Concerns have been expressed (I know, I’ve seen them) that General Clark might have trouble finding talented political staff still available to work on his campaign for President, because Clark will be entering the race for the Democratic nomination several weeks or even months later than other Democratic candidates. This is a concern that never seems to come up regarding Al Gore, when people assert that he may still make a late entrance into the Presidential race; it is only raised about Wes Clark. And that is probably because in 2004, when Wes Clark entered the race late in September, he had to cobble together a campaign staff quickly from national political operatives who were not yet spoken for at the time, and that became problematic for him.
Fair enough as far as that goes, but a wrong lesson can be drawn from Clark’s 2004 campaign experience. Obviously entering a race in September is a different matter than entering a race in, let’s say February. The truth is there are many good potential campaign workers and managers still out there to hire to guide a Presidential run, though not all of them have previously established strong national reputations. While John Kerry got the pick of the litter of national Democratic campaign advisors when he became our nominee for President in 2004, there are some who now say he might have been better off with a runt.
There are significant relevant differences for Wes Clark this year compared to his situation in 2003. Most obvious is this; Clark starts out with a fine staff already in place at his Political Action Committee, albeit a small one. Wes Clark knows what he wants and needs in a campaign staff now, having been through this thing once before. He couldn't possibly know that in 2003.
In 2003 Wes Clark and some advisers he hardly knew had to quickly sift through “the list” of still unaffiliated high level political staff, men and women with previously established reputations, to make some rapid hires. Clark had neither the time nor personal connections then to assemble the perfect team to work best with him. He depended heavily on hastily submitted resumes, and the advice of others, in making those hiring decisions. Clark couldn't bring his own team to the table.
Now think back to 1992. The team Bill Clinton won with that year wasn’t widely known and/or considered high powered by pretty much anyone’s standards, not until Clinton actually won the nomination and the Presidency using them as his staff that is. Consider these men as they were known or not known to the general public and political community BEFORE Bill Clinton won. Start with this New York Times article about Mickey Kantor:
THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Campaign Staff; A Veteran Insider in Clinton's Camp
By RICHARD L. BERKE
June 7, 1992
Gov. Bill Clinton's campaign chairman is a prominent lawyer-lobbyist here who is best known for his first-hand and repeated experience at running failed Democratic races for the White House. The losing streak of the chairman, Mickey Kantor, began in 1976, when he headed the Presidential campaign of Edmund G. Brown Jr., then Governor of California. Four years later, as state chairman for President Jimmy Carter's re-election effort, he watched the White House slip from Democratic control." http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/mickey_kantor/index.html?s=oldest&
Kantor was Clinton’s old Pro. Here are four more important names from Bill Clinton’s inner circle back in 1992; George Stephanopoulos, David Wilhelm, James Carville, and Paul Begala. When George Stephanopoulos first met Bill Clinton in September of 1991, he was 30 years old. According to Biography.com:
“Stephanopoulos began his career in Washington, DC as an aide to Ohio Congressman Ed Feighan. He later served as Feighan's chief of staff before leaving to work on the doomed 1988 presidential campaign of a fellow Greek-American liberal Democrat, Michael Dukakis. He returned to Washington in 1989 and landed a job as the executive floor assistant to then-House majority leader Dick Gephardt.”
George had some prior experience, but he was still fairly green before becoming Clinton's deputy campaign manager for communications.
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542062
So what about Bill Clinton’s actual campaign manager, how widely knows was he in political circles of that time? According to Wikipedia: “David Wilhelm gained national prominence as the campaign manager for Bill Clinton's presidential run in 1992.” And what does Wikipedia have to say about the Ragin Cajun, James Carville himself? This: “Carville gained national attention for his work as the strategist of the successful 1992 presidential campaign of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton.” Or about now famous political author and pundit Paul Begala? This: “ Paul Begala burst onto the political scene when he, along with partner James Carville, helped then-governor of Arkansas Clinton win the 1992 presidential election.”
Starting to notice a pattern here? Obviously all of these men were doing something before they “gained national prominence” or “burst onto the national scene.” Wikipedia has this to say about Carville and Begala for example: “Aside from the 1992 presidential election, Begala and Carville have had other well-known political victories which include the 1991 Senate victory of Harris Wofford, the 1988 re-election campaign of incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg, and the gubernatorial victories of Robert Casey in 1986 and Zell Miller in 1990.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Begala
Every two years 435 House races are run, and approximately 33 Seante Contests, with up to a couple of dozen additional Gubernatorial seats up for grab. Political campaign staffs work on and win all of those races, though those staffers may or may not yet be nationally prominent. Today’s “B” Team may well become tomorrow’s “A” Team if given the right opportunity. It sure ended up that way for Bill Clinton’s Little Rock Mafia.
Here is the key that worked for Bill Clinton in 1992, which can also work for Wes Clark in 2008. Bill Clinton was able to identify a group of campaign staff who understood his strengths as a candidate, and who Clinton in turn knew and understood back. Bill Clinton brought a team into the game that he was personally comfortable working with; something Wes Clark was unable to do in 2004.
It didn't matter to Bill Clinton if beltway pundits instantly recognized and/or were impressed with his staff. What mattered to Clinton was that he knew what they were capable of, and that they knew what he was capable of. The rest is history. Political history will be written again in 2008. If Wes Clark runs again, he and the staff he personally assembles will be making it.
