Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark said Monday that he will make a decision about whether to run for president “by the end of next week.”
Clark, who last week revealed his affiliation with the Democratic Party, made the announcement during a Web cast to volunteers with the Draft Clark 2004 for President Committee. The group, based in Little Rock, has organized supporters throughout the country to persuade Clark to run for president.
Clark, 58, is the former NATO supreme allied commander in Europe. He is chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a business services and development firm based in Little Rock. He also serves on the boards of Messer-Griesheim, Acxiom Corp. of Little Rock and SIRVA Corp.
In February, Clark resigned as managing director of merchant banking for the Stephens Group Inc. of Little Rock to serve as a military analyst for CNN during the war with Iraq.
If he chooses to run, Clark will join a crowded field of Democrats seeking their party’s nomination. Among them are former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri.
Of those, many say Howard Dean is the front-runner. According to an article Sept. 7 in USA Today, he leads in polls for New Hampshire’s primary election Jan. 27 (Kerry is second, 12 percentage points behind). Howard Dean has also raised the most campaign dollars.
Meanwhile, a story in the New York Times on Tuesday said former President Bill Clinton, speaking to friends at a dinner party at his Chappaqua, New York, home Sunday evening, said the Democratic Party has “two stars”: his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, and Clark.
Despite continuing speculation, Hillary Clinton has said she will not run for president in 2004.
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