I don’t have a campaign. I have a MOVEMENT!

Then & Now:

I don’t have a campaign. I have a MOVEMENT!
September 2003

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In the last edition of “Then and Now,” we (quickly) reviewed the highlights of the “Clark Summer of 2003”—the time between the June 15, 2003 “Meet the Press interview that caused the Draft Clark Movement to explode, and August 31. August ended with 476 members in the main Yahoo! Group, WesleyClark2004. (The DraftClark2004WarRoom group began on July 8, and by August 31 had reached 187 members, many of them also members of WC2004).

As August turned to September, Gen. Clark appeared to be growing strange material between his toes, his voice had lost some of its clarity and was sounding more like a fowl’s squawk, his walk was developing a distinctive waddle, and he was spending even more time paddling around in the water. And we ducklings were ready to follow.

This issue of “Then and Now” will include the highlights of the dramatic month of September – from nervous anticipation, to elation, to a couple of uh-ohs. This, again, is the timeline I developed when I did the Nostalgia Project from September ’04 through March of ’06.

Stan Davis
with Florence Upson and Tom Rinaldo

“I don’t have a campaign. I have a MOVEMENT”

September
Date	Event
September 2	The WesleyClark2004 group sees it’s 15,000^th message. Gallup begins including Clark in its polls. The trends were down for all, but Clark was only at 2% nationally.
September 3	The Wesley Clark Weblog is open for business. Clark announces he’s a Democrat on “Inside Politics.” DraftClark2004 presents over 20,000 petitions to Clark in a CD mounted on a plaque. “Ben" on Clark at Kos: *“Clark, the doe-eyed General.”*
September 4	The first Presidential debate is held. A surrogate (from Colorado…I almost got to go) draws more attention than the candidates in the spin room afterwards.
September 5	The WesleyClark2004 group hits the 500-member mark.
September 6-7	John Hlinko and Josh Margulies travel to LA to meet with Gen. Clark. Overheard at a Clinton pow-pow: *“There are only two stars in the Democratic Party: Hillary and Wes Clark.”* [Bill Clinton]
September 8	MeetUps are held in 154 cities with some having more than one. Clark records a webcast for the MeetUp, and says that he’ll decide “by the end of next week.”
September 11	Clark appears on both “Inside Politics” and “Scarborough Country.” One poll of Democrats nationally: Clark is at 10% with Gephardt leading at 17%. A CNN/USA Today poll put Gephardt at 15% with Clark at 9%. Memberships in the WesleyClark2004 group exceed 600.
September 13	Clark speaks to the Tennessee state Democratic party dinner in Knoxville, to raving crowds. But it wasn’t THE day. *“Now I haven't made up my mind whether I am going to run, but I have my jacket off. And you can figure this out.”* And, *“It just seemed to me if I was going to go to Iowa I probably ought to know what I was doing before I went there.”* Earlier in the day, Clarkies make a big splash at the Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Iowa with Bill Clinton as the featured speaker. (“First you fall in love, then you fall in line.”)
September 15	From a “please run letter” at DraftWesleyClark.com: *“You are a sun in a field of candles.”* DraftWesleyClark.com announces new offices in Manchester, New Hampshire and Columbia, South Carolina. Also, the General Fund pledge drive had topped $1.4 million. Yours truly: *“The issue for Americans is not whom we like the most or even with whom we most agree; the issue is who can beat Bush. Dean can't; Clark will.”* A mid-afternoon Associated Press Headline: “Clark summons political team to Arkansas as supporters brace for race.”
September 16	A-A DAY It is “Announcement-Announcement Day.” The news broke at 10:22 a.m. Eastern Time when Leah Faerstein forwards an Associated Press report. It is Announcement Day for John Edwards, but the Clark “announcement announcement” blows Edwards off the air. MeetUp registrations increase by 1000 in 24 hours. Memberships at the WesleyClark2004 group blow by the 700 member mark. A record number of 569 messages are posted.
September 17	ANNOUNCEMENT DAY!!!! Gen. Clark addresses the Draft in an early morning webcast, thanking the Draftrooters and asking for their continued support – as if he needed to ask. Scheduled to air at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time, it finally is ready at 7:48. Gen. Clark announces his candidacy at the Little Rock, Arkansas Boys’ Club. www.AmericansforClark.com goes live. Pledges to DraftWesleyClark.com’s General Fund grow by about $10,000 an hour, approaching the $1.7 million mark as the sun rises Memberships at Clark’s own site, LeadershipforAmerica.com, had grown by over 800 in three weeks. Meanwhile, the WesleyClark2004 group grows by 92 in just one day, reaching a total of 831. A bumper sticker idea: *“The heck with my grandchildren. Let me tell you about Wesley Clark.”*
September 18	Clark: “I probably would have voted for it. But that's too simple a question.” And, “Mary, help!” MeetUp registrants top 22,000, adding over 8000 in two days. Gen. Barry McCaffrey calls Clark a “national treasure.” Clark makes his first campaign stop in Florida, but Hurricane Isabel forces a cancellation of a planned stop in South Carolina. Jay Leno: “Today, retired General Wesley Clark announced he is running for president of the US. Pretty amazing guy. Four star general, graduated first in his class at West Point, supreme commander of NATO, served combat in Vietnam. What, he won the bronze star, silver star, the purple heart. Wounded in battle. See, I'm no political expert, but that sounds pretty good next to choking on a pretzel, falling off a scooter and dropping the dog.” The WesleyClark2004 group sees its 20,000^th message. Donnie Fowler is announced as the campaign manager.
