Clark says he wouldn't have voted for war
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By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Des Moines Register Staff Writer
09/20/2003
dmregister.com
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Iowa City, Ia. - Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, in his first Iowa campaign visit, backed away Friday from a comment that he would have supported the congressional resolution giving President Bush power to order the war in Iraq.
"I never would have voted for war," Clark, a retired four-star Army general, said during an interview with The Des Moines Register. Reports published Friday quoted Clark as saying he probably would have supported the resolution.
"I would have voted for a resolution which gave the president leverage to seek a diplomatic, non-military solution to the problem in Iraq. I would have never voted for war," he said. "I'm a soldier. I know what war is like."
Clark, the former NATO commander, has been a vocal critic of the war, but had kept other policy positions a mystery for months as speculation mounted about whether he would seek the 2004 Democratic nomination.
Clark began fleshing out his candidacy Friday, promising to propose a health-care plan built on existing programs, rather than a government-run, single-payer system. He also said he favored repealing income-tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans but leaving in place all other cuts enacted under Bush.
"I think we have to protect especially the tax cuts for middle-income and ordinary people across the country," he told the Register.
War, tax cuts and health care have been the main dividing issues of the Democratic field, which reached 10 with Clark's entry into the race Wednesday. Campaigning Friday in Iowa City, Clark was making his first visit as a candidate to Iowa, where the Democratic precinct caucuses mark the opening event of the presidential nominating season on Jan. 19.
On his second full day as a candidate, Clark sought to clarify his position on the war after press reports Friday quoted him as saying he probably would have voted for a resolution giving Bush broad war-making authority in Iraq.
The resolution, which authorized Bush to order the attack in Iraq without United Nations approval, has been a dividing point among Democrats seeking to challenge the president next year.
Candidates who voted for the measure have faced pointed questioning by Iowa Democratic activists who opposed the war, while candidates who opposed the resolution have accused its supporters of handing Bush a blank check.
"I said I probably would have (supported the resolution)," Clark told reporters during an impromptu press conference on the University of Iowa campus. "The reason is because it gave important leverage to internationalize the opportunity, the response to Saddam Hussein. It wasn't a bad tactical move."
But Clark, who said Bush waged war "under false pretenses," told the Register just hours later that he would have supported only a measure that would have required Bush to go back to Congress after exhausting diplomatic avenues. Such a measure was proposed, but failed.
During a speech to more than 1,000 students, faculty and supporters, Clark again said he opposed the war, but would have backed a resolution as a way of giving Bush proper backing to win support from allies.
"What I would have voted for is leverage, leverage for the president of the United States to internationalize the challenge of Iraq, leverage for the United States to avoid a war," he said, calling the war "a major blunder."
Clark's visit to Iowa City was tied to the speaking engagement through the University of Iowa law school, which was scheduled months before this week's campaign launch.
Clark's political supporters quickly set up an event at a campus-area cafe, where roughly 100 Democratic activists and more than a dozen media gathered to chronicle Clark's foray into Iowa.
He flew into Iowa from his hometown of Little Rock., Ark., early Friday and met with supporters at the cafe, but spent most of the day holed up in meetings with the press and making fund-raising phone calls.
Clark remained reluctant Friday to say how aggressively he would campaign in Iowa.
However, state Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer said Clark called him Friday morning and said he was committed to competing in the caucuses.
"He said he was going to campaign in Iowa and compete in the caucuses," Fischer said of his 20-minute conversation with Clark. "He said, "We can't take anything for granted." "
Seven of Clark's rivals established caucus campaigns months ago and spent the summer crisscrossing the state where a candidate's success is often determined by how many activists he or she meets.
The career military officer-turned businessman seemed at ease on the second full day of his campaign. He waded into the crowd outside the Hamburg Inn near campus, shaking hands and soliciting comments and questions.
"What's on your mind? Come on, let's go!" the candidate, standing on a chair, urged the cafe crowd.
Answering a health-care question shouted from the crowd, Clark said: "We've got to look at the existing system and we've got to take it forward. How we get from where we are right now to where we want to be with health care is a whole process that we've got to work to."
Iowa City Democrats Matt and Julie Thatcher, who talked with Clark about education, said they found him to be a good listener.
"He wasn't just warm and attentive, but he has a mental acuteness," said Julie Thatcher, a graduate student in education.
After the event, he walked with a handful of supporters to the Iowa Memorial Union, literally stopping traffic to shake hands with a driver at one point.
Joyce Conklin-Van Kirk left Perry at 6:30 a.m. to get to Iowa City and see Clark. She initially was leaning toward former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, but Van Kirk said she finds Clark more electable.
"Dean tends to shoot from the hip. Clark is more thoughtful in his responses," said Van Kirk. "I absolutely believe General Clark is going to be our next president." |
