BigBadBrian
01-24-2004, 07:48 AM
Clark: GOP agenda at play in New Hampshire debate
HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press
Friday, January 23, 2004
©2004 Associated Press
(01-23) 14:24 PST NASHUA, N.H. (AP) --
Presidential candidate Wesley Clark on Friday complained that one of the moderators in Thursday night's debate was carrying out a Republican agenda by questioning his Democratic credentials.
Brit Hume of Fox News Channel, who worked as both moderator and questioner during the two-hour debate with the seven candidates, pressed Clark about when he had first realized he was a Democrat.
Clark told reporters Friday, "I looked at who was asking the questions, and I think that was part of the Republican agenda in the debate."
Democrats have complained that Fox News Channel shows a Republican bias.
Clark joined the Democratic Party after announcing his bid for the presidency. He has said he voted for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush but also Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore. In defending himself as a Democrat, he cited his pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, pro-environment and pro-labor positions.
"I think voters understand that I am a Democrat," Clark said Friday after an appearance at Rivier College in New Hampshire.
Fox News spokesman Paul Schur said Clark should be used to facing tough questions about his record.
"This is not the first time General Clark has been questioned about his party affiliation," Schur said. "His handlers should spend their time on more constructive things, such as trying to come up with reasons for the general's slippage in the polls."
For several weeks, Clark has shared the Granite State with only one other Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, as their rivals focused on Iowa. In that time, Clark showed gains in the polls, surging to second place in some surveys.
But some eyebrow-raising remarks have taken a toll on Clark's candidacy, and advisers have conceded that he lost all the ground and momentum that he had gained while the rest of the field was in Iowa. They hope he can cling to a respectable showing in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, setting the stage for making a stand in the Feb. 3 states, including South Carolina and Arizona.
On Thursday, Clark said he supported a woman's right to have an abortion "as modified by" a 1992 court case that allows states to impose limited restrictions. Clark's comments, at a news conference, marked a far less sweeping position than one he staked out in an interview earlier this month, when he told a New Hampshire newspaper he opposed any legal restriction on abortion at any point during pregnancy.
Clark also has stirred controversy with his comments that the Sept. 11 attacks were preventable and lobbyists make America safer.
During the debate, Hume noted that Clark had voted for Republican presidents and had complimented President Bush and his father before entering the race. "I think it is not unreasonable to ask you when you first noticed that you were a Democrat," Hume said.
In response, Clark told Hume he was not a member of any party when he was in the military and considered joining the Republican Party after he had retired. Clark served in the Army for more than 30 years.
Clark often let his friends and former colleagues in the military tell voters why he should be the next president.
Cris Hernandez, who was part of Clark's security team when Clark served as NATO supreme allied commander, said soldiers have told him, "When you see the boss, you tell him to get us out of Iraq."
HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press
Friday, January 23, 2004
©2004 Associated Press
(01-23) 14:24 PST NASHUA, N.H. (AP) --
Presidential candidate Wesley Clark on Friday complained that one of the moderators in Thursday night's debate was carrying out a Republican agenda by questioning his Democratic credentials.
Brit Hume of Fox News Channel, who worked as both moderator and questioner during the two-hour debate with the seven candidates, pressed Clark about when he had first realized he was a Democrat.
Clark told reporters Friday, "I looked at who was asking the questions, and I think that was part of the Republican agenda in the debate."
Democrats have complained that Fox News Channel shows a Republican bias.
Clark joined the Democratic Party after announcing his bid for the presidency. He has said he voted for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush but also Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore. In defending himself as a Democrat, he cited his pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, pro-environment and pro-labor positions.
"I think voters understand that I am a Democrat," Clark said Friday after an appearance at Rivier College in New Hampshire.
Fox News spokesman Paul Schur said Clark should be used to facing tough questions about his record.
"This is not the first time General Clark has been questioned about his party affiliation," Schur said. "His handlers should spend their time on more constructive things, such as trying to come up with reasons for the general's slippage in the polls."
For several weeks, Clark has shared the Granite State with only one other Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, as their rivals focused on Iowa. In that time, Clark showed gains in the polls, surging to second place in some surveys.
But some eyebrow-raising remarks have taken a toll on Clark's candidacy, and advisers have conceded that he lost all the ground and momentum that he had gained while the rest of the field was in Iowa. They hope he can cling to a respectable showing in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, setting the stage for making a stand in the Feb. 3 states, including South Carolina and Arizona.
On Thursday, Clark said he supported a woman's right to have an abortion "as modified by" a 1992 court case that allows states to impose limited restrictions. Clark's comments, at a news conference, marked a far less sweeping position than one he staked out in an interview earlier this month, when he told a New Hampshire newspaper he opposed any legal restriction on abortion at any point during pregnancy.
Clark also has stirred controversy with his comments that the Sept. 11 attacks were preventable and lobbyists make America safer.
During the debate, Hume noted that Clark had voted for Republican presidents and had complimented President Bush and his father before entering the race. "I think it is not unreasonable to ask you when you first noticed that you were a Democrat," Hume said.
In response, Clark told Hume he was not a member of any party when he was in the military and considered joining the Republican Party after he had retired. Clark served in the Army for more than 30 years.
Clark often let his friends and former colleagues in the military tell voters why he should be the next president.
Cris Hernandez, who was part of Clark's security team when Clark served as NATO supreme allied commander, said soldiers have told him, "When you see the boss, you tell him to get us out of Iraq."