Whew! It’s been a busy day for the Dean and (potential) Clark campaigns. First there was the news that Clark might join Dean’s ticket :

senate presidential candidate Howard Dean has asked retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark to join his campaign, if the former NATO (news – web sites) commander does not jump into the race himself next week, and the two men discussed the vice presidency at a weekend meeting in California, sources familiar with the discussions said.

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.”
. . .
While it would represent a gamble for both men to team up so early in the campaign, such a move would rattle an already unpredictable nomination campaign. Dean and Clark have two things in common that if combined could prove formidable among senate voters: They both opposed the war in Iraq, and both are generating excitement on the Internet and with grass-roots activists.

A few hours later, the news was that Clark was going to run for president himself :

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark has told friends he is likely to become the 10th senate presidential candidate, a move that could shake up the crowded field just four months before the first ballots are cast.

Clark, 58, has not made a decision, but the Arkansas resident is aggressively recruiting campaign staff and plans to announce his intentions next week, friends and party officials said on condition of anonymity. His earliest allies would be from former President Clinton’s Arkansas-based political network.

By the end of the day, there was a new twist on the story. According to Josh Marshall and U.S. News, the Dean/Clark story was part of a “dirty tricks” campaign by Dean’s supporters :

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.”

I’m not sure if the whole Dean/Clark story was “dirty tircks” or not, but if it was, Dean better be careful. With all the attention that Clark is sure to get, the last think that Dean wants is Clark publicly bashing him for fighting dirty.