|
Quotable:
On GRAHAM |
"He's not connecting here with voters.”
-- Richard Bennett, president of
American Research Group, referring to
Graham’s 2% showing in latest New
Hampshire poll
“For his sake and Florida's, he should
drop out of the presidential race.”
– Orlando Sentinel editorial
“There are a host of states, starting
February 3, where Bob Graham starts
winning.”
-- Jamal Simmons, Graham
campaign spokesman |
|
Quotable:
On GEPHARDT |
“According to Gephardt campaign
sources, [AFL-CIO President John] Sweeney
personally asked the congressman not to
press labor to support him. Gephardt was
at a loss of how to answer.”
–
Novak’s column
“[Gephardt] must convince some powerful
leaders of large service and public sector
unions that he is not yesterday's
candidate. He's had mixed results.”
– AP’s Leigh Strope, writing about
Gephardt’s efforts to secure
AFL-CIO endorsement
“Union backing is essential if he is to
win the Iowa caucuses and escape instant
early elimination.”
–
Columnist Robert Novak, on
Gephardt’s continuing quest to lineup
labor support |
|
Quotable:
On DEAN |
"Still, Dean's lack of gubernatorial
support is notable, if only because he is
one of two candidates who brings a state
perspective to the issues and because of
his involvement in the governors'
organizations.”
–
Washington Post report
“A kind of perfect storm is now pushing
Howard Dean up toward the 2004 Democratic
presidential nomination - with a new storm
surge added by the tragic terror bombing
of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad.”
– New York Post columnist Deborah Orin |
|
Quotable: On LIEBERMAN |
“Look, I’m an independent-minded
Democrat, and there’s just a lot of
independent-minded people here in New
Hampshire.”
–
Lieberman, maintaining optimistic
outlook despite his drop – to 4% -- in
latest NH polling |
|
Quotable:
On KERRY |
“Once the presumed front-runner, Kerry is
seeking to revive his slumping campaign as
the traditional Labor Day kickoff nears.”
–
Boston Herald report by Andrew Miga
“In these fading August days, there are
murmurs about two fading Boston-based
campaigns -- the Boston Red Sox in yet
another pennant race and the Kerry
presidential campaign.”
–
Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi
“We're in this no matter what happens in
Iowa and New Hampshire. South Carolina,
Michigan, those places down the road might
be the salvation if we don't prevail in
New Hampshire.”
– Kerry
supporter in Vennochi’s Globe column,
commenting on decision to announce
candidacy in Charleston |
|
Quotable:
On EDWARDS |
"The most admired fresh face in the
presidential race
once belonged to Sen. John Edwards, who
downplayed being anointed People
magazine's ‘sexiest politician in America’
while telling Democrats that his charisma
and Southern roots could win back the
White House.”
–
Chicago Tribune’s Jeff Zeleny,
reporting on Edwards’ upcoming
challenges
“In fact, among the Democratic candidates,
only Al Sharpton has less experience in
elective office.”
– Zeleny, on concerns about
Edwards’ inexperience |
|
Quotable:
On SHARPTON |
“She offered no immediate comment Thursday
on her husband's choice of candidates”
–
From AP report on Lieberman NY campaign
director Basil Smikle, whose wife Marjorie
is on the Sharpton payroll |
|
Quotable:
On IOWA |
"This is not worth it. It’s like trying to put
chocolate on a stink bomb.”
– Harkin spokesperson Allison Dobson,
discussing Nussle’s comments about
Harkin’s criticisms of the prescription
drug bill.
|
GENERAL
NEWS:
Among
the offerings in today's update:
-
Orlando
Sentinel editorial – Graham should “bow
to political reality by bowing out”
-
People
Powered Howard is not Governor Powered
Howard.
