Clark Blog

Sixteen months after his campaign for president ended, retired Gen. Wesley Clark will return this week to a state made famous for its role in selecting presidents, and where Clark said he once found success.

"Gen. Clark is somebody that has a lot of friends in New Hampshire," said Brian Fallon, director of the Manchester City Democrats in Manchester, N.H., which will hold its annual Flag Day Dinner on Tuesday evening.

Clark will be keynote speaker at the $50-a-plate event, giving him a chance to appear in a state whose early presidential primary plays a major role in the success or failure of presidential campaigns.

In recent years, the event has drawn several presidential contenders to speak, including Democratic heavyweights Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, former Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee, and former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, Fallon said.

"Gen. Clark is exactly the type of national leader that we always hope to have at these events," Fallon said.

Clark says the New Hampshire primary was one of his few successes during his 2004 presidential campaign. He placed third in the New Hampshire primary in January 2004, behind New England natives Kerry and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

"I was the top non-New Englander in New England," Clark said in an interview last week. "I think it established some real possibilities."

Do those possibilities include another presidential run in 2008?

"I haven't ruled anything out," Clark said.

The New Hampshire trip is part of an increasingly public role taken on by the Little Rock resident and former NATO supreme commander who grew up in Arkansas.

The general has started issuing regular statements via e-mail and radio, recently testified before Congress on Iraq, gave a Memorial Day address for the Democratic National Committee, and has been helping raise money for Democratic congressional candidates, according to his Web site www. securingamerica.com.

Clark has also appeared repeatedly on Capitol Hill in recent months, called there to brief Democrats on national security issues, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Clark is part of a national security advisory group organized by Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The renewed activity comes after Clark ended his first presidential campaign Feb. 11, 2004, by promising supporters in Little Rock that "this old soldier will not fade away."

But a second run by Clark faces some serious obstacles, say political analysts who are already handicapping the 2008 race. They say that the Democrats have a full field of potential candidates Clark must compete against. And the general must show that he learned from the mistakes of 2004 and that he lost the political inexperience he showed on the campaign trail.

"Clearly, the guy hasn't shaken the presidential bug," said Charlie Cook, editor of the "Cook Political Report," a Washington newsletter.

For now, Clark is emphasizing his role as a loyal Democrat, helping create what he calls "a full service party."

That includes areas that are his strong suits: national security and the South.

Clark graduated from West Point in 1966, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, served in Vietnam, and received a number of military decorations, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

That background is very important to Democrats, said Al From, founder and chief executive officer of the Democratic Leadership Council, a group based in Washington, D.C. The council, which was once led by Bill Clinton, calls itself a "reform movement" within the Democratic Party.

"In my view, the Democrats lost the 2002 election on security. In a sense, we lost the 2004 election on security," From said. "It is a first priority of our party that we gain the confidence of the people on the national security issue. Or it should be."

Few carry Clark's reputation, From said. Although the party includes several congressional leaders who have experience dealing with national security policy, Clark's background is "hard to beat," From said.

"It's hard to have better credentials than supreme NATO commander," From said. "There are others, but Wes has credentials that are hard to beat."

Clark calls Arkansas his home, and says he "grew up reading the Bible and going to Sunday School, the way people in the South grow up."

The general said national security and a failure to appeal to Southern voters hurt the Democrats in the 2004 election. Republican President George Bush swept the Southern states, including Arkansas.

"When you look at the results, I think there were concerns on national security," Clark said. "In terms of winning in the South, it's clear that we didn't have the appeal that I believe Democrats have on the local level in the South."

In courting religious conservatives, Clark said he wants to emphasize his own religious faith â€" he attends Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock â€" but to stress the need to tolerate those with different views.

"I think Americans, whatever their personal views, have to respect the differences among people," Clark said.

Clark lists other areas where he wants to improve the Democrats' image, including patriotism, "family values," and "the strength of our conviction."

"It's about substance, not office," Clark said.

Clicking off political issues while traveling around Washington with a press secretary in tow wasn't always part of Clark's retirement plan. The general left the military in 2000.

He said he thought he'd go into investment banking. Maybe live overseas.

Clark said he never thought he'd run for office.

