So is Clark really going to run?

Much ado this morning about Clark's MTP appearance this weekend.

MR. RUSSERT: Would you like to be president?

GEN. CLARK: Well, in many respects, I’d like a chance to help this country. And I don’t know if that means being president or doing something else. But I’ve spent my entire life in public service, except for the last three years. And it’s very hard not to think in terms of the welfare of the country, and when you see the country in trouble, in challenge, yes, you’d like to pitch in and help.

R. RUSSERT: Are you considering entering the presidential race?

GEN. CLARK: I’m going to have to consider it.

MR. RUSSERT: By when?

GEN. CLARK: Well, sometime over the next couple of months.

MR. RUSSERT: And your time line is by September...

GEN. CLARK: I don’t have a specific time line, Tim. But I do have to consider it.

As many of you know, I was a founding member of the Draft Clark movement (so you see, I was "compromised" a long time ago), though I have recently left that effort for Dean's instead.

Having talked to several people over at his camp, let me just say that Clark is a Democrat. Some are upset he refuses to say so publicly, but that's just a tactical way to gain bipartisan support before (or if) he makes any official announcement.

In any case, Clark's comments were by far the closest he's come to suggesting he might enter the race, and ultimately, they meant one of two things:

1. He's seriously considering a presidential run, despite the fact he would enter the race late, lagging in money and with little ground operation; or

2. He wants to stay in the public limelight. A possible presidential run keeps him on the news shows, while a growing Draft movement offers a natural base Clark can then deliver to the Dem nominee in exchange for -- you guessed it -- the Vice Presidential nomination.

I'm actually excited about the second possibility, and consider a Dean/Clark ticket to be one of the strongest the Dems could offer up vs. Bush/Cheney in 2004.

But we'll see. I have been placing Clark in the "probably will run" category in the Cattle Call. Ironically, now that he's offered support for my prediction, I'll probably change it to "will not run". Call it a gut feeling.

Clark flexed his muscles this weekend, and the gasps in the political world were quite audible. As a VP "audition", the appearance went great.

Posted June 16, 2003 09:55 AM | Comments (162)