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December 1, 2003
Has Clark Got His Mojo Working?
That’s probably going a bit far, but his campaign does seem to be performing solidly of late. For assessments of his progress, see two good reports from the blogosphere in The Left Coaster and in Mark Schmitt’s Decembrist.
For a more jaundiced view, see Matt Tabibi’s demolition job in The Nation. It’s fair to say Tabibi was somewhat hostile to Clark–he appeared to think it was entirely reasonable to pretend to be a volunteer for the Clark campaign and then tell Clark campaign workers that he was a porn film director “just to see how they would react”. Journalism at its best!
While DR thinks progress is being made and finds it significant that recent national polls show Clark holding up quite well (placing second or tied for first in the last five major polls), he still thinks Clark needs another card besides national security and electability to play. DR’s recommendation: education.
No other candidate owns this issue and indeed the race has been notable for how little a role education has played in it. In terms of domestic issues–besides the economy in general--only health care has received a lot of attention. A bold idea or two on education could go a long way toward giving the Clark candidacy a clear and compelling profile in the domestic arena. How about making a college education of some kind universally available to young people? And there are many others in an area dramatically underserved by the Democratic candidates (see DR’s post, “It’s the Education, Stupid” for more discussion).
Posted by Ruy Teixeira at 11:44 PM | link
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