DraftWesleyClark.com press release: Wesley Clark 49 Pct., Bush 40 Pct. in Zogby "blind bio" poll

DraftWesleyClark.com press release via U.S. Newswire ^ | August 25, 2003

[HAL9000]

Clark 49 Pct., Bush 40 Pct. -- Stunning Zogby Blind Bio Results Turbo Charge Draft Wesley Clark Effort; Pledges Reach $800,000

8/26/03 3:25:00 PM

To: National Desk, Political Reporter

Contact: Maya Israel, 718-875-3556, Maya@DraftWesleyClark.com John Hlinko, 202-744-6525, John@DraftWesleyClark.com Josh Margulies, 917-509-6240, Josh@DraftWesleyClark.com Chris Kofinis, 202-270-2117, kofinis@iseconsulting.com all for DraftWesleyClark.com

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- DraftWesleyClark.com, the national campaign to draft former General Wesley Clark for President, has experienced an explosion in traffic and energy in the wake of its release of stunning results from a Zogby poll commissioned by the group. Using a "blind bio" approach, the poll showed General Clark defeating all current Democratic candidates, and beating President Bush 49.4 percent to 40.2 percent. (see http://www.DraftWesleyClark.com/poll.htm for full results)

"Clearly, these stunning poll results have unleashed an entirely new wave of enthusiasm for a Clark candidacy," said John Hlinko, co-founder of the effort. "DraftWesleyClark.com already had the second most traffic of all the Presidential candidate sites - but yesterday we had our most traffic ever. The combination of these poll results and our performance in the 'modem primary' clearly shows the depth of popular support for General Clark."

The campaign also announced that pledges to its "General Fund" - pledges of support made by supporters to a potential Clark candidacy -- had reached $800,000.

DraftWesleyClark.com released the results of the poll yesterday, live on C-SPAN. They were presented as part of an overall report by political analyst and former professor, Chris Kofinis, Ph.D.

The poll was commissioned by DraftWesleyClark.com, and conducted by John Zogby, one of the nation's most prominent and respected pollsters. In an effort to best assess the potential for a Clark candidacy, given that he is not yet a declared candidate, the poll included several "blind bio" questions. For these, subjects polled were given biographical descriptions of the candidates, rather than actual names. All questions and bios were screened and approved by John Zogby for fairness and objectivity.

Among the findings:

-- "Too Late?" - 84.1 percent of likely Democratic primary voters say it is not too late for a new entrant into the race to win their support;

-- "Military/National Security" - 73.5 percent of all likely voters rate military/national security experience as "very" or "somewhat" important for a presidential candidate;

-- "Clark vs. Dems" -- Clark comes in first in a blind-bio match-up versus six key Democratic candidates (Dean, Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, Gephardt, Edwards, and Graham);

-- "Clark vs. Bush" -- Clark wins 49.4 percent to 40.2 percent in a blind-bio match-up versus President Bush among a national poll of likely voters;

-- Even when the poll question referred solely to candidate names (no bio information), Clark jumped to 5th place (4.9 percent) nationally among likely Democratic primary voters -- despite his low name recognition, and the fact that he has not spent a dime.

"These Zogby poll results suggest that the race for the Democratic nomination is wide open, and that likely primary voters are definitely open to another candidate entering the race," said Dr. Kofinis. "Further, the poll results tell us that Clark has the qualities to compete against the elite of the Democratic field, and to challenge and potentially defeat President Bush in 2004."

See (see http://www.DraftWesleyClark.com/poll.htm for full results).

ABOUT THE POLL

The poll was conducted between August 16th and 19th, using 1,019 likely voters chosen nationwide. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percent for the overall sample, and plus or minus 4.1 percent for the sample of likely Democratic primary voters.

ABOUT DRAFTWESLEYCLARK.COM

Launched in April, 2003, DraftWesleyClark.com has collected tens of thousands of letters urging General Clark to run, raised over $800,000 in pledges, and built a network of volunteer leaders, ready to serve -- if General Clark chooses to lead. DraftWesleyClark.com has already been featured on Good Morning America, Meet The Press, CBS Evening News, Crossfire, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, as well as in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire and Newsweek.

DraftWesleyClark.com is the largest effort to draft Wesley Clark for President. It is not affiliated with General Clark. The effort is headquartered in Washington, DC, one block from the White House. For more information, please see http://www.DraftWesleyClark.com.

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Paid for by DraftWesleyClark.com. Not Authorized by any candidate. Contributions to DraftWesleyClark.com are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

[non-anonymous]

Name that candidate!
(answers at bottom)

“A” was a former four-star general and NATO supreme commander during the Clinton Administration. He was first in his class at West Point, a Rhodes Scholar, is a decorated Vietnam Veteran, and is a national security expert. He is a successful businessman leading the effort to reduce our dependence on oil. Is a moderate on domestic policy issues and is from the South.

“B” is a senator from a northeastern state who is widely regarded as a centrist and the moral voice of the party. He stood on the senate floor and was critical of Bill Clinton during the impeachment scandal. This candidate is willing to defy party leaders by recommending reforms like school vouchers. He would be the first Jewish nominee.

“C” is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who is generally considered a liberal. He is regarded as articulate on a wide range of issues. He supported the war in Iraq, but is now critical of how the Bush administration is handling the aftermath. He has been a state attorney general, a lieutenant governor, and has been a United States senator from a northeastern state for 20 years.

