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American Morning

Interview with Wife of Wesley Clark

Aired January 26, 2004 - 08:34   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The New Hampshire primary tomorrow will be the first real test of Wesley Clark's quest for the presidency. The retired general skipped the Iowa caucuses to concentrate on the Granite State. And Clark's wife Gert has been at his side on the campaign trail.
Gert Clark joins us this morning to talk a little bit about her husband's run and her role as a political spouse.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

GERT CLARK, WIFE OF WESLEY CLARK: Good morning, Soledad. Great to be here.

O'BRIEN: You haven't done a lot of TV and things like that. Your background is not being a politician's wife, obviously. As General Clark often tells us, he's not a politician by trade, hasn't come up that way. How has it been to, sort of, do this as a career now?

CLARK: It's been fun actually. I really enjoy meeting the American public. As a matter of fact, I've been campaigning by myself all from the East to the West. I went from South Carolina to Tennessee to New Mexico to Arizona to California, Oklahoma. So it's been fun. I enjoyed it.

O'BRIEN: You moved around a lot as a military wife. Are there any things in common with what you did in your past life, shall we say, and what you're doing now?

CLARK: You had to be very flexible.

(LAUGHTER)

But also we really helped military families and so it's very similar to go out and meet people and listen to their needs. And so we would have town halls in the military and people would come and say, "This is what needs to be improved." So that's very similar.

So it's fun and I enjoy it, and it's something that Wes and I really feel very dedicated to right now.

O'BRIEN: He has said to me, every time I ask him about the polls, "Soledad, I don't" -- he doesn't listen to the polls, he says. But do you? I always wonder if the spouse -- because I think I would be pouring over the polls each and every day.

CLARK: Well, you look at them. I think you can't totally ignore them. But I also feel that, you know, before Iowa, people really would never have thought that race would have finished that way.

And also, the polls are important; they're one indicator. But for us, we're a very new campaign. We're planning on leaving New Hampshire, which we've had a great time in -- the people up there have been wonderful to us -- and then, sort of, heading South and going West. So you, sort of, have to look at it as more of a month project right now.

O'BRIEN: Kind of bigger picture.

CLARK: Sure. Absolutely. Yes.

O'BRIEN: Is it weird to have your life under so much scrutiny and to have people saying nasty things, Democrats and Republicans, about your husband pretty much every day?

CLARK: It is and it isn't. Wes is not a politician and so it's a little bit new. But to be honest with you, you have to look at that and you, sort of, say, "This is, sort of, the business. That's what people do to you. They try to differentiate themselves from you by saying nasty things about you." And so, it's not nice. It's not something that you enjoy.

I've tried very hard not to read it, because I know who my husband is.

O'BRIEN: Did you -- did he -- I mean, tell me the conversation before he decided to run for president. Did he come in one day and say, "Gert, sit down, honey"?

CLARK: "Oh, by the way, we're going to run for the presidency" -- no.

O'BRIEN: How did it go? And did he really want to make sure you were comfortable with it? I mean, it's such a big family commitment.

CLARK: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And people said, "You, kind of, are dragging on feet on this." I said, "Well, think about this. Who would want to put their life under such a spotlight?" And for me, as a wife and a mother, you want to protect your family. But he felt very strongly about it.

We were going around the country giving speeches and every time he would finish his talks, people would say, "You know something? You ought to run for the presidency of this country. You really have an understanding about this country and its place in the world." And I thought that was very interesting.

But it was a family decision. Matter of fact, we went out to see our son the weekend before and his wife.

O'BRIEN: He's got a new baby.

CLARK: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: He's got a new baby -- you've got a new grand baby. CLARK: Yes. The best of everything. Young Wesley is just the apple of both of our eyes right now.

But he basically told us, he said, "Mom and Dad, I know this is going to be hard on all of us, but I need you, Dad. We need to change the world for our son." And I said, you know, "That's so true." That was, sort of, the turning point for me.

O'BRIEN: What kind of first lady would you like to be? Do you think about how that role would be, how you'd make it your own if you were to be first lady?

CLARK: Well, I could -- when you look at it, somebody says, "How would you be in comparison to somebody else?" I said, "All I can be is Gert Clark, the person I've been all my life, and hopefully people can accept me for that."

But I've always been involved in various charity boards and one of the ones that's very near and dear to my heart is the Boys and Girls Club. And I think it really helps form character and leadership in young people and particularly children of the inner city. So I'd be very involved with something like that.

And also to be an example. We're offering our family to America, to help America's families. So I hope that people see it that way and I hope they accept us that way.

O'BRIEN: Gert Clark, nice to have you. Thanks for coming in.

