Positive AP wire on Clark - negative Reuters article on Clark

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-usa-clark-nato.html

Clark Was Brilliant NATO General with Thin Skin
By REUTERS Filed at 1:38 p.m. ET BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Wesley Clark may not be ready for the rough and tumble of domestic politics as he sets out down the same path that took Dwight D. Eisenhower, NATO's first supreme commander, to the White House over half a century ago.
No one disputes that the commander of NATO's 1999 bombing campaign in Kosovo, now the 10th Democrat to seek his party's 2004 presidential nomination, is brilliant, a perfectionist, extremely hard-working and adept at handling stress.But some who watched him at NATO question whether the retired four-star general is sufficiently personable, media-savvy, sensitive and thick-skinned to win the hearts -- and votes -- of the American people.Diplomats and journalists who watched him during the 11-week campaign to drive Serb forces from Kosovo have their doubts.<snip>

It is Clark's perceived style -- cerebral, idiosyncratic and forceful -- that could be a handicap in the hurly-burly of domestic politics. Diplomats said it was this that alienated him from his superiors and political masters in 1999....Just after the war ended, he ordered Britain's Lt. Gen. Michael Jackson to block the runway at Pristina, the provincial capital, to prevent Moscow from reinforcing a small force of Russian troops which had unexpectedly occupied the airfield.Jackson defied his superior, famously telling Clark: "Sir, I am not starting World War Three for you."

<snip``He was extremely thin-skinned when it came to criticism,'' said Drozdiak, a former Europe correspondent of the Washington Post. He recalled the commander telephoning him during the Kosovo campaign to correct minor errors of detail -- such as the exact timing of a meeting -- in his news reports.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Democrats-Clark.html

18, 2003
Democrats Say Clark Improves Party Image
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 8:51 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wesley Clark's entry into the Democratic presidential primary is already proving advantageous, say congressional Democrats who argue that the retired four-star general's bid negates their image as soft on defense.
Several lawmakers interviewed said regardless of whether Clark wins the nomination, having him among the party's candidates increases their credibility on the military and foreign affairs."It's very bad for me as a Democrat to be tagged as somebody who doesn't support the military," said Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind. "He takes that issue back for us."Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., a decorated veteran of the Korean War who is backing Clark, said the former NATO supreme commander "is Teflon to the question of being a patriot. patriot. Democrats "need someone who'll stand up with Bush and doesn't have to say, 'I'm as patriotic as you are, now let's debate the issues,'" Rangel said.

<snip>Clark's out-of-the-gate support reflects some Democrats' coolness to the nine candidates who have been working for the nomination for months. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has attracted grass-roots support, but has just nine endorsements from congressional members. Sens. John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards and Bob Graham have also failed to win widespread support from their congressional colleagues.<snip>

Sen. Edward Kennedy said Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has a record that can compete. Kennedy and Kerry both represent Massachusetts."I'm campaigning for him and I expect that Kerry will be the Democratic candidate," said Kennedy. "He has been one of the most thoughtful on foreign relations and national security."
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