Dean and Clark's civil union

For now, at least, supporters of the two Democratic rivals are surprisingly cuddly.

By Michelle Goldberg

Sep 29, 2003 | Shortly before Thursday's Democratic debate began in downtown Manhattan, several dozen Howard Dean supporters faced off with a slightly smaller crowd of Wesley Clark fans. Standing with their backs to the Pace University auditorium, where the debate was held, the Dean supporters chanted, "We want Dean! We want Dean!"

Across from them, people holding signs saying "The Wes Wing" and "Wes Is Best," shouted, "We want Clark! We want Clark!" The shouts grew louder, each side trying to drown out the other.

Suddenly, one of the demonstrators yelled, "Down with Bush!" Both groups picked it up, amplifying each other -- "DOWN WITH BUSH! DOWN WITH BUSH!" When the police cleared the area for the candidates' arrivals a few moments later, the Clark and Dean contingents were chatting amicably. As they retired to separate downtown bars to watch the debate, members in both crowds could be overheard telling each other, "I'll work for you guys if you win!"

When Clark entered the race 10 days ago, many saw him as the stop-Dean candidate, drafted by party leaders to head off the former Vermont governor's grass-roots insurgence. Suddenly, the remarkable bottom-up movement that catapulted Dean to the top of the Democratic pack was being trumped by a top-down attempt to impose an arguably more electable candidate on the party. The man who energized followers by excoriating Democrats for acting like Republicans was now being challenged by a Democrat who, until recently, may have actually been a Republican.

And a real clash between the candidates -- as well as, presumably, their supporters -- seemed imminent, especially after Dean took a swipe at Clark on Tuesday, telling reporters he was "shocked" that Clark said he would have voted for the Iraq war resolution, and "I was even more shocked that he switched the next day." Since then, though, he's let others do the sniping. Even when moderator Brian Williams of MSNBC practically urged him to criticize Clark during Thursday's Democratic presidential debate ("Do you believe this is a Democrat you're standing next to?" Williams asked), Dean demurred. (On Sunday, however, Dean seemed to step up his attacks on Clark during an appearance on "Face the Nation." "A good guy, very qualified, but he was a Republican until 25 days ago, and I think that's going to be hard to swallow for a lot of Democrats," Dean said.)

His fan base seems to have stayed neutral as well -- even welcoming the general's entrance with open arms.

Many still see Clark as an excellent vice presidential prospect and the race's second-best candidate for president. While the media has played up Democratic party insiders' involvement in the Clark camp, among activists on the ground the Clark candidacy is widely viewed as a grass-roots phenomenon like Dean's, the result of the Internet-organized Draft Clark movement. Even if Clark has been sent to thwart their man, Dean's followers like and respect him as a fellow soldier in the war on Bush.

"I think it's a very positive development," said Betsy Kane, an attorney and Dean volunteer from Raleigh, N.C., of Clark's entry. "I think he brings a number of characteristics to the table that are needed right now. His military experience is important ... I don't really see him as a threat to Dean. If there's people power behind all the Democratic candidates, eventually one of them is going to rise to the top."

This is essentially the official view of the Dean campaign as well. Though at the start of his campaign Dean attacked the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, these days he's stressing his commonalities with Clinton (a former DLC chairman). If reports that Clinton is backing Clark prove true, it could be seen as a vote of no-confidence for Dean. So Dean's campaign is eager to emphasize that Clark's candidacy is simply the product of another grass-roots movement, and Dean supporters have adopted this line.

Waving goodbye to Clark supporters as she headed off to watch the debate, Ruth Bonnet, a 41-year old writer and Dean campaign volunteer from the Upper West Side, said, "Between the Dean people and the Clark people there's a lot of friendliness." Adds her friend Jordan Auslander, a bearded genealogist and fellow Dean supporter, "It helps to have someone with the moral authority of Clark talking about the fiasco in Iraq. I like Dean. I'm going to support both of them."

This equanimity toward Clark is partly a result of the Democratic unity engendered by George Bush. For months now, Dean has been careful to focus his attacks on the president, and his followers' ire is similarly targeted. That may change, says John Geer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor who studies elections.

Next Page: "Clark and Dean may be the last two standing ... then the gloves will come off"

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