Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is mum about a conversation he had recently with Wesley Clark, a retired General who is expected to announce soon whether he’ll jump in the presidential race. Dean says he will not comment on whether he offered to choose Clark as his running mate during a “private conversation” the two had. Dean says he likes Clark.Dean, a former Vermont Governor, says Clark “has a terrific military background” and “is very bright.” If Clark enters the race, Dean says it’ll be up to voters to decide if Clark’s a formidable foe for Dean, who is now the front-runner in Iowa polls. Dean says he’s prefer to run against people he likes, because it’s a lot less stressful than running against people who really are “willing to do things they probably ought not to be doing.” Dean says he has no idea what Clark will do, but the two have talked about the race. Dean says the two discussed “the attack on democracy by the right wing of the Republican Party,” as well as other foreign and domestic issues. Dean says he’s found he and Clark agree on a lot of things. Dean and six other Democratic presidential candidates will speak tomorrow afternoon in Indianola at a fundraiser for Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. Former President Bill Clinton will be the “closer” at the event.
