Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark spent much of his time at Dartmouth Friday discussing traditionally Republican issues while extolling a moderate Democratic message for "leadership that will hold this country together."
The retired four-star general spoke and held question-and-answer sessions on religion, military strength and a host of other issues at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity's pancake breakfast in the morning, and again at the Top of the Hop in the early evening.
Both events transpired during a day in which Clark received word that he was trailing frontrunner Howard Dean by 15 points -- the narrowest margin to date between the second place Clark, and Dean-- in a Jan. 8-10 New Hampshire primary poll conducted by the American Research Group.
The former military commander's themes of the day attempted to reclaim traditional Republican territory, as Clark highlighted the United States' military successes and family values throughout Friday's events.
Although he said he opposed President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, Clark said that he was in favor of maintaining a strong presence of armed forces in the region until the country is sufficiently stabilized. Clark added that under his leadership, the United States would continue to maintain and reinvent the world's foremost military power.
Clark also insisted that the Republican Party's claim that it best represents family values was incorrect.
"We have a Republican Party and president who use the term 'family values,' but they don't have the slightest idea of what they ought to be talking about when they talk about family values," Clark said.
The loudest round of applause for Clark came when he expounded on his environmental message. Clark said that if elected president, he would make sure that the United States rejoined the Kyoto Protocol agreements.
Clark also praised the "real intellect" of former President Bill Clinton, and called Clinton an exuberant politician and his political role model.
Many Clark supporters, including Dartmouth Medical School Professor Jay Buckey Jr., said they felt Clark had won himself an audience during his tour of Hanover.
"From what I've heard people have come away very impressed," Buckey said. "[Clark] speaks very well on his feet, so he does very well in question and answer sessions."
Others, however, voiced concern over how Clark handled Friday's question and answer sessions.
Michelle Schwartz '07 attended Clark's speech at the Top of the Hop and said that at times, she felt that Clark ignored questions and gave vague answers. However, Schwartz said that her observation would not influence whom she votes for in the Jan. 27 primary.
"I think he sometimes likes to avoid questions, but I think all politicians do that," Schwartz said. "I don't think that it's unique to Clark."
Still, many agreed that Clark has greatly improved in verbalizing and maintaining his stances on issues since he announced in mid-September his decision to vie for the 2004 Democratic nomination.
"In terms of articulating on issues," Josh Gajer '06 said," I definitely think he's better now than he was early on."
