Who Is Wesley Clark Up Against?

Al Sharpton Date and place of birth: Oct. 3, 1954, New York, N.Y. Current position: President, the National Action Network Previous political experience: Made unsuccessful bids to be U.S. senator from New York in 1992 and 1994 and mayor of New York City in 1997. Education: Attended Brooklyn College. Non-political career: Minister, youth director of the Rev. Jesse Jackson`s Operation Breadbasket and touring manager for soul singer James Brown Candidate`s Web site: http://www.sharptonexplore2004.com/default.asp Stands on key issues: The economy: "Im going to be advocating very strongly Phil Warrentons plan about building an alternative infrastructure revival in this country, which would provide jobs, a $250 billion five-year plan, adding $50 billion a year to the federal deficit, which is the only deficit you can add to, to generate jobs. I think the problem we have is we try to generate taxpayers with a trickle-down philosophy rather than an investment into the people that need the investment, which are working-class people, and which are people every day. So I would first try to generate more of a tax base." Energy policy: Not available Foreign policy: Disagrees with the use of military force to disarm or overthrow Iraq`s Saddam Hussein. "I, at this point, have not seen the evidence that says it is any way, shape or form necessary for military action and that we have tens of thousands of troops headed over there." Terrorism: Has criticized the administration`s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks saying President Bush has "attacked people`s constitutional rights" rather than focusing on problems with government intelligence. He sees the current focus on Iraq as a "shell game" to make Americans forget that Osama bin Laden remains at large. Social Security: Not available Thumbnail sketch: Ordained as a Pentecostal minister at the age of 10, Sharpton rose to national fame in connection with a number of racially charged incidents in New York. Most notable was the Tawana Brawley case in 1987, in which Sharpton served as an adviser to a black teenager who claimed she had been abducted and raped by white law enforcement officers. Her story was found to be a hoax by a grand jury, and Sharpton later paid a defamation settlement to one of the accused men. More recently, Sharpton has toned down his image and is seen as a serious spokesman on racial issues. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Lieberman Date and place of birth: Feb. 24, 1942, Stamford, Conn. Current position: Senator from Connecticut, first elected in 1988, re-elected in 1994 and 2000. [click for voting record] Previous political experience: Connecticut state Senate, 1971-1980; Connecticut attorney general, 1983-1988; Democratic vice presidential candidate, 2000. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1964; Yale Law School, L.L.B., 1967. Non-political career: 1967-1982, attorney in private practice. Candidate`s Web site: http://www.joe2004.com/index.jsp Stands on key issues: The economy: Voted against the 2001 tax cut package. Advocates targeted tax breaks to broadband and nanotechnology firms to promote business investment. Proposes a rebate for 34 million workers, primarily those who earn too little income to pay federal income taxes and who did not get a tax rebate in 2001. Energy policy: In 2001, Lieberman charged that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was failing to do its job and should have imposed price controls on wholesale power in response to soaring electricity costs in California. Lieberman led the opposition to oil drilling on the coastal plain of Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and voted for a measure that would have required utilities to generate at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, such as wind or geothermal, by 2020. Foreign policy: Voted for last Octobers congressional resolution giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq. Warned last year that Saddam Hussein may soon have nuclear weapons and said, "I, for one, am not willing to wait passively for that day to arrive." Was one of only 10 Senate Democrats to vote for Gulf War resolution after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Citing the threat of North Korea, Lieberman has backed Bushs decision to deploy a limited missile defense system but urges the administration to spend more money on it. Terrorism: Lieberman charges that the Bush administration "hasn`t done enough to shake up our intelligence agencies, because the best way to prevent terrorism is with better intelligence.... The sad fact is that we aren`t much safer from terrorist attack today than we were on Sept. 11." Social Security: In 1998, Lieberman spoke in favor of partially privatizing Social Security, saying "a remarkable wave of innovative thinking is advancing the concept of privatization." But he later rejected this concept and in 2002 said partial privatization of Social Security was "a dangerous mistake." He said in 2000 that raising the age of eligibility for Medicare and Social Security had to remain an option because beneficiaries were living longer. Thumbnail sketch: A cultural conservative and a foreign policy hawk, Lieberman stands to the right of the other Democratic contenders. He has teamed up with conservative Republican William Bennett to hand out "Silver Sewer" awards to "cultural polluters" and has condemned much of America`s popular culture, from rap music to violent video games. Lieberman sponsored legislation to set up experimental voucher programs, letting low-income parents use federal money to send their children to public, private or religious schools of their choice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Howard Dean Date and place of birth: Nov. 17, 1948, New York, N.Y. Current position: Full-time candidate. Previous political experience: Governor of Vermont, 1991-2003; lieutenant governor, 1986-1991; Vermont legislator, 1982-1986. Education: Yale, B.A., 1971; Albert