Washington
Post finds absence of gubernatorial backing
for Dean
-
Union
endorsement chaos continues: Columnist Novak
reports that Teamsters could endorse GWB if
Gephardt is not the Dem nominee
-
Edwards
continues to pursue late-comeback strategy,
planning to make stand in southern states
after Iowa and New Hampshire
-
While most
Dem wannabes measure their candidacies by
poll numbers, the magic number for
Sharpton may be $193,131.37 – the amount
a New York travel agency is suing him for
unpaid travel fares
-
Graham
campaign holding weekend strategy session,
but no indication he’s about to fold prez
campaign tent
-
NY Post
columnist Orin: Baghdad blast boosts
Dean, “Arnie mania” sucking up airtime and
media coverage -- and “freezing” Dean as the
frontrunner. Who will notice Kerry’s “formal
announcement” in two weeks?
-
New
Dem group launches effort to “recall” Bush
-
Gephardt
picks up 12th union endorsement, but still
struggles to get numbers needed for AFL-CIO
nod
-
In IA, RNC
Chair Gillespie accused the Dem aspirants of
“bitter partisanship and shrill rhetoric”
-
Dean’s
previous campaign antics exposed: This isn’t
the first time he’s played the public
funding flip-flop game
-
In Virginia,
Edwards hits Bush on jobs and civil
liberties
-
Report
of the morning:
Federally-funded “Hot & Healthy Summer Sex
Workshop” in San Francisco today
-
Endorsements: Anti-war wannabe Dean
picks up support of former Marine Corps
commandant – but Edwards gets backing of
former IA “Gov.” Bob Fulton. In addition
to Fulton, Edwards says 209 other
Iowa Dem “activists” are in his political
corner
-
Kerry’s
“change of venue” for his announcement – to
the South – seen as protection against
possible IA, NH setbacks
-
In New
Hampshire, Lieberman continues attacks on
GWB, dismisses latest slide in NH poll
-
The
Filibustering Democrats: Study says more
than 98% of votes to filibuster GOP judicial
nominations come from Dem Sens
-
Kerry and
Graham – what a surprise! – blame GWB for
Baghdad bombing
-
Nussle
and Harkin tussle over prescription drug
bill, Nussle calls Harkin’s criticism
“bewildering”
-
Graham’s
auto racing stable attracts more coverage.
It’s hard to believe the cars his campaign
sponsors could finish lower on the track
than his poll standings on the campaign
trail
-
Kerry
plans series of large-scale events – with
800-plus contributors at each – in
conjunction with his campaign kickoff
-
Sports:
Drag racing legends Shirley Muldowney and
“Big Daddy” meet tomorrow night on legendary
Quad-City strip
-
Iowaism:
Orange City paint company helping Keep
Iowa Beautiful
All these stories below and more.
Morning reports:
The Quad-City
Times reports that a 22-year-old former
Davenport resident – John William Roche, who
now lives in Iowa City – was arrested
yesterday and charged with threatening to kill
the woman who has accused basketball star Kobe
Bryant of sexual assault. Roche was
indicated by a federal grand jury in Denver of
allegedly leaving the threatening message on
an answering machine
The
countdown continues through tomorrow –
until 4 p.m. -- for those who took more than
$260,000 following an armored truck mishap
along Interstate 80 near Grinnell to
return the money. The Iowa State Patrol set
the deadline – and guaranteed amnesty for
passersby who turn it in – after the back
door of the truck came open and about $320,000
spilled out. Two Las Vegas residents who
drove away with some of the cash have been
charged with theft
KCCI-TV (Des
Moines) reported that the widow of an
Iowa National Guardsman who died after
suffering heatstroke in Iraq is asking Iowans
to honor U. S. soldiers by taking on the
August heat and humidity. Brooke Kirchhoff
of Anamosa – whose husband Pfc. David
Kirchhoff was buried in Cedar Rapids
yesterday – wants Iowans to turn off their
air conditioners and fans on 8/31
The dominant story today along the Highway
20 corridor across northern Iowa is that a new
four-lane road will be open between
Dubuque and Fort Dodge before
evening. Officials were scheduled to
participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony near
Steamboat Rock this afternoon to open
the final section of the highway through
Hardin (Iowa Falls) and Grundy (Grundy
Center) counties. Next up: To complete the
four-lane from border to border – a segment
from Fort Dodge to Sioux City.
Morning
quiz: The Edwards campaign – as noted above
– has announced that former Iowa Gov. Robert
Fulton has endorsed the NC Sen’s candidacy.
