Wesley Clark


Clark withdraws from presidential race
Wesley Clark dropped out of the race for the White House on Wednesday, a retired four-star general unable to command significant support as a first-time presidential candidate. (02/11/2004)

The race for president
A look at the key issues and leading candidates in the presidential campaign. Presidential contests in Virginia and Tennessee are on Tuesday, and Democratic hopefuls are campaigning hard. Trying to steal some of the spotlight from Democrats seeking his job, President Bush is highlighting upswings in the U.S. economy. (Midday, 02/09/2004)

Kerry wins in five states
Armed with a multistate win that cemented his front-runner status, John Kerry is pausing briefly before plunging into the next round of tests as a national presidential candidate. His campaign, Kerry said, is "on the move." (02/04/2004)

MPR Poll: November presidential contest might be close in Minnesota
Minnesota voters say if the presidential election were held today, Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts would have the best chance to beat George W. Bush in the state. A new Mason-Dixon poll sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio and the St. Paul Pioneer Press sheds light on voter opinions on President Bush, the Democratic candidates for president, and the war on terrorism. (01/30/2004)

Democratic presidential contenders meet in debate
Democratic presidential contenders agreed in campaign debate Thursday night that they can and must compete successfully against President Bush this fall in the South, a region that has been hard to crack for many of the party's past contenders for the White House. (01/29/2004)

Kerry rolls over N.H. rivals, taking mantle of front-runner as contest goes national
The opening acts behind them, Democrats transformed their presidential campaign into a national battle Wednesday with John Kerry, fresh from his New Hampshire win, ready to open an advertising blitz in all seven states that vote next and his rivals scrambling to stay competitive. (01/28/2004)

The next primaries, just around the corner
With the New Hampshire primary over, Gary and his guests take a look ahead to the next series of primaries on Tuesday, Feb. 3. (Midday, 01/28/2004)

Spouses on the campaign trail
As the campaign progresses, Democratic candidates' wives are receiving more attention from the media. As in years past, one observer says, first ladies and the women who hope to succeed them are expected to drop careers to be hostesses. (Midmorning, 01/28/2004)

New Hampshire primary
A preview of Tuesday's New Hampshire presidential primary. The candidates are making the most of Monday, in the final day before the primary. Among the Democrats, John Kerry and Howard Dean are leading the pack in some polls. But polls also show eight to 15 percent of likely voters are undecided -- and many others could change their minds. (Midday, 01/26/2004)

The campaign of Wesley Clark
Host Gary Eichten and his guest discuss democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark's campaign, and how he'll fare in the New Hampshire primary. After sitting out Iowa, both Joe Lieberman and Clark, a retired general, will get their first taste of primary combat next week in New Hampshire. (Midday, 01/20/2004)

The Iowa caucuses: results and analysis
After the blizzard of ads, the blanketing of the state by most of the Democratic candidates, Iowans caucused and made their choices. What's next for the following important primary, New Hampshire. (Midmorning, 01/20/2004)

Kerry shakes up race and staggers Dean with decisive win in Iowa
Democratic presidential candidates vied for victory Monday across the chilly precincts of Iowa, the first step in the battle to face President Bush this fall. John Kerry was leading in preliminary results of an Associated Press survey of Iowa Democrats taken as they entered the caucus sites. (01/20/2004)

Practicing politics at an Iowa caucus
More than 100 people crammed Decorah's City Council chambers Monday night to participate in the Iowa Democratic caucus. For this precinct, in a small northeastern Iowa college town, it was the best-attended caucus in recent memory. (01/20/2004)

Variety of issues drive Iowans to caucuses
On Monday, Iowa Democrats will meet in close to 2,000 precinct caucuses around the state. Because Iowa gets to go first, some political observers say the views of Iowa residents play a disproportionate role in choosing a candidate for president. But the issues Iowans are concerned about --the war in Iraq, jobs, and education-- are the same ones on the minds of many Minnesotans and other Americans. (01/16/2004)

Wesley Clark visits Superior
Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark stopped in Superior, Wisconsin, over the weekend. The retired general has been gaining in the polls against front-runner Howard Dean in the last couple of weeks. (01/12/2004)

Democratic presidential candidates debate
Seven of the nine democratic presidential candidates debated in Des Moines, Iowa, Sunday night in the first official event of the election year. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was sharply criticized by his rivals on taxes, health care, and terrorism. Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford discusses presidential politics. (Midday, 01/05/2004)

