So General Wesley Clark is running for president. I listened to Clark talk to Alan Colmes on the radio while I was in Missourri, and he sounded spectacularly ill-informed; I don't think he will be a credible candidate, and I doubt he will be able to derail Howard Dean's momentum or dislodge Dean's hold on the Angry Left.
Nevertheless, what's particularly interesting to me are the reports that the Clintons are involved in supporting Clark's candidacy. Bill Clinton spoke very highly of General Clark at a recent New York fundraiser.
Guests who attended U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's strategy session / fund raiser Sunday night at her Chappaqua, N.Y., mansion say that both she and her husband repeatedly hinted that she was ready to run for president in 2004.That's quite curious, isn't it? It's well-known that Hillary wants to be president; most pundits seem to believe she'll wait to run in 2008 so she doesn't have to face a popular incumbent, but if Bush's position looks weak then she may be tempted to jump into the pathetic Democrat field in 2004. The only reason I can imagine Clinton grouping Hillary with Clark is if they are planning on running together, with Clark as the vice-presidential candidate. Back to FoxNews:Mr. Clinton kicked off a wave speculation by identifying the "two stars" of the Democratic Party as his wife and Gen. Wesley Clark - a major snub to the nine announced Democratic candidates currently seeking the White House.
While sources told Fox News earlier that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton would serve as Clark's campaign co-chairman and numerous other Arkansas-based supporters of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, were also lending a hand in the campaign, the senator's office told Fox News late Tuesday that she had not agreed to serve on the campaign.It sounds to me like the Clintons are throwing Clark into the ring as a placeholder for Hillary, in case she later decides that she has a chance to beat Bush. If she jumps in later, Clark will defer to her and accept the vice-presidential berth on the Hillary 2004 ticket, and Hillary will be in place to reap the benefits of the organizational infrastructure that Clark and his people are building now. (Not that the Clintons don't have an organization; they do, and many of their people are mobilizing in Clark's campaign.) It takes time to build up such an organization, and with Clark's in place Hillary can put of making a decision for a while longer.Clark aides later said they had miscommunicated with Clinton's office and no determination had been made about her participation. Bill Clinton had urged Clark to enter the race, but neither he nor Gore is expected to take sides in the primary fight.
