Worried about New Hampshire

[RageAgainstTheirMachine]

I have become increasingly worried about General Clark's chances in New Hampshire. I fear a 4th place finish, which would be really bad news for the General. We could handle third, but a strong second is what we really need to take on Kerry on 2/3. Anyone with some evidence to prove me wrong?

[tjdee]

1. No evidence--but don't worry....

NH is just one of 50 and apparently preliminary polling means little anymore.

I think Clark won't have any concerns until SC...Super Tuesday....going into the other states he's looking good.

I've long ago written off NH--That's a Kerry/Dean showdown and doesn't mean much for anyone else.

[Foswia]

2. Clark will be DOA

I like Clark, hes my first choice, but if he can't beat Dean he is DOA. A second place finish behind Dean was fine when in 1st, but now that Dean is fighting Edwards for second The General is DOA.

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. No animosity intended, but nonesense.

At no point in this race has anyone made any solid case for why Clark had to come in second in NH and/or defeat Dean there. Never, I repeat, never. Before Kerry seemed to be collapsing, third was the best anyone thought Clark could do in NH.

[RageAgainstTheirMachine]

12. I beg to differ

Expectations have changed. The media is tearing us apart right now. We need momentum. We can survive with a third place finish, but we need second place to really get back the media spotlight.

[Mass_Liberal]

3. I'm confident that Clark will get 3rd

sorry to say that I hope Clark doesn't get strong 2nd, if ya know what I mean. Unless of course Kerry gets weak 3rd. ;-)

[bigwillq]

4. Kerry winning Iowa

hurt Clark in NH but Clark will still do well in the Feb. 3 primaries. Even a fourth place finish in NH, which I think is possible, wouldn't hurt Clark all that much. However, I feel Clark's campaign has hit a snag and he needs to regroup. At frist, when Dean seemed to have Iowa in the bag, I thought it was smart of Clark to skip the Hawkeye state but it seems now that Clark's momentum has quieted.

[joeybee12]

5. Not to bash him, but from what I'm reading, I think he'll finish either

third or fourth. I've been turning off politics for a while, and I'm not sure why he's not doing better in NH. I thought he was smart not to go to Iowa after Kerry's victory, since he stayed out of that fray.

I think the best for Clark right now is to hope Dean wins NH--seriously--that will stop Kerry's momentum.

[RageAgainstTheirMachine]

7. agreed

eom

[joeybee12]

10. And third would be a lot better than fourth, which I think will happen...

...I just think NH will go for him more than they will for Edwards. It may not be much, but third place, even by one percentage point, is still ahead of fourth place.

[jmaier]

6. I think that the main objective for Clark

in NH is to finish ahead of Edwards in order to keep his Feb 3rd momentum. Finishing behind the favorite sons (Kerry & Dean) who have been campaigning hard in NH for the whole year isn't surprising or damaging.

For that matter, Edwards, prior to a few weeks leading into Iowa, had a great deal more campaign time NH than Wes Clark.

[HereSince1628]

9. Based on where he is running tv ads Clark is not leaving soon

I am not aware of any other candidate running tv commercials in the Milwaukee market.

Our primary is mid-February, I'm hoping Dean will beat him here.

[ACPS65]

11. It'll be very tough to beat a canidate who's won both Iowa and NH.

In fact, no one ever has.

[PAMod]

13. If Sen. Kerry wins NH, Gen. Clark may be done, unless, ironically...

Dean finishes second. A 2nd place for Dean may breathe life into his campaign, which would benefit Clark, at least for now.

I really think Clark's success is contingent on how Howard Dean fares because Clark has been defined, more or less, as the anti-Dean. If people really think Kerry is electable, then that sort of kills it for Clark, because electability was really the only thing he had going for him. Don't get me wrong - I generally like him and believe he would be a strong candidate, but he really doesn't have anything that no one else has, unless you see him as the only electable one.

If Dean and Clark had ever made a strong case for our getting a nominee outside of Washington, then I think either one would have had a shot. But I don't think that case was ever really made.

[RageAgainstTheirMachine]

14. agree somewhat

I obviously believe Clark is the best candidate we have, but he needs better to make the case that he is superior to Kerry. It is a lot easier for Clark to be the un-Dean than the un-Kerry.

[lovedems]

15. I'm with you.

I think if he got a 3rd place finish in NH, it will help him in the south. Do you think I am crazy to think that Clark would do better than Kerry in the south? The south loves war hero's and I think they would especially love a home grown 4 star General.