Also, ARGH!
Sep. 16th, 2003 03:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarahmichelefNo, people, we do not need MORE people running for President. While Clark may be a perfectly reasonable candidate (and I see no reason to think that he's not more reasonable than, say, Sharpton), TEN IS TOO MANY!
September 16, 2003
Retired General Poised to Seek Democratic Nomination in '04
By KIRK SEMPLE
Gen. Wesley K. Clark, the supreme allied commander of NATO during the Kosovo campaign, will join the crowded race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday, people who have been briefed on his plans said today.
Such an announcement would end months of speculation about the political ambitions of General Clark, who retired from the Army in 2000, and increase the field of Democratic contenders to 10.
Boasting a storied military career but no political experience, General Clark is planning to make a public announcement of his intentions in Little Rock, Ark., according to the people briefed on his plans.
Mark Fabiani, a California strategist and adviser to General Clark, confirmed that "he's made his decision and will announce it tomorrow" in Little Rock, the general's hometown, but Mr. Fabiani would not say what the decision would be.
General Clark was meeting with his political advisers today in Little Rock. He told The Associated Press today that there was still room 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, though would not confirm the leaks from his camp.
People close to General Clark said that the meeting today was part of his continuing process of assessing his potential strength and that such meetings had been taking place throughout the summer. But it was also the first meeting in which high-profile advisers were gathering. General Clark, 58, has stepped up his recruitment of campaign talent in the last week.
For months he has hesitated to discuss his intentions, but supporters initiated a draft-Clark movement on the Internet that has earned more than $1 million in pledges for a possible campaign. Still, he faces an uphill climb, getting a late start in the areas of fund-raising and organizing compared with other Democratic candidates.
But the general, a 1966 West Point graduate, would be able to promote his considerable military résumé, which includes combat service in Vietnam and his role as the NATO commander during the 1999 campaign in Kosovo. Supporters believe that his four-star military service would counter President Bush's political advantage as a wartime commander in chief. General Clark has been critical of the Iraq war and President Bush's postwar efforts, as have several of the other Democratic candidates.
The news from General Clark's camp today overshadowed an effort by Senator John Edwards of North Carolina to energize his own campaign by formally announcing his run for president.
Casting himself as a champion of the blue-collar worker, Mr. Edwards portrayed his campaign as a populist fight and President Bush as a tool of the wealthy and elite.
"I will be a champion for regular people every single day," he said in televised remarks. "I will fight my heart out to bring back America's dream. And together — together — we will take the power in our democracy out of the hands of that handful of insiders who are running our country today."
Mr. Edwards, who has been stuck in the middle of a crowded field of Democratic contenders, traveled to Robbins, N.C., where he was raised, to make his announcement, and he made clear how closely he would tie his campaign to a working-class family history.
He delivered his speech at a textile mill where his father worked for 36 years, and the senator spoke of the manual labor that he did as a boy in North Carolina.
"Working people have been shut out by this president," he said, and accused President Bush of catering to the monied elite who "belong to an exclusive club where the barriers are up and the doors are closed and no one else ever gets in."
He added: "George Bush's guiding principle is a twisted reflection of the American bargain: Instead of `opportunity for all, special privileges for none,' he's given us `opportunity for all the special interests."'
Coming into the race, Mr. Edwards, 50, had been viewed by Democrats as a strong new face, with expert campaign skills. He quickly collected enough money at private fund-raisers to establish himself as one of the best financed Democrats in the field.
But his résumé is thin on political experience — he has run for office only once before, winning his Senate seat in 1998 — and some national Democratic leaders even recommended that he sit out this presidential race and try to keep his Senate seat in Democratic hands. Instead, Senator Edwards announced less than two weeks ago that he would not seek re-election to the Senate so that he could focus all his political energy on his presidential bid.
In most state and national polls, he has not been able to rise out of the single digit cellar and ranks behind some rivals with less funding.
In an attempt to turn his limited political experience into a political advantage, Mr. Edwards said today, "I haven't spent most of my life in politics, but I've spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it."
On Tuesday night, Mr. Edwards joked about his weak standing. Asked by the host Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" whether his announcement today would be redundant given the fact he had already been campaigning, the candidate responded, "I don't know if you've seen the polls, but I think it will be news to some people that I will be running for president."
DNC, go yell at them. I fear that if the Democratic party gets too fractured (and, more to the point, the fundraising pool gets so diluted), even the best of candidates will not be able to counter the advantages that Bush has - ie, the advantage of being the incumbent and the advantage of being a stinking rich bastard with the financial support of other stinking rich bastards.
September 16, 2003
Retired General Poised to Seek Democratic Nomination in '04
By KIRK SEMPLE
Gen. Wesley K. Clark, the supreme allied commander of NATO during the Kosovo campaign, will join the crowded race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday, people who have been briefed on his plans said today.
