Dean Campaign Admits Attacking Clark: Jay Enright, Ultimate Hypocrite

[DoveTurnedHawk]

Well, it's now clear that Dean WAS INDEED behind the attacks on Clark:

Tricia Enright, a Dean spokeswoman, said the barbs were merely taking note of Clark's past statements and were not at odds with the Dean campaign's appeal in recent days for Democrats to strike a more positive tone. "I don't think it's inappropriate to point out the facts," she said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63270-2004Jan7.html

Look, however, at the outrageous hypocrisy of Dean spokesman Jay Enright:

December 29:

Jay Carson, spokesman for Dean, said the Vermont Democrat is running a positive campaign that can generate the money and momentum to beat Bush. He said it is Dean's rivals who are doing the attacking -- out of desperation. "The politics of attack . . . is exactly the kind of politics that turns off voters and suppresses turnout," Carson said. "It's bad for the party."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A39714-2003Dec29

ONE DAY LATER, December 30:

Jay Carson, a Dean spokesman, said the ad "doesn't make up for a lifetime of voting Republican. We're looking forward to seeing the Nixon-Reagan-Bush-Rumsfeld-Cheney ad."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/30/politics/main590656.shtml

And today, January 7:

Outside a Clark campaign event in Peterborough, N.H., a Dean aide handed out leaflets attacking the general. The fliers highlighted General Clark's praise for the Bush administration's prosecution of the war on terrorism in 2001 and 2002, his votes for Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and his sometimes conflicting statements about Iraq.

"I just think it's important to point out to the voters of New Hampshire that General Clark supported the war and General Clark spent most of his life as a Republican," said Jay Carson, Dr. Dean's national spokesman, "and he's now running as an antiwar candidate in the Democratic primary."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/08/politics/campaigns/08DEAN.html

If you disagree with these tactics, you can e-mail the Dean campaign and express your displeasure using this form here:

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/cg/index.html?type=page&pagename=resources_contact

DTH

[dfong63]

1. afraid of the truth?

the substance of the charges is absolutely factual. Clark voted repub, fundraised for the repubs, and praised Bush and Blair in the wake of their "victory". the Clark campaign, including yourself, has been attacking Dean (if you call the above an "attack", then you've done plenty of attacking yourself). Clark said and did those things - now he has to live with it.

[Clark4VotingRights]

3. Missing the point, much?

*Hypocrisy.*

If ya can't convince 'em...change the subject, eh?

[worldgonekrazy]

26. I see your point, but do you see mine?

I don't agree with the methods of the Dean campaign and as a supporter I am more than a little disturbed by these stories.

BUT, can you see that Dean has a valid point here? Can you see why it is important to question a candidate who has praised just about every member of this administration, who has participated in fundraisers for this administration, and who has championed the Iraq war on CNN?

Oh yeah, that was all before Clark became a Democrat.

Three months ago.

[Fahrenheit911]

38. his praise is pre 911

and he praised people within the bush administartion like colin powell, etc..not the pResident

[KittyWampus]

66. Clark Has Voted Democratic For Over 10 Years

Stumped and fundraised for them and donated money to them.

He was NEVER registered a Democrat so Dean is spreading a lie. He doesn't have a valid point if he has to LIE.

Dean himself has praised Bush Jr. and Bush Sr.

[Bread and Circus]

85. Seems like the Dean campaign has taken the low ground...

Great job, Dean :think:

[Tweed]

4. Clark has converted...

Haven't you ever heard of the faith of a convert before? Look at his tax plan! There couldn't be anything more Democrat about it!

[JVS]

7. There are threads suggesting otherwise about the tax plan

[mouse7]

16. "Democrat" huh Tweedtheatre?

Interesting use of that words, huh?

[jumptheshadow]

31. Yes, and Dean was soliciting Clark's advice on international affairs

Before Clark entered the campaign.

And then there was the conversation about the vice presidency. (I believe Clark's version rather than Dean's. Dean's stories change too much.)

Dean's campaign is more than a little hypocritical.

[BootinUp]

32. recycling

This material is not going to hurt Clark right now. It was all aired to death back in October/November in every major news outlet.

[Clark4VotingRights]

2. Thanks DTH. I'd like to follow Clark's lead and take the high road

But stuff like this, Dr Dean's double standard, makes it really difficult.

