[Vision2020] What's Up With Wesley?

Mon, 13 Oct 2003 09:19:39 -0700 (PDT)

Donovan,
      I'm not confused at all. 
      The poll I referred to is summarized in the
first article below my message. It clearly found Clark
at 5% of the vote in NH, in fifth place.
      Also, on whether the campaign is divided, the
second article I included below clearly states that
there are big divisions or if you prefer the words of
the author--"feuds" and "rifts." The article also give
a different version of why the campaign manager left. 
      So, either you're the one who's confused or
you're just spinning facts in the way you'd like to
see them. 
      As to whether or not YOU care about Clark's
praise of Bush's foreign policy team--and by the way
he praised not just Rice and Powell, but GW himself on
that video-- that's not too important. What IS
important is how it will be received at hard-core
Democrat gatherings in crucial primary and caucus
states. These statements will be used to ridicule
Clark mercilessly by his opponents. 
      You may see the other candidates' criticism of
Clark as a sign of their weakness, but the combined
effect must be having an effect. Clark is afraid to
enter the early contests. If he's so confident and
with such broad appeal why won't he? Is it because, as
we discussed in earlier email exchanges, he got in too
late to make a dent in the race for endorsements,
organizers and etx?  
     How can Clark believe, as his aides have
suggested to reporters he does, that he can wait until
the Arizona primary to enter and compete strongly
against the others? Do you really believe he can
survived the bandwagon effect of a couple of early
victors in the other early states?
    TL

-----------------------------
FIRST ARTICLE
Dean Has 10-Point Lead Over Kerry in N.H. 
Thu Oct 9, 7:55 PM ET  

WASHINGTON(AP) - Howard Dean maintains a double-digit
lead over rival John Kerry in a New Hampshire poll of
likely voters in the state's Democratic presidential
primary. 
The poll by American Research Group of Manchester,
N.H., showed Dean, the former Vermont governor,
leading Massachusetts Sen. Kerry, 29 percent to 19
percent. The remaining candidates, including newcomer
Wesley Clark, were in the single digits, and 29
percent remained undecided. 
Dean held a 10-point lead over Kerry in the group's
September poll. 
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. Joe Lieberman
of Connecticut received 6 percent support, Clark 5
percent and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina 3
percent. Carol Moseley Braun and Rep. Dennis Kucinich
of Ohio were at 1 percent and Al Sharpton zero
percent. 
While nine in 10 in the poll said they were aware of
Clark, almost half of the sample said they don't know
enough about him to form an opinion. Clark, the
retired Army general, was at 2 percent in the
September poll. 
Almost two-thirds in the poll, 63 percent, had
favorable opinions of Dean and Kerry. 
The poll of 600 Democrats and independents who say
they are likely to vote in the Democratic primary was
conducted Oct. 5-8 and had a margin of error of plus
or minus 4 percentage points. 
New Hampshire's primary is tentatively set for Jan.
27. 
========================
SECOND ARTICLE

Clark's campaign manager quits in feud over direction
of presidential bid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wesley Clark's campaign manager quit
Tuesday in a dispute over the direction of the
Democratic presidential bid, exposing a rift between
the former general's Washington-savvy advisers and his
3-week-old Arkansas campaign team. 
   Wesley Clark's campaign has developed a rift
between Washington advisers and his Arkansas campaign
team.  
Donnie Fowler, 35, told associates he was leaving over
widespread concerns that supporters who used the
Internet to draft Clark into the race are not being
taken seriously by top campaign officials. Fowler also
complained that the campaign's message and methods are
focused too much on Washington, not key states, said
two associates who spoke on condition of anonymity. 
>From the start, there has been tension between the
campaign's political professionals and the draft-Clark
supporters, many of whom consider Fowler their ally. 
Fowler has complained that while the Internet-based
draft-Clark supporters have been integrated into the
campaign, their views are not taken seriously by
senior advisers, many of them with deep Washington
ties. He has warned Clark's team that the campaign is
being driven from Washington, a charge leveled against
Gore's campaign in 2000 even though it was
headquartered in Tennessee. 
The campaign is planning to open a Washington office
to develop policy and oversee relations with Congress,
a move that raised concerns among some draft-Clark
backers who want the campaign based in Arkansas. 
Fowler, involved in his fifth presidential campaign,
is one of several veterans of the Clinton-Gore
political campaigns involved in Clark's bid. They
include communications adviser Mark Fabiani, policy
adviser Ron Klain, campaign chairman Eli Segal and
adviser Mickey Kantor. 
Segal moved to Arkansas this week, giving him more
hands-on control of the campaign. In addition, Clark
adviser Dick Sklar has taken on more authority in
recent days. Campaign officials said the moves may
have been a source of some friction with Fowler. 
Fabiani,who said he is an unpaid adviser to Clark,
denied any problems between him and Fowler. "He is a
good man, and he has done yeoman's work getting the
Clark campaign started," Fabiani said. "Donnie did not
tell me why he decided to leave, so it's hard for me
to comment on his reasons." 

