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Another President From Arkansas?


arkansas_buff

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QUALIFICATION: NO POLITICS HERE, PLEASE! This topic is to simply talk about what another president from the great state of Arkansas would mean for the state and/or Little Rock.

Since we have a potential contender from each side (Gen. Wesley Clark-D and Gov. Mike Huckabee-R), I thought this would be an interesting discussion. Let's talk development, name recognition, exposure, etc.

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QUALIFICATION: NO POLITICS HERE, PLEASE! This topic is to simply talk about what another president from the great state of Arkansas would mean for the state and/or Little Rock.

Since we have a potential contender from each side (Gen. Wesley Clark-D and Gov. Mike Huckabee-R), I thought this would be an interesting discussion. Let's talk development, name recognition, exposure, etc.

I don't think it would do much for either LR or the state. When Clinton was President not too much happened that was the result. It was only after the library was being built did LR get any long lasting value from the Clinton years. If Clark or Huckabee were to win and end up building their library in LR then that would be something to talk about. The question is who would benefit LR and the state more if they built a library in LR. Clark visitors would probably be the same as the ones to the Clinton library. On the other hand Huckabee visitors would be a different group. I doubt if either Clark or Huckabee would have the draw that Clinton does. If Hillary was to win and for some unknown reason built a library close to Bill's then LR would have something.

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I don't think it would do much for either LR or the state. When Clinton was President not too much happened that was the result. It was only after the library was being built did LR get any long lasting value from the Clinton years. If Clark or Huckabee were to win and end up building their library in LR then that would be something to talk about. The question is who would benefit LR and the state more if they built a library in LR. Clark visitors would probably be the same as the ones to the Clinton library. On the other hand Huckabee visitors would be a different group. I doubt if either Clark or Huckabee would have the draw that Clinton does. If Hillary was to win and for some unknown reason built a library close to Bill's then LR would have something.

I don't know; Clark is a very interesting guy. He's the Democratic version of Eisenhower (sp?), and you can see that in all of his appearances. Plus, whichever person takes over the helm this coming 2008, his/her presidency will signal a major shift in history and policy.

I don't think you can expect something to happen beneficially to a president's community while he is still president. He has other obligations to attend to.

Clark was a 4 star general. Supreme Allied commander of NATO. Top in his class at Westpoint. Rhodes Scholar.

Even before the actual presidency, he has a lot of impressive accomplishments on his resume. What could you say of Clinton or George W. before they started? Not as much for Clinton, and not as much for Bush--post-presidency.

Clark OR Huckabee would most definitely put their libraries in Little Rock. That would definitely help Little Rock even moreso. Before you had one world class attraction, now you have another. Hell, while they're at it, they should just put a presidential museum in Little Rock. Learn something about the whole shebang of presidents, as well as two very good ones: Clinton and (hopefully) Clark/huckabee.

I'm not so sure Hillary would build her library in Arkansas. I prefer Clark to her anyways. Hillary is easy to demonize as a control freak (in the mind of a conservative male). Clark is hard to pin down. His resume is too deep.

EDITTEED

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Yeah I have my doubts Hillary would put her library in Arkansas. She doesn't even live here anymore. It would be interesting to have another president from Arkansas but I'm like everyone else. I have my doubts that we'd get a lot out of it. As it was pointed out Clinton really didn't seem to send 'pork' to us like some other presidents sometimes do for their home states. But I suppose there's always a chance and they'd probably at least make some sort of efforts that could help the state. I'm really not sure though of any of above listed chances.

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I really wish we'd see a guy of this stature in the Senate representing the state. Our senators used to pull a ton of weight for the state - guys like Wilbur Mills (got I-630 built), John McClellan (got the new Little Rock VA built), Joe T Robinson, Dale Bumpers, etc wielded massive legislative power. We need guys like that again go pull projects into the state.

Clark may be too big for a Senate run and both incumbents are Democrats. A Senate run by Huckabee, who now will reside in NLR, isn't at all a longshot.

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Little Rock & Central Arkansas gained a lot while Clinton was president. Clinton being president caused a lot of retailers and big business to want a piece of the rock. It's also when the River Market got going...it was getting prepared for it's future anchor...the mighty library. To say Little Rock didn't gain anything while he was president is ludicris. We were literally put on the map during his presidency. Of course, the library has spurred even more interest and development...let us not forget what Little Rock looked like before he was president. We got so much national attention while he was president, people from all corners took notice and began to "set up shop" here.

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Little Rock & Central Arkansas gained a lot while Clinton was president. Clinton being president caused a lot of retailers and big business to want a piece of the rock. It's also when the River Market got going...it was getting prepared for it's future anchor...the mighty library. To say Little Rock didn't gain anything while he was president is ludicris. We were literally put on the map during his presidency. Of course, the library has spurred even more interest and development...let us not forget what Little Rock looked like before he was president. We got so much national attention while he was president, people from all corners took notice and began to "set up shop" here.