CLARK: Thank you.

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 26, 2004 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The New Hampshire primary tomorrow will be the first real test of Wesley Clark's quest for the presidency. The retired general skipped the Iowa caucuses to concentrate on the Granite State. And Clark's wife Gert has been at his side on the campaign trail.
Gert Clark joins us this morning to talk a little bit about her husband's run and her role as a political spouse.

Good morning. Nice to see you.

GERT CLARK, WIFE OF WESLEY CLARK: Good morning, Soledad. Great to be here.

O'BRIEN: You haven't done a lot of TV and things like that. Your background is not being a politician's wife, obviously. As General Clark often tells us, he's not a politician by trade, hasn't come up that way. How has it been to, sort of, do this as a career now?

CLARK: It's been fun actually. I really enjoy meeting the American public. As a matter of fact, I've been campaigning by myself all from the East to the West. I went from South Carolina to Tennessee to New Mexico to Arizona to California, Oklahoma. So it's been fun. I enjoyed it.

O'BRIEN: You moved around a lot as a military wife. Are there any things in common with what you did in your past life, shall we say, and what you're doing now?

CLARK: You had to be very flexible.

(LAUGHTER)

But also we really helped military families and so it's very similar to go out and meet people and listen to their needs. And so we would have town halls in the military and people would come and say, "This is what needs to be improved." So that's very similar.

So it's fun and I enjoy it, and it's something that Wes and I really feel very dedicated to right now.

O'BRIEN: He has said to me, every time I ask him about the polls, "Soledad, I don't" -- he doesn't listen to the polls, he says. But do you? I always wonder if the spouse -- because I think I would be pouring over the polls each and every day.

CLARK: Well, you look at them. I think you can't totally ignore them. But I also feel that, you know, before Iowa, people really would never have thought that race would have finished that way.

And also, the polls are important; they're one indicator. But for us, we're a very new campaign. We're planning on leaving New Hampshire, which we've had a great time in -- the people up there have been wonderful to us -- and then, sort of, heading South and going West. So you, sort of, have to look at it as more of a month project right now.

O'BRIEN: Kind of bigger picture.

CLARK: Sure. Absolutely. Yes.

O'BRIEN: Is it weird to have your life under so much scrutiny and to have people saying nasty things, Democrats and Republicans, about your husband pretty much every day?

CLARK: It is and it isn't. Wes is not a politician and so it's a little bit new. But to be honest with you, you have to look at that and you, sort of, say, "This is, sort of, the business. That's what people do to you. They try to differentiate themselves from you by saying nasty things about you." And so, it's not nice. It's not something that you enjoy.

I've tried very hard not to read it, because I know who my husband is.

O'BRIEN: Did you -- did he -- I mean, tell me the conversation before he decided to run for president. Did he come in one day and say, "Gert, sit down, honey"?

CLARK: "Oh, by the way, we're going to run for the presidency" -- no.

O'BRIEN: How did it go? And did he really want to make sure you were comfortable with it? I mean, it's such a big family commitment.

CLARK: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And people said, "You, kind of, are dragging on feet on this." I said, "Well, think about this. Who would want to put their life under such a spotlight?" And for me, as a wife and a mother, you want to protect your family. But he felt very strongly about it.

We were going around the country giving speeches and every time he would finish his talks, people would say, "You know something? You ought to run for the presidency of this country. You really have an understanding about this country and its place in the world." And I thought that was very interesting.

But it was a family decision. Matter of fact, we went out to see our son the weekend before and his wife.

O'BRIEN: He's got a new baby.

CLARK: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: He's got a new baby -- you've got a new grand baby. CLARK: Yes. The best of everything. Young Wesley is just the apple of both of our eyes right now.

But he basically told us, he said, "Mom and Dad, I know this is going to be hard on all of us, but I need you, Dad. We need to change the world for our son." And I said, you know, "That's so true." That was, sort of, the turning point for me.

O'BRIEN: What kind of first lady would you like to be? Do you think about how that role would be, how you'd make it your own if you were to be first lady?

CLARK: Well, I could -- when you look at it, somebody says, "How would you be in comparison to somebody else?" I said, "All I can be is Gert Clark, the person I've been all my life, and hopefully people can accept me for that."

But I've always been involved in various charity boards and one of the ones that's very near and dear to my heart is the Boys and Girls Club. And I think it really helps form character and leadership in young people and particularly children of the inner city. So I'd be very involved with something like that.

And also to be an example. We're offering our family to America, to help America's families. So I hope that people see it that way and I hope they accept us that way.

O'BRIEN: Gert Clark, nice to have you. Thanks for coming in.

CLARK: Thank you.

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