Einstein College of New York, M.D., 1978. Non-political career: Physician. Candidate`s Web site: http://www.deanforamerica.com/ Stands on key issues: The economy: Believes that the "reckless" 2001 tax cuts should be repealed, that the budget should be balanced and new spending focused on health and education. Energy policy: Believes U.S. energy policy should stress "conservation and renewables, including wind, biomass, ethanol and solar." Says U.S. dependence on foreign oil is "one of our biggest security threats" but is opposed to exploration for gas and oil in Alaska`s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Foreign policy: Points to the post-World War II Marshall Plan as "the greatest advance in American foreign policy in the last century" and says that U.S. foreign policy "ought to embrace nation building, not run from it." He opposed the congressional resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. Terrorism: Supports the administration`s war on terror but believes America "has withdrawn from the world" in ways that make it vulnerable to terrorists. "We have to get populations to stop supporting terrorists. And what Im interested in is changing Afghanistan, changing whats going on ... among the Palestinians, so that there is no base of support for those terrorists. And that involves more than just military action." Social Security: Would use some of the money saved by rescinding the Bush tax cuts to shore up the Social Security system. Thumbnail sketch: A physician and the son of a stockbroker, the former Vermont governor fashions himself as a plainspoken outsider who is running in the mold of Jimmy Carter. He trumpets as his chief accomplishments solving his state`s debt crisis and enacting sweeping health care initiatives and vows to focus on those issues if he is elected president. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Edwards Date and place of birth: June 10, 1953, Seneca, S.C. Current position: U.S. senator from North Carolina, elected in 1998 with 51 percent of the vote [click for voting record] Previous political experience: None Education: North Carolina State University, B.A., 1974; University of North Carolina, J.D., 1977. Non-political career: Trial lawyer specializing in personal injury lawsuits Candidate`s Web site: http://www.johnedwards2004.com/ Stands on key issues: The economy: Has proposed a $500-per-family energy tax credit to help pay heating bills and stimulate the economy. Voted against the 2001 tax cuts. Voted for normalizing trade relations with China and "fast track" trade authority. Energy policy: Opposed a measure to require auto manufacturers to cut oil consumption of cars and light trucks by at least 1 million barrels per day by 2015. Supported a measure to prevent any future increase in fuel economy requirements for pickup trucks. Opposed opening the coastal plain of Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas exploration. Foreign policy: Voted to authorize President Bush to use military force against Iraq. Accuses the Bush administration of "arrogance without purpose" and of being "determined to act alone for the sake of acting alone." Accuses Bush of thinking that "military force can be used as first resort to meet our legitimate foreign policy goals." Terrorism: Wants to create a federal agency that focuses on gathering intelligence about terrorist threats within the United States, removing the FBI from that job. Opposes Bush administration detention of two U.S. citizens as enemy combatants. "This is how they do things in dictatorships," he says. Social Security: Says the planned tax cuts for upper-income people in the 2001 tax bill should be canceled to help raise revenue to pay for Social Security benefits. Voted for legislation to let people continue working through their late 60s without losing Social Security benefits. Calls for "a larger dialogue on how to save the Social Security program." Thumbnail sketch: Starting in 1978, Edwards built a career as a highly successful plaintiffs personal injury lawyer. His fortune is estimated to be more than $20 million. In 1998 he spent $6 million from his own pocket in his campaign to defeat Republican Sen. Lauch Faircloth. In the Senate, he voted to acquit President Bill Clinton at his impeachment trial. He sponsored a bill to ban betting on college sports and, with Sen. John McCain, a bill to make it easier for patients to sue health insurance companies when the insurer refuses to pay for certain medical procedures. Al Gore considered making Edwards his running mate in 2000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Gephardt Date and place of birth: Jan. 31, 1941, St. Louis, Mo. Current position: Member of the House of Representatives, serving his 14th term. [click for voting record] Previous political experience: House minority leader, 1995-2000. St. Louis Board of Aldermen, 1971-1976. Education: Northwestern University, B.S., 1962; University of Michigan, J.D., 1965. Non-political career: Air National Guard, 1965-1971 Candidate`s Web site: http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/ Stands on key issues: The economy: Voted against the 2001 tax cut package. Attacks President Bush for offering "an extremist ideology of trickle-down economics and ineffective gimmicks." Calls for stimulus plan of $125 billion in federal spending on school construction, anti-terrorism measures and aid to state governments. Also advocates $75 billion in tax rebates for families and tax incentives for business investment. Wants to increase the federal minimum wage by 30 percent to $6.65 an hour. Energy policy: Has proposed an effort along the lines of the Manhattan Project - the World War II program that developed the atomic bomb - to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Voted to ban oil drilling in Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, off Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Great Lakes and in undeveloped California offshore oil leases. He also opposes disposal of waste