September 19	Clark, in a paid speech previously arranged, speaks to the University of Iowa Law School. After some controversy, he returns the fee later. In a Newsweek poll, Clark leads the field with 14%, but 45% have never heard of him. Clark would lose to Bush by 43-47%, but Clark is ahead in the South and among Independents and women. DigitalClark is taken down, causing something of an uproar.
September 21	On this first Sunday of the campaign, the campaign tally is $750,000. Rep. Charlie Rangel: “*He can save this goddam nation from self-destruction.”* The WesleyClark2004 group surpasses the 900-member level. Campaign Manager Donnie Fowler: *“The campaign has only two assets: Gen. Clark and the Draft.”*
September22	Clark appears at The Citadel in South Carolina. In “Reporting for Duty: Wesley Clark,” Col. David Hackworth retracts his earlier “Perfumed Prince” comment. *“I'm impressed. He is insightful, he has his act together, he understands what makes national security tick – and he thinks on his feet somewhere around Mach 3.”* A CNN poll: Clark moves ahead of Bush 49-46% and leads the field by nine points at 22%, Dean at 13%, Kerry and Gephardt at 11%, and Lieberman at 10%. The War Room’s Steven Eric Goldberg: *“Sir, I've never organized an event like this before.” Clark: “Well, I've never run for President before.”* The Clark Action Team and the Clark Corps are announced. Clark, at a New York Fundraiser that night and reports the next day: *“They’re right. I don’t have a campaign. I have a MOVEMENT.”*
September 23	MeetUp registrations reach 26,000. Clark’s site, Leadership for America, is taken down. Gen. Barry McCaffrey: “This is no insult to Army culture, a culture I love and admire, but he was way too bright, way too articulate, way too good-looking and perceived to be way too wired to fit in with our culture.” However, Hugh Shelton countered on live TV: “I've known Wes for a long time. I will tell you the reason he came out of Europe early had to do with integrity and character issues, things that are very near and dear to my heart. I'm not going to say whether I'm a Republican or a Democrat. I'll just say Wes won't get my vote.” Clarkoween? Kenneth Kranz: *“Wes inspires...that is what he does...he dares people to be great...that's what real leadership is.”*
September 24	The WesleyClark2004 group tops the 1000-member mark. Gen. Clark delivers a speech in New York on jobs and the economy. Clark at DePauw University the day before: “We need a strong America, respected not only for its military might or material wealth but also for its values, vision and generosity. We believe in an America that works with others to end misery as well as war, tyranny as well as terrorism. We seek renewal and fulfillment of the traditionally held belief of an America as a land of opportunity, as a beacon of hope, as a protector of rights and as a vibrant experiment in democracy.”
September 25	Gen. Clark participates in his first Presidential debate, in New York City. Tensions among the Draft Clark groups become public in The American Prospect’s article, “Fan Friction: Hell hath no fury like a Draft Clark enthusiast spurned.” In a Marist poll on New Hampshire, the first that included Clark, Clark moves into third place with 11% behind Dean at 35% and Kerry at 22%. 15% are undecided. Kerry has dropped 15 points since the last poll. In a Fox News national poll, Clark leads the field with 20% with Dean at 13%, down a point from the previous poll. Lieberman and Kerry were tanking, polling at 9% and 10% respectively after losing seven points each. "Not Sure" was at 19%. Drudge surfaces a video from May 2001 in which Clark praises the Bush team at an Arkansas Republican fundraiser.
September 26	Clark’s first town hall meeting, at Henniker, New Hampshire, wows the crowd – and us – and is televised on C-SPAN. Stephanie Rodriguez’s comment: *“I fell in love all over again.”* My take: *“Such poise. Such brilliance. Such confidence. Such a good suit and tie.”* The Washington Post’s debate headline: “Nine Politicians and a General.”
September 27	MeetUp registrations hit 30,000.
September 28	New England Draftrooters report that they presented the Founder’s Plaque to Gen. Clark in Dover, New Hampshire the day before.
September 29	The candidate spends the day in Texas. Winning Modern Wars hits the bookshelves. Doonesbury features Clark all week.
September 30	Clark meets with Congress in Washington, D.C. Clark speculates on the possibility of time travel.

In the first 15 days of September, the message volume at WesleyClark2004 averaged 243, compared to August’s average of 185. Membership grew to 685, a growth of 210 over August’s month-end membership. From the 16^th through the 30^th, the average daily count was 390, with peaks of 569 on the 16^th and 580 on the 18^th. Announcement Day itself saw “only” 371 posts.
Similarly, membership at the WesleyClark2004 group grew daily between the 1^st and the 15^th by an average of 14.6, and for the rest of September by a net of 24.6 new members, ending September with 1064, a growth of 588 new Clarkies for the month.