Democrats and Wesley Clark in 2004

[Big Questions]

This topic probably has been done to death, but which Democrats do you think stand a chance in 2004? Everybody tells me Dean has no chance, that he's too liberal and what not, but I am reserved about that so far.

Also, what are the chances of Gen. Wesley Clark entering the race? He doesn't have any policy experience, nor is he an extreme leftist, nor is he affiliated with any party, but the consensus seems to be that if he would enter the race, he'd do it as a Democrat. If he did so, wouldn't it improve the Democrats' chances dramatically?

[MercutioATC]

1. I don't see how he'd help...

1) he's coming in after many have chosen a candidate

2) I have yet to see any real positions he supports.

Great, he was a general and as such will perceived to be good on defense. He's in shape and attractive. What else does he bring to the table? What experience in governance does he have?

[Big Questions]

4. Clark

I sort of agree, but since most people don't know most of the candidates, if Clark came in sometime during the summer or the early fall, even with the idea that he might be VP instead of P, wouldn't he have a shot?

I know he's for using agencies like NATO and for the Democrats' tax positions, or so he indicated on "Meet the Press," but does that really matter at this point? He seems like a moderate, and if we don't like his positions, then we don't pick him.

Don't you think that with Clark on the ticket, any comments about the Democrats being soft on defense would be meaningless?

[QC]

5. You can find out Clark's positions easily enough

if you'll take a listen to some of the interviews he's done, many of which are available online.

If you have ICQ or Yahoo Messenger, I can send a couple of them to you. Just pvt. me.

No, Clark has not laid out a detailed policy statement, but it is quite clear that he is a genuine progressive, if not sufficiently purist for some among us. He's pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gays in the military, pro-progressive taxation, opposed to the Iraq War, and opposed to Bush's unilateralist foreign policy.

Sounds pretty good to me.

[Kahuna]

6. Funny. The undecided voters outnumbers the support

that any of the candidates are polling right now. Even in NH and IA. There's lots of support Wesley can snatch up. Also, many people who are currently supporting other candidates have pledged to switch their support to Clark should he enter the race.

Don't take my word for it. The following link is to the petition to draft Clark. You can read through the letters and see how many people are willing to switch support to Clark.
http://www.draftwesleyclark.com/supporters.htm

[Democat]

2. Clark could be the man to beat Bush

Don't just think of Democrats, think of voters. I think that Clark has the potential to appeal to a wide range of voters based on his charisma, exposure, and history.

Does it matter these days that he hasn't even said what his positions are yet? Probably not to the majority of people who will vote in the next election.

We are living in strange times and I think Clark has a good chance of getting the nomination, and a fair chance of winning, if he decides to run.

It's still early, but those are my feelings at this time.

[w4rma]

3. Clinton described Dean's accomplishments...as "New Democrat" positions

Clinton described Dean's accomplishments with health care in his home state and his proposal to promote a national health care plan with a modest price tag as "New Democrat" positions. He was referring to the moniker the Democratic Leadership Council puts on Democrats who can blend moderate ideas that appeal to swing voters with traditional Democratic themes.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/05/14/national2104EDT0848.DTL
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/May/05152003/nation_w/57021.asp

...
Dean's record as governor is hard to categorize: liberal on such issues as gay civil unions, conservative on guns and fiscal matters. But the juice in his campaign -- the reason he has thousands of volunteers nationwide gathering for monthly "meetups" and millions of dollars in small contributions pouring in to his Web site -- is that he has aggressively criticized Bush and heaped scorn on Democrats who have gone along with Bush's war plans and tax cuts.
...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35640-2003Jul9.html?nav=hptop_tb