The Washington Post reports that Howard Dean has asked Wesley Clark to join his team if Clark decides not to run for President. The two met in California last weekend and discussed the vice-presidency.

Clark, in a telephone interview yesterday, said he did not want to comment about the private meeting. Asked about reports that the two men had discussed a wide range of issues, including endorsing Dean, joining the campaign, possible roles in a Dean administration and the vice presidency, he said only, "It was a complete tour of the horizon."

Smart move by Dean. It sounds like Clark is still undecided about jumping in the Presidential race. He is expected to announce his decision September 19 when he makes a speech in Iowa. Dean and Clark have met four times. Stay tuned.

Update: Noah Shachtman of Defense Tech has an article in today's New York Times on Wesley Clark --and the company he leads which is making a 21 speed bike.

The retired general has been devoting much of his time to running a company making a new kind of electric motor that does not require gears or a transmission, but uses computer algorithms to maximize torque and efficiency. The company, WaveCrest Laboratories of Dulles, Va., hopes to put these motors into hybrid gas-electric cars or even hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars one day. But for now, WaveCrest is focused on bikes.

Update: Momentum Builds

Sorry, can't resist.... The Clark Sphere

Here's the Transcript Arnold Schwarzenegger on 'The O'Reilly Factor' - who won?

Update: We just finished watching the 30 minute interview in its entirety. It wasn't a debate. It was a love-fest. O'Reilly was positively smitten. Still, Arnold did well. Excellent demeanor --he really seems to have the fire in his belly to help California--and he showed some knowledge.

While we strongly disagree with his opposition to drivers' licenses for undocumented residents, at least he ultimately balked at militarizing our borders (he first said it was ok, then backtracked and said he'd have to study the issue more-- but his face showed opposition to us) . And he said he will not attempt to interfere with a federal court order to provide services for the undocumented residents.

His passion is infectious. We like him.

But....vote "no" on recall, it's still the right decision.

Update: Arnold and Maria will be on Oprah Monday. Their first joint interview of the campaign. Celebrity sells, no question about it.

David Ignatius writes Gen. Clark's Critique - Via The Horse

What makes Clark such a good candidate:

It's the fact that, like Dwight Eisenhower talking about Korea in 1952, the retired general can argue that he's the man to get America honorably out of a war others created.

A final reason to pay attention to Clark's version of "I told you so" is that it's linked to a broader analysis. He will argue in a book to be published next month that the administration showed "a fundamental misunderstanding of modern war." By rushing into battle, it lost the biggest advantage of American power, which is "the incredible leverage to bring other allies on board to help us." Bush's mistake, he argues, was not in overestimating U.S. power but in underestimating it.

When will Clark decide? He'll have some catching up to do, no question, but we'd like to see him get in the race -- and the remaining debates. We think this is still anyone's ballgame.

We got home late, missed the news on the debate, and are now watching the rerun. Our thoughts:

Sharpton rocks, he has the best lines.

John Edwards was surprisingly good-- he's not giving our civil liberties over to Ashcroft--and he's got presence and dynamic delivery. Very telegenic. We think he's going to move up in the polls.

Kucinich made great points. He also makes the most sense. He'd repeal the Patriot Act.

Dean fell a little flat. Not enough personality or inflection when he talks.

Kerry is depressing.

Gephardt had some snap but we can't remember what he said. He needs a new line besides "miserable failure." That only works once.

Lieberman was like the elder statesman. He was also rude. He talked the longest after his time was over and he interrupted Dean and demanded an extra sentence.

Bob Graham was witty.

Carole Mosley Braun held her own.

So who won? No one yet (the second round just ended.) But we're glad we watched. It was good to watch nine politicians all bashing Bush and his policies.

Update: Graham just lost his witty description. He opposes same-sex marriage because marriage is for the purpose of nurturing children and that takes a man and a woman? Wow....

Edwards scores again with "College for Everyone." This man's going to move up in the polls, just watch.

Dean was good on gun control and the need for white people to talk to white people about race.

Carole Mosely Braun scores on the Patriot Act--she showed some real passion.

Kucinich: Bring the troops home. Get the U.N. in and the U.S. out.

Final Update: It's over. Here are our impact ratings--who made the greatest impression--

The losers: Graham, Gephardt, Kerry and Dean

Middle: Lieberman, Mosely Braun

Winners: Sharpton, Kucinich and Edwards

Best lines and quickest on his feet: Sharpton
Most personable: John Edwards
Stiffest: Howard Dean
Worst Closings: Gephardt and Graham

With her kids now in school, Maria Schriver has become an active participant in Arnie's campaign. Statements like this can only help him:

"He's one of the most gracious, supportive, open-minded men I have ever met," the TV journalist said at an appearance in Santa Monica last week. "I've known him since I was 21 years old, and I know I would not be where I am today in my career, as a woman, without his support."

Some background on Maria.

On paper, Shriver, 47, has the kind of background that could help her husband at the polls. She is a niece of President Kennedy, and a career woman with four children, ages 5 to 13.

A 1977 graduate of Georgetown University, she has been with NBC since 1986 as an anchor, correspondent and, most recently, as part of "Dateline NBC." She is on leave from the network during her husband's campaign. She built her career as a hardworking journalist who preferred serious news over fluff.

