Young stands by Clark in S.C.

Young stands by Clark in S.C.

By MATTHEW C. QUINN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/1203/22young.html
COLUMBIA -- With former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young at his side, retired Gen. Wesley Clark on Sunday presented 4,000 petition signatures to qualify for South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary ballot.

Clark became the second of the nine candidates for the Democratic nomination to file for the Feb. 3 ballot. Campaign workers for Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts gave the state Democratic Party a check for $2,500 last week to qualify.

But Clark made a grand entrance at state Democratic Party headquarters in downtown Columbia, pulling up in his "Clark for President" recreational vehicle, to present his petitions in person. Candidates can choose whether to pay a qualifying fee or present a minimum of 3,000 petition signatures. The doors were thrown open and Clark stepped out to the cheers of more than 100 supporters. Among them were a dozen members of Georgia for Wesley Clark, a volunteer group that includes Barry Kanne of Atlanta, Clark's first cousin.

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Young, a former congressman and U.N. ambassador who served two terms as Atlanta mayor, campaigned Sunday with Clark and threw support behind the retired general as expected.

Outside state Democratic Party headquarters, he called Clark a "son of the South capable of making a dangerous world a safer place for everybody" and "a man we are going to make the next president of the United States."

Clark welcomed Young's support, calling the one-time lieutenant to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "a man I have admired most of my adult life." Joining Clark and Young for a round of appearances Sunday was Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), a senior black member of Congress.More...