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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (26270)	8/24/2003 11:33:59 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Anti-war feeling fuels the rise of Dean ________________________________________________ With the presidential primaries just five months away, outsider Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, is emerging as the Democratic frontrunner Monday August 25, 2003 The Guardian guardian.co.uk Why is he getting so much attention? Mr Dean has tapped into the most powerful current in the Democratic race this year: the seething hostility in the party base toward George Bush ... [His] drumbeat against the administration's failure to find proof of banned weapons in Iraq has also [seemingly] encouraged the other Democrats to sharpen their own questions about the case Mr Bush made to the country for war. Ronald Brownstein in the Los Angeles Times, August 11 Where are Mr Dean's rivals? [While he] has been moving fast, John Kerry flounders ... Joe Lieberman has become [press agent] for the Democratic Leadership Council and its stupid campaign to tag Mr Dean as far left. John Edwards is nowhere. Dick Gephardt lives in some time past. Bob Graham, the best-positioned of the lot to take on Mr Bush, can't get it together ... Attacks by Mr Lieberman et al on how Mr Dean is dragging the party down with "radical" posturing make a fool out of Mr Lieberman and alienate voters. James Ridgeway in the Village Voice, August 12 Why are they attacking him? The greatest fear ... is that if Mr Dean does win the nomination, his liberal supporters will put their Birkenstocks on the gas pedal and drive the party right over the cliff, a la George McGovern in 1972. Jonathan Alter in Newsweek, August 11 Do others disagree? Many who worked with Mr Dean are astonished at ... the comparisons to ... Mr McGovern ... They argue that the two most liberal policies adopted [during his 11 years as governor] - the 'civil unions' law and a radical revamping of public school financing - were instigated by Vermont's ultraliberal supreme court ... Virtually everyone who has worked with Mr Dean believes he would be a demon at reducing the federal deficit. While balancing the budget and keeping defence expenditures intact, that would leave precious little room for new liberal programmes. William C Symonds in Business Week, August 11 Has Mr Dean's approach been paying dividends? The latest poll in the key state of New Hampshire shows Mr Dean leading Mr Kerry by 28% to 21% - a big switch from last month, when Mr Kerry led by six points. There's more ... Arnie mania is sucking up all the TV space for politics, freezing the Democrats' 2004 race in place with Mr Dean as frontrunner. Deborah Orin in the New York Post, August 21 What is innovative about his campaign? Email is the most obvious new tool ... [and] Meetup.com is positively overrun with Dean support groups ... Last month, the Dean camp used Meetup to pull 78,000 supporters together ... It is fantastically expensive to pay for [the usual] table after table of phone banks ... Meetup can bring supporters together and energise them to go out to hear the candidate and build a good crowd for the media. Jeff Taylor in Reason, August 13 Has it aided his fundraising? Mr Dean has generated more money and attention online than any other candidate. Raising nearly $3m [£2m] in the first quarter, Mr Dean led all candidates in contributions. He added $7.5m [£4.8m] in the next three months, nearly half from internet transactions. From the New York Times, August 19 How deep is the Bush war chest? Mr Bush expects to raise at least $170m [£108m] - this for a primary campaign in which he is unopposed. From the Washington Post, August 19 Can Mr Dean win? To ultimately succeed, he must win the biggest bet of all: that he is right about Iraq and the economy. If Saddam Hussein is killed or caught or if America clearly wins the peace, the Dean case begins to sound off-key. And if [the] 2.4% jump in second-quarter growth is a glimmer of a real recovery, Americans may want to hang on to their tax cuts rather than give them up for Mr Dean's healthcare and recovery plan. Karen Tumulty in Time, August 11

To: American Spirit who wrote (26270)	8/24/2003 11:43:55 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

wesleyclarkweblog.com TV Alerts for Monday, August 25: 1. Draft Wesley Clark press conference regarding a Zogby Poll commissioned to explore a Clark candidacy at 1PM ET on C-SPAN. You know it has to be good news if they're throwing a press conference. 2. Buchanan and Press at 6PM ET on MSNBC.

To: American Spirit who wrote (26270)	8/24/2003 11:48:44 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Democrats eager to draft American war hero _____________________________________ NICHOLAS CHRISTIAN Sun 24 Aug 2003 scotlandonsunday.com A CAMPAIGN has been launched to persuade one of America’s top generals to take on President George W Bush in next year’s US elections. Wesley Clark, the former supreme commander of Nato who was awarded the Purple Heart medal for bravery in Vietnam, has said he will only stand as a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination if he is "drafted" by the American people. And yesterday his supporters were holding a "rally for America" in a bid to convince him. At the newly opened Draft Clark 2004 headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, the phones ring non-stop with people calling to volunteer. So far 8,000 have joined up and more than £300,000 has been pledged to fund a campaign that has not even been officially declared. Clark has said he will make a decision soon, possibly on Labour Day, in time to take part in a debate between the current Democrat contenders on September 4. Analysts are confident he will run despite rumours that his wife is reluctant to become part of a political family. Clark recently gave up a lucrative contract as a military analyst for CNN, which is seen as a sure sign he is preparing a bid for office. The Little Rock rally is near the Clinton Presidential Library site and the Clark campaign has already attracted a number of ex-Clinton staffers, including Jeff Dailey. "General Clark has what it takes to ask Bush the tough questions, to really give Democrats a strong edge," said Dailey, who joined the Clark bandwagon after hearing him speak. "He is the kind of leader we need to deal with international and national issues. We are pushing forward and plan to present General Clark with the petitions." Dailey, the son of Little Rock’s mayor, created Arkansans for Clark, an online petition for Clark supporters that will aid in setting up committees in all 75 of the state’s counties. That group is working in tandem with the Draft Clark 2004 movement, which is now in 42 states with around 98 chapters. Born in Chicago, Clark grew up in Little Rock after his widowed mother returned to her home town. He lived in Arkansas until he graduated from high school and returned in 2001 after a glittering military career. Clark graduated first in his class at West Point. From there, he studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and holds an Oxford master’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics. He has received numerous US and foreign military awards, including the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart from his days in Vietnam. He has received honorary Knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments and was made a commander of the French Legion of Honour. In 2000, Clark was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour. Despite the intense focus on Clark, he has not even declared which party he supports and is coy when asked. Most of his close associates insist he is a Democrat because he regularly criticises Bush. He recently said of Iraq: "We found a situation that wasn’t at all what was predicted. We’re in there now, we’re committed, we need to do our best. "But that’s a classic presidential-level misjudgment. And I think the voters have to be aware of that. And they have to appreciate it." Clark also backs pro-affirmative action for ethnic minorities and pro-choice on abortion. He is against drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge and sits on the board of Wavecrest Laboratories, a Virginia based technology company that has developed a breakthrough electric propulsion system that transforms electrical energy into mechanical motion. Since leaving Nato, Clark has appeared regularly as a military analyst on CNN, worked for Little Rock’s Stephens Inc, the largest stockbrokers in the US off Wall Street and travelled the world attending conferences and accepting awards. He also launched his own web site - www.leadershipforamerica.org - for Americans to talk about critical issues, which serves as the perfect outlet to create a platform and gain media exposure. Clark offers Democrats a rare chance to have more credibility on the military than the Republicans, even against a sitting president who has taken the country into two wars. The general’s critics say he should forgo the games about party affiliation and make a decision. They also say he should have jumped into the race months ago, and it is too late now. But supporters point to Clinton’s 1992 campaign when the then-Arkansas governor entered the race in October. In fact, some political insiders say that Clark could wait until then because of the intense media focus on the California recall race at the moment.