Quotable: “There is something aggressively wholesome about this campaign.” – Mark Silva, Orlando Sentinel political reporter, traveling with the Grahams during their Iowa “vacation.”

Quotable: “When a television reporter taunted Mr. Kerry to at least utter Dr. Dean's name, Mr. Kerry, who is rarely at a loss for words, grinned and pinched his mouth shut. This is Mr. Kerry's world these days.” – New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney, reporting on Kerry’s New Hampshire campaign tour

Quotable: “The 2004 presidential race seems to be carrying the Democratic Party in a dangerous direction on the issues of the Iraq war and national security -- dangerous for the nation and risky for the party too.” – Washington Post editorial from yesterday, commenting on Gore’s speech last week

Quotable:  “Mr. Gore believes, for example, that the Patriot Act represents ‘a broad and extreme invasion of our privacy rights in the name of terrorism.’ But then how to explain that 98 senators -- including all four Democratic senators now running for president -- voted for it?” – More from yesterday’s Washington Post editorial

Quotable: “It's very clear what the program is -- it is to defund the Democratic Party.” – Ed Lazarus, political operative working for the Assn. of Trial Lawyers, commenting on GOP “tort reform” efforts

Quotable: “Three months after many Democrats and Mr. Kerry himself thought he was rolling to the Democratic presidential nomination, he is frequently stuck in the shadow of an opponent who has moved from small-bore annoyance to potential threat.” – NY Times’ Nagourney again

Quotable: “If Davis survives, he'll owe it to the Clintons. Then, if Hillary jumps into the presidential race, she'll have the California delegates locked up as well as the ones in New York.” – Senior Democrat, quoted in Chicago Sun-Times report on Bill Clinton’s role in Davis efforts to fight CA recall.        

GENERAL NEWS:  Among the offerings in today's update:

• Discussion of Dean unavoidable as Kerry attempts to recalibrate his approach in early battleground states

• Chicago Trib’s Zeleny reports that the recall is “absorbing the political oxygen in California.” Some strategists expect state to be “less lucrative and too politically volatile” over next couple months

• Chicago Sun-Times: Beleaguered Gov. Davis turns to “perhaps the only man in America who can save his skin” – SuperBill Clinton

• From CNN’s Capitol Gang: Wall Street Journal’s Al Hunt says “Lieberman better understand you can’t win primaries campaigning as Bush lite”

• Kerry says Bush failed on Liberian response

• In New Hampshire, Gephardt – on Teamsters Endorsement Tour – claims GWB ruined the economy

• Washington Post joins editorial assault – along with the Union Leader – on Gore’s unrealistic world perspective. Will Gray Davis be calling Al for advice too?

• Things aren’t exactly going that well for Edwards on the prez campaign trail, but now he’s getting pressure from home to make a Senate decision

• Graham and family take optimistic message across state during Iowa vacation, but find few supportive Dem caucusgoers

• In SC, Edwards uses slave school as backdrop for attack on Bush, claims “we still have two public school systems in America”

• Supreme Court Justice Kennedy urges American Bar Assn. to lobby for repeal mandatory minimum sentence laws

• Washington Post reports that “tort reform” battle turns more partisan, Dems see GOP attempt to “defund” their party

• Iowaism: Tourists already showing up in Sioux City to celebrate 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

All these stories below and more.