[Leilani]

5. The anti-Clark leaflets

have now been reported in Wash Post, NY Times, shown on CNN, FOX,
MSNBC( reported or shown), & witnessed in first hand accounts.

Dean has run the dirtiest campaign against ALL competitors, & yet plays the victim if anyones returns fire.

Rove will crush this guy like a bug. Maybe a cockroach, to be more exact.

[Clark4VotingRights]

8. Dean is the most aggresive victim in the race.

It was tiresome...weeks ago.

[adadem]

11. You are absolutely correct n/t

[Soul On Ice]

42. This might explain some of the

feeling I get in my gut when I listen to Dean.

When I listen to him go off and supposedly young people or new voters on Internuts go crazy; then, he is forced to apologize several days later kicking and screaming.

Also, there really is a lot of dif between the way he's played himself to the people and his record in VT. Not talking about his or his surrogates' assessments of his record in VT; I'm talking about his record in VT.

There's a difference.

[bitchkitty]

45. That is pure crap -

"Dean has run the dirtiest campaign against ALL competitors,,,"

You pulled that one straight out of your ass.

[TLM]

71. WHat's dirty about the flyers?

How is quoting Clark's own words at repuke fundraisers dirty?

[incapsulated]

6. Yes

I'm afraid this is going to get every bit as ugly as I thought it would.

 

[imhotep]

9. WAHHHHHH

poor little Clark.... Telling the truth is now "attacking."

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bitchkitty]

46. Um, Matt -

the idea, when you put someone on ignore, is to ignore them. Just a tip.

[revcarol]

10. Dean just goes around spreading those flowers of happiness,

called funeral wreaths. If he alienates any more candidates, the wreaths will probably be his.

[Mattforclark]

12. Dean had better

either apologize or say whatever he needs to say to Clark's face.

[quinnox]

13. This is routine for Dean camp

Dean attacks for months, and then when he gets return fire runs to DNC chair to try and stop it. This is not the kind of backbone that will stand up to Bush and Roves attacks. Dean wouldn't be able to cry to any DNC chairman then.

Dean has shown he will say anything to try and win, including reversing important policy positions such as campaign finance, NAFTA, and the most recent tax policy.

Dean has clearly shown he has no principles, and determines his daily position on issues by polling. This is not leadership.

[Jim Sagle]

14. Dean rawwwwwwwwwwkssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[snyttri]

17. If Ron Brown were Chairman of this Party instead of Terry McCauliffe

I would not get away with doing what I am doing.- Dean

[Soul On Ice]

43. Ain't that the truth!

:yourock:

[Clark Campaigner]

18. What's so bad about Clark's Republican roots?

We need a centrist who can bring us back from the edge of the abyss that Dean is trying to push us over.
Remember, Republicans have been voted into the majority of pretty much every area in American politics.

We aren't going to catch them by running the other way!

[oasis]

19. Independent and first time voters for Dean prefer a lifelong Democrat.

:eyes:

[Clark Campaigner]

21. "First time voters"?

You mean the people who never bothered to show up to the polls on election day before, but swear they'll get around to it this time...

...just as they have promised every previous election too...

Oh, but I know, because Howard Dean is different.. he's "not like the other guys", right?
Please. :eyes:

Howard Dean and his angry left-wing politics is just a fad, a fashion statement that will have passed long before the election in November.
Those kids who are all about Howard Dean today will be all about some hot new boy band tomorrow.

[BootinUp]

33. This is pretty much how I feel

as well. Where were the members of the revolution two/three years ago?

[TLM]

78. Yet again Clark folks attacking the left wing....

Without that left wing, Clark loses.


Simple enough?

[oasis]

92. My attempt at sarcasm again falls flat. Please read #90

[Leilani]

22. Why Independents?

They would be much more flexible about one's political affiliation, since they are not aligned with a party.

Is this your 1st election? You seem rather naive.

[oasis]

91. Please read post #90

[in_cog_ni_to]

39. Oh, that is just too funny!

Prefer a "lifelong" Democrat? What a crock. :eyes:

[moz4prez]

73. oasis made a funny, in cog ni to

"Independents and first time voters FOR DEAN prefer a lifelong Democrat"

it was intended as a joke, see?

