Jimmy Carter gives thumbs up for Wes Clark

[RandomUser]

From the CCN (www.forclark.com):

Just last night I joined Sarasota for Clark at a Jimmy Carter booksigning. CLARK was the ONLY candidate with any presence there. Over 1,600 people stood in line waiting in front of the bookstore Sarasota News & Books on Main Street. A parking space was reserved in front of the door for us, and we set up camp in front of my car. The result was that every person saw our Clark shirts signs and heard our comments. I was interviewed by the FGCU radio station who were amazed that I drove there from Naples. I'll try to find out when it might be on.

We gave out Clark buttons, stickers, & a few Clark bars. The response was incredible! More than 30 people were wearing their VOTE FOR CLARK buttons when former President Carter signed his new book "Hornet's Nest". One of our supporters presented Mr. Carter with a CLARK button which he accepted with a smile.

We talked to hundreds of people last night, many of who wanted buttons and stickers. The icing on the cake came about 8 PM, when Carter's motorcade was leaving the rear of the bookstore. Several people were waiting in a crowd to get a glimpse of him. We were front and center with our shirts. First he came around to stand and wave to the enthusiastic crowd. Then after entering the vehicle he put the window down to give the crowd the parade wave as they were pulling out.

Feeling the need to do something to draw attention, I yelled "What do you think of
Wesley Clark?" . . . . . . The wave changed to a thumbs up which he held up until they turned the corner. That made it worth the 200-mile plus roadtrip!

http://craigholland.forclark.com/story/2003/11/27/215132/63

[elperromagico]

1. He thinks Shrub will probably win anyway

n/t

[oasis]

24. You'll see true Democrats doing their best to take back the WH.

It's always helpful to be optimistic. :-)

[FrenchieCat]

2. That's what I thought....

When he talked about how we had to nominate the right candidate.

Earlier he had said we would lose with Dean.......

Guess Carter will become an enemy of the Deanies now...for sure...

I know that Michael Moore's not real popular with them...

neither is Madonna....

and of course Clinton is no longer the last best Democratic President we've had......since he's for Clark....

Oh, well! thank god for people that see the Forest and not the trees!

[JohnKleeb]

4. I hope he doesnt become an enemy for that

I dont think that will happen though Frenchie, Ted Kennedy is loved here and hes a Kerry guy, personally Ted's endorsement of Kerry is what kind of makes me see that theres still some damn good in Kerry, hes not my mine judging by my avatar but I like him. Now if you got Carter's endorsement, that wuold be big, and it would be good too, because Carter is a great guy, when did Carter say we would lose with Dean? I hadnt heard.

[FrenchieCat]

5. He wrote an article....

and basically said that it depended on who we nominated as to whether we would win or lose.....it was implied.....but a very strongly worded implication at that.

This was Booknotes, I believe...but there is also an article which was done a couple of days ago....I will have to find it...

[JohnKleeb]

6. Ok thanks

He's a good guy, gives born again christians a good name heh. Not the best pres we ever had, but the best ex president sure is a good descrip.

[RandomUser]

19. Carter's done well for an ex-pres

I agree that he may not have been the best pres, but he's definitely done the best in his ex-pres life so far, at least in recent history.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

40. You know what? Carter is head and shoulders above the...

...GOP trash that has illegally occupied the WH for the last three years.

I'd also say that he was a better president than the GOP's Nixon, Ford, and Reagan, but that's JMHO.

Carter's post-presidency reputation continues to grow with each passing year.

[RandomUser]

8. You should have saw what happened with michael moore

I remember someone posted an audio file of Moore saying good things about Clark. Then a Clark basher immediately started a thread trying to slam Moore.

[ima_sinnic]

13. I support Dean but also highly respect Carter (still)

I like Clark very much and would gladly support him if nominated. Not everybody's going to endorse my candidate; the situation will shake itself out as it may and it hardly does any good to rant against it. I don't "hate" or disrespect others for endorsing other candidates, as great as my dislike is for some of them--I just consider them misguided. ;)

[Carolina]

16. actually, I think Kennedy

is supporting his colleague, his junior senator. He knows this JFK's campaign will go nowhere, at which point he'll shift to Clark.

