General Wesley Clark has made up his mind. He's joining the Democratic race for President. The official announcement is expected tomorrow.

We like Clark, a lot. We think he is more liberal than Dean on criminal justice issues. We reported on his known positions here.

Daily Kos, who now supports and works for Dean, had this to say about Clark back in April:

"He's solid on national security, well-spoken, presidential, pro-choice, pro-gun, pro-affirmative action, anti-PATRIOT Act, and believes strongly that the government should provide for the less fortunate amongst us."

To get up to speed on Wesley Clark and his views, here are some links:

An Army of One written by Clark in the September 2002 Washington Monthly.

On Clark's background (scroll down until you get to Clark):

A West Point graduate and former Rhodes Scholar, Clark saw combat in the Vietnam War as commander of a mechanized infantry company. He won the Silver Star, the Bronze Star (twice), the Purple Heart and other decorations for his heroism in combat. Clark served as Commander-in-Chief of US Southern Command ("SOUTHCOM") in 1996-97 and NATO Supreme Allied Commander in 1997-2000 (during the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia). He retired from the Army in 2000 and subsequently wrote a book on military-foreign policy entitled Waging Modern War (2001). Clark currently resides in DC, but considers Arkansas to be his home.

Wesley Clark Unplugged, a Salon Interview from March, 2003:

One of the things about the war on terror that I am disturbed about is that we've essentially suspended habeas corpus. Which is something that's only been done once in American history and then only for a very brief period.

When I go back and think about the atmosphere in which the PATRIOT Act was passed, it begs for a reconsideration and review. And it should be done. Law enforcement agencies will always chafe at any restriction whatsoever when they're in the business of trying to get their job done. But in practice we've always balanced the need for law enforcement with our own protection of our constitutional rights and that's a balance that will need to be reviewed.

This just might be our candidate. We're going to learn more and report it all here, so check back often.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered briefs be filed by tomorrow on whether the full court should hear the issue of delaying the recall election (called an en banc hearing.) Reuters reports that one of the Judges on the court asked his fellow judges to rehear the case. Stay tuned.....

Here is the text of the order:

"Before: Thomas, En Banc Coordinator:

The parties, including the intervenor, shall file simultaneous briefs, not to exceed 15 pages, or 7,000 words, setting forth their views on whether or not this case should be reheard en banc. The briefs shall be filed with the Clerk no later than Wednesday, September 17, at 2:00pm P.D.T. The briefs may be filed in letter format and shall be sent to the Court electronically. Issuance of the mandate will be stayed pending further order of this Court."

Fox News has this report.

It should be any day now--maybe even tomorrow. Wesley Clark has summoned his top aides to Little Rock to strategize his presidential bid.

Top advisors include: George Bruno, a New Hampshire activist; Mark Fabiani, former spokesman for the Clinton White House; Ron Klain, a strategist in Al Gore's 2000 campaign; and Washington lawyer Bill Oldaker.

Is it too late? Probably not.

A Clark White House bid would grab the political spotlight and undercut the strength of several in the nine-way Democratic race. However, he would be competing against more experienced politicians with more money and deeper staffs. An Internet-fueled draft-Clark movement has developed the seeds of a campaign and more than $1 million in pledges.

There's a nice profile of Clark today in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Right now Dean and Gephardt are tied in the latest Iowa poll. Kerry moves backward (in our view) as his top communications director resigns over campaign differences. Dean leads Kerry in the latest New Hampshire polls. Kerry challenged Dean to a one-on-one debate yesterday and Dean refused, saying it would be unfair to the other challengers.

We won't be surpised to see the race boil down to Dean and Clark, although Gephardt clearly has some support. Daily Kos sees it much the same way, except for Lieberman, who he thinks is stronger than we do.

Kerry looks like he's floundering, especially with Lehane's resignation. And Clark upstages him on the military credentials front. Edwards now has to share the stage with another Southerner. Graham is literally irrelevant.

Gep and Lieberman, while losing some support, should do fine. As should Dean. If Clark enters, this race will come down to those four. Everyone else will just be garnish.

If Bill Clinton endorses Clark, that could be a major plus for Clark.

Update: Why the recall decision is correct.

Just off the wires:

A federal appeals court postponed California's Oct. 7 gubernatorial recall election, ruling the historic vote cannot proceed as scheduled because some votes would be cast using outmoded punch-card ballot machines. [link via Atrios]

Here's more from the San Francisco Chronicle:

a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday it is unacceptable that six counties would be using outdated punch-card ballots, the type that sparked the "hanging chads" litigation in Florida during the 2000 presidential election.

The appellate panel agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union that the voting machines were prone to error and that Davis' fate could be decided later. By that time, the counties have promised to replace their punch-card machines under a court order in separate litigation.

The counties include the state's most populous region, Los Angeles, in addition to Mendocino, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara and Solano. They represented 44 percent of the state's registered voters during the 2000 election.

You can read the 66 page opinion here.

Update: As always, Howard Bashman of How Appealing has the bottom line on the decision:

Presidential contender John Edwards (D-NC) will be officially announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President tonight on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, on Comedy Central.

The Charlotte Observer has an excellent series on Edwards beginning with Easy smile hides iron will to win.

