Clark and Dean in spotlight as candidates spar

By Glen Johnson and Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff, 9/26/2003

NEW YORK -- Wesley K. Clark offered a steady performance yesterday in his debut on the political stage for the Democratic presidential nomination, while Howard Dean faced sharp criticism during a candidates forum that focused on economic matters.

Clark, the retired Army general who had entered the race nine days earlier and vaulted to the top of national polls, stayed close to a cautious script drafted by a cadre of Clinton administration aides advising him. The first-time candidate, who declared himself a Democrat three weeks ago, self-consciously referred to his political inexperience, saying it was the reason he would not answer hypothetical questions, and said he could not offer specifics for an economic program but could provide clarity on one big issue.

"I've got a better job plan in eight days than George Bush had in three years in this country, and it will work. It's significant, and we need to concentrate on creating jobs here," Clark said during the televised forum at Pace University in Lower Manhattan.

Dean, the former Vermont governor who leads in fund-raising and in recent polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, was the target of criticism from his fellow contenders on tax, health, and trade policy.

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts chastised him for proposing to repeal middle-class tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration; Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri complained that Dean favored curbs on Medicare spending pushed by former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican; and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut accused Dean of favoring protectionist trade policies.

The series of attacks prompted Dean to complain at one point, "You know, to listen to Senator Lieberman, Senator Kerry, Representative Gephardt, I'm anti-Israel, I'm antitrade, I'm anti-Medicare, and I'm anti-Social Security. I wonder how I ended up in the Democratic Party."

As some members of the audience laughed, Dean added, "I'm not a new entrant to the Democratic Party. I've been here a long time."

At another point, a visibly angry Dean lashed back at Gephardt for linking him to Gingrich, a despised figure in Democratic circles because of his ideological, confrontational leadership of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998.

"That is flat-out false, and I'm ashamed that you would compare me with Newt Gingrich," Dean said. "Nobody up here deserves to be compared to Newt Gingrich."

The debate itself reinforced a perception that the Democratic field has grown unwieldy. Candidates waited for minutes to answer questions, and television cameras had to use wide-angle shots just to fit all of them and their lecterns into a single screen. Moderator Brian Williams and the debate sponsors, The Wall Street Journal and the cable business channel CNBC, tried to expose contrasts by challenging the candidates to respond to criticisms made of them by other candidates, and by using a split screen to show images of candidates as they were being attacked by a rival.

On one occasion, Dean was seen mouthing the word "false" when Gephardt spoke about Dean's past views on Medicare.

Dean and Clark, during breaks in the forum, exhibited a personal frostiness: They stood side by side, ignoring each other, while the other candidates chatted.

The 10 candidates had differing views on funding operations in Iraq. Dean, Lieberman, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, and former senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois said they would support the $87 billion expenditure that President Bush has requested.

"It is absolutely, I think, critical that we not cut and run, that we provide our troops with what they need, and that we just not blow up that country and leave it blown up," Moseley Braun said.

Senator Bob Graham of Florida took the middle ground. "I will support whatever is required for the troops in Iraq. I will not support a dime for the profits of Halliburton," he said, referring the US company whose subsidiary has received no-bid contracts to do reconstruction work in Iraq.

Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York said they were opposed to Bush's request.

"I think to continue to invest in a flawed and failed policy is not wise or prudent. It is really to try and chase bad investment with bad investment," Sharpton said. "Real patriots don't put troops in harm's way on a flawed policy."

Gephardt and Clark indicated their support on a conditional basis, while Kerry said the Bush administration's tax cuts benefitting the wealthiest Americans should be repealed to cover the expense. As Williams made a thumbs-up/thumbs-down gesture in an attempt to get a yes or no answer to the question, Kerry replied, "I can't tell you exactly where I'm going to vote."

Clark was prepared for the debate by a team of former Clinton officials, including Stanley Greenberg, a pollster; Bruce Lindsey, a Clinton confidant; Ron Klain, chief of staff to former vice president Al Gore; and Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who served as a policy adviser in the Clinton White House.

Despite the heavy Clinton influence, the men denied they were working on behalf of the former president or his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

"Bill Clinton never told me, Hillary Clinton never told me . . . none of that happened," Emanuel said.

Despite being a political neophyte, Clark got ample attention from the moderator and his rivals. Williams, who works for NBC News, asked the former general the first question of the debate, which had nothing to do with economics and everything to do with politics: If he praised Ronald Reagan and Bush in a May 2001 speech at a Republican Party event, what was he doing running now as a Democrat?

Clark had a ready answer, saying he had grown frustrated by the Bush administration. "When I needed to speak out, there was only one party to come to," Clark said. "I am prochoice, I am pro-affirmative action, I'm pro-environment, I'm pro-health. I'm proud to be a Democrat."

Later, when Sharpton had a chance to speak, he started by welcoming Clark and telling him not to worry about his conversion: "There's a lot of old Democrats up here that have been acting like Republicans all along."

On economic issues, Clark was quick to offer numbers -- 41 million Americans without health insurance -- but his answers sometimes lacked specifics.

Asked what he would do if mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac were in financial trouble, he replied, essentially, that homeownership is important. When asked whether, as a former investment banker, he believes a cut in capital gains taxes spurs investment, Clark sidestepped the question, advocated a "simpler, more progressive tax code," and said he would be releasing his own tax plan soon.

Clark did flesh out his views on a couple of issues, indicating that he opposes privatizing Social Security and favors open trade based on "reciprocal trade agreements."

Still, Clark repeatedly reminded people that he had been in the race for only nine days -- sometimes to his advantage and sometimes as an excuse. He declined to directly answer whether he would vote to spend $87 billion to rebuild Iraq, saying, "I've learned one thing from my nine days in politics. You'd better be careful with hypothetical questions."

Sarah Schweitzer of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.