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American Morning

Interview with Wesley Clark

Aired January 08, 2004 - 08:06   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: More politics now. Let's talk about on the Democratic side, the front runner, Howard Dean, may well be looking over his shoulder today. And, if so, he would see a hard charging Wesley Clark. Support for the retired general among registered Democrats nearly doubling in a month, from 12 percent up to 20 percent. That's according to our latest numbers, CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup. Dean lost three percentage points in that same period.
Retired General Wesley Clark now with us live in Chester, New Hampshire.

Nice to see you.

Good morning.

WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to see you, Bill.

HEMMER: On the national front, what do you make of those numbers? What's the message to you in that?

CLARK: Well, I'm just doing what I've been doing. I've been out there meeting people and talking to people. And I think it takes a while for voters to really see you, especially a person like me. I'm not a professional politician. I've never run before and when we started this campaign back in September, I made my decision on the 15th of September, Bill, and we started with what I call the four nos. We had no money, we had no staff, we had no position papers and I'd never run for elected office.

And so it's just taken, you know, the normal kind of thing. I don't think anybody's ever tried to do this before in American politics...

HEMMER: Well, I tell you, we looked at...

CLARK: And I'm really grateful for the support we've had.

HEMMER: The national numbers are one thing, New Hampshire is another deal, though. Look at these numbers we're getting in a different poll, 36 percent to 16 percent. In this poll, anyway, you're well behind the governor, Governor Dean, by 20 points.

Why are you not, apparently in this poll, anyway, catching on in the Granite State?

CLARK: Well, I think I am catching on. I don't pay much attention to poll numbers. All I can tell you is everywhere we've been, we've had packed houses, overflowed, changed venues, people coming up to me left and right saying I used to support Dean, I used to support Kerry, I'm coming over to you. They're filling out paperwork. I think you have to look at the dynamic trend, Bill, not just a single spot in time.

HEMMER: Yes, and if the Dean campaign were here arguing this, they would say they've been under a vicious assault for the past two weeks running and they would say that's the reason why the numbers have gone nationally -- down, rather.

Are the numbers proof that he's right?

CLARK: I don't know. I don't trust those -- any poll numbers, Bill. This is about connection with the voters. I'm in New Hampshire. It's the first time I've ever run for public office. I'm drawing huge crowds. People are, seem to be responding very enthusiastically. I'm very happy to be able to connect with the voters. To me, that's what American politics is all about and the only poll that ever really counts is the poll that shows up in the votes that people weigh, put in at the polling place. That's the only thing that matters and for me.

The only thing that matters now is being able to reach and talk to voters, hear their concerns, give them a -- I'm running to bring a higher standard of leadership to America, Bill. I'm not a politician. I'm a leader. I don't know any of the tactics and strategy and all those artifices. I know one thing -- this country can do better than George W. Bush. And under my leadership, we will. We'll have a better foreign policy. We'll fix jobs, we'll bring health care to Americans, we'll have a fairer, simpler, more progressive taxation system. This country will be the leader in the world again and it will be the most respected and admired nation in the world again.

HEMMER: You mentioned the president's name, look at some of the other surveys we're getting here in terms of the American economy and Americans believing the situation is improving. Forty-three percent say economic conditions are excellent or good. That's up six percent from a month ago. A full 66 percent say economic conditions are getting better.

How tough is it to run against the White House given the situation we're seeing now?

CLARK: It's not tough at all, Bill, because when you come -- when you're out in real America and you're not listening to the statistics that come out on the media, you're talking to people who don't have jobs. The statistic that counts to me is that almost nine million Americans who don't have jobs and every month that goes by there are more Americans entering the workforce that can't get jobs.

We've got 44 million Americans without health insurance. For them, those statistics of the Dow Jones industrial average and industrial production, productivity, they don't mean a thing. We're talking about families out here who are desperately struggling to get by. And if you're in a family and you lose your job, it's a crisis, and you don't care about national statistics. And I'm still finding a lot of people out here, in fact, I'm finding more and more, who want work and can't have it. A quarter of the people who are unemployed have been out of work for more than six months.

The president didn't even extend unemployment benefits for people over the Christmas holidays.

HEMMER: If it...

CLARK: This country is in desperate trouble.

HEMMER: If I could interject here, quickly, in the time we have left, the Dean campaign is questioning whether or not you're a true Democrat. There are bumper stickers out and headlines. They question your support for the war on terror for this White House. They say your support for previous presidents on the Republican side -- Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Sr.

How do you convince Democrats that you are, indeed, a true Democrat on their side, if this is the allegation against you?

CLARK: Well, I don't think that's a valid allegation against me. I think people are listening to what I say. They're looking at this country and they want a higher standard of leadership. They want someone who's a proven leader, who spent his life in leadership, who knows domestic policy, knows foreign policy and has the convictions and courage to move the country forward. I do and that's why I'm running.

HEMMER: A final question here. The Iowa caucuses, 11 days away. You're not competing there.

Was that a mistake, in retrospect?

CLARK: Absolutely not. I just didn't have time. I -- by the time it came around to looking at Iowa, it was mid-October. I talked to people out there. They said $4 million, 20 to 30 days. A lot of people liked me in Iowa. They really wanted me to compete there. And I like Iowa. I feel really good out there. I'm very comfortable with the people there. I understand it. I grew up in Arkansas. It's another state with a lot of rural areas and I felt really good.

But there wasn't time and New Hampshire is the first primary election. Iowa is a caucus system. I had to put my effort here and I think I'm doing the right thing.

HEMMER: Thank you.

We'll talk to you again down the road.

Retired General Wesley Clark in Manchester, New Hampshire this morning.