[oasis]

90. Thank's moz4prez. Dean people claim that a large % of their supporters

are Independents and first time voters. It is reasonable to assume that they wouldn't care that much about a candidate's former party affiliation. But that's not what I'm seeing here. Clark is somehow disqualified because *HE'S* not a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat.

[jonnyblitz]

54. we don't need any more centrism.

geesh. Centrists side with the dark side half the time.

[Clark Campaigner]

55. It's all grey in the middle

:)

[TLM]

76. Thanks for admitting Clark is running to the RIGHT

following Bush...

[slinkerwink]

20. so? they're presenting the facts....and that's what voters should look at

not some glitzy tv ads...

[FrenchieCat]

23. Like that

glitsy pic up above that really doesn't look very good...and has to be seen everytime someone responds?

[slinkerwink]

25. lol, if it really bothers you that much, use the "no sig pics" option in

your profile. Check it---it's there, it exists. Turn that option off so you won't have the displeasure of seeing my legal Dean sig line picture. ;-)

[Zomby Woof]

97. I won't say yours is "illegal"

Since the rules only make suggestions... but it is above the recommended 10 kilobytes, and one dimension exceeds those guidelines as well.

Beam...in...eye...pluck!

[incapsulated]

27. Facts, uh?

How about Dean and his team are a bunch of hypocrites? Crybaby hypocrites, to boot. Cry victim one day, stab in back the next. Dirty politics, tsk, tsk.

It's a movement.

Those are my facts.

[jumptheshadow]

34. Well, then you won't get upset

When we ask for Howard Dean's records to be unsealed so we can look at the facts.

[Adjoran]

24. Dean brought this on himself

He has been highly critical of others for months, labelling them "Bush Lite" or "the Republican wing of the Democratic Party" or "cockroaches."

He has criticized the Clinton Administration, which gave us eight years of peace and prosperity.

Dr. Dean is very good at dishing it out, but he doesn't like to take it.

[Crunchy Frog]

28. I think this is a good thing

It clearly shows desperation and fear on the part of the Dean camp. It makes Dean look really ugly and hypocritical, which can only hurt him and help Clark. That is how the dynamics of this race have played out. Kerry, Gephardt and Lieberman destroyed their campaigns by going negative on Dean.

It will be interesting to see what kind of response the General will come up with. I would expect something somewhat unconventional.

Here's to hoping this kills the Dean campaign. I do not want this man running against Bush in the General election.

Oh, and I'm glad that this seems to be getting the media coverage it deserves.

[JNelson6563]

29. Help me to understand this

Outside a Clark campaign event in Peterborough, N.H., a Dean aide handed out leaflets attacking the general. The fliers highlighted General Clark's praise for the Bush administration's prosecution of the war on terrorism in 2001 and 2002, his votes for Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and his sometimes conflicting statements about Iraq.

"I just think it's important to point out to the voters of New Hampshire that General Clark supported the war and General Clark spent most of his life as a Republican," said Jay Carson, Dr. Dean's national spokesman, "and he's now running as an antiwar candidate in the Democratic primary."

The bolded part, what the flyers say, is all true. Maybe it is unpleasant but it is factual. How does this equal horrid attacks?

If it was filled with lies or something I'd be furious as a Dean supporter. To state the facts is not an attack. This stuff is going to be pounded repeatedly if Clark wins the nomination. I am always reading here that Dean NEEDS to weather all the attacks on him to prep him for Rove, should he win the nom. These flyers are factual and it seems the Clark supporters see it as the end of all that is good and decent. I don't get it. :shrug:

Julie

[TrueAmerican]

36. Clear something up for me

"I just think it's important to point out to the voters of New Hampshire that General Clark supported the war and General Clark spent most of his life as a Republican," said Jay Carson, Dr. Dean's national spokesman, "and he's now running as an antiwar candidate in the Democratic primary."

Was General Clark actually a registered republican? Everything I read is that he was registered independent.

Can you provide the link where Clark says he was a republican or a registration card that says he was?

[JNelson6563]

37. parsing?

So to make it more accurate one could simply say "spent most of his life supporting Republicans" intead of "as a Republican".

Surely you can do better than that?

Julie

[TrueAmerican]

41. So you admit the Dean campaign is being deceptive

Thanks for admiting it. I wish you could be their spokesperson.

