February 10, 2004
Gen. Wesley Clark to drop out of presidential race
Gen. Wesley Clark will drop out of the presidential race, the AP and CNN are now reporting. Clark will make the official announcement tomorrow in a speech from his home state of Arkansas. Clark only managed third place finishes in tonight’s Virginia and Tennessee primaries.
“Gen. Clark has decided to leave the race,” said Clark spokesman Matt Bennett. “I think probably the biggest reason is the tremendous momentum that Sen. Kerry built coming out of the Iowa and New Hampshire races.”Posted by Anthony at February 10, 2004 11:12 PM“The mountain got too steep to climb.” (source)
Wesley Clark is most likely a fine man with an impeccable military resume. Before he entered the race, and faced the extreme scrutiny from the media, he appeared to be a viable candidate. Yet he was unable to bring out a solid message, and was unable to end the questioning of what appeared to be waffling viewpoints.
The bottom line: the qualities that made him appear to be viable simply were not translated into a good campaign. He did not truly have the ability to connect with voters on more than a “fuzzy” level. He is a good man, but not a good candidate.
Posted by: joebagodonuts at February 11, 2004 08:56 AMWhy didn’t Clark catch on? Two main reasons:
1) he made a fatal mistake by not competing in Iowa. Sure he got a late start, but he should have at least made a token effort there. By ceding Iowa, Clark allowed Kerry’s upset win and Edward’s 2nd place showing to allow the media to proclaim a front runner/ victor, and stalled Clark’s impressive start to his campaign. Given his showing in Oklahoma, I think that he would have done well in Oklahoma, or at least well enough to steal some of Edwards thunder, which brings me to #2:
THE INCREDIBLE MEDIA COVERAGE THAT EDWARDS RECEIVES FROM THE PRESS.
I can’t remember another candidate that received such favorable coverage. My disclaimer: I was a Clark supporter, so maybe I’m a bit biased/ bitter, but still the coverage was unbelieveable. Up until yesterday, Clark had beaten Edwards in : New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Arizona, North Dakota, and Missouri. Edwards beat Clark in: SC, Missouri and Delaware, and yet the media declared it a two man race between Edwrads and Kerry and began writing Obituaries for the Clark campaign even though Clark had demonstrated more regional appeal than Edwards. It just shows how media driven this whole process is, and that is unfortunate, for General Clark is a man who would make a tremendous leader for America. As a North Carolinian, I have seen first hand how Edwards has abandoned his home state to suit his on self interests. HA millionaire attourney try to act like a populist is the height of hypocrisy. I know Clark has made lots of money since retiring from the army, but at least he spent a lot of his adult life having to live within the constraints of a five figure budget. So now, we are left with a millionaire’s club running for President. Now I ask, who truly represents the little guy?
It’s about time, he never had a chance anyway. Hopefully with the field narrowing we’ll get some better discourse on the issues, instead of each other. Not likely, but it would be nice.
Posted by: Jonathan at February 11, 2004 06:13 PMMaybe now Clark will return to the Republican party and challenge Pres. Bush for the nomination.
Posted by: Lukin at February 11, 2004 06:43 PM
