Man, Clark
really wants that two-man race. And who can blame him? If he emerges as the strong anti-Dean (and with at least $10.5 mil raised this quarter, I think the title is his for the taking), he can hope to garner votes and cash that might've otherwise gone to some of the other candidates.
And to pull that trick, he's citing his fundraising, his resume, and that old obnoxious canard -- "electability".
"It's now clear that I'm one of only two candidates in a position to win the nomination," Clark, a retired general, said in a statement issued Thursday. "And I'm the only candidate positioned to actually win the election because I am the candidate best able to stand up to George W. Bush and win the debate about who will best be able to make our country secure over the next four years."
He's half right. He really is one of only two candidates that can win the nomination, but he's wrong about being the
only one who can defeat Bush. And to keep repeating such lines simply builds Bush up into superhuman proportions.
It's too bad Clark has fallen into this trap.
Of course, Clark has had the good fortune of having Dean in the race. The general has slipped in mostly under the radar while everyone else trains their guns on the frontrunner.
Look for that to change as the others, seeing Dean far ahead, look to outlast the rest of the pack (and thus consolidate the hypothetical "anti-Dean" bloc).
Gep is locked into a tight battle against Dean for Iowa, so look for Gep to keep hammering Dean. But Lieberman, Kerry, and (perhaps most of all) Edwards all need to knock Clark down a peg or two. It's too late for them, really, but they'll try anyway.