I mentioned the other day that Bob Graham’s departure from the presidential race stood to help different candidates in different ways. What I failed to realize at the time was that a whole lot of people who had been working for Graham suddenly need a job — and Wesley Clark just happens to be hiring.<\/p>\n
Jamal Simmons, the top Graham staffer who resigned last week, was snatched up by the Clark campaign<\/a> on Monday. Simmons told reporters in New Hampshire that he “probably won’t be the last” member of Graham’s former campaign staff to make the transition to Clark’s team.<\/p>\n Indeed, Graham’s early efforts included building sizable campaign structures in Iowa and New Hampshire. What a coincidence — Clark just so happens to be desperately playing catch-up with candidates who’ve been traveling to the two states for over a year and is looking for campaign staffers.<\/p>\n It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that Graham supporters could comfortably make the transition to supporting Gen. Clark. I imagine those who gravitated to Graham did so because they saw a serious and intelligent Southerner, who was critical of the war in Iraq from the beginning, and who had experience on national security issues. Well, guess who else meets that description?<\/p>\n Thomas Beaumont, the Des Moines Register’s influential political columnist, said yesterday that Clark “could be the biggest beneficiary”<\/a> in Iowa as a result of Graham’s exit.<\/p>\n Shelia McGuire Riggs, Graham’s Iowa campaign chairwoman, said the Florida Senator had hired a “top-notch and very experienced” staff that Clark could easily adopt. In all, Graham leaves behind 13 Iowa offices and an in-state staff of about 50.
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\nIn New Hampshire, Graham leaves behind about 24 campaign staffers. As PoliticsNH.com reported<\/a> this week, “About two dozen New Hampshire staffers for Graham now find themselves looking for work precisely at a time when Wesley Clark, who just entered the race three weeks ago, appears to be looking to hire people to do the same jobs.”<\/p>\n