“D” has run for president before and receives strong support from labor unions. He is a congressman from a Midwestern state and has been both majority and minority leader in the House of Representatives. He is the first candidate to propose an extensive health care reform package.

“E” is a physician and has served as lieutenant governor and until recently, was governor of a small New England state. He is running as a liberal, campaigning as a populist. He steadfastly opposed the war in Iraq and he signed a bill into law allowing civil unions for gay couples. He attracts large crowds and has surprised pundits with his recent success in raising money.

“F” is a first term senator from a southern state. He is young and is a successful trial lawyer. He is running a populist campaign, though he is regarded as a centrist in the party. He supported the war in Iraq and has raised a lot of money in the first two quarters.

“G” is a senator from a large and important southern state. He has served as a state senator, a governor, and has now been in the United States senate for 17 years. He is critical of the Bush administration on homeland security and is the only senator running who did not support the war in Iraq. Once a month he spends time doing different jobs like waiting on tables, general laborer, etc. to better understand how regular people live.

A - Clark; B - Lieberman; C - Kerry; D - Gephardt; E - Dean; F - Edwards; G - Graham

[Recovering_Democrat]

Great. If the 'rats want to nominate this liberal in uniform, I say BRING HIM ON. Bush'll stomp his lying arse.

[HenryLeeII]

What I'm afraid of is a Hillary!/Clark ticket. There are enough idiots in this country that would go for it. Don't laugh it off - they went for Clinton/Gore TWICE! Work extra hard now to prop up Dean and Nader! Send them what you can, distribute flyers for them, put their signs in your yard (okay, maybe that's a little too much, but you get the point)...

[Peach]

Sign in the yard! I'd be drummed out of the 'hood. Course, your other suggestions are good...

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Is it me or are these draft Clark people more like a cult with a political agenda than a grass roots group?

[Slainte]

Add to that the fact that Wesley Crusher has better name recognition than Wesley Clark...

[My2Cents]

Here's the Bush bio:

Preppy ne'er-do-well with mediocre grades in college, a DUI in his record, a person of privelege who has always depended on "daddy" to get him ahead in life, a simpleton who can't string a coherent thought together in a sentence, who acts impulsively and approaches complex problems with a simplistic response.

...vs. Wesley Clark's bio:

A man's man, the second coming of George S. Patton, thoughtful military analyst and strategist who kept the peace in Europe as Supreme NATO commander.

[HenryLeeII]

And "H" is a leader who has successfully toppled two terrorist regimes, delivered on two tax cuts, steered this country through the most devastating terrorist attack in its history, and graduated from Harvard Business School. His GPA was higher than Gore's, and he's really been president, not just a poser!

[My2Cents]

No more than fodder for Chris Matthews' show.

[HenryLeeII]

Its more like a one-man operation, with the Democraps looking on with interest if Clark can blow his own horn enough to make waves in the leftist media/entertainment establishment.

[Pukin Dog]

The Democrat ticket is going to be Dean/Clark.

Bush will win in a landslide. There is so much about Clark yet to come out about his time in the Army, and how he almost started WWIII, he does not worry me at all. In fact, I encourage the Democrats to back him, because the perfumed prince has no substance at all.

[My2Cents]

LOL...Come to think of it, Clark reminds me of McClellan.

[Uncle Hal]

I have some ocean front property to sell to Mr. Zogby in Las Vegas.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"...but yesterday we had our most traffic ever."

But they won't say how many?

Yeah. The hits went from 50 to 500 probably. Clark has been on tons of TV shows lately. Of course his website hits are up.

It's bizarre, but I've heard a good number of supporters say how goodlooking and smart he is- like puppy love!

[TomGuy]

What I'm afraid of is a Hillary!/Clark ticket. There are enough idiots in this country that would go for it. Don't laugh it off - they went for Clinton/Gore TWICE! Work extra hard now to prop up Dean and Nader! Send them what you can, distribute flyers for them, put their signs in your yard (okay, maybe that's a little too much, but you get the point)...

I expect that. Hillary is running and has been since the day Bill was first elected. She definitely plans to pull a second Bush upset in 2004. Her low-lying profile is not disinterest; it is laying in wait, cunningly being patient as the fellow dems eat each other. At the appropriate time, she will emerge as the savior for the Democratic Party; the savior for the USA; the savior for the World; the savior for Mars, Jupiter and all the planets beyond.

Laugh at her quiet candadicy at your peril. She is running and she has the full benefits of the Clinton machine (and the Clinton IOU's).

[Aaron0617]

Isn't Gen'l Wes the dope who idiotically moved our boys onto that airport in Kosovo? And nearly set off WWW III?

I don't remember that story. Anyone have a link to that...or some keywords?

[laconic]

Wesley Clark kept "the peace" in Europe against whom? The Soviets really weren't a threat by 1986, when Gorbachev became party secretary and realized he couldn't beat Reagan's SDI nor modernize the Russian Empire.

[DuncanWaring]

Here's another example of "Dueling Bio's":

Candidate A: Associates with faith-healers and consults astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He chain-smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B: Was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college, chain-smokes, and drinks a quart of brandy every evening.

Candidate C: Is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any illicit affairs.

Which of these candidates is your choice?

Choose one then scroll down.

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Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolf Hitler... Goes to show you can't trust anyone who doesn't appreciate a good steak!

[HenryLeeII]

Laugh at her quiet candadicy at your peril. She is running and she has the full benefits of the Clinton machine (and the Clinton IOU's).

Well said. You won't catch me laughing...there are enough idiots...