Clark suffers setbacks in S.C.

CHARLESTON — Supporters began arriving early Wednesday morning for a Wesley Clark rally at the Charleston Visitors Center.

Just one problem: Clark was in Oklahoma.

About 10 minutes outside Charleston late Tuesday night, passengers on Clark’s plane learned they’d be turning back.

Because of complicated federal rest time guidelines for pilots, the new flight crew — brought in because the campaign’s original plane from New Hampshire had mechanical problems — wouldn’t be able to fly out of the state until late Wednesday if they landed in the Lowcountry.

That meant Clark would miss campaign stops in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.

The bizarre turn of events was just the latest episode in a series of headaches for Clark’s South Carolina campaign this week:

• An American Research Group poll released Sunday placed Clark fourth in South Carolina with 14 percent, just behind the Rev. Al Sharpton.

• Icy conditions forced the campaign to cancel a Tuesday night concert by the rock band Blues Traveler at Jillian’s in Columbia’s Vista, which Clark was supposed to attend.

• Clark’s national spokesman, Bill Buck, on Tuesday stressed the natural advantage John Edwards has here as a South Carolina native and a U.S. senator from North Carolina.

“He’s had several bad breaks,” said Dick Harpootlian, former chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party. “And he did not perform up to expectations in New Hampshire.”

Clark came in a distant third in the nation’s first primary on Tuesday.

All this comes as political observers are saying that for the retired Army general to have a chance in the race for the Democratic nomination, he must do well Tuesday in South Carolina’s primary.

“If Clark doesn’t perform very well here, he’s done,” said Waring Howe Jr. of Charleston, a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Clark has spent so much time touting South Carolina as a “perfect” state for him, Howe said, that “if he doesn’t make a strong comeback on this coming Tuesday, then his is a very short story.”

Clark staffers say their candidate is campaigning aggressively in the state. He leads all other candidates in spending on television advertisements this week. The S.C. campaign has 55 paid staff members and more than 2,000 registered volunteers.

He will be in Rock Hill today before the candidates’ debate tonight in Greenville, and in Columbia for the candidates’ forum at The Township auditorium Friday. The campaign won’t commit to any other appearances in the state.

“Even in the face of ice storms and mechanical challenges, the Clark campaign continues to be excited moving toward Feb. 3 and excited about speaking with every voter in the state of South Carolina,” said Meighan Stone, Clark’s S.C. press secretary.

Still, with recent events inside and outside of the campaign’s control, Clark’s statewide effort is “kind of unraveling,” said Blease Graham, a USC political scientist.

“It’s like a late starter who’s just having trouble getting a focus and getting some supporting energy behind his campaign,” Graham said.

Harpootlian said Clark’s hop-scotching across the country this week reflects the pressure his campaign is under.

“He’s decided he’s got to win a state,” Harpootlian said. “If you don’t win a state by Feb. 3, you gotta get out of the race.”

Reach Drake at (803) 771-8692 or jdrake@thestate.com Staff writer Joseph S. Stroud contributed to this report.