Well, I haven’t written any posts about the former general since Thursday, so I thought I’d share a couple of updates.
First, widespread rumors about the Clintons’ support for a Wesley Clark campaign were reinforced by comments from the former president at a dinner party at the Clintons’ Chappaqua home over the weekend.
As the New York Times reported this week, one group heard Bill Clinton say that the national Democratic Party had “two stars”: his wife and Wesley Clark. Considering the source, that’s quite a complement.
To be sure, the Democratic Party is still very much Bill Clinton’s party. He is the biggest force — behind-the-scenes and out-in-the-open — in Dem politics. His support for Clark would carry an enormous amount of weight.
The New York Times story follows a report from June in which Clinton told the AP that Clark “has always exceeded in every endeavor,” and said that he’s been impressed with Clark’s entire career, including his service as NATO commander in 1999 when Clinton ordered an air war in Kosovo.
“While I cannot take sides in the Democratic primary, I believe Wes, if he runs, would make a valuable contribution because he understands America’s security challenges and domestic priorities,” Clinton said on June 28. “I believe he would make a good president.”
Meanwhile, Monday was the Draft Clark movement’s final MeetUp. At this point, the 13,000 people who’ve signed up for the Clark MeetUps is better than all of the declared Dem candidates except Dean.
A pre-recorded message was delivered to attendees by the general himself, which said, among other things, that a final decision on his potential candidacy would be forthcoming by the end of next week.