General enlists Hollywood to ignite campaign (Clark gets Maddona's approval on policy matters)

General enlists Hollywood to ignite campaign By Julian Coman in Washington (Filed: 30/11/2003)

In an unlikely attempt to gain star backing for a slow-burning campaign, the Democratic presidential candidate, General Wesley Clark, is spending late nights talking politics with Madonna and wooing sympathetic supergroups such as The Eagles, with whom he recently shared the stage during a rendition of Hotel California.

Gen Clark, who had a cerebral and somewhat austere reputation during his military career, has spent much of the past month seeking out the late-night company of west coast rock stars, screen idols and movie producers. While his rivals preach to the worthy but unglamorous residents of early-voting Iowa and New Hampshire, Gen Clark is dressing snappily and going out on the town in LA.

After a 90-minute policy discussion with Madonna in her Los Angeles home recently, a friend of the star was authorised to disclose that "Madonna was very impressed with Gen Clark's intelligence and his vision for America". Another associate added: "Don't under-estimate this. Madonna is often ahead of the curve."

The showbusiness strategy reflects a change of direction by the Clark campaign team, which has already decided not to compete in the rural Iowa caucuses that launch the primary season.

The general's tacticians believe that Howard Dean, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, has already won the support of most left-wing grassroots activists. Gen Clark's goal is to emulate Bill Clinton in the 1990s by capturing the heart of Hollywood, a centre of liberal power and influence in America.

"He wants to be the chosen candidate of Tinseltown," said one sympathetic film producer. A Clark aide confirmed to The Telegraph: "We're reaching out to the entertainment community. Entertainers have a lot to offer any campaign. They have a platform, a pulpit, and they obviously get more attention than the average citizen."

They also earn a great deal of money. Gen Clark has calculated that popularity on the West Coast would help him to catch up with his rivals financially, after a late entry into the race, as well as achieve a nationwide "buzz" to match Mr Dean. Before his second election victory in 1996, Mr Clinton benefited from a $500,000 cheque from Steven Spielberg alone.

The apparent decision by Hillary Clinton to stay out of the 2004 presidential campaign has reinforced the Clark campaign's conviction that the general has the chance to fill a "charisma gap" on the moderate wing of the Democrats.

Gen Clark's Eagles night was judged a political triumph by his team and a model for similar events throughout next year. The group, who hope to influence a future Democratic president on environmental issues, agreed to play for over an hour at the Hollywood fundraiser.

Dressed in black, the general told the audience that Hotel California had been his favourite song since the days of his military service in the state. The Eagles obligingly placed it first on their playlist. According to a campaign aide, "Gen Clark and his wife, Gert, stood by the stage, holding hands and singing along."

The concert, hosted by the original founder of the Hard Rock Cafe, Peter Morton, attracted sympathetic film stars such as Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, and raised $500,000 for the campaign. Ms Lopez spent a quarter of an hour with the candidate and reportedly emerged a confirmed Clark fan.

Mr Morton, who has also thrown a dinner party for Gen Clark with Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the hit television series, West Wing, said: "I haven't been this moved by a politician since I had lunch with Bill Clinton prior to his becoming President. Clark is the Democrat's best chance."

After the concert, Gen Clark and his wife went directly to Madonna's mansion, where the discussion ranged from Iraq to President Bush's recent tax cuts.

The general's strategic incursion into Hollywood appears to have caught his chief rival rival, Mr Dean, off-guard. In Iowa, the fight for the nomination is expected to be a two-horse race between Mr Dean and mid-west candidate Richard Gephardt. Mr Dean is also the overwhelming favourite to win the New Hampshire primary.

To stay in the race, Gen Clark needs both the funds and the profile to play a longer game. His team claims that he is finding both on the West Coast. Taking advantage of the time freed up by the decision not to fight Iowa, Gen Clark has even worked to win the support of Hollywood figures who, during the summer, had declared an interest in Mr Dean.

