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| Home Front: Politix | ||
| Weasley calls it quits | ||
| 2004-02-11 | ||
| EFL. Hat tip LGF. Wesley Clark, battered by losses in his Southern base, was abandoning his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and heading home to Arkansas to exit the race. Adios amigos. Matt Bennett, a senior adviser to Clark, said the political novice and retired four-star general wanted to return to his adopted home town of Little Rock for the emotional announcement. Clark made the decision after consulting with family members, who had been urging him to stay in. But Clark, who won only one of 14 contests, was under intense pressure to drop out because of John Kerry’s success and a desire by party leaders for a quick end to a nominating season he has come to dominate. "The mountain got too steep to climb," Bennett said. "And the Sherpas bailed." The decision ends a five-month run by Clark, his first for elective office, who hoped his military background and Southern roots would sell with swing voters as well as in the South. Clark is a GENUINE war criminal, IIRC. He’s also farther left than the average Dem on Of the contests to date, Clark was only able to squeeze out a narrow victory in Oklahoma. The final blow came after third-place finishes Tuesday in primaries in Virginia and Tennessee, states that were part of the Southern strategy he thought would ride him to the nomination. Clark had hoped to emerge as a Southern challenger to the front-running Massachusetts senator, but Tuesday’s outcome erased any hope of that happening. He got 23 percent of the vote in Tennessee, but only 9 percent in Virginia. Ouch. Still, the decision to quit was hard for a candidate described by aides as competitive and reluctant to admit defeat. He retreated for a late-night dinner with his family after reaching his decision. "I’m thinking of quitting." "Do so." "Is there any more veal?""He’s at peace with it. He’s obviously disappointed," Bennett said. Aides said Clark would remain active in the campaign by stumping for Democrats in the South and other swing states and serving as an adviser on national security issues. He is the fifth candidate to drop out. Five remain: Kerry, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton.
Other aides said Clark would use his speech to nudge the Democrats toward a more aggressive stance in challenging President Bush on issues of national security, faith, patriotism and values for the party. "Make the Democratic pary line obligatory for all Amaricans." Clark wrestled with the decision to end his campaign as election returns rolled in Tuesday night, with advisers urging him to quit and family pushing him to continue. Before deciding to quit, he thanked several hundred cheering backers at a downtown hotel. "We’ll leave Tennessee even more full of hope and commitment than when we began this journey five months ago," he said. "We may have lost this battle today but I tell you what, we’re not to lose the battle for America’s future." "America must lose!" New to politics, Clark may still have a future. At 59, he is young enough for another race and, with his military experience, he might fit on a wartime Democratic ticket. Clark became a candidate in September, late for a neophyte campaigner, but he quickly rose to the top of polls of Democrats and others considering an alternative to Bush.
Blunder. In appealing to voters, Clark relied almost entirely on his 34 years in military service, which included serving as supreme allied commander of NATO. He promoted his wartime record, from being wounded in Vietnam in 1970 to running the bombing campaign in the war in Kosovo in 1999, as the kind of experience needed with American soldiers in Iraq and concerns about security at home. Go back to my earlier comment. Clark’s no GWB. | ||
| Posted by:Steve from Relto |
| #10 And he asked for Swiss cheese on his steak sandwich. In Philly! And then he looked really, really dainty while eating it. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-2-11 6:56:57 PM |
| #9 Uh, Steve from Relto? Why did you insult Harry Potter's friend in the title? You compared Ron's family to Clark! |
| Posted by: Korora 2004-2-11 4:50:26 PM |
| #8 Never should have been photographed in that little red turtleneck number with the pancakes. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-11 3:08:54 PM |
| #7 About time for them to start leaking stuff on Kerry. The hatchet job on kerry has already started with pics |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2004-2-11 1:08:34 PM |
| #6 Chark, the Wall-Mart greeter...... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-2-11 11:57:59 AM |
| #5 Clark shudda kept the towel. Anyone as ALL WET as he is needs towels. #3, Steve, it's almost like waiting for the other shoe to drop. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-2-11 11:34:43 AM |
| #4 General Clark will now attempt to restart his career as a lobbyist and pay-for-blather dinner speaker. I hope he fails miserably and does something honest with the rest of his life, like sell appliances at Walmart. |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-2-11 11:21:52 AM |
| #3 Clark was widely thought to be the Clintons puppet to keep a Democrat from taking Hillary's place in the Oval Office before she's ready. About time for them to start leaking stuff on Kerry. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-2-11 10:53:53 AM |
| #2 Where's Mary now? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-2-11 10:51:21 AM |
| #1 good - now he can relax and blink once in a while |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-2-11 10:46:18 AM |