[JNelson6563]

56. not at all

Clark did always support R's and he was supportive of the war when it was happening. Where's the decption?

Julie

[Phelan]

57. Actually as an officer in the military

most people keep their heads clear of politics, since it can cause you to be axed. talked to a two-star friend of mine about it, and he says that by nature officers are not openly involved in politics.

[TLM]

80. Clark was out of the military when he said these things

and he said them at a repuke fundraiser.

[TLM]

79. If you go to repuke fundraisers...

and praise Bush, Bush II, and Reagan... you're a republican, regardless of what you call yourself.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

63. It's Classless, Crass, Petty and Hypocritical

And the bit about Clark EVER being a Republican is a 100% dishonest lie.

DTH

[Bread and Circus]

87. It just seems like a creepy thing to do at a Clark rally...

and juvenile.

[BootinUp]

30. I don't know why this would

surprise anybody. My impression of Dean has always been that of a typical politician with a few new tricks.

[maddezmom]

35. the Dean campaign admits it was their work

that's a start. Don't think it'll hurt the Clark campaign at all. Just more coverage that Dean is also attacking the other candidates, while he claims to be attacked 1st.

[in_cog_ni_to]

40. I see this as something that

could help Clark. As hypocritical as it is, EVERYONE will now know what we know. Dean's a hypocrite. Just last week he was WHINING about being attacked. He went crying to Terry McAuliffe and begged him to stop the others from picking on him :cry: and NOW...LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DOING! This is PRICELESS!

Another thing. If I were a Clark supporter, walking into a town hall meeting and received one of these fliers? I would not be happy with the Dean campaign. I would see it for what it is. DESPERATE!

Go Wes!

[Rowdyboy]

44. It is so funny !

Dean, Edwards and Lieberman using Clark crowds to leaflet. Why? Because thats where the people are!

This is rich, very rich.

[jumptheshadow]

47. Or, more to the point, if you were an undecided voter

And you got one of those flyers while walking into the Clark event...wouldn't you say, hmmmm, wasn't Dean the guy who was whining about negative campaigning...and if Dean is feeling so cornered that he's using these tactics now, then will he be our most effective nominee in the GE?

[in_cog_ni_to]

51. Bingo!

I see nothing good happening for Dean with those tactics. Had he not been attacking the other candidates and the Democrats in congress, it might play differntly, but he has attacked them and the whined when it was returned. Now this? Nope. It isn't going to play in his favor.

[Loonman]

48. The two faces of Dean

Victim/aggressor

[Forkboy]

49. It's a fair attack,but hypocritical

the trouble is saying they wont attack then doing it.But the attack itself is fair and what a LOT of people are thinking about Clark.

[robbedvoter]

50. Additional facts, admissions here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-clark8jan08,1,111900.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Staffers for Front-Runner Dean Seen Chasing After Clark
By Eric Slater

Feeling like Job still?

[Donna Zen]

94. Okay RV

Remember what I told you a full day before this broke? This is the tip of the iceberg compared to some of the crap behind closed doors.

I've been pissed off for days, I was pissed off when I wrote you, I'm still pissed off!

This is not for general comsumption on a public message board, but believe me when I tell you that we are seeing very little of the real mud.

[Killarney]

52. I'm really disappointed in Dean for this.

It's one thing to try to gain leverage over the other candidates during debates and interviews, but to try to gain leverage by passing out anti-candidate flyers at that candidates event... that seems cowardly to me in a way. It's dirty and I don't like it. I'm very disappointed.

[Forkboy]

53. been going on forever

it is kind of tacky though.But trust me,this is nothing new at all in any political season.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

64. It's Cowardly, Dirty and UTTERLY Classless

And the Dean supporters who try to justify this behavior as "politics as usual" or somehow "not an attack" disappoint me as well.

If people think I've been critical of Howard Dean in the past, they haven't seen anything. I think I'm going to go on a true crusade against Howard Dean, to do everything in my power to try to prevent him from getting the nomination. I'm really that pissed off.

DTH

[Forkboy]

68. And become what you decry?

your soul ain't worth it,my friend.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

70. Maybe

But it sure as hell would make me feel better.