Norman Lear, the creators of some of America's most famous sitcoms, gave Mr Dean a $2,000 campaign contribution last April. Last week, he was at Gen Clark's Eagles concert, having declared: "I'm inclined to the general."

A lunch with Mr Spielberg has also taken place. According to Mr Spielberg's spokesman, Andrew Spahn: "Gen Clark was a very bright articulate guy. We talked about Iraq, North Korea, foreign policy and tax cuts."

Mr Dean may be winning the early battles in Iowa and New Hampshire, but Gen Clark has taken the lead in Hollywood's unofficial "primary". In a Democratic race constantly criticised as lacklustre, an injection of star quality on the side of the General may yet prove a tactical masterstroke.

Clark already has Hollywood connections via his son, Wesley, Jr. Follows is a story about a Bosnian money deal. "Sacirbey" is now sitting in a NYC jail awaiting extradition to Bosnia for another fraud.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1006180/posts

"The son of General Wesley Clark, the Nato supreme commander who led allied forces in the air raids against Serbia and Kosovo, is caught up in an embarrassing financial row involving the Bosnian government's attempts to make an epic film of the siege of Sarajevo.

Wesley Clark Junior and Mohammed Sacirbey, Bosnia's ambassador to the United Nations, are among a number of those involved in the production being asked to explain how Bosnian government money provided to fund the troubled film was spent.

At the centre of the row is Veljko Bulajic - the former Yugoslavia's most famous film director - who is demanding a government inquiry into the expenditure of money provided to produce the film, entitled Sarajevo .

Wesley Clark's name emerged amid inquiries by the Bosnian media last week into claims that the production was unable to account for 500,000 deutschmarks. While there is no suggestion that Clark or Sacirbey had misappropriated the funds, they have come under the spotlight following claims that both men exaggerated Clark's Hollywood experience and that he was overpaid for his work.

The difficulties with the film appear to have come to a head when director and screenwriter Bulajic was fired and Wesley Clark Junior appointed executive co-producer. Bulajic responded by questioning Clark's Hollywood credentials and the fate of seed money for the production.

According to Bulajic, Clark was originally appointed on the recommendation of Sacirbey to supply the names and addresses of US casting agents, for which he was supposed to receive a nominal fee.

Sacirbey had brought Clark into the production on the basis of claims that he was an already established movie-maker 'with a working relationship with Danny DeVito's production company Jersey Films'.

According to Bulajic, Clark was supposed to receive 'just a few thousand dollars' for providing contacts. However, the Bosnian magazine Dani claims to be in possession of a bank transfer printout from Vakuf Bank into Clark's private account, for $10,000 amid claims he received at least $60,000.

The Observer has been told that Wesley Clark Junior is not listed in the Directors and Producers Guild of America and Danny DeVito's company had only worked with him once when he had the role of a creative executive.

'I did not know whether to put him in the directing or producing department as he did not tell me that he worked in the movies before,' claims Bulajic. 'In the end I authorised him to make contacts on our behalf with some international actors and casting agencies. He made just a few contacts but did not work very hard.'

The controversy over the payments is at the centre of a wider scandal over the alleged disappearance of large sums of the pre-production budget.

The film had already spent Dm1.5m of its budget when Bulajic requested that an independent commission of inquiry into its expenditure was formed. 'The film team had spent around Dm830,000 for the pre-production purposes, and nobody seemed to know where the rest of the money had gone,' said Bulajic.

When Bulajic received no response from the production company, Bosna Film, he repeated his demand for full accounts in public.

Nedzad Hadzimusic, Bosnian ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - who is also the president of the executive board on Sarajevo - insists, despite Bulajic's complaints: 'Wesley Clark Junior has done a lot for this project.'

Mohammed Sacirbey also fiercely defends his introduction of Clark Junior to the film project. 'Wesley Clark Junior is a person of high capacity and good connections.'

However, Hadzimusic admits that the question of where the half million missing deutschmarks have gone remains unanswered.

'We will wait for the report [of Bosna film] which we will analyse and then, if necessary, we will open an independent enquiry,' he said.

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