The question: When did Fulton serve as
governor? The answer: Jan. 1, 1969 to Jan.
16, 1969. Fulton – of Waterloo – was
lieutenant governor under Dem Gov. Harold
Hughes, who left office early to gain
seniority in the U. S. Senate. Fulton served
until Robert D. Ray, a Des Moines
Republican, was inaugurated on Jan. 16,
1969.
CANDIDATES
& CAUCUSES:
… “Bow out, Bob
Graham” – headline on Orlando Sentinel
editorial. Excerpt from yesterday’s Sentinel
editorial: “For his sake and Florida's, he
should drop out of the presidential race. Sen.
Bob Graham and his senior political advisers
face a choice when they meet this weekend to
discuss strategy for his presidential bid: Try
to fix a foundering campaign, or bow to
political reality by bowing out. The
second option is best for the Miami Lakes
Democrat and his Florida constituents. It's
time for him to quit the presidential race and
declare his intention to run again for the
Senate seat he has so ably filled for three
terms. Mr. Graham has not closed the
door on running for re-election. But the
longer he continues his long-shot bid for
president, the more he risks diminishing his
effectiveness as a senator. Mr. Graham
has built a reputation as one of the Senate's
most authoritative and respected voices on a
wide range of issues, from intelligence to
foreign policy to health care to homeland
security. His influence was peaking as he
launched his presidential campaign earlier
this year. But in refashioning himself as a
Democratic candidate for president, Mr. Graham
has moved away from the moderate, bipartisan
approach he has successfully followed in
Washington. His shifts to the political
left and partisanship during the campaign
already have alienated political moderates in
Florida. As chairman of the Senate's
intelligence panel, Mr. Graham was one
of the most thoughtful and credible critics of
President George W. Bush's policies in the war
on terrorism. Now that he has been repeating
that criticism on the campaign trail, it's too
easy to dismiss it as mere politics. What Mr.
Graham is giving up in stature isn't
even helping him on the campaign trail. In
Iowa, which kicks off the presidential
nominating season with caucuses Jan. 19,
Mr. Graham was the choice of just 1 percent of
likely voters in a recent poll -- putting him
even with the Rev. Al Sharpton. In New
Hampshire, site of the nation's first
presidential primary on Jan. 27, another
recent survey showed Mr. Graham with
the support of 2 percent of likely voters.
While the New Hampshire balloting is still
more than five months off, he has been stuck
at 2 percent there since June. Mr. Graham's
advisers insist he's in a position to win
primaries in South Carolina and other states
on Feb. 3. But it is unrealistic to think a
candidate now polling in low single digits in
New Hampshire could be a favorite a week
later, even someplace closer to home. The
possibility of Mr. Graham giving up his
Senate seat after 18 years has drawn a crowd
of would-be successors from both political
parties. None matches Mr. Graham in
stature. It could take whoever wins years to
approach the level of effectiveness achieved
by Florida's senior senator. Mr. Graham has
been a great asset to Florida -- the reason we
have strongly endorsed him in his campaigns
for the Senate. That's where he belongs.”
… Graham campaign will
probably tackle key agenda item this weekend –
how to get to 3% support in New Hampshire
polls. Headline from Wednesday’s Orlando
Sentinel: “Graham, key advisers set up
strategy session” Coverage – an excerpt –
by the Sentinel’s Mark Silva: “Sen. Bob
Graham will meet with senior advisers this
weekend, hoping to fine-tune the strategy for
a Democratic presidential campaign that polls
show is making no headway in key early-voting
states. Graham's aides downplay the
significance of Saturday's parley in Miami
Lakes, site of the campaign headquarters and
home for Florida's senior senator and former
governor. They call it a routine
strategy-planner for critical months ahead.
