BRISTOL, Tenn. – Three hundred supporters from Tennessee and Virginia crowded into every available space at the State Line Bar and Grill in Bristol to hear Democratic presidential candidate retired Gen. Wesley Clark speak Friday evening.
Amidst cigarette smoke, pints of beer, and the restaurant patrons, Clark touted his 30 years of military experience and leadership, his commitment to equality under the law for every American and his status as a “Washington outsider” as reasons to elect him in Tennessee’s Democratic Primary Tuesday.
He cited his leadership experience as the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in the Kosovo Conflict in 1999 with no loss of American life as his credential to lead American troops in Iraq.
Clark has been highly critical in the past of President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq.
“If there’s one thing everybody who’s been there [a combat situation] knows about war, you don’t do it if there’s any other options.”
Though Clark did discuss his personal background, his upbringing and his stance on foreign policy, his domestic agenda was the key topic of the night.
On day one of Clark’s administration, he said he would sign an executive order authorizing Americans to purchase prescription drugs from Canada.
He offered several solutions to domestic problems in his platform including raising the minimum wage to $7 an hour by 2007, providing a $6,000 Universal College Grant for the first two years of college education for students from families whose income is less than $100,000, and providing sweeping middle class federal tax cuts.
A family of four with an income less than $50,000 would be guaranteed to not pay any federal income taxes.
“Under President Bush, education costs have increased 28 percent in the last three years,” Clark said.
A group of college students standing by the bar applauded each time he mentioned his plan for making higher education affordable.
Clark geared much of his speech toward the youth in the audience.
“If they want to make a difference in this country, they should vote in this election,” Clark said.
“This is the most important election in my lifetime because we have a president who has taken the American people in the wrong direction and this is our chance to get it right. We have to have the right nominee in the Democratic Party to defeat George W. Bush. I’m the strongest nominee. I’m what one Washington Post columnist called Karl Rove’s worst nightmare.”
ETSU students Colin Spaulding, Jenn O’Connell and Jeff Goulder sat directly in front of the stage where Clark gave his speech.
Each of them came to see both Clark and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who appeared at his own presidential campaign rally at the Bristol YWCA Friday afternoon, make their campaign speeches in person.
“I’m here to get the experience firsthand,” Spaulding said.
Seeing a presidential candidate in person “makes the political process more involved, like you can make a difference.”
Job creation, education, healthcare and the war in Iraq were issues of concern shared by the three students.
After seeing both Edwards and Clark in person, O’Connell said that she chose Clark as her favored candidate.
“He kept in mind all the issues we need to hear about helping us pay for college and about the environment that’s been forgotten,” she said
Clark’s local coordinator for the Tri-Cities, ETSU student Greg Williams, helped organize the event.
Williams said that he signed on to work with Clark’s campaign because he was laid off from his job as an investment consultant because of the Bush economy.
“Wesley Clark was a Rhodes Scholar and has three masters’ degrees from Oxford in economics, philosophy and political science. Combine that with his vast experience in leadership with the military and you can see why I believe he can save our economy and our troops,” he said.
Regardless of the results of this week’s primaries, Clark is determined to continue on the campaign trail pursuing the Democratic nomination.

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