Iowa Pres Watch Note: Although the California recall election is aimed at removing Guv Davis from office, it also has the potential to be a setback for the Dem wannabes – especially when it comes to media coverage and most especially for those candidates trying to break through the ranks in the post-Labor Day period. Just as the Dem prez campaigns were expected to pick up the pace this fall, the wannabes may find they are the second, third or fourth – or even lower -- option for coverage on a daily basis. (Don’t forget that Congress returns on the political radar again – and GWB goes back to the White House – in a couple weeks, too. And, by the way, there are still U. S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. ) TIME’s Margaret Carlson made the point on CNN’s Capitol Gang Saturday: “And for the next 60 days, I think this is the last time we're going to see Gore and Lieberman, a speech covered by them, because the next 60 days, all politics is California.” Reports about the CA recall have dominated the national political media outlets over recent days and through the weekend, and many of the nation’s political writers – such as the Washington Post’s Dan Balz, the New York Times’ Adam Nagourney and the Chicago Tribune’s Jeff Zeleny – who normally cover the wannabe beat have been hanging out in L. A. suburbs. It gets even worse for the wannabes in California. Most have been making regular and frequent stops in the Golden State during the campaign – and generally getting solid coverage (and raising big bucks) – but the major media outlets have been (and probably will be) dominated by recall stories. All the reports on the Los Angeles Times website’s political page Saturday were devoted to the recall and related articles. California political columnists have been consumed with the recall effort – and it’s a sure bet every national commentator and columnist with a pencil, computer or satellite truck will be weighing a few times between now and Oct. 7. It’s almost like the cable news channels (FOX, CNN, etc.) believe they invented the recall – as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gary Coleman. Likewise, the Dem prez candidates can expect a major disruption in any anticipated coverage in early October as the media – and political reporters – descend on CA for the big election. Being a wannabe – especially a wannabe attempting to gain traction (such as Edwards and Lieberman) or trying stop Dean (such as Kerry, Lieberman and Gephardt) or trying to pretend they are viable (such as Graham, Kucinich, Sharpton or Moseley Braun) – is tough under ideal conditions, but it’s even going to be tougher with the headlines going to the recall and the national political media covering the California political carnival. (See related Zeleny report below.)

 CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES: 

… On the Iowa Wannabe Trail: Graham’s Iowa “vacation” continues with a discussion on the economy with Dem activists in Davenport and a “Grillin’ with the Graham’s” event at Lake McBride State Park near Solon. Tomorrow the Graham caravan rolls into Calmar, Dyersville and Dubuque. Next wannabe due in – Edwards starts series of “Main Street Tours” on Wednesday. Almost all of candidates expected in Iowa this week. Events: Wednesday -- Iowa Federation of Labor convention in Waterloo. Thursday – Vilsack-sponsored health care forum at Drake University in Des Moines. Friday – Labor forum in Cedar Rapids.   

… “Recall circus eclipses 2004 races…California cash, attention diverted” – headline from yesterday’s Chicago Tribune. Tribune national correspondent Jeff Zeleny, who usually is following a Dem wannabe around, surfaces in Beverly Hills to cover the CA recall. An excerpt: “If you're a Democratic presidential candidate, there are few better places in America to come calling for money than the tony neighborhoods and immaculate boulevards of Beverly Hills. For Howard Dean, the political star of the summer, the fashionable 90210 ZIP code provided a bigger treasure-trove than almost anywhere else and played an essential role in turning the unlikely candidacy of a former Vermont governor into that of a leading presidential hopeful. His rivals have traveled here too, seeking money and endorsements from well-heeled donors and Democrat-loving celebrities. But the presidential candidates' California money drive has been unexpectedly complicated by the spectacle of the gubernatorial recall. The unfolding drama of a wounded governor--challenged not only by Arnold Schwarzenegger but also by a string of lesser-known characters and even busty billboard queen Angelyne-- could affect the Democratic primary and leave a trail of unknown consequences for the 2004 presidential campaign. At this early stage of a presidential race, as the nine Democrats battle through a summer of obscurity, California should have been a safe harbor for candidates to harvest contributions and forge relationships with the Democratic Party's elite in the nation's most populous state. August and September were intended to be a time to build war chests for an expensive winter of campaigning. With the Oct. 7 recall election absorbing the political oxygen in California, and to some degree across the country, presidential politics has suddenly become a far less relevant sport. And the Democrats, who desperately need to raise money to keep their candidacies afloat, were wondering late last week if the state could become a less lucrative or too politically volatile place to spend considerable time during the next two months. ‘The recall will be tapping into the same kinds of donors that would normally be giving money to the presidential candidates,’ said Mark DiCamillo, a longtime observer of California politics and director of the Field Poll. ‘If you assume it's a zero-sum game, that people only give a certain amount of political money, it will take some money away from presidential candidates.’ During the first six months of the year, the nine Democratic presidential candidates collected nearly $9 million from California contributors. In the same period, President Bush raised $4.2 million from state donors. No one suggests that even a bizarre recall could dry up the California money well, but the special election and its unlimited spending present a diversion that none of the 10 candidates, including the president, had anticipated. ’My first instinct is to stay as far away as possible,’ said a senior strategist with a Democratic campaign who conceded that his candidate would have no choice but to visit the state at some point. ‘You can't have a significant financial plan in a presidential race that doesn't involve California.’ The Republican National Committee and the White House were never thrilled at the notion of recalling Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat who has been under attack because of an enormous budget deficit, the fallout from an energy crisis and widespread unpopularity. In fact, some Republican strategists thought Bush would have a better chance of winning California's 55 electoral votes in 2004 if Davis were still in office and could be used as a symbolic punching bag.”

