The Pragmatist.

This article focuses on the decline in support for the presidential campaign of Democrat Wesley Clark following health problems and political difficulties. For several days last week, Wesley Clark went completely silent. His vocal cords became so stiff with swelling that the general was rendered mute. For a month, the Clark campaign has been about everything but the candidate's message. Clark's tumble from the Olympian heights of a reluctantly drafted American hero to just another Democratic candidate was swift. In the middle of all this, his former military boss, Hugh Shelton, made a cryptic comment questioning Clark's "integrity and character," muddying one more of Clark's strengths. Individually, each of these episodes was minor, but, taken together, they overwhelmed the campaign's attempt to quickly position Clark as an above-the-fray candidate -- "a historic figure," in the words of one senior adviser--unsullied by the pettiness of the long primary process. The problem for Clark is that the tales of staff intrigue and questions about his commitment to the party have started to drown out his message.