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Interview With Wesley Clark
Aired September 16, 2003 - 15:02 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Judy Woodruff, live from Little Rock, Arkansas, where retired Army General Wesley Clark has made the long-awaited political decision.
Sources say that he will announce that he is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. He's going to make the announcement tomorrow. That would make him the 10th Democrat in the race.
Clark has Southern roots. He did grow up here in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has an impressive military resume, capped by his tenure as the supreme commander of NATO. His credentials and his opposition to the war in Iraq helped to propel his candidacy. I spoke with Clark today just a short time ago in Little Rock about his qualifications to be commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RET. GENERAL WESLEY CLARK, U.S. ARMY: We're going to march forth across the United States. And we're going to have a vision that helps transform this country to meet the challenges of the 21st century. And I believe I can lead that.
WOODRUFF: All right. You make it sound like a crusade, rather than a campaign.
CLARK: Well, I didn't say it was a crusade. I don't use that term, because that's not a term that is appropriate in this case.
This is an electoral process. We're a democracy. And I believe that what's unique about this is, if you look at the draft movement, for example, you've got 60,000 people now, is what they're telling me. It's astonishing. It's the power of the Internet. Some of it is in Howard Dean's campaign, too.
And when you look at that, you realize, there hasn't been anything this powerful in America, as a fundamental movement, since maybe 1772 and the Committees of Correspondence. It's incredibly strong.
WOODRUFF: Two other quick political questions. Then I want to ask you a policy question.
No. 1, what about getting in too late? I mean, the conventional wisdom is, it is late. It is September 2003. These other people have been running, some of them for years. What makes you think you can assemble the team, the money, the organization and so forth to begin to catch them?
CLARK: Just, conversations I've had and the judgments I've made say it's not too late.
WOODRUFF: All right.
And in terms of the Howard Dean conversations, it's been reported you've talked to him a lot. Have you talked to him about being his vice presidential running mate?
CLARK: Well, I didn't talk to him about that.
WOODRUFF: Did he talk to you about it?
CLARK: But those issues have come up, and not only with him, but with other candidates.
But, you know, there's only one decision that's in front of me. And that's the decision whether to stand for the nation's highest elective office or not. And that's the decision I'm focused on. And that's the decision I'm making.
WOODRUFF: So to those people who say, this is really an effort for him to get on somebody's ticket as a running mate, you say?
CLARK: I say, I believe I'm the most qualified man to stand for election, represent this party in this election of 2004. And I believe I'm the most qualified man to become the next president of the United States -- man or woman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: More of my interview with General Clark coming up on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 4:00 Eastern and on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight, as I take a look at who Wesley Clark is and why he wants to be president.
Well, the news about Wesley Clark is stealing some of the spotlight away today from North Carolina Senator John Edwards on his formal presidential announcement day. The millionaire trial lawyer emphasized his small-town roots and modest upbringing, appearing in front of the North Carolina textile mill where his father once worked; his goal, to jump-start his stalled bid for the Democratic nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is where, today, to make opportunity the birthright of every single American, I declare myself a candidate for president of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Edwards didn't mention any of his Democratic rivals. Instead, he focused his criticism on President Bush. 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 16, 2003 - 15:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Judy Woodruff, live from Little Rock, Arkansas, where retired Army General Wesley Clark has made the long-awaited political decision.
Sources say that he will announce that he is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. He's going to make the announcement tomorrow. That would make him the 10th Democrat in the race.
Clark has Southern roots. He did grow up here in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has an impressive military resume, capped by his tenure as the supreme commander of NATO. His credentials and his opposition to the war in Iraq helped to propel his candidacy. I spoke with Clark today just a short time ago in Little Rock about his qualifications to be commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RET. GENERAL WESLEY CLARK, U.S. ARMY: We're going to march forth across the United States. And we're going to have a vision that helps transform this country to meet the challenges of the 21st century. And I believe I can lead that.
WOODRUFF: All right. You make it sound like a crusade, rather than a campaign.
CLARK: Well, I didn't say it was a crusade. I don't use that term, because that's not a term that is appropriate in this case.
This is an electoral process. We're a democracy. And I believe that what's unique about this is, if you look at the draft movement, for example, you've got 60,000 people now, is what they're telling me. It's astonishing. It's the power of the Internet. Some of it is in Howard Dean's campaign, too.
And when you look at that, you realize, there hasn't been anything this powerful in America, as a fundamental movement, since maybe 1772 and the Committees of Correspondence. It's incredibly strong.
WOODRUFF: Two other quick political questions. Then I want to ask you a policy question.
No. 1, what about getting in too late? I mean, the conventional wisdom is, it is late. It is September 2003. These other people have been running, some of them for years. What makes you think you can assemble the team, the money, the organization and so forth to begin to catch them?
CLARK: Just, conversations I've had and the judgments I've made say it's not too late.
WOODRUFF: All right.
And in terms of the Howard Dean conversations, it's been reported you've talked to him a lot. Have you talked to him about being his vice presidential running mate?
CLARK: Well, I didn't talk to him about that.
WOODRUFF: Did he talk to you about it?
CLARK: But those issues have come up, and not only with him, but with other candidates.
But, you know, there's only one decision that's in front of me. And that's the decision whether to stand for the nation's highest elective office or not. And that's the decision I'm focused on. And that's the decision I'm making.
WOODRUFF: So to those people who say, this is really an effort for him to get on somebody's ticket as a running mate, you say?
CLARK: I say, I believe I'm the most qualified man to stand for election, represent this party in this election of 2004. And I believe I'm the most qualified man to become the next president of the United States -- man or woman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: More of my interview with General Clark coming up on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 4:00 Eastern and on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight, as I take a look at who Wesley Clark is and why he wants to be president.
Well, the news about Wesley Clark is stealing some of the spotlight away today from North Carolina Senator John Edwards on his formal presidential announcement day. The millionaire trial lawyer emphasized his small-town roots and modest upbringing, appearing in front of the North Carolina textile mill where his father once worked; his goal, to jump-start his stalled bid for the Democratic nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is where, today, to make opportunity the birthright of every single American, I declare myself a candidate for president of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Edwards didn't mention any of his Democratic rivals. Instead, he focused his criticism on President Bush. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
