Evoking the image of Gen. George Custer's famed last stand, one of Wesley Clark's chief backers in New York said Tuesday it appeared the former general's race for the Democratic presidential nomination might be over. "I think the general is about to meet Sitting Bull," said state Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, a Manhattan Democrat. In a subsequent interview with The Associated Press, Paterson said he would continue to back Clark as long as he remained in the race. "I was kidding around (during the radio interview) and I'm still supporting him, but there comes a point _ some of these (seven) states are in the South ... and this is an area that we were trying to run strong in, so just being a realist, it's going to be kind of difficult" to continue, Paterson said. Paterson said if Clark managed to win Tuesday in Oklahoma, where pre-vote polls showed him running close with Kerry, the general might continue to fight. Spell said that even if Clark won no contests on Tuesday, his campaign would continue.
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