Fowler, son of former Democratic Party chairman Don
Fowler, was quietly installed as manager of the
campaign in the first days of the bid. 
Fowler's departure is the latest blow for a campaign
that has gotten off to mixed reviews. 

National polls put Clark near the top of the
nine-person field and he raised more than $3 million
in the first two weeks of his campaign, a sum that
surpassed what several rivals raised in three months.
However, he has been criticized for flip-flopping on
whether he would have supported the Iraq resolution,
and his commitment to the Democratic Party has been
questioned. 

Clark voted for Presidents Reagan and Nixon, praised
both Bush administrations and had not registered to
vote as a Democrat in his home state of Arkansas
before entering the race. The high number of
Clinton-Gore officials on his campaign, including
Arkansan Bruce Lindsey, has caused Clark's rivals to
question whether the former president is quietly
pushing Clark's campaign, a charge strongly disputed
by the candidate and Clinton's associates. 

Fowler told associates he won't work for any of
Clark's rivals. Aides for at least two of Clark's
opponents said they tried to contact Fowler Tuesday
night to see if he was available.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  
© Copyright 2003 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co.
Inc. 

--- Donovan Arnold <donovanarnold@hotmail.com> wrote:

---------------------------------

Tim,

I think you are confused. Latest polls put Clark in
third place in NH (albeit a distant third). Clark is
leading in Alabama, California, New York, Oklahoma,
Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, and numerous other states
(mostly southern). He is tied with Dean in Michigan
and a close second to Edwards in South Carolina. And
as you pointed out, he has a strong lead in the
national polls.

"the campaign is reportedly divided"

No, it isn't. It just appointed the members of his
team. Yes, Donnie Flower did resign because he was
suppose to be demoted to run the on-line effort. He is
was going to be demoted because the Clinton Campaign
Team is coming in to take over the campaign. He didn't
want to be demoted from in charge of the entire
campaign to just one segment of the campaign. John
Hilko is taking over the on-line effort. Clark did not
even have a campaign team, he just entered the race.
Now he has just appointed them Wednesday.

"and the other candidates used his recent praise for
the Bush team and wishy-washy stance on the Iraq war
as a targets in the last Demo debate"

So what? They can attack Clark all they want. The only
reason they are attacking Dean and Clark is because
they are losing to one of the two in almost every
state.(as I am typing this, just got work Clark is now
winning in Minnesota), so they have to attack him. If
Dean beats Gephardt in Iowa, Gephardt is gone. If
Kerry gets second in NH (his home turf), and fourth in
NC, behind Edwards, Clark and Dean, he is finished.
Lieberman just cannot get above 4th in any single
state with the exception of his home state. As
Gephardt, Kerry, Edwards, and Lieberman fall away one
by one Dean and Clark will outdistance the others that
remain. If Dean is taken out Gephardt and Kerry have a
chance. If Clark is gone Edwards and Lieberman have a
chance. Gephardt, Lieberman, Kerry, and Edwards are
the ones that did all the slamming on Clark and Dean
in the debate (gee, shocking huh?). To me and others
it is a sign of desperation. The more they attack,
they more they show they know they are losing and the
further they fall in the polls.

I really don't care that Clark said Powell, Rice, and
Rumsfeld were a good foreign policy team. Back in May
2001 most people did. Powell still has a 75%+ approval
rating. They may lie and be corrupt but that doesn't
mean they are incompetent. This didn't hurt Ronald
Reagan in 1980 and it is not going to hurt Clark in
2004.

This is a rock- paper-scissors game. Bush beats Dean,
Kerry beats Bush, Dean beats Kerry. Clark is the only
one that can beat Bush and Kerry. The question is can
Clark beat Dean? If he can, he is will be President.
The main obstacle for Clark is beating Dean, not Bush.

Donovan J Arnold

>From: Tim Lohrmann 

>To: vision2020@moscow.com 

>Subject: [Vision2020] What's Up With Wesley? 

>Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 10:02:58 -0700 (PDT) 

> 

>Clark Supporters, 

> What's the thinking of Clark backers with his 

>campaign right now? 

> 

> The latest polls show he's in a poor fifth place in 

>New Hampshire and apparently isn't doing well in Iowa

>either. His campaign manager quit, the campaign is 

>reportedly divided and the other candidates used his 

>recent praise for the Bush team and wishy-washy
stance 

>on the Iraq war as a targets in the last Demo debate.

> 

> I even saw a report that his campaign is thinking 

>of not contesting Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina

>or any other state before Arizona. Isn't that sort 

>late to target a first good showing? 

> 

> Like Joe Lieberman, the only place Clark is doing 

>well is in national polls--polls that are meaningless

>as far as securing delegates in the individual
primary 

>states. 

> What's next? 

> TL 

> 

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