Clark Says Dean Sought Him as Running Mate

[VolcanoJen]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=5&u=/nm/20031221/ts_nm/politics_clark_dc

It looks like Wes spilled the beans while on Stephanopoulos' show, although I know a lot of folks here at DU who always thought it happened this way...

Excerpt:

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark said Howard Dean offered him the vice presidential slot on his ticket before Clark decided to make his own run for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to an interview released on Sunday.

"It was sort of discussed ... and dangled before I made the decision to run," Clark said on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

Clark said he had a meeting in early September with Dean, considered the front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination next year, and he told the former Vermont governor he was "really not interested in even talking about it."

[virtualobserver]

1. "sort of discussed"

"It was sort of discussed ... and dangled before I made the decision to run" is not a description of an actual offer.

The article states as fact that Clark said it.

"Retired Gen. Wesley Clark said Howard Dean offered him the vice presidential slot on his ticket before Clark decided to make his own run for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to an interview released on Sunday."

Clark didn't actually say that he was offered the VP slot.

"sort of discussed" is what he actually said.

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Trippi said no.

Dean didn't discuss the VP slot with Clark.

Hawkeye-X

[virtualobserver]

3. Trippi didn't actually rule out casual discussion between them

just that no offer was made, and that the notion of an real offer was absurd at that time, or even now.

[VolcanoJen]

6. I thought Trippi was hedging, actually.

He first said he didn't attend the meeting, and then said he didn't think any kind of offer was made.

So, is Trippi lying, or is Clark lying?

[bicentennial_baby]

14. WaPo 9/11/03: Gen. Clark Reportedly Is Asked to Join Dean

"Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has asked retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark to join his campaign, if the former NATO commander does not jump into the race himself next week, and the two men discussed the vice presidency at a weekend meeting in California, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Clark, in a telephone interview yesterday, said he did not want to comment about the private meeting. Asked about reports that the two men had discussed a wide range of issues, including endorsing Dean, joining the campaign, possible roles in a Dean administration and the vice presidency, he said only, "It was a complete tour of the horizon."

Later, an adviser quoted Clark as saying, "I have only one decision to make: Will I seek the presidency?"

It was the fourth time Dean and Clark have met face-to-face to discuss the campaign. No decisions were made at the California meeting because Clark is still considering a run for president. Clark is scheduled to make a speech Sept.19 at the University of Iowa, when many political insiders expect him to announce his intentions"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A57770-2003Sep10¬Found=true

[0007]

21. LOL! I think maybe both are a little -

I don't want Rove to pick up on this plan, so I'll write the reason in code. ad9) =-kfj;' 'a k^dk] 2l3k/\/ kk # k$ *

[DoveTurnedHawk]

17. Clark Was There, Trippi Was Not

Trippi's testimony is hearsay. You would need to hear Dean deny it in order for the denial to have any validity.

DTH

[DoveTurnedHawk]

18. Clark Said in the Actual Interview That Dean Did Make the Offer

You can watch it here:

http://www.us4clark.com/mediaclips.html

DTH

[thinkahead]

4. Does this even really matter now anyway?

Clark clearly does not want to be involved with Dean - which is a shame because together they could be an even stronger force to be reckoned with.

All this tells me is Dean saught to gain from Clark's foreign policy experience (along with many others) and Clark used Dean to get some publicity before jumping in the race.

Kind of sad actually.

[Toucano]

7. I don't know if that's accurate

"Clark clearly does not want to be involved with Dean..."

I don't know that we can go that far. I think we CAN say Clark isn't interested in being VP. Not in September and not now, anyway.

Didn't Dean say he spoke with Clark earlier in the summer regarding foreign policy?

This isn't really news, though.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2003-09-11-dean-clark_x.htm

[robbedvoter]

10. Trippi lied - Called Clark a liar - it matters

It was also a dirty campaign to undermine Clark and it was used as leverage to get unions endorsement - in spite of knowing Clark refused. Does it matter? To me, the truth does. To you, it may be National security issue, and therefore excusable by your candidate's ethics. (Dean: OK for POTUS to lie for National Security reasons - approved by you guys)

[thinkahead]

12. Explain to me where he called Clark a liar

I see nothing but conspiracy theories there.

[robbedvoter]

15. Trippi asked if what Clark said was true - said no. "We didn't offer"

When you say someone makes an untrue statement, it's calling the other a luar. Two people. Two opposite statements. Which one lies? Simple really.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

19. Don't Forget, Trippi Doesn't Know What Dean and Clark Discussed

He wasn't there; Clark and Dean were.