CLARK: Thank you, Bill. 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 January 8, 2004 - 08:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: More politics now. Let's talk about on the Democratic side, the front runner, Howard Dean, may well be looking over his shoulder today. And, if so, he would see a hard charging Wesley Clark. Support for the retired general among registered Democrats nearly doubling in a month, from 12 percent up to 20 percent. That's according to our latest numbers, CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup. Dean lost three percentage points in that same period.
Retired General Wesley Clark now with us live in Chester, New Hampshire.

Nice to see you.

Good morning.

WESLEY CLARK (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good to see you, Bill.

HEMMER: On the national front, what do you make of those numbers? What's the message to you in that?

CLARK: Well, I'm just doing what I've been doing. I've been out there meeting people and talking to people. And I think it takes a while for voters to really see you, especially a person like me. I'm not a professional politician. I've never run before and when we started this campaign back in September, I made my decision on the 15th of September, Bill, and we started with what I call the four nos. We had no money, we had no staff, we had no position papers and I'd never run for elected office.

And so it's just taken, you know, the normal kind of thing. I don't think anybody's ever tried to do this before in American politics...

HEMMER: Well, I tell you, we looked at...

CLARK: And I'm really grateful for the support we've had.

HEMMER: The national numbers are one thing, New Hampshire is another deal, though. Look at these numbers we're getting in a different poll, 36 percent to 16 percent. In this poll, anyway, you're well behind the governor, Governor Dean, by 20 points.

Why are you not, apparently in this poll, anyway, catching on in the Granite State?

CLARK: Well, I think I am catching on. I don't pay much attention to poll numbers. All I can tell you is everywhere we've been, we've had packed houses, overflowed, changed venues, people coming up to me left and right saying I used to support Dean, I used to support Kerry, I'm coming over to you. They're filling out paperwork. I think you have to look at the dynamic trend, Bill, not just a single spot in time.

HEMMER: Yes, and if the Dean campaign were here arguing this, they would say they've been under a vicious assault for the past two weeks running and they would say that's the reason why the numbers have gone nationally -- down, rather.

Are the numbers proof that he's right?

CLARK: I don't know. I don't trust those -- any poll numbers, Bill. This is about connection with the voters. I'm in New Hampshire. It's the first time I've ever run for public office. I'm drawing huge crowds. People are, seem to be responding very enthusiastically. I'm very happy to be able to connect with the voters. To me, that's what American politics is all about and the only poll that ever really counts is the poll that shows up in the votes that people weigh, put in at the polling place. That's the only thing that matters and for me.

The only thing that matters now is being able to reach and talk to voters, hear their concerns, give them a -- I'm running to bring a higher standard of leadership to America, Bill. I'm not a politician. I'm a leader. I don't know any of the tactics and strategy and all those artifices. I know one thing -- this country can do better than George W. Bush. And under my leadership, we will. We'll have a better foreign policy. We'll fix jobs, we'll bring health care to Americans, we'll have a fairer, simpler, more progressive taxation system. This country will be the leader in the world again and it will be the most respected and admired nation in the world again.

HEMMER: You mentioned the president's name, look at some of the other surveys we're getting here in terms of the American economy and Americans believing the situation is improving. Forty-three percent say economic conditions are excellent or good. That's up six percent from a month ago. A full 66 percent say economic conditions are getting better.

How tough is it to run against the White House given the situation we're seeing now?

CLARK: It's not tough at all, Bill, because when you come -- when you're out in real America and you're not listening to the statistics that come out on the media, you're talking to people who don't have jobs. The statistic that counts to me is that almost nine million Americans who don't have jobs and every month that goes by there are more Americans entering the workforce that can't get jobs.

We've got 44 million Americans without health insurance. For them, those statistics of the Dow Jones industrial average and industrial production, productivity, they don't mean a thing. We're talking about families out here who are desperately struggling to get by. And if you're in a family and you lose your job, it's a crisis, and you don't care about national statistics. And I'm still finding a lot of people out here, in fact, I'm finding more and more, who want work and can't have it. A quarter of the people who are unemployed have been out of work for more than six months.

The president didn't even extend unemployment benefits for people over the Christmas holidays.

HEMMER: If it...

CLARK: This country is in desperate trouble.

HEMMER: If I could interject here, quickly, in the time we have left, the Dean campaign is questioning whether or not you're a true Democrat. There are bumper stickers out and headlines. They question your support for the war on terror for this White House. They say your support for previous presidents on the Republican side -- Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Sr.

How do you convince Democrats that you are, indeed, a true Democrat on their side, if this is the allegation against you?

CLARK: Well, I don't think that's a valid allegation against me. I think people are listening to what I say. They're looking at this country and they want a higher standard of leadership. They want someone who's a proven leader, who spent his life in leadership, who knows domestic policy, knows foreign policy and has the convictions and courage to move the country forward. I do and that's why I'm running.

HEMMER: A final question here. The Iowa caucuses, 11 days away. You're not competing there.

Was that a mistake, in retrospect?

CLARK: Absolutely not. I just didn't have time. I -- by the time it came around to looking at Iowa, it was mid-October. I talked to people out there. They said $4 million, 20 to 30 days. A lot of people liked me in Iowa. They really wanted me to compete there. And I like Iowa. I feel really good out there. I'm very comfortable with the people there. I understand it. I grew up in Arkansas. It's another state with a lot of rural areas and I felt really good.

But there wasn't time and New Hampshire is the first primary election. Iowa is a caucus system. I had to put my effort here and I think I'm doing the right thing.

HEMMER: Thank you.

We'll talk to you again down the road.

Retired General Wesley Clark in Manchester, New Hampshire this morning.

CLARK: Thank you, Bill. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com