Disclosure: Dean supporter
Just TIVO'd Clark's interview with Matthews, and as much as I hate to say it, I don't think he did all that well. I think it's just a matter of more practice, though.
In Clark's defense, I would much rather Matthews had spent more time on real issues (i.e. Jobs, economy, national security) than on gays and Clark's past. This would probably have given him a much better chance to shine.
The response to the Getting Fired question is simply not adequate. Saying that he was asked to leave three months before his term was up is not the same as being fired is no different than Clinton and the definition of "is." Spending 10 precious minutes going over the whole story was not illuminating, either.
Sometimes, people are unjustly fired, or wrongly asked to leave or whatever. Personally I tend to believe that Clark's "firing," or whatever he wants to call it, was unjust. But I think Clark needs to give us a good reason why this action was unjustified.
For me, this colored the entire rest of the interview. However, his response about gays was good because he deftly refused to fall into the trap that was laid for him. His criticism of Bush is right on. There was some domestic policy issue that I personally disagree with, but it couldn't have been that important or I would be remembering it right now.
Stylistically, Clark's voice and manner of speaking is excellent...but he needs to stop pausing five seconds and then tacking on more thoughts. Not because this is bad, which it isn't, but Clark's add-ons rarely added anything of value to the discussion. When he did this he tended to lose me they way John Kerry does.
Further disclaimer: I have strongly criticized Dean's appearances, speaking styles etc in the past, so my intention is not to prop up Dean by putting down Clark. After all, we all know that Dean is not the be-all and end-all of telegenisissmm (telegeniosity?). We all know he is not. But I think the criticism of Dean by his supporters has gone a hell of a long way in improving his speaking style, so I think the same would actually be helpful to Clark.