:evilgrin:

DTH

[Forkboy]

72. lol

That's like the Suicidal Tendencies song,Two Wrongs Dont Make A Right But They Make Me Feel A Whole Lot Better :)

[TLM]

81. So you think folks at the Clark event shouldn't know the facts...

facts about what Clark said and who he supported before deciding to be a democrat 3 months ago?

[Padraig18]

58. I'm very conflicted on this...

On the one hand, I don't like this sort of campaigning, because I don't think it helps us as a party. That said, it happens and has always happened and always WILL happen. On the other hand, what's in the brochure doesn't meet my criteria for an 'attack', and the simple reason for that being that the statements are true.

I've written the campaign to ask that they stop this, but I'm not going to denounce it.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

65. Well, Thank You for That, at Least

Although it's clearly an attack. And it's clearly negative campaigning in stark contrast to Dean's claims of running a positive campaign. And the bit about Clark being a Republican is a LIE.

People like you, Padraig, are the one thing that would cause me to hold my fire on Dean, conceivably.

But I am still furious.

DTH

[redqueen]

60. I wonder if Clark will respond in kind

Surely the voters in NH must also need to hear about how Dean's campaign rhetoric is completely the opposite of how he governed in VT.

I think a flier delineating all the 'evolutions' Dean has gone through since he decided to run for president would be very informative. :)

[maddezmom]

61. doubt they would do a flyer, ususally Wes says what's on his mind

but one never knows. :)

[Hep]

62. A whole lot of nothing

"Dean Aide" "Campaign Worker"

Just means Dean supporter. I'm still waiting for some REAL evidence.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

67. Hep, the CAMPAIGN ADMITS They Are Doing It

So are you going to default to the, "It's not an attack" line now?

DTH

[JNelson6563]

74. It's no more of an attack than your

Why I think Dean is a Weak Candidate post. In fact it is more factual and less opinionated than your post was. Was your post an attack?

Julie

[DoveTurnedHawk]

77. Julie...I AM NOT THE CLARK CAMPAIGN

There is a difference between supporters and the official campaign. I'm just a loudmouth on an Internet discussion board. Jay Enright is DEAN'S OFFICIAL SPOKESPERSON.

This is a shitty, classless, hypocritical tactic, and the fact that you try to justify it is very disappointing.

DTH

[JNelson6563]

95. I don't have a problem with facts

But for a guy who takes great issue with "attacks" you sure participate in enough of that.


Do you see any lies in that flier? I don't. So Clark only voted republican and spoke glowingly of Rs at fundraisers for them, that is republican enough to count as republican.

I can only wonder what if it had been Dean who did these things and now was running for the Dem nom. I bet many here would not see it as so defensible.

Stating facts on a flier is no crime, it is not hypocritcal and it is not a "dirty trick".

Julie

[DoveTurnedHawk]

96. Whatever

You're throwing stones at ME for personal attacks on candidates. Are you really trying to make YOURSELF out to be some kind of innocent when it comes to those, Julie?

Regardless, I have never pretended to be as good a man as Wesley Clark. When candidates attack him, I will not hesitate to defend Clark, or attack those candidates back. Again, big difference: he's running for President, and I'm not.

Howard Dean has routinely lied just to "stay on message." He's done it three times now with Clark and this "Republican" nonsense, and he's done it twice with Kucinich. You say it's a minor thing, but he's been called on it again and again, and he keeps on doing it. And that is a character flaw.

As for hypocrisy, that is obvious based on Dean's completely empty claim that he's running a positive campaign. Even if you think it's not a "dirty trick," it's so obviously negative campaigning, and it's so obviously petty and weak. Most people don't like candidates who act petty and weak. Most people don't like candidates who lie just to stay on message. I sure as hell don't. And I'm sure that's why Howard Dean has such high negatives with the electorate.

You know what? You've convinced me.

Fuck Howard Dean.

DTH

[TLM]

69. So it is an unfair attack to quote Clark's own words?

Why are Clark supporters so afraid of Clark's past statements being publicized?

I did not see these folks upset when folks were digging 10 and 15 years into Dean's past to find half a sentence to try and spin out of context.

In fact the Clark supporters were some of the worst perpetrators of presenting decade old quotes from Dean out of context to attack Dean in the primary.

