Staffers for Front-Runner Dean Seen Chasing After Clark

In a sign that Wesley K. Clark’s presidential campaign may be gaining ground in New Hampshire, Howard Dean’s staffers on Wednesday staked out Clark’s campaign appearances, handing out fliers that called the retired Army general “pro-war” and questioned whether he was a “real” Democrat.

In Peterborough, a man who identified himself as a Dean campaign staffer handed out the leaflets to people attending a Clark speech. And Clark campaign staffers said they found the fliers on windshields at an event in Bedford late Tuesday night.

The Dean flier lists various quotes from Clark on the war in Iraq, suggesting he supported the invasion. Clark, a retired four-star general and former NATO supreme allied commander, did initially support a war resolution, but one that included bringing in the United Nations. He has since been outspoken in criticizing the war and President Bush’s handling of the conflict.

The reverse side of the flier -- with a headline that read “Wesley Clark: Real Democrat?” -- lists quotes from Clark complimenting Bush and members of his administration. It says he voted for Republican presidential contestants and did not register as a Democrat until October 2003.

Clark has said that, during his 34 years in the Army, he frequently voted for the candidate he felt was strongest on national defense, and that he did not need to register with a party in Arkansas, his home state.

Jay Carson, Dean’s national spokesman, said the campaign was simply “pointing out facts that the American people should know about.” He declined to elaborate on the timing.

For weeks Dean has been anointed as the Democratic front-runner based on fundraising, crowds, endorsements and polling numbers. But Clark appears to be making headway in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary Jan. 27 and where he is staking his first claim in the quest for delegates. He is not participating in the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses.

This week Clark is drawing larger crowds, and a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll suggests Democrats nationwide are taking a second look at Clark. Dean’s lead has shrunk to 4 points, with Dean drawing 24% among Democrats and Clark polling at 20%. Compared with other Democratic candidates, Clark also flooded the airwaves in New Hampshire and Boston with television ads last week.

One of Clark’s campaign pollsters, Geoff Garin, said on Wednesday that their polling had found a steady rise in the candidate’s approval ratings in several states that hold their primaries on Feb. 3, including South Carolina, Arizona and Oklahoma.

Clark aides suggested the apparent momentum may have been one factor that prompted the Dean campaign to distribute the leaflets. “The Dean campaign can undoubtedly feel the Clark campaign’s hot, minty breath on the back of its neck,” quipped Clark senior strategist, Chris Lehane.

Clark said of the fliers: “I guess that’s what professional politicians do.”

Aside from Dean, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri also took jabs at Clark on Wednesday. Lieberman’s campaign papered cars in the town of Keene with fliers comparing his tax plan with Clark’s proposal. It claimed Clark’s plan “gives (the) IRS vast new authority to track personal financial information and tell taxpayers how much they owe instead of allowing taxpayers to figure that out as they do now.”

Gephardt, speaking at a closed steel mill in Georgetown, S.C., took on Clark over free trade. “He told the Pulaski County Republicans that he was ‘pleased’ that NAFTA passed and that we had seen positive results and would see additional positive results tenfold in the next few years,” Gephardt said.

In addition to rising poll numbers, Clark has been drawing larger crowds in New Hampshire. A fire official in Peterborough ordered campaign staffers to close the doors to an auditorium where Clark was appearing after more than 600 people crowded the room, perhaps a hundred of them standing.

A relatively wealthy town of well-educated voters, Peterborough is in a part of the state where Dean is especially strong, and Clark staffers were delighted with the turnout.

On Wednesday, in Keene, campaign organizers at the last minute relocated their last event of the day from a junior high school to the high school, in order to make room for a larger crowd.

About 1,000 people showed up and still couldn’t fit in the auditorium. A month ago, Clark was drawing crowds of about 100 people.