(2003-09-19) -- Wesley Clark, the latest Democrat to enter the presidential race, said he might vote for himself if his name were to appear on the ballot. However, since he didn't decide to run until late Sunday, he said voters should give him time to develop conviction about whether he deserves his own vote.

"There are a lot of good people running for president," said the retired four-star general. "I need time to analyze what they stand for, and then develop some ideas about what I stand for. Then I can compare them with me and decide who would make the better president."

The candidate acknowledged voting for Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, but became a Democrat in 1992 when he voted for fellow Arkansan Bill Clinton.

"He moved me," Mr. Clark told the Washington Post. "I didn't consider it party, I considered I was voting for the man."

Like Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, D-CT, and John F. Kerry, D-MA, Mr. Clark said he would have voted to support the war in Iraq, and the United States should not have invaded.

"I love the idea of overthrowing Saddam Hussein," Mr. Clark said. "But actually doing it is a lot messier. So I would have supported ongoing planning."

If he were in Congress today, he would vote to approve President Bush's $87 billion request for military operations and reconstruction if it could be proven that it wasn't needed and would never be spent.

"We should send more troops to Iraq," he added. "And if elected I will cut the military budget."