Such an announcement would end months of speculation about the political ambitions of General Clark, who retired from the Army in 2000, and increase the field of Democratic contenders to 10.
Boasting a storied military career but no political experience, General Clark is planning to make a public announcement of his intentions in Little Rock, Ark., according to the people briefed on his plans.
Mark Fabiani, a California strategist and adviser to General Clark, confirmed that "he's made his decision and will announce it tomorrow" in Little Rock, the general's hometown, but Mr. Fabiani would not say what the decision would be.
General Clark was meeting with his political advisers today in Little Rock. He told The Associated Press today that there was still room 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, though would not confirm the leaks from his camp.
People close to General Clark said that the meeting today was part of his continuing process of assessing his potential strength and that such meetings had been taking place throughout the summer. But it was also the first meeting in which high-profile advisers were gathering. General Clark, 58, has stepped up his recruitment of campaign talent in the last week.
For months he has hesitated to discuss his intentions, but supporters initiated a draft-Clark movement on the Internet that has earned more than $1 million in pledges for a possible campaign. Still, he faces an uphill climb, getting a late start in the areas of fund-raising and organizing compared with other Democratic candidates.
But the general, a 1966 West Point graduate, would be able to promote his considerable military résumé, which includes combat service in Vietnam and his role as the NATO commander during the 1999 campaign in Kosovo. Supporters believe that his four-star military service would counter President Bush's political advantage as a wartime commander in chief. General Clark has been critical of the Iraq war and President Bush's postwar efforts, as have several of the other Democratic candidates.
The news from General Clark's camp today overshadowed an effort by Senator John Edwards of North Carolina to energize his own campaign by formally announcing his run for president.
Casting himself as a champion of the blue-collar worker, Mr. Edwards portrayed his campaign as a populist fight and President Bush as a tool of the wealthy and elite.
"I will be a champion for regular people every single day," he said in televised remarks. "I will fight my heart out to bring back America's dream. And together — together — we will take the power in our democracy out of the hands of that handful of insiders who are running our country today."
Mr. Edwards, who has been stuck in the middle of a crowded field of Democratic contenders, traveled to Robbins, N.C., where he was raised, to make his announcement, and he made clear how closely he would tie his campaign to a working-class family history.
He delivered his speech at a textile mill where his father worked for 36 years, and the senator spoke of the manual labor that he did as a boy in North Carolina.
"Working people have been shut out by this president," he said, and accused President Bush of catering to the monied elite who "belong to an exclusive club where the barriers are up and the doors are closed and no one else ever gets in."
He added: "George Bush's guiding principle is a twisted reflection of the American bargain: Instead of `opportunity for all, special privileges for none,' he's given us `opportunity for all the special interests."'
Coming into the race, Mr. Edwards, 50, had been viewed by Democrats as a strong new face, with expert campaign skills. He quickly collected enough money at private fund-raisers to establish himself as one of the best financed Democrats in the field.
But his résumé is thin on political experience — he has run for office only once before, winning his Senate seat in 1998 — and some national Democratic leaders even recommended that he sit out this presidential race and try to keep his Senate seat in Democratic hands. Instead, Senator Edwards announced less than two weeks ago that he would not seek re-election to the Senate so that he could focus all his political energy on his presidential bid.
In most state and national polls, he has not been able to rise out of the single digit cellar and ranks behind some rivals with less funding.
In an attempt to turn his limited political experience into a political advantage, Mr. Edwards said today, "I haven't spent most of my life in politics, but I've spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it."
On Tuesday night, Mr. Edwards joked about his weak standing. Asked by the host Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" whether his announcement today would be redundant given the fact he had already been campaigning, the candidate responded, "I don't know if you've seen the polls, but I think it will be news to some people that I will be running for president."
DNC, go yell at them. I fear that if the Democratic party gets too fractured (and, more to the point, the fundraising pool gets so diluted), even the best of candidates will not be able to counter the advantages that Bush has - ie, the advantage of being the incumbent and the advantage of being a stinking rich bastard with the financial support of other stinking rich bastards.
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no subject
Date: 2003-09-16 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-16 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-16 01:08 pm (UTC)I do wish Lieberman would go away, but he's not going to--he's a strong believer in the DLC's "if they shift to the right, we shift to the right" policy.
Tickets I'd be really happy to vote for would be Dean/Clark, Kerry/Clark, Clark/Dean (I don't think Kerry would ever consider a VP slot), or, heck, Clark/Edwards. Actually, if any of Dean, Kerry or Clark get the Democratic nomination and offer the VP seat to Powell...that would be pretty great. Never going to happen in a million years, but it's a nice thought.
no subject
Date: 2003-09-16 01:20 pm (UTC)