from nuclear power plants at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Supports more federal spending on weatherization of homes for low-income Americans and other energy conservation measures. Foreign policy: Voted for last Octobers congressional resolution giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq. Says U.S. should eliminate the threat of Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction diplomatically if possible but "militarily if we must." Has been sharply critical of Chinas human rights record. Voted against free-trade accord with Beijing in 2000 and led the fight against the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which Congress OKd in 1993. Terrorism: After the Sept. 11 attacks, Gephardt said, "We`re going to have to look at who we give visas to. We have to look at how passenger manifests are treated." He said Congress would need to consider identity cards for citizens and non-citizens, but noted, "There are a lot of civil problems with that." Social Security: In 1999, Gephardt advocated investing part of the Social Security surplus in the stock market but now opposes the idea of allowing younger workers to invest some of their Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts, which would include stock index funds. Contends that the Republicans will "privatize Social Security, cut benefits and weaken the foundation of this retirement system." Says that "the Social Security system is fundamentally strong for many years to come." Thumbnail sketch: Gephardt ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 on a platform of economic nationalism, criticizing the Korean governments imposing trade barriers that, he said, kept U.S.-made cars out of the Korean market. Gephardt won the 1988 Iowa caucuses but faltered in later primaries. He is a longtime ally of labor unions, whose get-out-the-vote machinery will likely give him an edge in Iowa and other states. Gephardt says President Bush is "uninformed,... inexperienced....He is not up to this job, and he needs to be replaced." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Kerry Date and place of birth: Dec. 11, 1943, Denver, Colo. Current position: Senator from Massachusetts, first elected in 1984, re-elected in 1990, 1996 and 2002. [click for voting record] Previous political experience: Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, 1983-1985; assistant district attorney, Middlesex County, Mass., 1976-1981; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for House of Representatives, 1972. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1966; Boston College, J.D., 1976. Non-political career: U.S. Navy, 1968-1969. Candidate`s Web site: http://www.johnkerry.com/site/PageServer Stands on key issues: The economy: Voted against the 2001 tax cut package. Supports eliminating taxes on corporate dividends paid to stockholders. Calls for exempting companies that hire new workers from Social Security and Medicare taxes. Advocates increased federal funding of high-speed rail lines in major cities. Wants to boost the federal minimum wage to $6.55 an hour from the current $5.15 an hour. Energy policy: Kerry led the opposition to oil drilling in the coastal plain of Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Voted for a measure that would have required electric utilities to generate at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Calls for a major increase in taxpayer subsidies for wind, solar and geothermal energy projects and for cars powered by fuel cells or natural gas. Seeks more federal money for research on cleaner-burning coal. Foreign policy: Voted for last Octobers congressional resolution giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq but also said, "I will not support the president to proceed unilaterally if it is simply the president`s effort to try to do regime change without regard to the legitimacy of the inspection process or the legitimacy of the United Nations process itself." He says the United States needs to let the Iraq weapons inspections process "run its course" before taking any military action. Voted to oppose use of U.S. military force in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During the Reagan era, he was a staunch opponent of U.S. support for the anti-communist contra rebels in Nicaragua and also opposed funding of missile defense research. Terrorism: Kerry says, "There are problems with the war on terror." He says Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida organization and Taliban leader Mullah Omar "are still loose.... They remain very powerful." Kerry says that U.S. military mistakes in Afghanistan allowed bin Laden to escape and al-Qaida to disperse. He also said in December, "This administration has wasted an entire year in this homeland security effort.... There are enormous gaps and deficits in the preparedness level of our country." Social Security: Advocates canceling for one year the Social Security payroll tax on the first $10,000 earned by each worker. He says under his proposal the $100 billion in revenues diverted from Social Security and Medicare by the tax holiday would be replenished by money from income tax collections. Accuses Bush of "taking money from Social Security and Medicare to give a tax cut to the richest corporations and the most well-off individuals." Thumbnail sketch: Kerry is now one of the most senior Democrats in the Senate, serving in his 18th year. He has compiled a liberal voting record in line with most of his Massachusetts constituents: opposing President Reagans nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, supporting a measure to ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation, opposing the death penalty in drug-related murders and voting against a constitutional amendment banning desecration of the American flag. But Kerry also broke with many liberals in voting for the 1996 welfare reform bill and in supporting the resolution last October authorizing Bush to use force against Iraq. He first gained