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Clark joins crowded Democratic presidential race
September 17, 2003

Just four months before the first votes are cast, Clark has no formal organization in key states, little money and a patchwork staff culled from the political organizations of former President Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore. (Photo courtesy of Clark campaign)

Little Rock, Ark. — (AP) Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark entered a crowded and wide-open race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday. "We're going to run a campaign that will move this country forward not back," Clark said, promising to "talk straight to the American people."

Clark, 58, became the 10th Democrat in the race that is up for grabs, joining a contest that has been under way for months. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is the front-runner, but a solid majority of voters remain undecided and some party leaders believe the current field has underperformed.

"My name is Wes Clark. I am from Little Rock, Arkansas. And I am here to announce that I intend to seek the presidency of the United States of America," he began.

He entered with no experience in elective office and no history on domestic policy, but offered one thing Democrats crave: New hope of undercutting President Bush's wartime popularity.

Clark immediately took aim at Bush, saying his economic policies "have cost us more jobs than our economy has had the energy to create."

Nearly 3 million U.S. jobs have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001. Clark vowed to "restore the millions of jobs that have been lost."

The former Vietnam veteran and commander of all NATO forces in Europe also said that, "More than 100,000 American troops are fighting abroad and once again Americans are concerned about their civil liberties."

Clark made his announcement at a boys and girls club in the state capital, under clear blue skies and on a small stage bearing a sign of his Web site: "americansforclark.com."

Supporters waved American flags and "Draft Clark" signs while volunteers passed out "Clark" chocolate bars to an audience of several hundred.

A day after gathering for their first set of meetings with Clark, advisers said they were developing an unconventional strategy that would attempt to capitalize on the Internet and Clark's affinity for television to build momentum nationwide.

If logistics fall into place, Clark's first post-announcement stop will be Florida, aides said. Clark wants to cast himself as a credible candidate in the South and one willing to stretch his campaign beyond the traditional early battleground states to the site of the 2000 presidential recount.

He has not decided how hard to campaign in states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, aides said, but they quickly concluded that he can't catch up to his competitors through conventional means. The rest of the field has been in Iowa and New Hampshire for months.

In echoes of wartime President Harry S. Truman, someone shouted to Clark, "Give 'em hell, General," as Clark was shaking hands with the crowd. He pumped his fist, smiled and replied, "We're going to give them the truth, and they'll think it's hell."

Although a late entry in the contest, Clark declared, "We're firm in our intent, we're clear in our purposes, we're mustering the resources, building the nucleus, drawing in the support of people across this great land."

"We're under way and moving forward" he said to enthusiastic applause in a speech that lasted about 10 minutes and was interrupted briefly by chants of "We want Clark."

Fellow Arkansas Democrat Sen. Blanche Lincoln said in a statement that Clark "offers strong, tested leadership on critical challenges that confront our nation."

Clark enters the race as a new national poll showed Bush leading the current field of Democratic challengers. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found that Bush outdistanced his rivals by at least 10 points or more in the survey conducted Sept. 11-15.

Asked on NBC"s "Today" program Wednesday if he really was maneuvering to be the vice presidential candidate on another person's ticket, Clark replied, "There's only one decision. That's the decision I made for president."

"I don't think anybody's got the same combination of skills and experiences I have," Clark said.

Clark's late entry offers Democrats a four-star answer to Bush's potential advantage on national security. Clark's resume is made to order - a Rhodes scholar, first in his 1966 class at West Point, White House fellow and head of the U.S. Southern Command and NATO commander during the 1999 campaign in Kosovo.

But the retired general has never held political office - not even a student council election to his credit - and he has never been pressed to produce a domestic agenda.

Just four months before the first votes are cast, he has no formal organization in key states, little money and a patchwork staff culled from the political organizations of former President Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.

The former general, a regular on cable news shows, has been critical of the Iraq war and Bush's postwar efforts - positions that would put him alongside announced candidates Dean, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio as the most vocal anti-war candidates.

Clark has assembled a small but potent team of political veterans who could open doors for a political novice seeking a message, money and an organization.

Some met him for the first time Tuesday as the new campaign held its first strategy sessions.

Democrats in New Hampshire, Iowa and other early voting states did not close the door on a Clark presidency, but said the compressed primary schedule hurts late-starting candidates.

"While General Clark has something to say, it's going to take boots on the ground in Iowa to make a difference," said Iowa activist Joe Shannahan.

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