Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Dean-Clark Ticket in '04?
Aired September 11, 2003 - 14:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A ticket featuring Dean and Clark in 2004? Well, don't go printing those bumper stickers just yet. Aides to Howard Dean confirm the apparent front-runner in the Democratic race for president does want Wesley Clark's support. But the former NATO commander is considering entering the race himself.
Our Jonathan Karl is watching the maneuvers from Capitol Hill -- Jon, hello.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, some fascinating maneuvers here on the Democratic front here.
Wesley Clark, the retired general, the former supreme allied commander of NATO, has talked to Howard Dean several times about a potential run for president. And officials close to both men say that Dean has asked for his support, should he decide not to run. One person familiar with those discussions also says that Dean floated or at least talked to him about the idea of the vice presidency, about eventually being Dean's vice presidential candidate.
But despite all of that, what I'm hearing from people close to Wesley Clark is that he is strongly leaning towards running for president. In fact, many people that I've spoken to close to Clark expect that he will announce next week that he is becoming a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. I know that Clark has spoken to several people about campaign staff, that he's begun putting together a campaign organization.
He's talked to Democratic strategists about potentially becoming campaign manager. So there's a lot in the works here. I'm told by people close to Clark that Clark has not made a final decision on this. One person, a very senior Democrat who served in the Clinton White House in a senior role, tells me that Clark is 90/10 in favor of running for president, but that he hasn't yet pulled the trigger in his own mind.
As for the former general, he's going tomorrow to Arkansas, where he lives, to discuss this with his family. We know that, in the past, he has said that his wife, Gertrude, is very reluctant about a possible run. So that may be one very important person that he has to convince -- Daryn.
KAGAN: A couple of timing questions for you here, Jonathan.
First of all, to get back to the idea of his being a vice presidential candidate, aren't we almost a year ahead of when those kinds of announcements are made? Isn't that what the convention is for?
(LAUGHTER)
KARL: That's exactly right. And, in fact, the Dean campaign says it is way too premature to talk about this, about potential vice presidential candidates.
But we know that the two of them, at least according to one person familiar with the conversation, did talk about the vice presidency. But you are right. It is way early. First, you need to become the presidential nominee before you can get around to deciding who your vice president is going to be.
KAGAN: And then another timing question on the general. He certainly does like to think about stuff for a long time. We only recently found out that he's even a Democrat. What does he gain by dragging things out so long like this?
KARL: Well, the conventional wisdom for some time is that he had waited too long.
But now there's a situation where there doesn't appear to be a clear front-runner in the Democratic field. You could argue it's Howard Dean, because he momentum in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire. But he is not very well-known nationally. A lot of Democrats fear that Howard Dean does not have the experience, that he may be too far to the left.
So there is a sense that there needs to be something to shake up the Democratic field among some Democrats. And, at this point, Wesley Clark may be coming in at just the right time. He's coming in at a time when there's a lot of unhappiness with the field.
KAGAN: Timing can be everything.
Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill, thank you for that.
KARL: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 11, 2003 - 14:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: A ticket featuring Dean and Clark in 2004? Well, don't go printing those bumper stickers just yet. Aides to Howard Dean confirm the apparent front-runner in the Democratic race for president does want Wesley Clark's support. But the former NATO commander is considering entering the race himself.
Our Jonathan Karl is watching the maneuvers from Capitol Hill -- Jon, hello.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, some fascinating maneuvers here on the Democratic front here.
Wesley Clark, the retired general, the former supreme allied commander of NATO, has talked to Howard Dean several times about a potential run for president. And officials close to both men say that Dean has asked for his support, should he decide not to run. One person familiar with those discussions also says that Dean floated or at least talked to him about the idea of the vice presidency, about eventually being Dean's vice presidential candidate.
But despite all of that, what I'm hearing from people close to Wesley Clark is that he is strongly leaning towards running for president. In fact, many people that I've spoken to close to Clark expect that he will announce next week that he is becoming a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. I know that Clark has spoken to several people about campaign staff, that he's begun putting together a campaign organization.
He's talked to Democratic strategists about potentially becoming campaign manager. So there's a lot in the works here. I'm told by people close to Clark that Clark has not made a final decision on this. One person, a very senior Democrat who served in the Clinton White House in a senior role, tells me that Clark is 90/10 in favor of running for president, but that he hasn't yet pulled the trigger in his own mind.
As for the former general, he's going tomorrow to Arkansas, where he lives, to discuss this with his family. We know that, in the past, he has said that his wife, Gertrude, is very reluctant about a possible run. So that may be one very important person that he has to convince -- Daryn.
KAGAN: A couple of timing questions for you here, Jonathan.
First of all, to get back to the idea of his being a vice presidential candidate, aren't we almost a year ahead of when those kinds of announcements are made? Isn't that what the convention is for?
(LAUGHTER)
KARL: That's exactly right. And, in fact, the Dean campaign says it is way too premature to talk about this, about potential vice presidential candidates.
But we know that the two of them, at least according to one person familiar with the conversation, did talk about the vice presidency. But you are right. It is way early. First, you need to become the presidential nominee before you can get around to deciding who your vice president is going to be.
KAGAN: And then another timing question on the general. He certainly does like to think about stuff for a long time. We only recently found out that he's even a Democrat. What does he gain by dragging things out so long like this?
KARL: Well, the conventional wisdom for some time is that he had waited too long.
But now there's a situation where there doesn't appear to be a clear front-runner in the Democratic field. You could argue it's Howard Dean, because he momentum in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire. But he is not very well-known nationally. A lot of Democrats fear that Howard Dean does not have the experience, that he may be too far to the left.
So there is a sense that there needs to be something to shake up the Democratic field among some Democrats. And, at this point, Wesley Clark may be coming in at just the right time. He's coming in at a time when there's a lot of unhappiness with the field.
KAGAN: Timing can be everything.
Jonathan Karl on Capitol Hill, thank you for that.
KARL: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