… Apparently tired of trying to explain his vote for the Iraq resolution, Kerry moves on to another foreign policy issue that he probably knows even less about – Liberia. Headline from the New Hampshire Sunday News – “Kerry raps Bush on Liberia response in Manchester” Report – an excerpt – from Union Leader staffer Mark Hayward: “Democratic Presidential hopeful John Kerry said U.S. troops should have been sent to Liberia sooner and promised he would only commit military personnel abroad if he could face the parents of a dead soldier. ‘The test is whether you can look in the eye of a parent as commander in chief and say, ‘This had to happen,’ ‘ Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, said as he spoke to a family in the city’s North End yesterday. The Massachusetts senator spent about an hour knocking on doors of likely Democratic primary voters on Ray Street. Some 300 Kerry volunteers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire complemented his effort after getting handfuls of literature and a pep talk at Kerry’s Manchester campaign headquarters. They were expected to visit homes in Manchester, Nashua, Concord and Derry. A separate group met in Dover and canvassed there. In speaking with one family, Kerry said he had wanted President Bush to commit troops to Liberia earlier.  ‘We’ve dilly-dallied; we’ve lost lives. It’s a very poor show of the United States of America to do what is right,’ Kerry said. On Wednesday, seven Marines flew into Liberia to coordinate U.S. logistical support for a peacekeeping force of West African soldiers. Some 2,000 Marines are on ships off the coast of Liberia, but Bush has said they will not enter the country until besieged President Charles Taylor departs. Taylor is pinned in the capital by a 2-month-old rebel siege, which has led to the deaths of more than 1,000 civilians and created widespread hunger and sickness.  Kerry said he supported former President Clinton’s military efforts in Kosovo and he would have sent troops to Rwanda, where in 1994 an estimated 800,000 died in genocidal attacks. Kerry, who voted to send troops to Iraq, said Bush should have done more to build an international coalition and legitimacy for the war.”

… As if Edwards didn’t have enough problems trying to pretend to be a credible Dem contender, the locals back home are now pressuring him to decide on his Senate future. Weekend headline from the Boston Globe online edition: “N. C. party presses Edwards for decision: White House or Senate race?” Excerpt – datelined Raleigh – from AP report by Scott Mooneyham: “Fight all the way for the White House or return home and run for reelection to the Senate? North Carolina Democrats are pressuring John Edwards for an answer now, arguing that the longer he delays, the better the chances of Republicans reclaiming his seat in 2004. Edwards could try for a political double of pursuing the party's nomination while running for a second Senate term. State law allows him to do both, but not even Edwards's confidants expect him to try. So North Carolina Democrats nervously watch the Republicans charge ahead. ‘It is just time for some decisions to be made, and they need to be made now,’ said state Representative Mickey Michaux, a 13-term House member from Durham. ‘If John is not going to run, then John ought to say that he is not going to run and let other people know that. If he is going to run, then he ought to be gearing up his campaign to run for Senate.’ The Democrats' biggest fear is that he will proceed with his presidential bid and eventually drop out of the Senate race, but take so long to decide that he leaves potential Democratic Senate candidates at a disadvantage. The Edwards campaign said he has no timetable for making a decision. ‘I think the longer this situation remains in doubt, the weaker our candidate will be,’ said Tony Rand, the state Senate majority leader and a Democrat from Fayetteville. Democrats' fears have been heightened by Representative Richard Burr's emergence as the Republican front-runner. With backing from the White House, Burr has raised $1.8 million this year for the Senate race and transferred $1.7 million from his House campaign account, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Democrats poised to run if Edwards should choose a presidential bid are former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former state House speaker Dan Blue… Questioned about the race, Jennifer Palmieri, Edwards's presidential campaign spokeswoman, reiterated what the candidate has said: ‘He is running for president, and he hasn't made a decision on the Senate seat.’ Democrats expressed concern that he has hurt his chances with North Carolina voters by spending so much time on the presidential campaign trail.”