"Goodness, no," Clark said. "Absolutely not."

Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq â€" and Clark's criticism of that decision â€" changed things, however. Clark said his views inadvertently drew a large audience. People started pushing him to run.

"It was not only my first campaign, I wasn't even in politics," Clark said. "It was an effort that was totally grass-roots driven."

Clark wasn't a member of any political party. He didn't declare himself part of the Democratic Party until September 2003.

At the time, Clark said he joined the Democrats because "it's a party that stands for internationalism ; it stands for ordinary men and women; it's a party that stands for fair play and equity and justice and common sense."

The general has never held elected office, and downplays his lack of political experience.

Instead, he points to his military career, saying he has more experience in basic leadership than any of his competitors in 2004.

The general headed NATO between July 1997 and May 2000. That included the 11-week bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999. Clark also led the military negotiations for the Dayton Peace Accords at the conclusion of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia.

Its the sort of leadership that Clark said shows he "has actually done it."

"If you ask yourself, what are we looking for, what is leadership, you're looking for someone who has actually done it, who has led large organizations to accomplish important tasks," Clark said. "I'm talking about the work getting done."

Clark mentions health care and education as being concerns to American voters. But he offers few details on where he thinks changes should take place.

He has much more to say about the war in Iraq. Clark said he served with many of the men who now run the war, and said he couldn't choose a better group of commanders.

But support from the Pentagon and the Department of Defense has been lacking, the general said. He criticized the Bush administration for not working more with countries that surround Iraq to make sure they do more to help the war.

And he said the development of a political government in Iraq has taken too much time.

"The record of two years of U.S. action inside Iraq after the toppling of Saddam's statue isn't a very good record," Clark said.

The general also warned that a long-term commitment in Iraq will hurt the military by driving down recruiting.

"There's a ticking clock out there," Clark said. "They've made a lot of sacrifices in doing this. And their sacrifices are beginning to take a toll on recruiting."

The war in Iraq and the war on terror will play a major role in Clark's political future. Analysts say he brings little else to the table beyond his background as a military man.

It could be damaging to his chances if domestic concerns such as the economy or health care become major issues in the 2008 campaign, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

"The national security issue will still be front and center," Sabato said. "But it may have to share the limelight with domestic concerns. And that's where Clark will be at a terrible disadvantage."

Cook says that "if the focus is on foreign policy, or a national security issue, then that would make Gen. Clark a very relevant candidate," Cook said. "If the focus is on domestic policy issues, economic issues, that sort of thing, then I think the terrain would be less hospitable."

Cook said Clark also must show that he learned from his errors in 2004. Cook mentioned "off the cuff" comments by which Clark hurt his campaign.

They included his comments a day after announcing his campaign in September: Clark told reporters that had he been in the Senate, he would have supported a resolution authorizing force against Iraq. As a critic of Bush's handling of the war, Clark's comment proved to be a serious gaffe.

"He was learning lessons that other people learn when they first run for school board, or city council or state legislature," Cook said. "There were times when you'd see him out there and he'd really be doing pretty good. And there were times when he really stunk up the place."

Another Clark run would also place the general in an already competitive group of Democratic contenders, Sabato and Cook said. That group includes Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who both men said would likely end up with the party's nomination. Clinton is married to former president Bill Clinton, who served as governor and attorney general of Arkansas before winning the White House.

"The Democratic Party has a rich variety of presidential candidates already," Sabato said. "My guess is that the '04 retreads are probably not going to do very well."

Other potential candidates include Kerry, Edwards, and Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, Sabato said.

Asked about a potential Clinton campaign, Clark offered praise of the former first lady.

"I've known her for years," Clark said. "She's very, very gifted."

That's competition that Clark isn't likely to beat, say Cook and Sabato. Instead, he should hope for a cabinet appointment if the Democrats return to the White House.

Cook described this as a "double-option" campaign, seeking the party's nomination if possible, but looking for a lesser function if the nomination is not gained.

"If lightning strikes, then he's the nominee," Cook said. "If lightning doesn't strike, than maybe he's a running mate."

"He's a logical secretary of defense," Sabato said. "He's not a logical Democratic nominee for president."