack of interest: ‘I’m not running for
anything, anywhere.’ So … what about
former General Wesley Clark? Is he
running for President in 2004? He has himself
been the target of a somewhat more serious
draft movement, and he too is a
well-recognized public figure. But unlike
Mr. Brokaw, the general is not taking his
suitors lightly. ‘You know, in any
election there’s always a casting about for
alternatives,’ said Mr. Clark. ‘But
this is something that’s beyond that. This is
a genuine effort by people to create an
alternative, not because it’s good for the
Democratic Party, but good for the country.’
Many anti-Bush voters, unimpressed with their
conventional options, are searching for a
savior candidate. While it’s difficult to
quantify these restless types, it’s clear that
there is a substantial chunk of the electorate
seeking someone who instantly has the
stature—or the celebrity—to compete with
President Bush for the attention of the
electorate. They’re apparently ready to
consider anyone—except, of course, for the
nine Democrats who actually are running for
the nomination. ‘There’s no question
that at this point in the Presidential
campaign, people are looking for a perfect
candidate, and everyone who’s out there seems
like a midget,’ said Dan Carol, a former
opposition researcher for the Democratic
National Committee who recently abandoned an
effort to draft actor John Cusack to run for
President. ‘I think there are a lot of
different lab experiments going on right
now.’”(7/18/2003)
… “Dean,
Kerry deadlocked in Franklin Pierce poll”
– Headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader.
Excerpts from the poll report: “Democrats
Howard Dean and John Kerry are deadlocked in a
New Hampshire poll of likely voters in the
presidential primary. The survey by Franklin
Pierce College showed Dean, the former Vermont
governor, at 22 percent, and Kerry, the
Massachusetts senator, at 21 percent. The
poll, conducted for WNDS-TV in Derry, N.H.,
was taken July 20-24. The survey also found
an increasing number of undecided voters - 37
percent, up from 31 percent in May. A poll
last week by the American Research Group in
New Hampshire also found a spike in the
undecideds, with many saying they were taking
another look at the Democratic field as
President Bush's approval ratings dropped and
he appeared more vulnerable. The American
Research Group poll showed Kerry with a
slight lead over Dean. Only three in
10 voters in the Franklin Pierce poll said
they were definitely committed to their chosen
candidate. The remaining Democratic
candidates were in single digits, with Rep.
Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. Joe
Lieberman of Connecticut at 6 percent.
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was at
2 percent, and Sen. Bob Graham of
Florida was at 1 percent. Rep. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio, Carol Moseley Braun and Al
Sharpton were at zero percent. Two
unannounced potential candidates - retired
Army Gen. Wesley Clark and Sen. Joe Biden of
Delaware - received some support: Clark was
at 2 percent, Biden at 1 percent. Another
recent poll, conducted for The Boston Herald
and released last weekend, also showed Dean
and Kerry essentially tied. The
Franklin Pierce poll of 500 likely primary
voters had an error margin of plus or minus 4
percentage points.”(7/30/2003)
…
Pollster: Voter support for the wannabes in NH
– with only 31% committed to a chosen
candidate – is “very soft.”
In yesterday’s Washington Times – under the
headline “Quit
bashing Dubya”
– John McCaslin reported in his “Inside
Politics” column: “Malaise has struck the
Democratic Party in New Hampshire. Yes, a
Franklin Pierce College poll of 500 likely New
Hampshire Democratic presidential primary
voters found former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean nosing ahead of Sen. John Kerry in a
primary race that is virtually deadlocked.
But, surprising at this stage of campaigning
in the crucial primary state, there is a
‘listless’ pack of candidates lagging behind
and a rising number of undecided voters. In
fact, according to the survey conducted by the
college's Marlin Fitzwater Center for
Communication, voter support of candidates
is ‘very soft,’ with only 31 percent
definitely committing to their chosen
candidate. What gives? ‘At this time, the
Democratic candidates are mostly focusing
their daily attention and criticism on the
president and his performance,’ opines Rich
Killion, the Fitzwater Center's director.
‘Though this may be impacting the president's
approval ratings, it is leaving little or no
room to contrast themselves from the other
candidates in this primary.’ So what's a
leading Democrat such as Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dean,
Joe Lieberman or Richard A. Gephardt to
do? ‘With a growing pool of undecided voters,
those seeking to break out and stand out from
the pack will need to start drawing
differences between themselves and the primary
leaders,’ he says. Given the latest poll,
here's how the top Democrats stack up in New
Hampshire popularity: Mr. Dean, 22
percent; Mr. Kerry, 21 percent; Mr.
Gephardt, 6 percent; Mr. Lieberman,
6 percent; Sen. John Edwards, 2
percent; and Sen. Bob Graham, 1
percent. Even two individuals who have not
declared candidacy registered in the results —
retired Gen. Wesley Clark polled 2
percent, and Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.
at 1 percent.”(7/31/2003)
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