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A Dean-Clark Ticket in 2004? NewsMax.comThe leading Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean has asked retired Army General Wesley Clark to be his vice presidential running mate, if General Clark decides not to seek the top office himself, the Washington Post reports.
The newspaper says the men discussed the prospect a few days ago in California. Gen. Clark said the meeting touched on a wide range of issues, but declined further comment.
The Post quotes an advisor to General Clark as saying the former NATO commander says he has only one decision to make, and that is whether he will run for president.
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean has emerged as a surprise front-runner in the crowded race for his party's nomination for the 2004 presidential elections. He opposed the Iraq war and has sharply criticized President Bush's foreign policy.
According to the Post report, Dean and Clark have met face-to-face four times to discuss the campaign. However, no running-mate decisions were ostensibly made at the California meeting -- since Clark is said to be still considering a presidential run.
The retired general is slated to make a speech Sept. 19 at the University of Iowa, when many political insiders expect him to announce his intentions, reported the Post.
"Most of our conversations have been around my getting advice on defense, and sometime he asks me about domestic issues," Dean said, without revealing the substance of his most recent conversation with Clark. "This is a guy I like a lot. I think he's certainly going to be on everybody's list if he's not the presidential nominee himself."
Joe Trippi, Dean's campaign manager also underplayed the significance of the meetings between his boss and Clark:
"I am certain along the way we have made it clear we would welcome General Clark's support in the campaign, but I am assuming other Democratic campaigns have done the same.”
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, also reportedly talked to Dean by phone as recently as last week.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting that Gen. Wesley Clark has confided to friends he is likely to become the 10th Democratic presidential candidate.
The AP report says the Arkansas resident is aggressively recruiting campaign staff and plans to announce his intentions next week, citing anonymous friends and party officials.
His earliest allies would be from former President Clinton's Arkansas-based political network, said the report. Clark confirmed that he was putting a campaign plan together but chalked it up to the type of "parallel planning" common in the military. "If you want to find out whether you're going to go ahead, you have to have financial resources and you have to have staff available," he told The Associated Press.
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