I think one of the reasons Wesley Clark’s campaign has been able to build some serious momentum in recent weeks is Clark’s positive message and his refraining from criticizing his Dem rivals.
Particularly as the Iowa caucus vote draws nearer, and Dean, Gephardt, Lieberman, and Kerry take turns attacking each other, Clark has capitalized in New Hampshire by offering a forward-thinking message that reserves negative critiques for Bush. At this point, it appers to be working.
“I don’t want to get into the conventional politics mode,” Clark told the AP yesterday. “There may come a time when I’m going to have to talk about other people. I’m not going to say I never will … (but) I’m keeping my eye on what’s good for America.”
Consider the Dean attacks I mentioned yesterday. Dean staffers went to Clark’s campaign events in New Hampshire this week with fliers criticizing Clark’s position on the war and accusing him on not being a real Democrat.
It would have been pretty easy for Clark to retaliate in kind, going after Dean for going after him. But Clark’s campaign did something much better.
I learned from a well-placed source, who was with the Clark campaign at these New Hampshire events, that Clark staffers were specifically told not to interfere with Dean’s people distributing the attack fliers. Instead, the Clark team had a supporter stand with each Dean person, inviting New Hampshire residents to take Dean’s flier while noting that “negative campaigning” is part of the election process and free speech.
And instead of rebutting the substance of Dean’s fliers as they’re handed out, Clark’s supporters encouraged people to ask questions raised by the fliers to Clark directly at the event inside.
Very smart. Clark gets people to come in and hear his pitch, while Dean’s attacks appear negative and petty. All the while, Clark emphasizes an optimistic, upbeat message that reserves negative comments for Bush. What’s not to like about that?