Yesterday’s front-page Washington Post story about Howard Dean chatting up Wesley Clark stokes the media fires over the retired general’s possible campaign, but additional reporting throughout the day made for an almost all-Clark, all-the-time news cycle.
Unfortunately, none of the stories had definitive answers. CNN reported, for example, “Wesley Clark may announce for presidency next week.” That’s great, but we already knew that.
That is not to say that we didn’t learn anything yesterday. The AP’s all-knowing Ron Fournier spoke with a whole lot of people, some of them with first-hand knowledge of Clark’s plans, and nearly all indicated Clark is all-but-prepared to announce his candidacy.
The AP article said, “A senior Democratic Party strategist said Clark told him this week that he was ’90 percent sure’ he would run. Asked what would hold him back, Clark had no answer.”
Perhaps most importantly, the AP’s Fournier mentioned what has been rumored for sometime: Clark’s “earliest allies would be from former President Clinton’s Arkansas-based political network.”
“There are a lot of people from Arkansas who will back Clark,” said Bob Nash, who worked for Clinton in Arkansas and at the White House. “Part of it is he’s our homeboy, and because he’s an impressive man.”
Skip Rutherford, a Clark friend and the executive director of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, told CNN, “I think he’s going to run. Impressive people are coming forward offering to work on his campaign, run his campaign and consult his campaign.”
Moreover, as The New Republic’s Franklin Foer noted last week, Bruce Lindsey, a Clinton friend and former deputy White House counsel, has been spotted driving around Little Rock with a Draft Clark bumper sticker.
If Clark runs, Clinton’s old “machine” may help the general recruit a top-notch professional staff almost immediately. In fact, Clark has already been talking with seasoned Dem aides about working on a campaign. Mark Fabiani, who ran Al Gore’s communications team in the 2000 campaign, appears to be poised to join Clark. There are also reports that Clark spoke with John McCain strategist John Weaver about possibly managing his campaign, though Weaver declined due to health problems.
U.S. News & World Report’s Washington Whispers column noted yesterday that “top Democratic elected officials, strategists and donors are ready to join the Clark Brigade.” In addition to Lindsey and Fabiani, USN&WR said Harold Ickes, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, may be one of the many “Clintonistas” in Clark’s “team-in-waiting.” The magazine added that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), a highly-influential Dem House member, has “pledged to round up endorsements from House and Senate members” for Clark.
Meanwhile, we may not have to wait until Clark’s scheduled speech in Iowa next Friday to know of his intentions. Though the speech has long been seen as Clark’s self-imposed deadline, Fournier reported yesterday that Clark is now “expected to make his decision before that, with an announcement likely in Little Rock, Ark.”
As for Clark’s poll numbers, USA Today did a national poll to see where the candidates stood as of this week.
Without Clark in the poll, the results were as follows:
Dick Gephardt — 17%
Howard Dean — 15%
John Kerry — 13%
Joe Lieberman — 13%
Bob Graham — 6%
and everyone else at 5% or lower
With Clark in the race, the results were similar, with the general taking a few percentage points away from all the top candidates almost equally:
Dick Gephardt — 15%
Howard Dean — 13%
Joe Lieberman — 12%
John Kerry — 11%
Wesley Clark — 9%
and everyone else at 5% or lower
Considering Clark hasn’t announced, spent a dime, hired a staffer, or made a campaign speech, it’s pretty good that he’s already running fifth, ahead of established candidates like John Edwards and Bob Graham who’ve been campaigning for months.
And as for his willingness to join one of the other candidates’ tickets? Clark doesn’t seem interested. On CNN this morning, Clark said, “There’s only one decision to make: Run for president or stay in private business.”