But results from a new poll in New Hampshire,
scene of the first presidential primary
election in January, underscore how
critical the next few months will be for a
Floridian trailing a pack of Democrats for
the 2004 nomination. Howard Dean, the
former governor of Vermont riding a surge of
summer momentum, has jumped ahead of
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in New
Hampshire, according to the survey by
Manchester, N.H.-based American Research
Group. Graham's lingering, 2 percent
standing among likely primary voters in New
Hampshire couples with a poor showing in Iowa,
scene of the first party caucuses. Aides
have started to signal that Graham, continuing
to hope for respectable support in New
Hampshire and Iowa in January, is counting
more heavily on a series of primary elections
in South Carolina and other states that will
vote Feb. 3. Graham will carry his
campaign to South Carolina this week.
‘There are a host of states, starting February
3, where Bob Graham starts winning,’
spokesman Jamal Simmons said Tuesday,
campaigning with the senator in New Hampshire
and careful not to write off the campaign
there. Graham ‘still has room to grow’ in
New Hampshire, Simmons said. ‘I think
we're making our case and people are starting
to respond, and the polls will start to show
it soon.’ If Graham is gaining in the
Granite State, it hasn't registered yet.
Graham, who has campaigned since April,
remains the favorite among just 2 percent of
voters likely to take part in New Hampshire's
Jan. 27 primary in a survey released Tuesday.
The poll portrays a three-month-long flat
line, since June, when Graham also
pulled 2 percent in New Hampshire. ‘He's not
connecting here with voters,’ said Richard
Bennett, president of American Research
Group.”
… Sharpton
– acknowledged as occupying the caboose on the
Wannabe Train – gets sued by NY travel agency
for non-payment of $200,000. From AP
report: “A New York travel agency has sued Al
Sharpton, claiming the Democratic
presidential candidate ran up a bill of nearly
$200,000 and has yet to pay a cent.
Sharpton said Thursday the company, Alpha
International Travel Inc., is simply trying to
cash in on his run for the White House - and
plans to ask prosecutors to seek criminal
charges against the agency. The travel
agency says it booked flights and hotel
reservations for Sharpton in 2001 and
2002, allowing the minister and civil rights
leader to pay later as a public service. But
Sharpton and his National Action Network
activist organization have repeatedly ignored
invoices and calls seeking payment of the
full bill of $193,131.37, Alpha International
president Colin Hall said. ‘I thought at the
time I was doing a service for the community,
helping him out,’ Hall said in a telephone
interview. ‘He owes the money. We're just
trying to get paid, and he doesn't want to
pay.’”
… Gephardt picks
up 12th union endorsement. He now has unions
with collective membership of about 3.5
million – but remains about 5M short of number
needed for AFL-CIO endorsement. Headline
from CNN.com: “Gephardt nabs 12th union
endorsement in presidential bid…Missouri
Democrat a longtime ally of labor” Coverage by
AP’s Leigh Strope: “Dick Gephardt picked up
his 12th union endorsement Wednesday in his
campaign to win the full support of the
AFL-CIO in the Democratic presidential
contest. The Paper, Allied-Industrial,
Chemical and Energy Workers union, with
300,000 members, announced the endorsement in
a statement. A conference call with
Gephardt and the union's president, Boyd
Young, was planned later Wednesday. ‘Dick
Gephardt has a long track record of
supporting workers' issues,’ Young said in the
statement. ‘Time and time again, he has proven
his support for the American worker, whether
it was concerning unfair trade agreements or
health care for all.’ The Missouri
congressman is a longtime ally of organized
labor and would seem to be the automatic
choice for an endorsement by the AFL-CIO,
which has 65 affiliate unions with 13 million
members. He is the only one of the nine
Democratic hopefuls to win endorsements from
international unions. But Gephardt,
who ran unsuccessfully in 1988, must convince
some powerful leaders of large service and
public sector unions that he is not
yesterday's candidate. He's had mixed
results. Gephardt failed to meet his national
fund-raising goals, and his lead as measured
by polls in Iowa, where the first votes will
be cast for president in 2004, has been erased
by insurgent candidate Howard Dean. Union
support brings a campaign thousands of foot
soldiers working on a candidate's behalf, and
money to help back those efforts. To get the
AFL-CIO endorsement, a candidate must win
support from two-thirds of the federation's 13
million members, or 8.7 million. So far,
Gephardt's 12 union endorsements have a
collective membership of about 3.5 million.”