notoriety in 1971 as a spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans Against the War after serving as a Navy officer in Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dennis Kucinich Date and place of birth: Oct. 8, 1946, Cleveland, Ohio. Current position: Member of the House of Representatives, serving his fourth term. [click for voting record] Previous political experience: Cleveland City Council, 1969-71, 1983; mayor of Cleveland, 1977-1979; Ohio state Senate, 1995-97. Education: Case Western Reserve University, B.A., M.A., 1973. Non-political career: Public power consultant, television reporter and radio talk show host. Candidate`s Web site: http://thespiritoffreedom.com/ Stands on key issues: The economy: Kucinich is a stalwart ally of organized labor, and his campaigns have received strong financial backing from the Communications Workers of America, the National Association of Letter Carriers and other unions. He has pledged that if he is elected president he will transform "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue into Workers Local Number 1." At the World Trade Organization`s 1999 meeting in Seattle, Kucinich marched with union members through the streets protesting WTO free trade policies. Kucinich has called for restrictions on cheap imported steel in an attempt to help Ohios beleaguered steel industry. He advocates postponing tax cuts for upper-income Americans, allocating the revenues raised to pay for a prescription drug entitlement for those over age 65. Energy policy: Kucinich has voted against oil and gas drilling in Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, in the Great Lakes, in the Gulf of Mexico and in areas designated as national monuments. He voted for a measure that would have required light trucks and cars to meet a 27.5 miles-per-gallon average by 2007. The current requirement is 27.5 mpg for cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks, a classification that includes sport utility vehicles. Foreign policy: One of the most outspoken critics of President Bushs Iraq policy, Kucinich said, "Iraq has not committed any act of aggression against the United States. Iraq was not responsible for 9/11.... Iraq was not responsible for the anthrax attack on our nation. The United Nations has yet to establish that Iraq has usable weapons of mass destruction." Kucinich accuses Bush of being motivated by "oil economics, profit requirements of arms trade, or distorted notions of empire-building." He has long advocated the creation of a Department of Peace that would seek "not only to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our society, but to make war archaic." Terrorism: Kucinich supported the congressional resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force against those who planned or carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but later said, "U.S. efforts intended to quell international terrorism will provoke more of it." He argued that "the path to ending terrorism, whether by individuals, organizations or nation states, is a foreign or domestic policy based on social and economic justice -- not corporate concerns.... We cannot stop terrorism with an open-ended, permanent war." Social Security: Kucinich opposes Bushs proposal to allow younger workers to invest some of their tax payments in personal retirement accounts. "The administration is betting the whole Social Security system on the expectation of a permanent mania for stocks," he said. He opposes any reduction in benefits but has not specifically addressed the need for future tax increases to pay for future benefits. He has suggested that if revenues raised by the Social Security tax are insufficient, the system could be bolstered by using general income tax revenues. Thumbnail sketch: One of the most unconventional politicians in Congress, Kucinich is interested in issues ranging from safety-testing genetically engineered foods to preventing privatization of water rights. He began his career by serving on the Cleveland City Council and then became the citys mayor at age 31. During his tenure, the city sank into default on its borrowing, which prompted voters to oust him after one term. Kucinich made his comeback in 1996 by defeating Rep. Martin Hoke. Kucinichs Web site says he is "one of the few vegans in Congress, a dietary decision he credits not only with improving his health, but in deepening his belief in the sacredness of all species." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carol Moseley Braun Date and place of birth: Aug. 16, 1947, Chicago. Current position: Owner of pecan farm. Previous political experience: U.S. senator from Illinois, 1993-99; Cook County recorder of deeds, 1989-92; Illinois House of Representatives, 1978-88; federal prosecutor, 1973-77. Education: University of Illinois, B.A., 1969; University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1972 Non-political career: Professor of American government; vice president of international consulting firm. Candidate`s Web site: http://www.moseley-braun.org/ Stands on key issues: The economy: While serving in the Senate, Moseley Braun voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which lowered trade barriers to Mexican and Canadian goods. She supported a constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget. She also voted for the 1993 Clinton deficit-reduction plan, which included $496 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts. She says she would roll back the tax cuts passed by Congress in 2001, which she views as irresponsible. She favors a universal national medical insurance system. Energy policy: While serving in the Senate, Moseley Braun voted to increase the federal tax on gasoline, diesel fuel and other transport fuels by 4.3 cents per gallon. In 1997, she voted for a bill that would have established a temporary above-ground nuclear waste dump near the site of a proposed permanent repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. She also voted against cutting