ROCHESTER, N.H. – Announcing his $70 billion plan to boost early childhood education, Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark tried to educate himself Wednesday about what kinds of programs work best.

Clark pulled up a pint-sized chair to watch 3-year-olds sing “The Good Morning Song,” appraised artwork by 4-year-olds, and peppered parents and staff at the Rochester Child Care Center with questions about the facility.

But he offered few details of his plan, which calls for $20 billion over 10 years to expand Head Start and $50 billion to help states improve preschool programs. The goal is to provide universal preschool access to all 4-year-olds.

“Especially when you’re dealing with children where both parents are working, these early childhood years are absolutely critical in laying the foundations for the kind of learning we have to promote to make our public schools successful and make America successful,” Clark said.

Later in the day, Clark traveled to Portland, where he held a fund-raiser and his first campaign rally in the state. About 150 people attended the rally at Portland City Hall, where the retired Army general criticized President Bush for his foreign and domestic policies.

He called America’s involvement in Iraq a “$150 billion mess” and said statistics showing gains in the U.S. economy are misleading. He said the numbers don’t tell the story of people being laid off from manufacturing plants or going without health insurance.

“The economy’s not about statistics. It’s about people,” Clark told the crowd. “It’s about jobs and health care in this country.”

He said his campaign strategy isn’t simply to criticize Bush, but to offer a different course for Americans.

“I’m not running to bash George Bush. I’m running to replace him,” Clark said.