Wesley Clark's troops are ready for action. They are opening offices in Manchester, NH and Columbia, SC.

Meetups are taking the place of town hall meetings. Clark supporters organized 200 around the country that were held last Monday. Howard Dean has the largest meetup congregation with 110,000 members who have signed up to go to meetings in 600 cities. [thanks to Hamster for the Edwards link]

It seems like every other day there's a new poll showing Bush's approval rating dropping. Today's comes from the latest ABC News / Washington Post poll:

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds significant trouble for the president on domestic issues and the war alike. Disapproval of his work on the economy, jobs, the deficit and health care has spiked to career highs. His request to spend an additional $87 billion on Iraq is unpopular; concern about getting bogged down there has jumped and most say the administration doesn't have a clear plan to deal with it.

The poll shows Americans think the economy is a bigger problem than Iraq:

By a 24-point margin, 61-37 percent, Americans now say the economy is a bigger problem than terrorism...Overall, 70 percent say the economy is in bad shape, up dramatically from 29 percent when Bush took office; and while 28 percent think it's improving, 31 percent say it's getting worse.... Bush's approval rating for handling the economy is its lowest since he took office — 42 percent approve, 56 percent disapprove.

The poll has Bush's overall approval rating down to 58%. His approval rating on Iraq is down to 52%--from 70%... and his ratings on the handling of the federal budget and health insurance are the lowest since he took office.

Filmmaker and author Michael Moore wants Wesley Clark to run for President.

Clark's announcement is just days away -- rumor right now has it for the 17th. His DraftClark website will be shutting down. You can find current news about Clark at the Clark Sphere and the Clark Tribune, which we recommend you bookmark.

Will the 9th Circuit halt the recall election?

We are off to Sonoma (wine country) California to speak at the California Public Defender's Association Conference tomorrow. Our topic: Defending the Despised Defendant: Why We do What We Do. Talk about preaching to the choir, if anyone knows the answer to that question, its public defenders, who work impossible hours for low pay, with little or no glory. But it's been one of our more popular talks, even with non-lawyer organizations, and we never get tired of giving it.

We'll check in here tonight but won't resume normal posting until Sunday. Enjoy the weekend.

The L.A. Times reports on its latest poll which shows that a recall is favored by 50% of the respondents. With the undecided vote at 3%, that puts the recall in a statistical dead heat.

Bustamante's unfavorability rating has increased, but he still commands a lead over Swarzenegger. Gray Davis' unfavorability rating has decreased.

Here are the election rules:

The first part of the recall ballot is a yes-or-no question on whether to dump Davis as governor. To stay in office, Davis needs a majority vote against the recall. The second part is a list of 135 candidates vying to succeed Davis. If voters kick Davis out of office, the replacement candidate with the highest number of votes will take his job. Voters can pick a successor regardless of their vote on the Davis referendum.

This is very interesting.... Edwards Becomes A Favorite Among Union Members:

The largest union in the AFL CIO decided Thursday to delay making a presidential endorsement. The delay comes as John Edwards has apparently become of the favorites among union members.

The wait by the Service Employees International Union comes two days after the top contenders spoke to union officials in Washington.

Conference participants were asked to rank their two favorites before and after they heard the candidates. Union president David Stern says Edwards vaulted into the top three candidates within the union after he talked to the members. He pushed out Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

....Several union members say they liked Edwards' populist message. He highlighted his working-class background as the son of a mill worker.

Just a few days ago, the news said Howard Dean "wowed them" at their convention.

This is an important endorsement. Gephardt has been a prime contender, then Dean, now Edwards. Looks like it's still up for grabs.

Josh Marshall of Talking Points has the scoop on this morning's story that talks are underway between Howard Dean and Wesley Clark joining forces. It may be a dirty trick of the Dean campaign. We hope not, that's pretty low.

And forget about that talk that all the retired four-star general and former NATO boss wants is the veep nomination. Supporters say that's a dirty-tricks campaign pushed by rival Howard Dean who's scared of a Clark candidacy. Says Frisby: "Wes Clark firmly believes that he is the best choice to be president, not be vice president or hold any other government post."

Here's more from Josh.

This tonight on the DraftClark website, from this AP article:

Lots of readers ask us why we don't endorse Cruz Bustamante for Governor of California. We oppose the recall--and Prop 54--but are not taking a position on who should be elected if the recall passes. LA Weekly has this less than flattering profile of Bustamante, which just adds to our unease about him. Just vote "no" on recall. If enough people vote "no" and the recall is defeated, it's a moot issue. [edited for clarity]

Who is Cruz Bustamante, this generally conservative, pro-business Democrat -- ” the most prominent California backer of conservative Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, longtime chairman of the anti-liberal Democratic Leadership Council -- ” who, without credentials, is running as a reinvented left-liberal in this recall election? And would Bustamante, who has read his only two policy speeches of this campaign word for word, even exist politically without his controversial political consultant and lobbying string puller, Richie Ross?

....Since the lieutenant governor has little power and few duties, it is unclear to many Capitol observers what Bustamante has been doing for much of the past five years. Friends say that he keeps busy. “He has lots of meetings,” says one. “He works at staying visible. ....

There's lots more.