LEXINGTON -- Former presidential candidate and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark encouraged students at Washington and Lee University's Mock Convention Kickoff on Friday to participate fully in America's democratic election process and make their voices heard.

"It's a process that goes to the heart of who we are as Americans," he told a few hundred students during an address in front of Lee Chapel on the front lawn of the W&L campus.

The school's mock convention predicts the presidential nominee from the party not currently in the White House. Since its inception in 1908, the W&L student body has been correct 18 out of 23 times.

W&L president Ken Ruscio called the mock convention a "serious and sophisticated shadowing" of the election process.

Clark's appearance Friday was part of the school's spring kickoff leading up to next year's 100th anniversary of the student-run convention Jan. 25-26.

About 90 percent of W&L students usually participate in the event.

The convention features a prominent keynote speaker, a political parade through Lexington's historic downtown and a simulation of the national convention. Previous speakers include Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson, James Carville, Newt Gingrich and Harry Truman.

Clark acknowledged that his own bid for the Democratic nomination in 2004 began too late, lacked funds and stalled out after a few months on the campaign trail. "I wasn't much of a Democrat," he said.

He pointed to the Iraq war as the overriding campaign issue in next year's election, and said many people believe that "there really isn't an end in sight" to the war.

He said disappointment among voters about President Bush's performance will make it "very difficult for a Republican to win."

Clark also said America needs a strategic foreign policy plan for dealing with the war on terrorism as well as global economic issues, Clark said.

"You can't succeed simply by killing people," he said regarding terrorism. "You've got to protect America's legitimacy ... our moral superiority" and "global competitiveness."

He suggested that those issues can be addressed by a strong president with the right leadership and communication skills.

"There's no more important position in the world today," he said.

Clark wouldn't endorse any of the current Democratic candidates, but urged W&L students to fully immerse themselves in the political process as they approach the election.

"We need the right leadership in place," he said. "We need your engagement in this process."