Actually you're right.

When I tell people I'm from Arkansas, most recognize it as Clinton's state....and Little Rock because he made it fairly famous by having his campaign headquarters here while running for president.

I'd never heard of Crawford, Texas, until Bush was President.

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This article snippet, of the Wall Street Journal from the Arkansas Times Blog is PERFECT for our discussion:

The $165 million Clinton Presidential Center opened in 2004, well after Little Rock officials had scrapped the tax in favor of a bond to fund the purchase of the property. Despite the initial opposition of some residents to the idea that the city would pay for the land, many real-estate experts credit the architectural showpiece designed by James Polshek and Richard Olcott -- part of a complex which includes a park, Oval Office replica and a treasure trove of documents -- with jumpstarting a downtown revitalization in Little Rock.

The presidential library center, which drew about 500,000 visitors last year, has helped transform an area filled with older warehouses "where you wouldn't want to walk around at night" into a tourist destination and a corridor of nonprofit headquarters, says Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey. It also helped expand the boundaries of the redevelopment already under way in the adjacent River Market district to the west, which was already buzzing with a farmer's market and restaurants in the late 1990s.

"We were grinding out the first few downs and the Presidential Center was the 50-yard pass," says Rett Tucker, a partner with Moses Tucker Real Estate, a Little Rock-based real-estate services company which helped amass the property for the center. Moses Tucker is now building an 18-story condo tower, billed as the city's tallest new building since the 1980s. The 300 Third Tower, to be completed next year, is one of many projects completed or launched since the late 1990s in downtown Little Rock and across the river in North Little Rock, with a total estimated investment value of more than $1 billion, according to Joey Dean, vice president of economic development with the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The area's nonfarm employment rose by about 2.1% in July from the year-earlier month, above the U.S. rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mark Thompson, an economic forecaster with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Institute for Economic Advancement, says housing and tourism have helped drive the region's historically stable economy, though rising interest rates could pose a risk going forward.

The pace of development has been particularly significant for a city the size of Little Rock, Arkansas's capital with some 184,000 residents and the center of a metropolitan area with about 643,000 people. Major projects have included a new $27.5 million headquarters for world hunger nonprofit Heifer International, next door to the library; some 300 new residential units under way or awarded permits in the downtown core since 2000; and several renovated hotels.

Not all sectors of the commercial real-estate market have felt a direct boost from the region's surge in investments. While estimates vary widely on the office vacancy rate in the central business district, most agree that the downtown office submarket is stabilizing, though still weaker than its suburban counterpart.

Stuart S. Mackey, vice president of brokerage for the Hathaway Group in Little Rock, says downtown had a vacancy rate of 21% in the first quarter, roughly double that in the suburbs.

Consolidation in the national banking industry in recent years, the departure of some companies for suburban locations and even vacancies left by groups like Heifer International moving into new headquarters -- though still in the city -- have left more space empty downtown, says Mr. Mackey.

Some see opportunity in the vacancies. Over the past two years, California-based real-estate company Tower Investments has purchased five older office buildings on a city block in the financial district. Tower plans to convert most of the space into condominiums, with asking prices in its first phase starting at $160,000. "Little Rock is on the map due to one and possibly two presidents coming out of there," says Tower Senior Vice President Alex Marks.

I bolded what I felt was the clincher.

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I think Clark has a realistic shot, I don't think Huckabee does. Clark isn't really embraced as a party darling, though, and it will be tough for him to get elected.

I'm not real big into politics but I do have a friend who is. He agrees with you. He says Huckabee is too right wing and will be seen as too similar to Bush. Expecting a lot of backlash against Bush because of the war and such. He also thinks Clark has a better shot but he also mentioned as far as he's heard he hadn't heard anything about him actually running. If he does he would have a hard time getting through the democratic primaries because he might be seen as too moderate for some democrats.

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  • 1 year later...

I don't know if anyone read the Rasmussen daily tracking poll today, but Huckabee has taken the lead nationally. It may just be a blip, but it sure is shaking some things up. I would like to think that Huck would build a library in Little Rock... or NLR.

Politics aside, I don't see how having another president from AR would be bad in any way. I think Clinton being president certainly had a huge impact on LR and the state. Albeit more so once he left office.

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I don't know if anyone read the Rasmussen daily tracking poll today, but Huckabee has taken the lead nationally. It may just be a blip, but it sure is shaking some things up. I would like to think that Huck would build a library in Little Rock... or NLR.

Politics aside, I don't see how having another president from AR would be bad in any way. I think Clinton being president certainly had a huge impact on LR and the state. Albeit more so once he left office.

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I think he has a shot at the nomination. He's currently running second nationally according to today's AP/ Ipsos poll. Rasmussen's daily tracking poll has shown him to have taken the lead from Giuliani for the last two days. However, if he did get the VP nod, he would only be 60 years old at the end of the second term... assuming the GOP ticket won.
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