On Monday night, I was talking casually to a guy with indirect connections to the Dean campaign. The guy, who has known Dean personally for years and has multiple contacts on the campaign staff, mentioned a rumor he’s heard from a lot of people.
“Clark and Dean have been talking quite a bit,” the guy said. “Some believe they’re working together and that Clark will end up on the Dean ticket. Instead of announcing his own campaign next week, Clark may announce his endorsement of Dean.”
The rumor quickly reminded me of a post from two weeks ago in which I mentioned that Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi acknowledged in a moderated online chat that Clark has been one of a small number of people who’ve advised Dean on foreign policy matters.
But my instincts told me these rumors were off-base and I quickly discounted them. Now I wish I had at least written about it yesterday — I could have scooped the Washington Post.
The Post reported on its front page today that “Dean has asked retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark to join his campaign, if the former NATO commander does not jump into the race himself next week, and the two men discussed the vice presidency at a weekend meeting in California.”
Clark didn’t want to comment on the specifics of his conversation with Dean, saying that his discussion with Dean “was a complete tour of the horizon.”
This wasn’t the first such conversation. The Post reported that this was the fourth face-to-face meeting between the two since the campaign began.
“Most of our conversations have been around my getting advice on defense, and sometimes he asks me about domestic issues,” Dean said yesterday. “This is a guy I like a lot. I think he’s certainly going to be on everybody’s list if he’s not the presidential nominee himself.”
To put it mildly, a Dean-Clark combo would dramatically change this campaign. I would imagine that Clark’s presence on a Dean ticket would solidify Dean’s already-increasing hold on the Dem nomination. Indeed, it very well could seal the deal.
Moreover, I have to admit that Dean tapping Clark as a running mate would also improve his chances in the general election.
Of course, the fact that Dean and Clark have been talking doesn’t necessarily mean they’re teaming up. Clark has spoken with Kerry and Gephardt, too. Besides, a number of indicators still suggest that Clark is preparing to launch his own presidential bid a week from tomorrow.
A New York Times report on this story said the conversation won’t change anything. When asked if the weekend meeting would have an effect on Clark’s potential campaign, a senior Clark aide told the Times, “No, no, no, no, no.”
Stay tuned…