Rivals target front-runner Dean in first debate of the election year
In a feisty, first debate of the election year, Howard Dean drew fire from fellow Democrats on Sunday over trade, terror and taxes, then calmly dismissed his rivals as "co-opted by the agenda of George Bush." (01/04/2004)

Rivals gang up on Dean, Gore in debate dominated by endorsement
Eight of the Democratic presidential candidates ganged up on front-runner Howard Dean and former Vice President Al Gore, hoping to take the luster off Gore's newly minted endorsement of Dean. (12/10/2003)

Local political leaders selecting presidential favorites
The 2004 presidential election is still 11 months away, but the presidential campaign is well underway in Minnesota. Three Democratic candidates recently kicked off their Minnesota campaigns, and some are mobilizing Minnesotans to travel to Iowa in advance of next month's caucuses. Meantime, Republicans are working to sign up a record number of Minnesota volunteers for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign. (12/09/2003)

The 2004 race for president
President Bush is stepping up the pace this week, packing in four sessions with wealthy Republican donors in as many states. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidates are building their paid staffs and paying frequent visits to Wisconsin, before the Wisconsin primary in two months. (Midday, 12/01/2003)

Bush TV ad answers criticism over Iraq
Democrats are reacting strongly to an ad running in the crucial early election state of Iowa that talks about Bush's stand on the war on terrorism and Iraq. The ad, sponsored by the Republican National Committee, signals a strategy for addressing criticism of the administration's efforts in the Middle East. (Midmorning, 11/25/2003)

Gephardt, Kerry take shots at Dean policies on health care in Democratic debate
Rep. Dick Gephardt and Democratic rival Howard Dean intensified their war of words on Monday, attacking each others' records in the latest in a series of Democratic debates. (11/24/2003)

Clark stumps in Upper Midwest
Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark was in the Twin Cities this weekend to raise money for his campaign. Clark is one of nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Observers say coming to Minnesota when most candidates are stumping for the nation's first primary in New Hampshire, sends a signal Clark is in the campaign for the long haul. (11/23/2003)

Dean regrets pain of Confederate flag remark
Howard Dean said Wednesday he regretted the pain he caused by saying that the Democratic Party must court Southerners who display the symbol of the Confederacy in their pickup trucks. (11/05/2003)

Mondale and Boschwitz ponder presidential politics
The presidential election is just a year away, and Democrats and Republicans are saying Minnesota is a toss-up. Former Vice President Walter Mondale says he thinks Americans are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Republican leadership in Washington. Former Republican Sen. Rudy Boschwitz says President Bush is vulnerable now; but Boschwitz says a year is a long time, and he's predicting the issues will break in Bush's favor. (11/04/2003)

The impact of third party candidates
We discuss the potential impact of third-party candidates in the 2004 elections with professor Lawrence Jacobs. He discusses his 2004 Election Project at the Humphrey Institute. (Midday, 10/24/2003)

Presidential candidates profiles: Health care
Health care looms as a major issue in the presidential campaign of 2004. How do the Democratic candidates stack up against President George W. Bush when it comes to health care proposals? (Midday, 10/21/2003)

Democratic insiders taunt newcomer Clark in presidential debate
Washington insiders seeking the presidency gave Wesley Clark a rough welcome to the Democratic race, dismissing the insurgent outsider's 11th-hour allegiance to the party and assailing his indecisiveness on the Iraq war. (10/10/2003)

More Democrats join race for president
Friday's Week in Review covers the national political stories as well as the local, including the official entrance of two more Democrats in the presidential candidate field and negotiations on state employees' contracts. (Midmorning, 09/19/2003)

Clark joins crowded Democratic presidential race
Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark entered a crowded and wide-open race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday. "We're going to run a campaign that will move this country forward not back," Clark said, promising to "talk straight to the American people." (09/17/2003)

The race for President
With President Bush's poll numbers dropping, many of his fellow Republicans are uneasy about the state of the U.S. economy, rising budget deficits, and the U.S. military operation in Iraq. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential contender Richard Gephardt launched his sharpest attack on rival Howard Dean Friday, likening his views on Medicare to past efforts led by Republican Newt Gingrich to cut the health care program for seniors. We discuss Presidential politics and other national political issues. (Midday, 09/15/2003)

Democratic presidential candidates curb their politeness, throw elbows at each other
Democrat Howard Dean's claim that he is the only white politician who talks about race to white audiences drew criticism Wednesday from one of his presidential rivals. Sen. John Edwards said the entire field discusses racial issues on the campaign trail. (09/10/2003)