Clark's a lightweight
PARTY IN GENERAL CONFUSION AS WOBBLY WES WEIGHS IN
Thu Sep 25, 2:51 AM ET
By DEBORAH ORIN
SUDDENLY, it's war among the Democratic wannabes now that "The General" has
jumped into the race - so tonight's debate in New York could get pretty hot
as Wesley Clark joins the pack onstage.
All the others are frantic to cut Clark down to size, and he's given plenty
of material to their "oppo" (opposition research) teams - and that's not
just his multiple flip-flops on whether he'd have voted for the Iraq (news -
web sites) war.
Democratic Internet-land was frantic yesterday with e-mails zooming out a
killer quote from Clark's ex-boss, respected former Joint Chiefs of Staff
chairman Hugh Shelton, who sure isn't as crazy about him as Bill Clinton
(news - web sites).
Asked about Clark at a college forum this month, Shelton - who bounced Clark
as NATO (news - web sites) supreme commander in Europe - sipped water and
said he wished it was vodka, the Los Altos Town Crier reported.
Then he said: "The reason [Clark] came out of Europe early had to do with
integrity and character issues, things that are very near and dear to my
heart. I'm not going to say whether I'm a Republican or a Democrat. I'll
just say Wes won't get my vote."
Whoa. And there are more hints that maybe Clark isn't all that despite the
love-in by Clintonistas and a few buzz-fed national polls that put him a
hair ahead
The bottom line? Clark has stolen the buzz from former buzz-boy Howard Dean
(news - web sites).
That may be why The General's entry seems to have spurred his nine rivals
into all-out attacks on each other that sound more bitter and, if it's
possible, more personal than their blasts at President Bush (news - web
sites). Over the past few days Dean has attacked Clark, Gephardt has
attacked Dean and Kerry has blasted Dean and Clark and Gephardt - and
yesterday Kerry even blasted Dean for blasting Clark, claiming that was a
flip-flop.
Enough to make you dizzy? It sure sounds as if Democrats are raring to
rumble tonight.
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