DTH

[robbedvoter]

22. Trippi set it up - at least:

From TPM:
"Aha! More news about Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi's 'he's-begging-to-be-our-VP' dirty tricks campaign against Wes Clark. This from the just-posted edition of USNews' Washington Whispers ..."
And if he doesn't know, he should say so, rather than challenge Clark's credibility.

[Zhade]

23. Dean's not my guy, but I'd still like you to back this up:

Dean: OK for POTUS to lie for National Security reasons

Proof, please?

[robbedvoter]

24. Answer at the NH convention - chronicled here

http://Blog.forclark.com/story/2003/12/15/101641/24

[Myra]

32. I agree that exposing lies matters

Al Franken seemed to think it mattered as well, thus
his book "Lying Liars and the Liars Who Tell Them.
And given that it's a best seller, a lot of the book
buying public seems to agree that it matters.

At least as it pertains to Faux news.

[JPace]

5. "Clark said Howard Dean offered him the vice presidential slot"

smart offer and I bet if he gets the nomination
he will offer it again!

[robbedvoter]

9. headline: Trippi lied on This week this morning

As for you guys, when are going to admit that you support 1/2 candidate?

[robbedvoter]

8. Let's go to the videotape - ugh - blogosphere - for the truth:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2003_09_07.html#001940
(September 11, 2003 -- 11:39 PM EDT // link // print)
This piece by Dan Balz is Friday's Washington Post strikes me as a very accurate assessment of the swirl currently whipping around Wes Clark and the pressure on him to get off the dime.

-- Josh Marshall

(September 11, 2003 -- 03:57 PM EDT // link // print)
Aha! More news about Dean Campaign Manager Joe Trippi's 'he's-begging-to-be-our-VP' dirty tricks campaign against Wes Clark. This from the just-posted edition of USNews' Washington Whispers ...

And forget about that talk that all the retired four-star general and former NATO boss wants is the veep nomination. Supporters say that's a dirty-tricks campaign pushed by rival Howard Dean who's scared of a Clark candidacy. Says Frisby: "Wes Clark firmly believes that he is the best choice to be president, not be vice president or hold any other government post."
Leave it to TPM to bring you the scoop first.

[VolcanoJen]

13. That's good stuff, robbedvoter!

Josh Marshall kicks ass, and that's a nice find. Thank you!!

:D

[Zhade]

25. Hmmmm.

I really like TPM. I think Marshall's quite intelligent and usually knows his stuff.

Of course, he's reporting secondhand info from Paul Bedard at US News, and I know nothing about Mr. Bedard's track record as far as credibility goes. But I don't think Marshall would quote a bad source without a caveat that the source is questionable.

Hmmmm. Like I said above, Dean's not my guy anyway. Still, if this is accurate, shame on them. If it's not accurate, shame on anyone claiming it is. I guess I'm still uncertain which way it goes, but thanks for pointing this out.

[Melinda]

11. Proof positive that Dean's a genius.

While is a ticket that many of us have been talking about for months and months, once again Dr. Dean proves he is on top of the game. :loveya: Dr. Dean.

[ajacobson]

16. Snuffy's attempt

to promote acrimony between Dean and Clark is not a surprise. The media is trying everything possible to make the story "X hates Y" or "Z called A unpatriotic", etc etc, and keep the focus off Bush.

IMHO, Clark's interview with Stephanopoulos kept the focus on Bush and hammered Bush hard on pre-9/11 intelligence failures. But that's not news. x(

[robbedvoter]

20. True. And if Trippi would have said "I dunno" it would have ended

Undortunately, it takes two to not fight. As it is , Trippi challenged Clark's credibility and he has direct knowledge since he set up the meetings. Time to take another dive, Joe, like you did for Gore nit calling Holly Joe. because I am not allowing my candodate to be dissed like that. Already CNN slanted it for their boy. Look at their headline:

Dean campaign denies it offered VP slot to Clark


http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/21/elec04.prez.democrats/
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
An apology is due - and fast.

[BillPhi]

27. Who Cares?

Obviously someone is lying. Either that, or maybe Trippi wasn't "in the loop"? After all, Trippi had enough to contend with by going on This Week to defend all his candidate's flip flops and inability to apologize when he's wrong.

In any event, this proves conclusively that no candidate will be able to rely on Clark to bolster their candidacy. Clark is NOT running for vice-president, will NOT accept a VP slot, and WILL win the nomination on his own!

