Fred Thompson Calling

originally published June 13, 2007

Ask any candidate for public office what he or she spends a significant amount of time doing and you’ll probably get some tried-and-true response like “working for the people” or “serving my constituents” or “fighting for our future.” But ask them what they really spend most of their time doing and they’ll probably tell you they sit at a desk in a windowless room on the phone raising money. Yes, calling anyone and everyone who might give you a nickel is the chore of anyone running for office.

As Fred Thompson, the lawyer-actor-senator from Tennessee, prepares for his run for the White House, he’ll no doubt be picking up the phone and dialing for dollars just like every other candidate. Well, there is someone Thompson’s finance staff needs to add to his call list tomorrow morning: General Wesley Clark.

Okay, so it is unlikely that Clark will give Thompson a penny (although Clark did vote for Nixon and Reagan). What Clark can give Thompson is some advice on what to do and not to do as the new Golden Child in the race for the White House.

For those who don’t remember, former NATO commander Wesley Clark was the savior of the Democratic Party a few years ago. In 2003 and early 2004 there was a palpable fear amongst some Democrats that former Vermont Governor Howard Dean would become the Democratic nominee for president and be sort of a modern-day George McGovern. For those who remember their history, McGovern was the 1972 Democratic nominee for president who won 37.5 percent of the popular vote and a whopping 17 electoral votes.

Clark was recruited (apparently with the blessing of the Clintons) as the man who would save the party of FDR and JFK from falling into the hands of Screaming Howard Dean. Clark was the toast of the town. Imagine: a former general the nominee of the Democratic Party. All those years of being the party of the draft-dodger and the flag-burner would be wiped away in an instant as the general took the reins. Clark was the man.

Finally, in late 2003, after months of begging and pleading, the General entered the race for the White House. There was no stopping him now. The General would go on to win the Democratic primary in Oklahoma and… and… um… well, that’s about it. One primary victory. That’s it. The man who was supposed to save Democrats from themselves had about the same effect as a spitball as it hits the side of an armored tank.

Senator Thompson should take note. There is a world of difference between being touted as a potential candidate (something sure to drive up the ego and aspirations of even the most humble) and actually being a candidate. No longer can you give the “non-answer” answer to questions like where you stand on the war in Iraq, the state of health care in America, gas prices, climate change, etc., etc., etc. You have to actually take a stand somewhere. You are no longer all things to all people, as most potential candidates are who do not have clearly definable positions on the issues. In 2003-2004 many in the Democratic Party were in love with Clark and desperately wanted him to run. And then he opened his mouth and started to take those clearly definable (if sometimes inconsistent) positions, and he lost support every day thereafter.

When Senator Thompson jumps into the race in the coming weeks, as I suspect he will, he would be wise to consider the short-lived Wesley Clark for President campaign. Thompson may be on everyone’s dance card at the moment, but when he starts to really articulate who he is as a candidate and what kind of president he wants to be, that may change. The golden image can tarnish quickly in politics.

Now where did I put that piece of paper with General Clark’s number on it?

Michael K. Chapman

Michael Chapman is a UGA graduate student living in Athens.