Wesley Clark closes gap on Democratic frontrunner Dean

[T_i_B]

Both of them look like good candidates if you ask me.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=479414

Wesley Clark is closing in on his rival, the Democratic front-runner Howard Dean, according to a number of new polls that suggest support for the former general has soared in recent weeks.

Mr Dean still tops the Democratic field, but the 21-point lead he held over the former general and Nato chief less than a month ago has been narrowed to just four points, according to a Gallup poll conducted for USA Today and CNN.

General Clark is second in Democratic national polls, as well as in the vital New Hampshire primary, held on 27 January, where he trails Mr Dean by 17 points but is ahead of Senator John Kerry by six points.

Behind these numbers is a fluid situation that suggests General Clark has been making headway over other Democratic candidates, as Mr Dean's once seemingly unstoppable rise has been halted by a number of ill-considered comments and a concerted barrage of criticism from his opponents.

[durutti]

1. They're both awful candidates.

But not nearly as awful as Bush. :-)

[La_Serpiente]

5. lol

funny. :P

[Clark Campaigner]

2. At this rate, the nomination is ours!

and not a moment too soon.

[Jerseycoa]

4. Let's not get ahead of ourselves

These polls are wild and wooly.

[Clark4VotingRights]

3. Thanks...Thankfully...

With any luck both Bush and Blair will go the way of the dinosaurs.

[T_i_B]

14. That's OK

Mind you, it would be interesting to hear about Clark's domestic policy proposals as that always seems to get passed over when the media talk about the guy and it is kinda important.

[sandnsea]

6. Dean falling in all polls

He fell 7 pts in this poll in a month. 10 pts in NH and and SurveyUSA has him down 12 in IA. Wonder if all his gaffes and flip-flops are finally catching up to him.

[kayleybeth]

7. Clark campaign has gotten a lot of good news this week

I try not to put too much weight on the polls but the trends are looking good for him. If he can place a strong second in NH, Clark will be the big story going into the Feb. 3 primaries which will give him some serious momentum. I am cautiously optimistic...

[maddezmom]

9. slow and steady

Go Wes! :)

[Clark4VotingRights]

10. Yes, I'm cautiously euphoric...

:)

[RogueTrooper]

11. I am not sure if beating John Kerry

is such big news. It is not that hard to do, after all.

[kayleybeth]

12. NH is Kerry's backyard

that's why it's big news.

[Adjoran]

8. Dean is struggling

If he falters, the race is once again wide open. Clark will probably be the new frontrunner, but that doesn't mean much more than getting additional scrutiny at this point. It isn't necessarily a positive. Ask frontrunners like Ed Muskie and Gary Hart.

The real frontrunner will be the first candidate to win 500 delegates. Whoever does that will have tangible momentum. All this early stuff is just fodder for media types and political junkies like us.

Politics is a great spectacle; you never know what is going to happen, except that there will be surprises at every turn.

[Rocinante]

13. A very sound and realistic treatment

Thank you.

[CWebster]

15. Consider the non-stop attacks and media echo chamber

attacking Dean around the clock and he is STILL pressing on.

Kerry's entire campaign became about attacking Dean and he was rewarded with falling numbers. Even Sharpton had his shinning performances until he went for Dean and now he is barely there. Now the media is picking up the baton BIG TIME to drag Dean's momentum... Wait until your candidate gets some traction and lets see if he can't take the fire...you will be wishing that day of reckoning never came.

"Democrats’ Attacks on Dean Enhance Bush’s Re-election Prospects

It is not the increasingly likely prospect of Howard Dean’s nomination that could lead to a Democratic defeat in November, it’s his opponents’ attacks against him. As Dick Gephardt, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman see themselves lagging in the polls running up to the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary later this month, their campaigns are engaging in increasingly desperate attacks against the front-runner for their party’s nomination.

Criticizing a candidate’s positions on important policy issues is certainly valid...However, deliberately misrepresenting a candidate’s position, particularly in language that will almost certainly be used against him in the general election by the opposing party, is irresponsible. Last month, a political group with close connections with Gephardt and Kerry campaigns unleashed television spots in New Hampshire which alternated Dean’s face with Osama bin Laden, warning that “Howard Dean cannot compete with George Bush on foreign policy.”

...However, given that Gephardt and Kerry have supported Bush’s invasion of Iraq, supported Bush’s invasion of Afghanistan, and support Bush’s backing of Israeli occupation forces, it is not surprising that they would want to attack anyone who would offer any kind of bold challenge to Bush’s foreign policy leadership.

This is just one of a number of examples of how Gephardt, Kerry, and Lieberman are acting, in the words of the New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, as if they are “more interested in tearing down Howard Dean than in defeating George Bush” by launching “vitriolic attacks that might as well have been scripted by Karl Rove.” Indeed, while Dean and his supporters have repeatedly called on his fellow Democratic contenders to focus their attacks on Bush, most of them seem to prefer to attack him instead...
Indeed, the New York Times reported on December 26, in reference to the Bush campaign, “They plan to use the Democrats’ words to attack Dean in their ads, meanwhile keeping Bush personally above the fray.”

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0107-01.htm

[stickdog]

16. The nomination is now Clark's to lose. (nt)