Wesley Clark presidential campaign, 2004
| Wesley Clark for President | |
|---|---|
| Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 2004 |
| Candidate |
Wesley Clark U.S. Army General (1966–2000) |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Status | Withdrew on February 11, 2004 |
The 2004 presidential campaign of Wesley Clark, retired U.S. Army General, began on September 17, 2003 when he formerly annoucced his bid for the Democratic Party nomination, after months of drafting by others.
Wesley Clark stated that he began to truly define his politics only after his military retirement in 2000 around the 2000 presidential election that would give George W. Bush the presidency. Clark had a conversation with Condoleezza Rice. She told him that the war in Kosovo would have never taken place under a Bush administration, as they adhered more to realpolitik. Clark found such an administration unsettling, as he had been selected for the SACEUR position because he believed more in the interventionist policies of the Clinton administration. He said he would see it as a sign that things were "starting to go wrong" with American foreign policy if Bush was elected. Clark supported the administration's War in Afghanistan in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks but did not support the Iraq War. Clark continued to warn people as a commentator on CNN that he believed the United States was undermanned in Iraq, and has said the war was "never [about]... WMD or regime change", and believes "the connection to the War on Terrorism was not shown".
Clark met with a group of wealthy New York Democrats including Alan Patricof to tell them he was considering running for the presidency in the 2004 election. Patricof, a supporter of Al Gore in 2000, met with all the Democratic candidates and ultimately supported Clark in 2004. Clark has said that he voted for Al Gore in 2000, but has voted for Republicans such as Ronald Reagan, held equal esteem for Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman, and had been a registered independent voter throughout his military career. Ultimately as Clark himself put it, however, he decided he was a Democrat because "I was pro-affirmative action, I was pro-choice, I was pro-education... I'm pro-health care... I realized I was either going to be the loneliest Republican in America or I was going to be a happy Democrat." Clark said he liked the Democratic party, which he saw as standing for "internationalism", "ordinary men and women", and "fair play".
...
Wikipedia