… Only about 300 from three states showed up to support Gephardt in DSM – see yesterday’s report – but apparently New England Teamsters are just wild about Dick, which probably explains why Dean and Kerry are fighting it out for the January victory while Gephardt falters. Headline from yesterday’s New Hampshire Sunday News – “Gephardt: Bush ruined economy” Excerpt from report by the UL’s Mark Hayward: “Congressman Dick Gephardt rode into Manchester in a shiny trailer-truck cab yesterday evening, hauling behind it the coveted endorsement from one of the nation’s largest labor unions.  About 1,000 Teamsters and their families were on hand at JFK Coliseum to greet Gephardt and Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa. They arrived about 6:30 p.m. as Patrick Kennedy, a Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, was speaking. The endorsement was announced yesterday morning in Detroit, and Gephardt traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, and then Manchester, using it to bolster his campaign. The endorsement has special meaning for Gephardt, whose father was a Teamster milk truck driver. His father often told him, Gephardt said, that food was on the dinner table and a roof over their head because of the Teamsters. ‘I wish Dad could be here to see this,’ an emotional Gephardt told the crowd, ‘because I see him in you.’ The outdoor event, held outside the front of the hockey arena, was about as close to old-fashioned political rallies as they come. Members of locals from across New England congregated and shouted their numbers to showcase their strength. They waived ‘Teamsters for Gephardt’ placards. They chanted ‘Gep-hardt’ and ‘Hoff-a’ and booed any mention of President Bush. Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A’ blared from speakers.”

… Dean vs. Lieberman – a Capitol Gang Perspective. Excerpts from transcript of Saturday’s discussion on CNN’s Capitol Gang involving Margaret Carlson, Mark Shields, Robert Novak and Al Hunt: SHIELDS: Margaret Carlson, what was the impact of Joe Lieberman's attack on Howard Dean?…CARLSON: Zero, I think, because Howard Dean is not susceptible to conventional attacks, because he's in virtual reality land of campaigning. Listen, Joe Lieberman is still ahead in South Carolina. He's staked out the center. But in this race, being anti-Bush is probably the only way to get the nomination. And if you were to put Dean and Lieberman into a Cuisinart, you'd come out and have one normal candidate, in that Dean is so angry, and no matter what Joe Lieberman says, it comes out as reasonable and considered and decent, not the kind of stuff that's going to energize activist Democrats. And for the next 60 days, I think this is the last time we're going to see Gore and Lieberman, a speech covered by them, because the next 60 days, all politics is California…SHIELDS: And -- good point. And Bob Novak, I was in Chicago for the [AFL-CIO] debate, or whatever you want to call it, the day after Joe Lieberman makes his attack on Howard Dean, and the -- it, it's -- that's it, he never says -- picks up that theme again…NOVAK: He (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cannot win a Democratic nomination by saying the ideological leader can't win, or that he is off the mainstream. It just doesn't work. And Joe Lieberman's campaign is, is, is, is the most dysfunctional, because he seems to be running in a nonexistent national primary. There is no national primary. He's not going to win South Carolina. I don't know who is, but it isn't going to be Joe Lieberman. But they have to -- the establishment has to figure out a way to stop Dean if they're going to stop him. They're not going to stop him with Joe Lieberman…SHIELDS: One problem, Al Hunt, with trying to stop Howard Dean is, there's no establishment front-runner consensus candidate around whom to organize…HUNT: Well, that's right, Mark. Of course, Dean is driving the insiders crazy. Look, this is not about ideology. It is true that Howard Dean opposed the Iraqi war. So did that notorious lefty Robert D. Novak. It strikes me that the greatest passion that Dean brings when it comes to issues is fiscal responsibility. And he's actually to the right of Democrats on some issues. But what Dean -- the tsunami that Dean has caught, as Margaret alluded to a moment ago, is this deep and pervasive anti-Bush current. Now, that may not be enough to win a general election among Democratic voters. That may not be enough to win a general election, but it's sure a requisite for winning the primary. And Joe Lieberman better understand you can't win primaries campaigning as Bush lite.”

