Wesley Clark on the Campaign Trail
— -- ABCNEWS' Deborah Apton was on the trail with retired Gen. Wesley Clark as he ran for president. For all of her reports, scroll down.
There are days and there are days …
MEMPHIS, TENN., Feb. 10 — Gen.Clark's presidential campaign ended on Tuesday night just one week short of the five-month mark, making it the shortest run of all the Democratic hopefuls. And, just as Clark left press and supporters guessing last September whether he would or wouldn't run, he kept people guessing whether he would or wouldn't drop out. After delivering a "neither here nor there" speech to a group consisting mostly of Little Rock, Ark., staffers and supporters who migrated into Memphis, Tenn., Clark shook a few hands and headed for the door. Confused by the situation I asked Clark, "Are we still going to Wisconsin tomorrow?" His answer said what we'd later confirm was true: "We'll talk about everything tomorrow."
And tomorrow it is. At 3:00 pm ET, Clark will speak at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, Ark. and say what staffers confirmed the night before — that his stint in this race has ended.
While Clark spent the morning of his last day on the trail campaigning around Memphis, stopping cars in the street to yell, "I need your help," Clark's traveling staff spent the last day with cameras in hand, snapping last-minute shots. And then there was the press, who spent the day guessing whether the next stop on the Wes Express was The Rock or Wisconsin.
The Clark communications staff spent most of the day under wraps, leaving press without a chaperone for a three-hour bus ride, as well as before and after Clark's speech. To find out what was going on after a blasé speech by Clark, reporters decided to congregate outside the hotel suite where communications staff sat. At least 20 journalists, including those from CBS, CNN, the New York Times , the Boston Globe , Newsweek, and the Washington Post , stood waiting for somebody to tell them something. Twenty-five minutes later they got communications director Matt Bennett, who ultimately broke the news.
For Clark, who spent late Tuesday evening at dinner in Memphis with his wife, Gert, and son, Wes II, the experience has been one he surely won't forget. But while Clark became schooled the ways of politics and the stump speech, there are some things he never learn, like facing the cameras in press avails. Whether he comes back as a running mate is still unknown, according to Bennett.
On Wednesday at 8:30am The General, his family, staff and press will drive to Little Rock, Ark. Clark is not scheduled for any television or radio before the concession speech.
To Win or Not to Win …
RACINE, Wis., Feb. 8 — Flying to and from Wisconsin on Sunday there are less press and less staff with The General. A smaller plane forced some staffers to fly ahead to Nashville, leaving only Clark's trip director and press secretary to fly alongside him. Some traveling press have taken off for the weekend and will be meeting up come Monday. All in all, it's quiet and somewhat calm in the face of the packed schedule. Clark is laughing, eating popcorn and drinking grape juice — all the while seeming relaxed in the face of questions about his future. It seems he's not backing down from the "fight."
There seem to be three possible scenarios for Clark come Feb. 10 (Virginia doesn't play a part in any of them because even Clark discounts Virginia when talking about "winning") — three possibilities that the press like to bounce off one another throughout the day.
1. Clark comes wins Tennessee. He goes on to Madison, Wis. on Wednesday.
2. Clark comes in second behind Kerry, but beats Edwards in Tennessee. As the "new Southern favorite," Clark campaigns in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday.
3. Clark comes in third behind Kerry, behind Edwards. The Clark family and Clark campaign must decide if they want to head to Wisconsin …
Standing next to Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle on Sunday, Clark spoke with confidence that he'd be in Wisconsin to campaign next week. Here's how the exchange went:
--Will you campaign no matter what the result in Tennessee?
--"Well I intend to win Tennessee and be campaigning here next week, absolutely. That's my expectation."
--But if you don't win, will you still come to Wisconsin?
--"Absolutely. That's exactly right."
But for now, the Clark campaign has not run ads in Wisconsin since Feb. 3. And, according Matt Bennett, the campaign has not decided yet which ads will go up when. But Bennett says with confidence that after Feb. 10 the campaign will have ads up in Wisconsin in time for the Feb. 17 primary.
Clark will spend Monday and Tuesday campaigning around Tennessee. The final push, one-state strategy, is the same one the campaign used in Oklahoma — an outcome which the Clark campaign would happily repeat.
A Little More Competition
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla., Feb. 3— Oooooklahoma. The slight win in the state allowed Clark to declare victory Tuesday evening throwing out the pun to supporters in his victory speech: "Oklahoma is OK by me." The one-state-win also allowed The General a reason to stay in the race and a chance to compete in the Feb. 10 primary states and perhaps even beyond.
Following the victory speech, the staff on hand spoke about the three states where Clark came in second. And earlier in the night on the way to the party site, Mrs. Clark told her husband, "You got to look at the seconds in all the other states, you can't just look at one state." One senior campaign staffer said that the campaign plans to be competitive in Tennessee this week, a move that would pin Clark against Edwards for the Southern vote.
Beginning Wednesday morning, the Clark campaign begins a bus tour — the first two days in Tennessee, then two days in Virginia beginning Friday. Reporters received the Wednesday public schedule after midnight on Wednesday, leaving them to speculate that schedulers in Clark's Little Rock office were waiting to hear the results out of Oklahoma before locking in the schedule. Other possible stops on Clark's schedule this week include Detroit, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Clark's advertising in Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin all expired on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Clark's press secretary, Bill Buck, tells ABC News that the campaign will continue to run ads in Tennessee beginning Wednesday, Feb. 4, but no details were available on that buy. Two advertisements, "Major" and "Hope," had both been in rotation in that state. As for the other states' advertising, the campaign has said they have not made any final decisions as of primary night as to how they'll proceed with buys.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow. You're only a day away.
PHOENIX, ARIZ., Feb. 2 — Gen. Clark does not seem nervous with fewer than 24 hours left before the Feb. 3 primary. As the press descended from the charter in Phoenix on Monday, Clark stood at the bottom of the stairs saying to each reporter, "Welcome to Tucson." With final stops in New Mexico and Arizona on Monday, Clark seems hopeful on the stump, asking supporters to bring friends to the polls, saying he is "one tough hombre" who can beat Bush, and rallying his troops to what he hopes are some victories on Wednesday.
There's no mention by name of the man whose initials are JFK, but each time The General says he "isn't a Washington politician" or talks of his humble upbringing in his stump, you can guess who Clark's thinking about.
The campaign and the candidate maintain that they're not worried about tomorrow and that they see multiple wins in sight. Before taking off from Tucson to Phoenix on Monday, reporters asked Clark how he feels heading into Wednesday: "Oh, I'm going to win," he said matter of factly.
What states? Asked one reporter.
"Well, I'm not going to name states, but I'll win."
How many? More than one? Reporters shout out.
"I'm going to win. I'm going to win, I'm going to win, let's just leave it at that." Playing it cool, he takes a sip of water.
And the Clark campaign seems to agree that the victories they want are in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In the past few days, Clark has hopped between the three states, seeming to have given up on South Carolina. Clark's communications strategist, Chris Lehane, explains that "there's a big difference between actually being born in South Carolina and spending a couple of years campaigning there and being positioned there as the native son than being from Arkansas which is a couple states away." Lehane attributed Kerry's high poll numbers in South Carolina to the "good bounce out of Iowa and New Hampshire."
