Clark: Bush Plans Flawed (front page Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS)

[TacticalPeek]

December 30, 2003

Clark: Bush plans flawed

By Andy Kanengiser
[email protected]

Wesley Clark, in Jackson to
court Mississippi voters on his
Southern "True Grits Tour,"
vowed to reach out to millions of
Americans without health
insurance and took aim at
President Bush's Iraq strategy

snip

One of the event speakers was 4th District U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor,
D-Miss., who urged the crowd to give Clark a victory in the Super
Tuesday presidential primary in Mississippi on March 9.

Later, Taylor noted that Clark is tied for third for the Democratic
nomination in some recent polls of likely New Hampshire voters, behind
front-runner Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, and
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. "He (Clark) has got to do well on Super
Tuesday. He's the true Southerner in the race," Taylor said. "If the
Democrats want to win in November, Wesley Clark's got to be the
candidate."

snip

Mississippi State University political scientist Marty Wiseman predicted
Clark will be a long shot to win over legions of Magnolia State voters in
what's largely Bush country.

"Mississippi is one of the staunchest of Bush supporters — for Bush I
and Bush II. Of all the Democrats running, he has the best chance in the
South due to his military background. But he's got a monstrous hill to
climb."


more
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0312/30/m01.html

---

Often, generals know what to do with hills.

(front page, with big, effective picture above the fold)

Edit: add comments section link - http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0312/30/m01a.html

[Leilani]

1. No Dem can win the entire South

But Wes Clark can win or be competitive in Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, possibly Virginia(it's changing) and W. Virginia (border state.)

At the very least he will cause the Reps to spend time & money in this region.

[Terry Gilbeath]

2. He dosen't need all of them

Clark will do much better in the South than any of the rest of them. He seems to have the ability to rally people and might surprise some folks.Bush might go sleep in the South and wake up unemployed.

[efhmc]

3. Well, hello and welcome. Please tell us more about your ideas.

What S. states do you think might leave the idiot's fold?

[TacticalPeek]

4. Well, one thought is: leave all other states D and R as in 2000,

then flip AR and tip the scales of justice from 271-266 R to 272-265 D.*

Surely Clark could cover the 50,000 vote margin Bush had in 00, if only because he's a native, a general and a better shot than most compatriots of the Naural State.

:)


* if my fingers and toes footed, ymmv with reapportionment, adjust for 1 abstention in 00.

[efhmc]

5. Well great, but how does one accomplish this?

I am a precinct chair and I need concrete ideas for very simple people (remember I am in Texas).

[Josh]

7. Reapportionment makes Bush's 271 in 2000 a 278 in 2004 -

Gore's states lost seven electoral votes. Under those conditions, Arkansas gives the Democrats 265 electoral votes to Bush's 273 and we still lose.

Also, a lot of the states that Gore won in 2000 went for him VERY narrowly. A few examples are Pennsylvania, Iowa, and 'Florida'. Right now, they lean Bush. Other close states that went narrowly for Bush also lean Bush right now, such as New Hampshire, Tennesee, and again, depending on interpretation, 'Florida'.

[Josh]

6. North Carolina's a long shot -

In 2000, Bush took 56% of the vote to Gore's 43%. Even Clinton didn't win it in either 1992 OR 1996.

Virginia's another state that even Clinton couldn't win.

Clark gets us Arkansas for certain. Florida very possible, as well as Tennesse, as you have indicated. He puts Georgia and Louisiana into play as well, I'd say. But they still definitely lean Bush, as does Florida right now.