Clark Campaigns at Light Speed
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60629,00.html 02:00 AM Sep. 30, 2003 PT NEW
CASTLE, New Hampshire -- Wesley Clark: Rhodes scholar, four-star general, NATO
commander, futurist? During
a whirlwind campaign swing Saturday through New Hampshire, Clark, the newest
Democratic presidential candidate, gave
supporters one of the first glimpses into his views on technology. "We
need a vision of how we're going to move humanity ahead, and then we need to
harness science to do it," Clark told a group of about 50 people in New
Castle attending a house party -- a tradition in New Hampshire presidential
politics that enables well-connected voters to get an up-close look at
candidates. Then
the 58-year-old Arkansas native, who retired from the military three years ago,
dropped something of a bombshell on the gathering. "I
still believe in e=mc˛, but I can't believe that in all of human history, we'll
never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to
go," said Clark. "I happen to believe that mankind can do it. "I've
argued with physicists about it, I've argued with best friends about it. I just
have to believe it. It's my only faith-based initiative." Clark's comment
prompted laughter and applause from the gathering. Gary
Melnick, a senior astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics, said Clark's faith in the possibility of
faster-than-light, or FTL, travel was "probably based more on his
imagination than on physics." While
Clark's belief may stem from his knowledge of sophisticated military projects,
there's no evidence to suggest that humans can exceed the speed of light, said
Melnick. In fact, considerable evidence posits that FTL travel is impossible,
he said. "Even
if Clark becomes president, I doubt it would be within his powers to repeal the
powers of physics," said Melnick, whose research has focused on
interstellar clouds and the formation of stars and planets. Einstein's
theory of special relativity says that time slows down as an object approaches
the speed of light. Some scientists say that FTL travel therefore implies time travel,
or being able to travel to the future or the past. Clark's
comment about FTL travel came at the end of a long answer to a question about
his views of NASA and the U.S. space program. Clark said he supports the agency
and believes "America needs a dream and a space program." But
Clark said the nation must prioritize its technological goals and take a
pragmatic approach to focusing its scientific resources and talent. "Some
goals may take a lifetime to reach," he said. "We need to set those
goals now. We need to rededicate ourselves to science, engineering and
technology in this country." Clark
used his visit to New Hampshire -- which will hold the nation's first primary
election in January -- to demonstrate that he hasn't forgotten the cyberspace
activists who cajoled him into running in the first place, as well as to
introduce voters to his views on a range of subjects. "You
have changed American politics, with the power of the Internet, modern
communications and committed people who care," Clark told a handful of
supporters Saturday at the Draft Clark
movement's New Hampshire headquarters in Dover. At
the brief meeting prior to a noisy noontime rally on the steps of Dover's City
Hall, Clark met some of the New England organizers of the Internet-based Clark's
visit to the humble office -- the first opened by the nationwide draft
movement-- came just 10 days after his decision to enter the race, and amid But
Dover resident Susan Putney, one of the four founders of the Draft Clark
movement, said she had no hurt feelings. According to Putney, organizers of the
draft have offered to stay on, or to turn over their infrastructure to Clark's
official Little Rock, Arkansas-based campaign, whichever the campaign chooses. "They're
the professionals," Putney said. "I'm just a business person, I'm not
a politico. We got him to this point, and we'll let the best team possible
field it to carry him through." At
this early stage of his campaign, it was obvious that Clark sometimes still
leans heavily on the Internet-savvy volunteers who convinced him to run. The
rally in Dover, which was attended by around 300 people, was first publicized
on the New Hampshire Draft Clark
(now renamed New Hampshire for Clark/04) website and drew supporters from all
over New England. The audio engineer who donated his services for the rally's
public-address system said he heard about Clark's visit from the site. Even the
placards waved by supporters were printed up by the movement and bore the words
"Draft Clark 2004." During
Clark's last visit to New Hampshire on May 12, Putney presented him with a
stack of 1,000 letters collected through the Internet and urging him to run. But
did the Internet draft really make Clark run, or would the ambitious former
NATO commander have thrown his hat into the ring anyway? "No
question this draft movement was what convinced him to get into the race,"
said George Bruno, a former Democratic National Committee member and personal
friend of Clark's. "They persuaded him. We've never seen anything like
this in politics before." Charles Mims |
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