The Hiller Instinct: Road to the White House: Finding His Voice

Wesley Clark (D) Presiential Candidate
"My voice may be a little weak, but I think my message is pretty strong"

Wesley Clark gave the speech today that laryngitis forced him to postpone yesterday. Outlining his plan to save more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years by decreasing government spending, ending corporate welfare and reducing president bush's tax cuts, Clark called the president's policies reckless and radical…

Wesley Clark
"FDR ran on the ‘new deal’. Harry Truman promised a ‘fair deal’. George W. Bush ran on the ‘free lunch’. The ‘free lunch’ as it turns out was a lot of bologna."

Clark has been in the race for just five weeks and started out white-hot. But New Hampshire polls show him cooling off, well behind Howard Dean and John Kerry. So Clark is doing everything he can to catch the next wave in New Hampshire, where he is still relatively unknown. No one expects him to win the primary, but…

Wesley Clark
"I grew up in the U.S. Armed Forces where they said if you finish second on the battlefield you're in last place and you're dead. So I'm running to do as well as I can possibly do."

In a one-on-one, I try to learn a little bit more about him and his campaign.

Andy Hiller
"What three words best describe you?"

Wesley Clark
"Duty, compassion, responsibility."

Andy Hiller
"Is there a state you will win?

Wesley Clark
"Well, I'm not making any predictions on any of that. This is a campaign that's different than any other. It's like crossing the Atlantic and building the boat as you're leaving from the harbor."

That's a bad boat to be on, but Clark may have no choice. In a process dominated by primaries, he's a man without a state, with no key primary a sure win. So he must become a national candidate and try to win the nomination from the top down.

No candidate would choose that strategy, but Clark may have no choice.