The door from which you enter is not nearly as important as the door from which you leave.
Hindsight is 2020? For Wes Clark it is…
With only 4 months until votes were cast in the first primaries for the presidential election of 04 retired General Wesley Clark entered the race. He entered the battle field without a campaign manager without funding and honestly… without a hope.
Despite his numerous position papers, strong grassroots campaign, remarkable fundraising and his direct straight shooting demeanor Clark just could not muster the support needed to win him the Democratic nomination. He entered the race too late and he & his supporters paid the price. The momentum and bandwagon appeal the other more established candidates had built was too large of an obstacle for Clark to over come.
Thankfully however, Wes Clark is a smart man and has learned from his prior mistakes.
I think it was clear that I got in too late last time
the retired general and former NATO commander told The Associated Press in an interview on Nov. 28th.
It’s one of several mistakes that if I were to run that I would hope I wouldn’t repeat.
he continued. And indeed its one mistake many of his supports are hoping he doesn’t repeat as well.
“Clarkies” (as they are called online) on the grassroots level and higher up are waiting for an official announcement. While spring is a more traditional time for such a decision many hope that at the very least Clark will announce a Presidential Exploratory Committee that would pave the way to an official candidacy.
Regardless of official announcements or lack there of, one thing is for sure, Clark is gaining support and making headlines. Here are just a few recent stories featuring the biggest missed opportunity of 04 and our best chance for sound leadership in 08.
Clark urges diploymacy, stresses China’s future strength - 11/28/06
MSN/CNN Finally Recognizing Clark as Possible Candidate - 11/28/06
Next Move in Iraq, Americans (& Clark) want a new approach - 11/21/06
Jai said,
November 29, 2006 @ 2:25 pm
I don’t know how closely you were following the Clark04 campaign, but the way you describe it doesn’t much match what I remember.
Yes, Clark started too late. But it was never so much that he “just could not muster the support needed” or that somehow he couldn’t overcome the momentum and appeal of the established candidates.
Clark lost in 04 for one reason and one reason only: He entered too late to compete in Iowa.
Up until just a handful of days before the Iowa caucus, Clark was soaring in NH. He had left Kerry in the dust, and was just a point or two outside the margin of error behind Dean, trending up while Dean trended down. If Dean had won in Iowa, or come in a close second to Gephard, Clark would have consolidated the anti-Dean vote in NH, and been positioned well to rip Dean up in all the southern and western states to follow.
‘Course, every knows it didn’t go down that way. Kerry surprised everyone in Iowa, “came home” to take neighboring NH, and then had all the momentum and media to win everywhere else.
But if we can draw any conclusions at all that might carry over to 2008, it is not insignificant that Clark, with no momentum and very little media, not only went on to finish second behind Kerry in the western states ND, AZ and NM, he managed to win OK and become the only candidate other than Kerry to win a state not his own.
So it’s really not correct to portray Clark as just another also-ran who didn’t have enough time to build up any steam. It was that he was forced by time into a strategy that didn’t fit a unique and unexpected set of circumstances.
I think we’ll find 2008 will be very different from 2004. I suppose every cycle is to some extent. But with the addition of NV and SC to the early mix, plus the moved-up primary in Clark’s AR, and the possibility that several other states may move up as well… well, that it’ll be different is about all we can say. But then, so will Wes Clark.
Nick Kelly said,
November 29, 2006 @ 3:40 pm
Jai’s memory is excellent. Let me add only that some of the major Iowa media quite unexpectedly endorsed Kerry and threw positive comments towards Edwards in the final week before the caucuses. This definitely hurt Dean everywhere, but it also created a resurgence of support for Kerry in New Hampshire that cost Clark greatly. I never researched the ownership of those Iowa papers, but wouldn’t be surprised if they were deliberately working to stop the Clark movement in NH.
Robert said,
November 29, 2006 @ 9:01 pm
Jai
I agree completely. Clark came in too late for the first primary and that cost him the race. I was a huge supporter of him in 04 and think he’s the best candidate for 08. I look forward to his official annoucement.