[CWebster]

75. Not anything different than we do here everyday

What is so wrong about it? I know you would rather Zzzzz through it, but you can't hide from it. Geez, grow a tougher skin, we have been going through non-stop attacks from all quarters for months and we are still standing upright. This is nothing compared to what is sure to come.

[lurk_no_more]

82. It really must have been a real ego deflater

to get slapped down in front of everyone by the head of your own party for whining about being picked on, so I can see why mr. anger management would attack.

I just wonder if deans advisor's allowed him to do this, since their now the puppet masters.

I just donated another $25 to Clark.



” JAFO”

[adamrsilva]

83. Clark has to live with being attacked because of his pastq

just like Dean. To say otherwise, is hypocricy.

[democratreformed]

86. This is more correct:

Clark has to live with being attacked b/c he chose to enter the political arena. It is becoming easier for me every day. Being new at active involvement, it was very hard to see all the attacks for a while.

[artr2]

84. It's called politics, people

People play to win ... Deal with it... not this constant "Mommy, he took my ball wah wah " You clark people love to slam Dean as much as possible, but when it is turned on you, all I hear is a bunch of spoiled brats.. It's called politics, it a hardball game, and adult game.. grow up will ya

[democratreformed]

88. Ugh - nasty word.

LOL.

[incapsulated]

89. You're right. Howard Dean is "Politics as Usual"

Who was it that went crying to Terry McAuliffe about attacks? Was it Clark? No, it was Howard Dean. :cry:

And then he turns around and does this, and you dare to call his supporters brats?

It's a Revolution! It's a Movement!

It's more of the same dog and pony show. It never fooled me. Now Dean supporters are acting like he's just another slimey politician and it doesn't surprise them. What happened to great movement of the people? They are outside Clark's meetings, playing one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[elixir]

93. I think Clark is enjoying it. This is the best press yet

and will carry right through the weekend. The more the Dean campaign denies it, the more Clark looks good.

If the flyer wasn't such a big deal, let's put together a hypothetical flyer for Howard Dean that could be handed outside an appearance in Iowa by Clark supporters:

Dean Would have Supported Unilateral Attack
Dean opposes the Bush resolution and supports an alternative sponsored by Sens. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, and Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican. 'It's conceivable we would have to act unilaterally, but that should not be our first option,'

Dean Considered Iraq an Imminent Threat
"I think Iraq is automatically an imminent threat to the countries that surround it because of the possession of these weapons."

... I could go on.

You can say that the material was correct but you must admit the goal was to smear Clark, just like my hypothetical Dean flyer.

[Zomby Woof]

98. Since the summer...

I have been posting that Dean is downright Nixonian in his tactics, so this comes as literally no surprise, and is true to form.

[Barbara917]

99. I haven't read the flyer

How many here actually know the precise contents of the flyer? I assume that everyone who is stating the contents are all the "truth" have. What I have heard about the flyers is that they are a bunch of rehashed smears and quotes taken out of context which placed in context have a different meaning. I am amazed that none of the Clark suppporters are challenging the so-called "truth" of the flyers.

For example the statement that Clark was pro-Iraq War is untrue. These were the written positions of Clark on a possible war in Iraq long before it ever happened.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/10/timep.iraq.viewpoints.tm/
http://www.house.gov/hasc/openingstatementsandpressreleases/107thcongress/02-09-26clark.html


These are consistent with his opinions today. It is convenient to believe the statements of a political rival or a reporter looking for a gotcha than his long well-documented written position on the Iraq war.

The Clark was a Republican is a nonsensical lie. He was never a registered Republican. We should roast him for voting for Nixon and Reagan but he gets no credit for voting for Clinton twice and also Gore? Gee! Voting for a Republican 15 years ago is a crime so heinous he can never join the party. If the Republicans had had that attitude we would never have had to endure 8 years of Reaganomics, after all Reagan was once a Democrat. I wonder how he got elected in that landslide? All the "loyal" democrats either stayed home or jumped ship.

Negative campaigning is when you spend your time and resources telling the voters why the other guy is no good because you have no message of your own or the other guy's message is better.

Clark has not attacked Dean. Dean's behavior his completely hypocritical in the face of his request for intercession from McAuliffe. Now Clark does deserve the right to defend himself but I am sure that will also be twisted into an attack on Dean.