… Edwards tries to make point on education – and criticizes Bush – with visit to slave school in South Carolina. Excerpt of AP coverage by AP’s Bruce Smith in yesterday’s Greenville News: “Democratic presidential contender U.S. Sen. John Edwards visited the site of the nation's first school for freed slaves Saturday and attacked President George Bush's education record. ‘In many ways we still have two public school systems in America - one for the haves and one for the have-nots,’ Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat, told a crowd of about 100 people gathered at the Penn Center on this sea island near Beaufort, S.C. ‘The president has talked about his slogan no child left behind. But I have served on the Education Committee and my concern is this president is actually leaving millions of children behind,’ Edwards said to loud applause and hoots from the audience. Edwards was campaigning before South Carolina's first-in-the-South Democratic presidential primary next February. The Penn Center, which runs a number of community outreach programs for island residents, began in 1862 as a school for freed slaves after Union forces captured the area early in the Civil War. Edwards said the president has failed to provide enough money to even pay for his own education plan. ‘We have to address the serious needs in our public schools, particularly narrowing the gap between the two public school systems in America,’ Edwards said. Edwards called for a national initiative to boost teacher pay and for pay incentives to encourage good teachers to teach in poorly performing schools. He also said there needs to be more investment in early childhood education programs and in after-school programs. After-school programs can provide students with a place to go so they are off the streets and productive, Edwards said. ‘The president's solution was to cut half a million after-school slots,’ said Edwards. ‘This is not what he values. This is not what he puts his priorities on. For the president, public education is a slogan. It's a political issue.’ Then Edwards added: ‘For me, this is personal.’”

… Must read. Headline from editorial in yesterday’s Washington Post: “Mr. Gore Blurred View” Excerpt: “The 2004 presidential race seems to be carrying the Democratic Party in a dangerous direction on the issues of the Iraq war and national security -- dangerous for the nation and risky for the party too. Some of the candidates are more off course than others. If they listen to former vice president Al Gore, who took it upon himself last week to suggest a theme of attack for the nine candidates, they will all go off the cliff. Mr. Gore, who not so long ago was describing Iraq as a ‘virulent threat in a class by itself,’ validated just about every conspiratorial theory of the antiwar left. President Bush, in distorting evidence about the Iraqi threat, was pursuing policies ‘designed to benefit friends and supporters.’ The war was waged ‘at least partly in order to ensure our continued access to oil.’ And it occurred because ‘false impressions’ precluded the nation from conducting a serious debate before the war. This notion -- that we were all somehow bamboozled into war -- is part of Mr. Gore's larger conviction that Mr. Bush has put one over on the nation, and not just with regard to Iraq. You can see why he might want to think so. Mr. Gore believes, for example, that the Patriot Act represents ‘a broad and extreme invasion of our privacy rights in the name of terrorism.’ But then how to explain that 98 senators -- including all four Democratic senators now running for president -- voted for it? The president's economic and environmental policies represent an ‘ideologically narrow agenda’ serving only ‘powerful and wealthy groups and individuals who manage to work their way into the inner circle.’ But then why do so many other people support those policies? Mr. Gore has an umbrella explanation, albeit one that many Americans might find a tad insulting: ‘The administration has developed a highly effective propaganda machine to embed in the public mind mythologies…’ Thus, Mr. Gore maintains, we were all under the ‘false impression’ that Saddam Hussein was ‘on the verge of building nuclear bombs,’ that he was ‘about to give the terrorists poison gas and deadly germs,’ that he was partly responsible for the 9/11 attacks. And because of these ‘false impressions,’ the nation didn't conduct a proper debate about the war. But there was extensive debate going back many years; last fall and winter the nation debated little else. Mr. Bush took his case to the United Nations. Congress argued about and approved a resolution authorizing war. And the approval did not come, as Mr. Gore and other Democrats now maintain, because people were deceived into believing that Saddam Hussein was an ‘imminent’ threat who had attacked the World Trade Center or was about to do so.”

