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Howard Fineman of Newsweek and MSNBC and all other known media outlets, reports the following:

Clark was furious. Last January, at a conference in Switzerland, he happened to chat with two prominent Republicans, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and Marc Holtzman, now president of the University of Denver. "I would have been a Republican,” Clark told them, “if Karl Rove had returned my phone calls.” Soon thereafter, in fact, Clark quit his day job and began seriously planning to enter the presidential race—as a Democrat. Messaging NEWSWEEK by BlackBerry, Clark late last week insisted the remark was a “humorous tweak.” The two others said it was anything but. “He went into detail about his grievances,” Holtzman said. “Clark wasn’t joking. We were really shocked.”

If this story is even two-thirds true, it disqualifies Clark from further consideration. Why should any Democratic primary voter be asked to nominate someone who would otherwise be a Republican if Karl Rove had returned his calls?