Dean will win NH, Clark will win SC, Gephardt may win Iowa. Kerry will be gone and the deck will be completely reshuffled when it comes to endorsements and steering committee members. It's going to come down to Clark and Dean.

Clark-Dean 04. Now that's a winning combo.

[ima_sinnic]

17. I get goosebumps when I picture them announcing that

At some point it will shake down pretty much as you describe (though I predict Dean will win Iowa). I personally favor Dean/Clark but whichever way it goes, when it becomes official it will be like the 4th of July: fireworks will go off and you will hear the cheering everywhere. Nothing will stop it.

[Lorien]

29. Carter has stated that he

likes all the candidates, and will endorse whomever wins the nomination.

[burning bush]

7. Can you provide a quote on that?

where Carter says we will lose with Dean?


I'd be very interested in seeing that :)

[papau]

14. if the media "likes" the current pres - it's very hard to replace him

that's a paraphrase of Carter's comment

he did indicate Clark would have a better chance than Dean

I did not and have not seen Carter saying Dean will lose because Dean is Dean.

[burning bush]

30. Ive read nothing but good about Carter's thoughts on Dean

or on any other candidate, for that matter.

Carter is too much the class act.

But really, don't you agree that it would only be honorable to include a quote/reference/url etc whenever you say that "so and so" said "such and such?"

[newyawker99]

22. Hi burning bush!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[burning bush]

31. howdy! (nt)

[JI7]

10. i like them all

i like them all even if they haven't expressed support for my candidate and have for another instead. i don't see why you would stop liking someone just because they endorsed or support someone other than your candidate.

[Cocoa]

18. some people have a hard time with that concept

seems pretty simple to me, but others seem to see their political opinions as the TRUTH. Makes me wonder who came down from wherever and clued them in on God's pick for the 2004 dem nomination.

[tlb]

11. If available I'd also like the Carter quote url please.

There are some deaniacs I'd like to share that with :)

[last1standing]

25. Thanks for spreading the hate.

When people like you, who claim to be Democrats, stop insulting and berating others for supporting another candidate in the primaries, maybe we'll have a chance of beating bush*. Until then, YOU are the reason we will lose.

I'm honestly sick of candidate bashing. And I'm sick of being told this is how we can weed out unfit candidates. This is a forum for ideas and honest discourse, not a shooting gallery for those who can't think about policy but can spread gop lies.

I'll vote for Dean, Clark, Kerry, Edwards, Mosely-Braun, Kuchinich, Gephart, Sharpton, or Lieberman. I will support any of them in the general election, and the best way I can think of to do this is to support them in the primaries as well. I want our best candidate to win, but he/she will never stand a chance if we are all so angry with them because their supporters are such hatemongers they can't see that forest you mentioned.

I am voting Dean in the primary, and I'm very fond of Carter, Moore, Madonna, and Clinton. I also like Clark. It's too bad you can't see straight with those trees obscuring your view.

[Skwmom]

3. Clark reminds me of Carter

in many ways. They are both trustworthy, caring, and really decent individuals.

[Kahuna]

15. They're both military men too!

:7

[Barbara917]

9. Hooray!

[Padraig18]

12. I heard President Carter on the radio the other day.

He said that 'we have a fine field of candidates, any of whom would make an excellent president'. I honestly think he believes that, and I would call him an 'ABB Democrat'. :)

[hedda_foil]

20. This isn't about Clark and Carter. It's about a volunteer turnout ...

at a Carter booksigning. Don't you folks READ? The biggest coup these excited volunteers scored was that Carter accepted a Clark button from a Clark volunteer. Of COURSE he did. Carter is a former Democratic President. He would do the same for any supporter of any of our candidates.

There was one car with a few (3? 4? 5?) Clark supporters from Naples Florida who drove to Sarasota to do some retail politicking at an event that would be sure to draw Democrats. It's good grass-roots thinking. The Dean volunteers do it all over the country at virtually every book signing by anyone who will draw Dems, as well as at every other small or large event you can think of. Apparently none of the Dean folks showed up in Sarasota. This small group of Clark supporters did. More power to them.

That said, it's a great blog post by an excited supporter, but doesn't say a thing about Carter except that he's nice and polite, which we all knew already.