the federal subsidy for research and development of a new type of commercial nuclear power plant. Foreign policy: Moseley Braun has accused President Bush of "a mad rush to pre-emptive, unilateral military action" against Iraq. She also has said, "The saber-rattling that has made us all hostages to fear must stop" and has accused Congress of abdicating "its constitutional duty to declare war." During her one term in the Senate, she voted for a treaty banning the production or use of chemical weapons and generally backed President Clintons foreign policy initiatives, for example voting against a 1998 measure that would have curtailed Clintons deployment of combat forces to Bosnia. Terrorism: Moseley Braun says, "Individual liberties, checks and balances, the separation of powers: All these are the distinctive bequest of American democracy.... Today, all of these are in danger." But she has not been specific in alleging how Congress or the president has endangered individual liberties. Social Security: While serving in the Senate in 1993, Moseley Braun voted to increase the tax on Social Security benefits paid to retirees earning more than $34,000 a year. Thumbnail sketch: Moseley Braun wants to make history as the first woman nominated for president, just as she made history in 1992 when she became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. "America is ready for its first woman president," she said. "I am prepared to breach that last barrier, shatter that last great glass ceiling that limits the contributions a woman can make in the leadership of this country." Moseley Braun had served as an Illinois state legislator and as a Cook County official before defeating incumbent Democratic Sen. Alan Dixon in the 1992 Senate primary and Republican Rich Williamson in the general election. During her term as senator, she made headlines for visiting Gen. Sani Abacha, the brutal military dictator of Nigeria, without informing her congressional staff or the State Department. Her chief of staff resigned over the trip. Moseley Braun also had a much-publicized row with Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. in 1993, after she blocked a plan for the Senate to extend the patent protection for an insignia used by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Graham Date and place of birth: Nov. 9, 1936, Coral Gables, Fla. Current position: U.S. senator from Florida, first elected in 1986. [click for voting record] Previous political experience: Florida House, 1967-71; Florida Senate, 1971-79; governor of Florida, 1979-87. Education: University of Florida, B.A., 1959; Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1962. Non-political career: Real estate developer, cattleman. Candidate`s Web site: http://www.grahamforpresident.com/news/news.html Stands on key issues: The economy: Graham voted against the 2001 tax cut package, saying it "left too little room for spending on other priorities and offered our nation a pallid excuse for economic stimulus that gives most Americans too little, too late." He proposed a more limited tax cut: creating a 10 percent income tax bracket applicable to the first $19,000 of taxable income for a married couple filing a joint return. Energy policy: Graham opposes oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, worrying that oil spills might foul Floridas coastlines. He also opposes oil and gas drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, saying, "In this age of innovation, we can certainly come up with a less destructive way to meet our energy needs." He voted last year for a measure that would require the Transportation Department to find ways to reduce the oil consumption of cars and light trucks by at least 1 million barrels per day by 2015. Foreign policy: Graham voted against Octobers congressional resolution giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq, arguing that the measure was "too timid." He called for a broader resolution that would authorize Bush to wage war against five leading terrorist organizations, in addition to al-Qaida. In the prelude to the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, Graham was one of only 10 Senate Democrats to support the use-of-force resolution. Terrorism: Graham, who served last year as the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has said, "The war on terrorism should be a higher national priority than action against Saddam Hussein and his regime in Iraq." He wants President Bush to root out and destroy Islamic terrorist groups including Hizballah`s Islamic Jihad organization. "Those five organizations have the capability to strike within our homeland," he warned. "They have recruited, trained and placed operatives in our hometowns." He said that overseeing the House-Senate inquiry into the events of Sept. 11, 2001, made him "outraged" by intelligence and law-enforcement failures. Social Security: Graham has argued that tax cuts should be limited or deferred until Congress has enacted a plan to make Social Security fiscally viable over the next 75 years. He has voiced skepticism about President Bushs plan to allow younger workers to take some portion of their payroll taxes and set up personal retirement accounts, putting the money in stock and bond funds. Thumbnail sketch: A cautious compromise-seeker, Graham may be the least dramatic of the Democratic contenders. He is very much a practical politician who tries to find consensus through hard work on details of legislation. With the Senate divided in 1999 over the impeachment of President Clinton, Graham came up with what he thought a reasonable approach: a resolution that would have rebuked Clinton and prohibited him from being pardoned on future criminal charges relating to the Monica Lewinsky episode. He ended up voting against convicting Clinton. On social issues he tends to vote with most other Senate Democrats: He supports the Roe v. Wade abortion decision and voted against Supreme Court nominees Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------