Commentary: General Wesley Clark's entrance into the field of Democratic presidential candidates [DP]

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Commentary: General Wesley Clark's entrance into the field of Democratic presidential candidates [DP]

Host: ROBERT SIEGELTime: 9:00-10:00 PM

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

There was fanfare in Little Rock, Arkansas, today where retired General Wesley Clark declared himself a candidate for president.

(Soundbite of announcement)

General WESLEY CLARK (US Army, Retired): We're going to run a campaign that's worthy of the historic times in which we live. We're going to run a campaign that will move this country forward, not back.

(Soundbite of applause)

SIEGEL: News analyst Daniel Schorr says this newest Democratic candidate's career strikes a contrast with his politics.

DANIEL SCHORR:

So then there were 10. But Wesley Clark's entry into the presidential sweepstakes changes not only the number of contestants but possibly the nature of the Democratic campaign.

As a four-star general who commanded NATO forces in Yugoslavia, Clark may quickly upstage Senator John Kerry as the authoritative military voice criticizing the administration's course in Iraq and its failure to bring in NATO. Although himself an announced Democrat for only the past two weeks who voted for Reagan and possibly for Bush, Clark has adopted a series of positions liberal enough to make him a rival of Howard Dean for the claim to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

He is remarkably forthright and apparently well-informed on contentious issues. He supports abortion rights, gun control and affirmative action. He favors broader health-care benefits. He opposes expansion of the Patriot Act. And he wants to review the Bush tax program to put more emphasis on relief for the middle class.

Clark has amazed some left-wing people, like radical movie maker Michael Moore, who wrote to him last week praising his refusal to run away from the word `liberal.' Moore said he `was floored by the idea of a general standing up for me.'

A big question is whether Clark can raise enough money to be competitive. A `Draft Clark' movement on the Internet has raised a million and a half dollars, but that is peanuts next to the $10 million that Howard Dean has already raised. But Donna Brazile, who managed the Al Gore campaign, says that his political inexperience, a liability to some, is Clark's greatest asset with Democratic voters.

However one looks at it, it is not every day that a campaign is driven to the left by a four-star general. This is Daniel Schorr.