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

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (26697)	8/28/2003 9:48:49 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

General poised to enter race for White House ____________________________ Wesley Clark 'has made his choice' Julian Borger in Washington Friday August 29, 2003 The Guardian General Wesley Clark, a former US general who commanded Nato's war in Kosovo, is poised to announce whether he will run for the White House next month and enter the Democratic primaries, party officials said yesterday. Gen Clark has mounted a media blitz over the past few weeks, appearing on a string of television talk shows to discuss his critical views on US policy in Iraq. He has also won his wife's approval, which had been a major hurdle to entering the race, a Democratic official, who supports a Clark candidacy, said. "You're looking at someone who has already made his choice," the official said. The New York Times yesterday quoted an unnamed friend of the ex-soldier as saying: "He is going to do it. He's just going back and forth as to when." However, another official said Gen Clark was mulling over a final decision. He is said to be trying to assess his chances in the Democratic primary elections, particularly against Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, who has taken a similarly strong line in criticism of the administration's foreign policy and who has already raised a campaign fund of about $20m (£12.7m). Two internet-based groups - draftclark.com and DraftWesleyClark.com - have been promoting his candidacy for several weeks, and the latter claims to have collected pledges of over $1m in campaign contributions. The general has said he will make a final announcement in the next few weeks. One possible date for a declaration could be September 19, when he is due to make a speech in Iowa, the site next January of the first party caucuses to choose a Democratic presidential contender. John Zogby, who runs a political polling organisation, said a survey suggested that a Clark candidacy would be well received."Believe it or not, it looks like it could be pretty good for him," Mr Zogby said. "The major pre-declared frontrunners have generally not caught on in the national polls." In one recent poll, Gen Clark won 5% support. However, when Mr Zogby presented would-be voters with a short description of the general's career, he beat George Bush in a poll by 49% to 40%. Mr Dean has emerged as the frontrunner among the nine Democratic contenders in the race so far, both in terms of fundraising and popular support, but many Democratic centrists believe he is too radical to win in a head-on contest with President Bush. Gen Clark has been outspoken in his criticism of the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq without broad international backing and on "false pretences". He has had less to say about domestic policies, but has publicly supported affirmative action for minorities and criticised the Bush tax cuts as fiscally irresponsible and unfair. He has stumbled occasionally under the increasingly intense media scrutiny, making claims that the administration had pressured him to change his line on Iraq and then prevent him appearing on CNN, but he refused to provide details to support the charges. guardian.co.uk

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (26697)	8/29/2003 11:46:13 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

The global war on terror is a smokescreen used by governments to wipe out opponents guardian.co.uk

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (26697)	8/29/2003 4:51:22 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Some speculation from a political weblog... <<...Clark said he was going to announce in a week or two, and he will. My guess is he will run, for two reasons: 1) Substantively, the amount of attention you get paid to your ideas is much greater running for President than not running, even if you don't win. Assuming Clark runs a postive, substantive campaign, a Clark candidacy also improves the substance and tone of the Democratic primary process, and increases his value as a VP pick. 2) In terms of "electability", I think Clark's chances of beating Bush are better than anybody else. [So I guess people who oppose Clark are "Objectively Pro-Bush" ;) ] So if Clark believes replacing Bush is important, which I'm sure he does, in some sense he has a duty to run...>> ____________ <<....The last week and a half have been extremely productive for Clark. He's been all over television, laying the groundwork in terms of name recognition for an upcoming announcement. DraftWesleyClark.com has now gotten more than a million dollars in pledges, and released poll results that were very favorable for Clark. He's gone from being a candidate who was uncommitted to running to a candidate has essentially decided to run but must only decide when to announce. I think that it is naive to suppose that the latest Dean surge settles the question. Alot can happen in the months ahead. As a supporter of Clark, it has been nerve-racking to wait for Clark's announcement. However, for a disciplined candidate, choosing the right moment to maximize the positive publicity accompanying the announcement is very important. This is so both in terms of the news cycle and in terms of the candidate's preparation. Doing the announcement right at this point is much more important whether it is done now, in a week, or in two weeks. I would personally do not have the nerve for these delays, but I think that Clark would be better off coming out strong in two weeks than making an announcement prematurely...>> _______________________ <<...To add to the mix of newspaper reports ...Wed, Aug 27 2003 "George Bruno, the former New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman and a longtime friend of Clark's, said he spoke with the general Tuesday night. He said Clark called to find out if there was room for him in the New Hampshire race. Bruno said absolutely and that he'd support a Clark campaign." ----- Looking forward to the day we can call the WH the "Wes Wing" [g]....>> ________________________ <<...Clark will draw from all candidates and attract independants and the undecideds...... The General is a composite candidate of the other top tier candidates. He bashes the bush war in Iraq (A part of Dean), He is a decorated war hero (a bit of Kerry), he is from the south (a dash of Grahm and Edwards) and a moderate to liberal Rhodes Scholar from Arkansas with 4 stars on the shoulder instead of "bimbo eruptions" (alot of the "Big Dog") and has the ability to take on Bush over Military, Defense and the Terrorism issues (none of the above...maybe Kerry). Lastly, he can compete in 40+ states and that is none of the above. The general is the best of all the announced candidates....>> ________________________ <<...A Dean/Clark candidacy is where it's at. Dean has great grassroots support and great positions on the issues. Republicans are going to attack Dean on being soft on terrorism. With Clark on the Dean ticket, that criticism goes away. I hope it doesn't become about Dean OR Clark. It should be about winning the White House, and Dean and Clark are the absolute perfect combination to make it happen...>> dailykos.com