… New York Times: Due to Dean surge, Kerry forced to recalibrate his approach in Iowa and New Hampshire. Times headline: “As Campaign Tightens, Kerry Sharpens Message” Excerpt from weekend report by Adam Nagourney: “Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had just finished a walking tour through Littleton, a small town near here in the White Mountains, when he paused to take questions from local reporters outside a candy store. There was one subject this day: Howard Dean. Again and again, Mr. Kerry was asked his views of Dr. Dean. Again and again, Mr. Kerry, who had passed a half-dozen Dean placards on his walk, demurred. When a television reporter taunted Mr. Kerry to at least utter Dr. Dean's name, Mr. Kerry, who is rarely at a loss for words, grinned and pinched his mouth shut. This is Mr. Kerry's world these days. Three months after many Democrats and Mr. Kerry himself thought he was rolling to the Democratic presidential nomination, he is frequently stuck in the shadow of an opponent who has moved from small-bore annoyance to potential threat. By all appearances, the changed atmosphere in the early battlegrounds of Iowa and New Hampshire has forced Mr. Kerry to recalibrate his approach to the crowded race for the nomination. By his own account, Mr. Kerry's campaign message — which even some supporters described as toothless and themeless back when the fight seemed simpler — has become sharper, more focused and more compact. A candidate who has a reputation for circular speaking and windy orations is invoking Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman (‘I'm going to tell the truth and they'll think it's hell.’), and sounding campaign notes from John McCain, Paul Wellstone and, well, Dr. Dean. Mr. Kerry is denouncing corporate chieftains for ‘looting America,’ and proclaiming the economy under President Bush the worst since the Great Depression. He is attacking Mr. Bush's credibility and competence on issues as different as tax cuts and the postwar cleanup in Iraq to large and enthusiastic crowds in New Hampshire and Iowa. ‘This is the greatest say-one-thing-do-another administration that I've seen in all the time I've been in public life — since Richard Nixon was president of the United States,’ Mr. Kerry said in Minneapolis. After what many Democrats, including Dr. Dean, described as vacillation on the subject, Mr. Kerry is now standing by his decision to vote for the war in Iraq, arguing, ‘I didn't take the easy road, but I took the road that I thought was correct.’ He is seeking to claim the mantle in 2004 for expanded health care coverage, an idea that was pioneered in this campaign by Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Dr. Dean. He is also following Dr. Dean into the campaign computer age. Last week, he began his own campaign Web log, or blog, to provide a digest of his travels, modeled after the blog Dr. Dean has used with great success to rally supporters and contributors. And more than ever, Mr. Kerry is invoking his stature as a Vietnam veteran as he challenges the stature of his Democratic opponents — none of whom, he frequently points out, have ‘worn the uniform of our country’ — to withstand a debate with Mr. Bush on national security…Mr. Kerry said any changes in his style and campaign — which he said would become even more vivid as he approaches the official announcement of his candidacy next month — were not in response to the ascendancy of Dr. Dean. Rather, Mr. Kerry said over the roar of a private jet flying him through the Midwest last week, any such changes were testimony of his evolution as a candidate, the natural rhythms of a campaign, and the increasing vigor he has felt in the months since he had cancer surgery…Whatever the reason, the change is bracing, and suggests that the fall campaign will be lively, if polls continue to show Mr. Kerry and Dr. Dean battling for support in states like [New Hampshire].”

