Still In The Race
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4163913/WEB EXCLUSIVE
By T. Trent Gegax
Newsweek
Updated: 4:27 p.m. ET Feb. 04, 2004
Feb. 4 - The primary campaign crucible either obliterates candidates or turns them into electoral gold. Wesley Clark was being ground into the incredible shrinking candidate until last night, when he won in the Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary—his first-ever political victory. He woke up this morning standing tall.
Atop the counter of Memphis’s packed Arcade diner, the retired general showed the first glimmer of a power candidate. Five months on the road, and finally he found a rousing call-and-response criticism of his Democratic rivals and George W. Bush. “They criticize No Child Left Behind,” he said, pausing and raising an eyebrow. “They voted for it! They criticize Bush’s tax cuts. They voted for it! They criticize Bush’s war in Iraq”—and now the crowd was into it—“They voted for it! They criticize the Patriot Act. They voted for it!”
Had it not been for Oklahoma, yesterday’s results—which saw John Kerry win five states and John Edwards take South Carolina—could easily have become Clark’s political obituary. Clark has a resume, biography and camera-ready mug that Democrats have pined for: victorious Army general, pro-choice, anti-death penalty, populist, Southerner. But somehow, improbably, the Clintonistas surrounding him have managed to infect him with the candidate-itis disease. Clark sure isn’t a professional politician (although career officers who rocket through the ranks must know a thing or two about politics.) But until now Clark the outsider was programmed by handlers to talk like an insider. For debates and interviews with the media, they chained him to anodyne answers that caused the deans of national political journalism (“the cool kids’ table,” a Clark advisor sniffs) to label him not-ready-for-prime-time.
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But Clark would do better to follow the lead of his son, Wes Clark II, who vented his spleen yesterday. Upset that his father’s economic and anti-war messages weren’t getting out, he told a handful of reporters, “What did we get on the news for this weekend? A speeding ticket
in Oklahoma. It's like, you've gotta be f—-king kidding me, come on. You gotta cover what the man says and what he stands for. And no one's done that. It's a hell of a way to pick a president.” Yet if Clark’s handlers gave his traveling press corps more access, the candidate’s stands on the issues would get more airing.
The campaign’s grand strategy is also vintage Clinton. Advisors find comfort in the fact that in 1992 Clinton didn’t win a contest until the fifth primary, and he only won three out of the first 14 primaries. But 1992’s primary schedule was more drawn out than 2004’s, which means now The Big Mo’ means mo’ and mo’. Clark is in the danger zone. In effect, Clark is sitting out the next four primaries in order to campaign in Tennessee and set himself up for a big southern win to catapult him into March 2, Super Tuesday, when more delegates are up for grabs than all the previously-won delegates combined. To be sure, Clark’s true-believers can’t get enough of the Clintonistas. “They know how to run a campaign,” said Marjean Mitchell, 73, a retired deputy county clerk from Oklahoma City basking in Tuesday’s victory. “They’re brilliant people,” said Mike Green, 50, an Oklahoma City realtor. For now, as much as he’s running to become the nominee, some wags believe Clark is also running for vice president or secretary of Defense. His growth curve, albeit delayed, suggests he’s got a future in politics. But he may have to wait till next season for a big win. As one advisor likes to quote Vince Lombardi: “We never lose games, we just run out of time.” For Clark, this may be the 59th minute.
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