I do hope Dr. Dean stays involved. I think he'd be a great Surgeon General for President Clark. As to his throngs of supporters, I hope they'll vote for Clark when Clark wins the nomination. Right now they number about 300,000 people, or a little less than 1% of the US population and about 15-20% of Democratic voters. Still, Clark is going to need every vote. Clark can't afford to dismiss Dean's supporters just because they are small in number.

[TacticalPeek]

30. Welcome to DU, BillPhi!

:toast:

I think they've all left themselves a little slack for jockeying, but Trippi should take care that he does not find himself in the Hugh Shelton Club, which is pretty much a dead-end, especially for a campaign communicator.

:evilgrin:

[FrenchieCat]

28. Is there anything that the Dean campaign

won't lie about? This is definitely as bad as Dean whining and saying Dems candidates should stop attacking him. Dean who said enough times to hurt Clark's campaign...."he was a Republican until 25 days ago"....Dean who keeps talking about Wes stance on the Iraq War and not really being against it....while he Dean all along had the same stance...

Dean is so desperate to win, he will say anything!...and his supporters don't even see it! Go figure!
http://query.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F20815FA385F0C728DDDA00894DB404482
Here is the New York Times take on Dean & Clark and the VP issue:Archived article:
September 11, 2003, Thursday
NATIONAL DESK

Dean Asks General to Join Him in Primaries, Aides Say

By JODI WILGOREN (NYT) BURLINGTON, Vt., Sept. 10 --
After months of friendly discussions about national security and other issues, Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, asked Gen. Wesley K. Clark to join his presidential campaign in some capacity if General Clark decided against making the run himself, aides for both men said tonight.

''The governor's told him repeatedly that he should run if he wants,'' Joe Trippi, Dr. Dean's campaign manager, said at the campaign headquarters here. ''I'm sure that along the way the governor's made clear that we want General Clark's support if he decides not to run for president. I assume every other candidate has done the same thing.''

The meeting on Saturday in Los Angeles was first reported tonight by The Washington Post. Mr. Trippi and an aide to General Clark said that they were unsure whether the two men had discussed the vice presidency as The Post reported but that Dr. Dean had not tried to persuade General Clark not to join the fray.

Dr. Dean is often asked whether he would put General Clark on a short list of running mates if he received the nomination. He always says, and Mr. Trippi repeated tonight, that it is far too early to engage in such conversations.

General Clark, who was the supreme allied commander of NATO and has retired from the Army, is expected to announce next week whether he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Dr. Dean, whose summer surge has made him a focal point of the nine-person primary field, has often spoken fondly of General Clark, in public and among his friends and supporters. The two men are both darlings of the Internet, which spawned a Draft Clark movement and has been fertile ground for Dr. Dean's fund-raising success.

Asked whether the meeting would have an effect on General Clark's decision about entering the race himself, his senior aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: ''No, no, no, no, no.''

''General Clark has had an ongoing dialogue with a number of the presidential candidates,'' the aide said. ''He's been talking to them all about national security issues.''

General Clark was in Los Angeles on Saturday as a guest on the HBO program ''Real Time With Bill Maher,'' and Dr. Dean was there for a fund-raising retreat. They had a wide-ranging discussion about the presidential race and their prospects, people who were there said.

Many political observers have said they believe General Clark will jump into the race, in part because he has scheduled a date, Sept. 19, to announce a decision.

Mr. Trippi played down the significance of Saturday's session.

''They've been meeting for months,'' he said. ''They've had these conversations over the phone. Every time they're in the same city, they meet.''

[Corgigal]

26. It would be a wonderful thing if it happened

Cheney is the threat not Bush and to put Clark up against Cheney in a debate would rock.

Not to mention if anyone falls out of the sky we still have one strong candiate left.

[FrenchieCat]

29. Pluuuease....

keep dreaming....like Dean and Trippi did.

Dean is a 1/2 candidate in this election.....and he knows it!

The American people will know it too, real soon, I hope!

Dean wants to remake the Democratic party with an internet movement...while his priority should be to beat Bush. He will remake the Democratic Party alright, but it won't make a difference in the end to Bush!


Pic

[stickdog]

31. Who the fuck cares?

Dean wanted to feel out Clark on the VP slot.

Clark wouldn't have met with Dean if he didn't want to hear what Dean had to say.

No formal offer was made because no formal offer could have possibly been made.

So what we are arguing about is how "much" of an informal offer was made. Clark would like to maximize the offer. Dean would like to minimize it.

Who cares?