… Too good to pass up. The Grahams in Iowa: Graham takes in Iowa scenery, exudes confidence and optimism, and gets questions on “hog lots” – but has a tough time finding supportive caucusgoers. Weekend headline from the Orlando Sentinel: “Graham works hard, but few voters seem impressed” The Sentinel’s political ace Mark Silva joins the Graham family on their Iowa “vacation.” Excerpt: “Adele Graham, silhouetted in the shade of a long and fabled covered bridge, strolls through one of Madison County's flat-roofed river-crossings popularized in a sentimental best-seller about middle-aged romance. ‘Don't we have a pretty country?’ Graham asks a granddaughter clutching a purple alfalfa flower from the cornfields along the Middle River, where the Holliwell Bridge has stood since 1880. ‘Iowa is a park . . . so beautiful.’ Yet Iowa is no walk in the park for her husband, Bob Graham, one of nine Democrats in search of his party's 2004 presidential nomination. Graham, Florida's senior senator and former governor, has his entire family in tow as he tours the state where so far he has a mere sliver of support. Six other Democrats are running stronger in Iowa, which on Jan. 19 will take the first measure of presidential candidates, according to a poll here. But that hasn't dissuaded Graham from embracing the challenge with a single-minded fervor. ‘My father can be elected,’ Graham's first-born daughter, Gwen, assures a roomful of elderly Iowans at lunch on the tree-lined courthouse square of this village. Winterset, where five historic covered bridges survive, served as the setting for the 1995 film based on Robert James Waller's weeper about a brief love affair between a photographer and a married woman. There is something aggressively wholesome about this campaign. The sun is setting one breezy evening by the shore of a lake, as Graham, 66, and his wife start singing their campaign song to 50 people who turn out for barbecued bratwurst and sweet corn on the cob. ‘You've got a friend in Bob Graham,’ sing the candidate, his wife and four grown daughters, the women all dressed in matching, embroidered white overalls. Hearing the familiar refrain, 10 Graham grandchildren scramble across the grass to join in the chorus. ‘When you elect a president, you elect a family,’ says Adele Graham, wife of 44 years to the man who predicted when she was 18 that one day he would be elected Florida's governor. He will be elected president, Adele Graham passionately tells crowd after crowd with a confidence that conveys a guarantee of truth. The candidate's own spirits are lifted even higher by a hot-air balloon ride Friday at the Indianola Balloon Classic. Yet the political landscape below offers little support for unbridled optimism. The newest statewide survey ranks Graham's support at 1 percent among likely caucus-goers. Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont riding a summer wave, has advanced to equal standing here with Dick Gephardt, the congressman from Missouri who carried Iowa's caucuses in his last presidential campaign 15 years ago. Graham confronts the reality of Dean's growing support as he tours the Iowa State Fair, a Midwestern Disney World where butter-carved sculptures of an Ayrshire dairy cow and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle are on display and ‘pork on a stick’ is consumed with a passion. This year's concession to good health: ‘salad on a stick.’…Graham's family tour started with the fair, where the Floridian was the first presidential candidate to stand at a ‘soapbox’ sponsored by the Register and make a pitch. His grandchildren, seated on hay bales in a semicircle, listen intently as their ‘Doodle’ explains why Bush must be retired, but never more than a half-dozen fair-goers at any one time pause and listen to grandpa, and then move on. ‘President Bush has clearly established what his vision is,’ Graham tells his restless audience. ‘His vision of the future is one in which the rich get the most attention in which America uses its power as an arrogant bully.’ Bush has cast ‘a veil of secrecy’ over the war, Graham complains, a secrecy unknown since Richard Nixon was president. When he finishes, Graham asks for questions. It's about ‘hog lots.’ Sue Droessler wants to know what Graham will do about the hog lots cropping up around the Kossuth County town where her family lives. The smell is so bad, she complains, that they can't open their windows. It's a problem of unchecked corporate power, Graham replies. The Justice Department has not enforced antitrust laws, he says, adding: ‘One of the first things I will do as president is to fire [Attorney General] John Ashcroft.’”

go to page 2                                                                                                             click here  to read past Iowa Daily Reports