[ima_sinnic]

21. ha ha, thanks hedda

. . . I needed that ;)

[OKNancy]

23. Craig Holland is very excited about Clark

so he wrote about his visit to Carter on the Clarkblog.

Interesting thing about Mr. Holland. He writes on his blog that he is changing his registration from Republican to Democrat just so he can vote for Clark. His cousin was governor and Senator from Florida.

Edit: heck, here is part of what he says on his blog.

I'm switching today, but not from Dean to Clark. I'm changing parties, and it feels like I'm gonna finally get that elephant off my back. What's great is that I had the opportunity to tell the whole nation on NPR (radio). (See earlier entry)

I live in Republican/Neoconservative Naples, Florida. I have been involved in politics since I was 7 years old, when we first got my father elected to city council. He was in office for 17 years. My cousin Spessard L. Holland, was governor of Florida and a U.S. Senator for 25 years. So I've followed politics my whole life.

I have never truly been comfortable speaking frankly about my views on American politics, in fear of repercussions. This is a tough town. Wesley Clark has given me the need and the courage to speak up.

[burr]

28. no need to get personal...

but I agree with most of what you're saying. Jimmy Carter would be unlikely to refuse the button..or throw it back in the supporter's face. And if someone presented him with a Bush/Cheney button..I think he would politely turn it down, while thanking the person for being politically active. Unlike many politicians Jimmy is not a hostile person, which is what made him a great diplomat as President.

[RandomUser]

34. I saw the thumbs up as more significant than the button

I agree that Carter would have been polite enough to accept a button from any candidate. And I do believe he would support any of the candidates against Bush. But I felt the change of the parade wave to the thumbs up was a step beyond just being polite. YMMV.

[AmericanDem]

26. kick

:kick:

[floridaguy]

27. I was just doing what Wesley Clark asked me to do

Hi, my name is Craig Holland. If I can just set part of the record straight. This was not a Naples-only unit of highly skilled volunteers who made this appearance. I drove to Sarasota myself, because I found out the Sarasota group needed my help. They didn't have any Clark shirts yet. All of the other Clark supporters there were members of Sarasota for Clark, including "Rex-the Clark Dog."

The day after Wes Clark entered the race, he stood up on a chair in a deli in Hollywood, Florida, and he asked for my help. Well, actually I was just one of the hundreds who had packed the place to get a glimpse of the next President. But after listening to him speak, and hearing the sincerity in his voice, and seeing it in his eyes, I knew that I would be doing whatever I could to see that he was elected. Tomorrow I will drive to Miami, so that I can be there for Sunday's appearance at Parrot Jungle, and will remain there for a fundraising breakfast with Company-C in Ft. Lauderdale.

Until Clark entered the race, I was admittedly depressed. Again, the Democrats would not come up with a candidate who could beat Bush. As replacing Bush is essentially my number one goal in life, I considered backing Howard Dean, and I almost had myself convinced that he could do it. But I had reservations, . . the country is at war, and the voting public is either right of center, or near the center, but certainly not leaning to the left. When Clark entered the race, I felt a huge sense of relief . . our knight in shining armor had arrived. (Incidentally, he has been knighted by both Britain and the Netherlands)

I have nothing against Howard Dean, or his supporters, but I'm not willing to risk the chance of four more years. And since I'm a new Democrat, I'm not gonna claim to know what the Democrats should do, but I will say this. If you care more about beating Bush, than you do about partisan politics, you'll support the most electable candidate . . Wesley Clark.

[Dr Fate]

32. thanks for your work & enthusiasm...

...I'm looking at Edwards & Clark, and mabey Dean...I'm glad you are doing your part to support DEMS...

[RandomUser]

35. Thanks, Craig

:yourock:

[newyawker99]

38. Hi floridaguy!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[kerry-is-my-prez]

39. Thanks for all the hard work Craig....

We need more people like you.

[VOX]

33. Kick...

Interesting story.

:kick:

[CWebster]

36. The headline is misleading

It sounds like an endorsement. What was he going to do? Give a thumbs down?

[RandomUser]

37. The headline is literally what happened (n/t)

no text