(NOTE: See related Novak column below.)
… After
hitting Dem wannabes for practicing “bitter
partisanship and shrill rhetoric,” RNC’s
Gillespie promises to return to Iowa on a
“regular basis” to recruit GOP voters – and
counter Democratic criticisms of GWB.
Excerpt from report by AP Iowa caucus-watcher
Mike Glover: “The Republican National
Committee chairman is trying to counter the
attention that the Democratic candidates for
president are getting. Ed Gillespie
accused the contenders of ‘bitter partisanship
and shrill rhetoric.’ He toured Iowa's
Republican Party headquarters on Thursday, met
with activists and held a fund-raising
breakfast. ‘I can tell you I will be back
on a regular basis,’ Gillespie said. The
nine leading Democratic candidates have
campaigned relentlessly in Iowa for
January's precinct caucuses, which provide an
early indication of strength and help to
narrow the field. While each of the candidates
try to stand out among the group, they
constantly attack Bush to fire up party
activists. During his trip, Gillespie
fattened Iowa's GOP coffers by $20,000 as he
worked to shore up backing in a state that
President Bush lost by only 4,000 votes in the
last election cycle.”
… Dean – one of two ex-govs
in wannabe field – finds support from past
colleagues lacking. On prospect of Dem govs
rallying around Dean, Vilsack says: “It’s not
going to happen.” Headline from
Wednesday’s Washington Post: “Governors
Delay on Dean…Democrats Hold Off on
Endorsing Former Peer for President” Excerpt
of report by the Post’s political A-team – Dan
Balz and David S. Broder -- from Guvs meeting
in Indy: “Former Vermont governor Howard
Dean has powered his way to the top tier of
the Democratic presidential race by energizing
the party's rank and file, but he has had much
tougher luck wooing one of his natural
consistencies: his fellow governors. Dean's
lack of success in attracting endorsements
from Democratic chief executives stands in
sharp contrast President Bush's success four
years ago among Republican governors. The GOP
governors coalesced early around the candidacy
of the then-governor of Texas, and their
financial and political support helped push
him to the nomination and eventually the White
House. In contrast to the Republicans in 2000,
Democratic governors this year have
remained on the sidelines as Dean's candidacy
has gained strength and support. On the
basis of interviews with many of the Democrats
who are attending the National Governors
Association (NGA) meeting here this week, it
appears unlikely that Dean can expect to
see significant gubernatorial support anytime
soon. ‘It's not going to happen,’ said
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who holds open
the possibility of eventually endorsing one of
the nine Democratic presidential candidates
but who remains neutral for now. Virginia Gov.
Mark Warner said, ‘I don't see any move at
this point for governors to move as a bloc.’
None of Dean's rivals has had any better
luck, and the Democratic governors here
said that circumstances are far different than
they were for Bush four years ago or for Bill
Clinton, who ran in 1992 with more significant
support among his fellow governors than
Dean enjoys. Half of the 24 Democratic
governors are new to their offices and are
more concerned about the economic difficulties
in their states than playing a role in
presidential politics. Nearly all face serious
fiscal problems and need to put together
coalitions to pass spending cuts to balance
their budgets -- coalitions that might be
jeopardized by siding with one presidential
candidate over another. ‘I don't think it's
a comment about Howard Dean or a criticism of
Howard Dean,’ Vilsack said. ‘It's a comment
about the whole situation.’ Still,
Dean's lack of gubernatorial support is
notable, if only because he is one of two
candidates who brings a state perspective to
the issues and because of his involvement in
the governors' organizations. Sen. Bob
Graham (Fla.) is the only other Democratic
candidate with experience running a state, but
because his gubernatorial service came during
the 1980s, he has few ties to the current
generation of Democratic governors. Dean,
on the other hand, served as Vermont's chief
executive throughout the 1990s, was chairman
of the NGA from 1994 to 1995 and later served
as chairman of the Democratic Governors'
Association (DGA) and as the DGA's chief of
candidate recruitment. Despite those
connections, not one incumbent governor has
announced his support for Dean. The
only ones who have backed a candidate have
endorsed home-state candidates. Sen. John
Edwards (N.C.) has the support of North
Carolina's Mike Easley and former governor Jim
Hunt, while Rep. Richard A. Gephardt
(Mo.) has been endorsed by Missouri Gov. Bob
Holden.”