We met Maria last year at a party we attended for the swearing in of LA Police Chief Bill Bratton. We talked for ten minutes or so about our aging mothers and how difficult it is for them. There had been several recent news articles about her mother's declining health. We liked Maria a lot. She and Arnie stayed at the party for well over an hour. (We met Arnie too, but did not have a chance to speak with him.)

We still say vote "no" on recall. But we think Maria has had a liberalizing effect on Arnie and that should he win the election, she will continue to make her voice heard. That's good.

Update: Maria's mother, Eunice Shriver, sister of JFK, came out today and endorsed Arnold:

I think he'd be a very good governor. He's been committed to people all his life, since the day he first arrived here, he's been a success with people," Shriver, 82, told reporters before Schwarzenegger met with experts on education policy.

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Peter Uberroth has dropped out of the California recall election. He said he crunched the numbers and can't win. Who will benefit from his support? Arnie or McCLintock? If Arnie picks up his support, is Bustamante in trouble? Could his dropping out reduce support for the recall itself and assist Gray Davis?

We thought Gephardt had the major AFL-CIO union endorsement locked up. Not so. Check this out:

Dean wows union rank-and-file at convention:

The former Vermont governor was greeted with earsplitting cheers and numerous, lengthy standing ovations from the nearly 1,500 rank-and-file members. The audience several times clapped and chanted in unison.

"This time the person with the most votes is going to be the president of the United States," Dean roared. Afterward, he was mobbed by union members seeking autographs and pictures, as well as the media.

The analysis:

The Democrat who has the most at stake is Gephardt, who covets a laborwide endorsement from the AFL-CIO next month. The Missouri congressman has 12 union endorsements so far, and is the only candidate to get backing from an international union. But he needs support from a few more large unions, such as SEIU[the 1.6-million-member Service Employees International Union], to win over the AFL-CIO.

....The SEIU is the nation's fastest-growing union and among the most progressive and diverse, making it an enticing prize for Democrats seeking labor support. Its members are janitors, nursing home workers, home health care workers, hospital nurses, and government employees. Many are Hispanic.

Here's some good news: Even the sponsor of California's controversial Prop 54--the bill that would ban the collection of racial and ethnic data -- concedes passage is unlikely.

Both Bustamante and Scwarzenegger oppose the bill. (Arnold is a new convert, only declaring his opposition yesterday.) Bustamante has said he will use his $4 million advertising campaign money in tv ads to defeat it.

Here is the text of Prop 54. Here are some reasons why it should be opposed.

Bustamante will make a major speech today --in it he will say:

...Proposition 54 is "an attack on our public health system, and it must defeated....No matter how you vote on the recall please join me and the California nurses and doctors in voting no on Proposition 54. It's more important than politics."

Bustamante will also say that he has "decided to resolve the questions raised by the Republicans about my campaign finances" by devoting the bulk of his contributions from unions and tribes to defeat the initiative rather than in his gubernatorial effort.

In other recall news, Arnold has picked up the endorsement of the California Farm Bureau Federation in Sacramento with "88,000 farming and ranching families, and the Western Growers Assn., whose members grow, pack or ship most of the state's fresh fruit and vegetables."

Yet, Arnold was also dis-invited by organizers from participating in today's Mexican Independence Day parade in East Los Angeles. He had been invited to be Grand Marshal. The organizers say that " sponsors and unidentified members of the Los Angeles City Council had threatened to drop out of the parade if Schwarzenegger participated. "

The Horse has the results of the newest Zogby poll:

George W. Bush’s job performance ratings have reached the lowest point since his pre-Inauguration days, continuing a steady decline since a post-9/11 peak, according to a new Zogby America poll of 1,013 likely voters conducted September 3-5.

Less than half (45%) of the respondents said they rated his job performance good or excellent, while a majority (54%) said it was fair or poor.

A majority (52%) said it’s time for someone new in the White House, while just two in five (40%) said the president deserves to be re-elected.

The poll also has Dean leading the Democratic contenders.

He is followed by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry (13%), Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman (12%), and Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt (8%). No other candidate polled more than 3%.

Update: Our report on the CNN/Time poll from yesterday is here.

We have to say we are very impressed with candidate John Edwards weblog.

Check it out. It's a Slash weblog which is different other kinds of blogs. For example, Edwards' readers can register (anonymously and free) and post, as well as comment and rank the comments of others.

Second, Edwards' blog is actually 51 separate blogs. There is a national blog to discuss and read about Edwards and issues nationally--and one for each state where you can write about and discuss Edwards with folks from your state. The only thing missing is links to other blogs.

We like Edwards. Since we remain undecided on our favorite candidate, we read Dean and Clark's blogs almost every day. We'll be reading Edwards now too.

Thanks to Oliver Willis for the link.

A three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today refused to delay the Oct. 7 recall vote.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund had filed suit, charging that the county's plan to eliminate more than 100 polling places and cut the number of bilingual poll workers would disenfranchise Latino voters.

But the three-judge panel, with one Democratic and two Republican appointees, refused to block the vote.