Ex-Gen. Wesley Clark to Seek White House
6 minutes ago
By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wesley Clark, the retired general with a four-star
military resume but no political experience, decided Tuesday to become
the 10th Democratic presidential candidate, officials close to him said.
Mark Fabiani, a spokesman for Clark, did not
reveal the decision, but sources close to the
former Army general said he told his fledgling
campaign team that he's in the race. The
announcement will be made at 1 p.m. EDT
Wednesday in Little Rock, sources said.
Clark, who was careful not to confirm that he
is a candidate, said in an interview with The
Associated Press that there's still room and
time for another White House campaign.
"It's not too late to get in the race if I decide to
run," he said outside his headquarters.
Asked if he was ready to start telling
Americans his positions on domestic policy,
Clark said, "I'll do my best, but there will be a
lot of things that I don't know right away."
"I want to learn," he said. "I've got a whole
period of time. I've got to go around America. I
want to talk to people about the issues."
Clark's decision came as Democratic strategists from around the
country gathered at his small, low-slung brick headquarters on the banks
of the Arkansas river to discuss strategy for mounting a late-starting
presidential campaign.
Fabiani, who served as spokesman for former Vice President Al Gore
(news - web sites)'s 2000 campaign, is part of a cadre of former Gore
and Bill Clinton (news - web sites) advisers, who are now rallying behind
Clark. In addition to Fabiani, among those attending the meeting were
Ron Klain, a strategist in Al Gore's 2000 campaign; Washington lawyer
Bill Oldaker; Vanessa Weaver, a Clinton appointee; Skip Rutherford, a
Clinton fund-raiser who lives here; George Bruno, a New Hampshire
activist; and Peter Knight, a Washington lobbyist and longtime Gore
fund-raiser. Bruce Lindsey, former White House aide and now an
Arkansas lawyer, also backs Clark.
Clinton had urged Clark to enter the race, but neither he nor Gore is
expected to take sides in the primary fight.
Clark's team was exploring several venues in Little Rock for an
announcement, including a park named for World War II Gen. Douglas
MacArthur, a Little Rock native. This site would underscore what Clark's
advisers consider his greatest strength: his longtime military
background.
Clark greeted reporters with a "good morning," as he climbed into a
two-seat sports car and left his headquarters. Some of his aides had
already gathered for the meeting, including Fabiani and Rutherford.
Others, including Klain and Bruno, were still making their way to the
Arkansas capital.
Clark, 58, believes his four-star military service would counter Bush's
political advantage as a wartime commander in chief, friends say. The
retired general has been critical of the Iraq (news - web sites) war and
Bush's postwar efforts, positions that would put him alongside
announced candidates Howard Dean (news - web sites), Sen. Bob
Graham (news, bio, voting record) of Florida and Rep. Dennis Kucinich
(news, bio, voting record) of Ohio as the most vocal anti-war candidates.
It would be a long-shot bid.
Just four months before voting begins, Clark would be competing against
candidates who have had months to raise money, build organizations in
key states and recruit the party's top political talent.
But the strategists assembled in Little Rock on Tuesday are among the
party's best. An Internet-fueled draft-Clark movement has developed the
seeds of a campaign organization and more than $1 million in pledges.
Clark's team urged supporters from the draft Clark committees to travel
to Little Rock for the announcement.
Clark's resume is formidable — Rhodes scholar, first in his 1966 class at
West Point, White House fellow, head of the U.S. Southern Command
and NATO (news - web sites) commander during the 1999 campaign in
Kosovo.
Clark's local office said no announcement was planned for Monday
or Tuesday but it was noncommittal about the rest of the week as
supporters anxiously awaited his decision.
Nearly 12 years after Clinton announced his first campaign,
Arkansans were excited at the prospect of backing another favorite
son.
Jean Wallace, a classmate of Clark's from grammar school, has
organized Warriors for Wes, a group of Clark classmates named after
the mascot at their alma mater, Hall High School. She said the
supporters were ready to travel the country to tout Clark's candidacy
the way "Friends of Bill" organizations crisscrossed the country
campaigning for Clinton.
"We are eagerly awaiting an announcement very shortly. There are
thousands of people across the country doing the same thing, people
who have put their hearts and time and resources into this effort," Jeff
Dailey, spokesman for Draft Clark for President 2004, said.
The group, one of several Draft Clark groups, boasts of 166
coordinators in 50 states.
"In New Hampshire, there are many people ready to move out if
they're given the green light," said Bruno, one of Clinton's earlier
backers in the key primary voting state.
Clark is scheduled to deliver a speech at the University of Iowa on
Sept. 19. |
