Posted on: Thursday, September 18, 2003

EDITORIAL
Clark's candidacy helps Democrat race

Of course, it's far too soon to guess how the race for the Democratic presidential nomination race, now bulging with 10 candidates, might wind up.

But it's not too soon to hope that the entry of retired Gen. Wesley Clark might bring an air of legitimacy to some of the crucial debates to come.

Clark has been a consistent critic of the Bush administration's conduct of the wars on terror and Iraq. And as a bona fide military affairs expert, his views lack the taint of political opportunism that attaches to some of his opponents who at first loudly supported these Bush policies.

It will be interesting to see whether Clark, as a candidate who never before has held elective office, will follow the path of a former European commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, to the Oval Office, or whether he'll go down as just a one-issue also-ran.