… Kerry abandons “Old
Ironsides” announcement scenario in effort to
protect southern flank – just in case things
go sour in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Headline from yesterday’s Boston Globe: “Kerry
to head south for announcement” Excerpt
from column by Globe’s Joan Vennochi: “Senator
John F. Kerry plans to make a Sept. 2 public
announcement that he is running for president.
That is not news. The news is where he plans
to tell us what we already know: not in
Massachusetts but in South Carolina. Last
month, after ‘two days of meetings with 21 top
political aides,’ Kerry discussed his
plans for a ‘formal announcement speech
possibly set against a backdrop of the USS
Constitution’ in Boston Harbor. The thinking
at the time, as reported on July 9 by the
Globe's Glen Johnson: ‘The backdrop of ‘Old
Ironsides,’ the Navy's oldest commissioned
warship, would not only pay tribute to the
region's history but the candidate's unique
Navy combat experience.’ So, why the change
of venue? ‘The logistics of that were just
too difficult to pull off -- crowd building,
busing supporters, etc. It just made much more
sense to do the big rally in a central
location right after work,’ said a Kerry
campaign aide who did not want to be named. A
Boston political consultant and Kerry
supporter who also did not want to be named
summed up the campaign strategy more honestly:
‘We're in this no matter what happens in Iowa
and New Hampshire. South Carolina, Michigan,
those places down the road might be the
salvation if we don't prevail in New
Hampshire.’ Kerry's plan calls for a
morning announcement speech in Charleston,
then off to a speech in Des Moines. The
next day Kerry is scheduled to fly to
Manchester, N.H. A Faneuil Hall rally that
evening will make Boston his last stop,
according to current plans. To political
junkies, Kerry's revised itinerary speaks
volumes. With all due respect for the usual
caveat about polls being snapshots at a moment
in time, current polling snapshots do not
paint a breezy political picture for the Kerry
presidential campaign in Iowa or New Hampshire…Dean
pulled ahead of Kerry in New Hampshire
for the first time in a monthly poll ranking
the Democratic candidates. Dean
received 28 percent in the August survey
conducted by the American Research Groups Inc.
of Manchester, N.H., compared with 21 percent
for Kerry. A similar poll in July
showed Kerry leading Dean 25
percent to 19. News of the New Hampshire
poll and the Kerry announcement itinerary
inspired the Massachusetts GOP to send out a
press release headlined, ‘Kerry heads South --
in polls and for his official campaign
announcement.’ In these fading August
days, there are murmurs about two fading
Boston-based campaigns -- the Boston Red Sox
in yet another pennant race and the Kerry
presidential campaign. But really, it is
too early to write off either. The Sox are
still in the American League wild card race,
and, on paper, Kerry is more than a wild
card in the race for the nomination. He is
still the Democrat with the broadest
experience and strongest credentials to take
on President Bush in 2004. Losing New
Hampshire would be serious for Kerry, but
would it be fatal to his campaign? Bill
Clinton lost the New Hampshire primary and
went on to beat the first President Bush.
Demonstrating an ability to compete in the
South -- the base for another Democratic
presidential hopeful, North Carolina's Senator
John Edwards -- would be a great
advantage for Kerry. A Southern
strategy, illustrated by an announcement in
Charleston, shows some guts, even if it is
fueled by a certain desperation about
potential outcomes in Iowa and New Hampshire.
But to win the nomination, Kerry must
demonstrate guts about more than political
strategy. He has to show some heart and soul
and do it with more conviction and less
ponderous rhetoric. A little humility
wouldn't hurt, and neither would a sense of
humor, especially toward Dean and the
unexpected challenge he presents. He
should forget about theatrics like hopping on
motorcycles and offering hugs to mothers of
soldiers. With Kerry such tactics seem
contrived. Massachusetts knows Kerry.
As always, familiarity breeds a measure of
contempt, magnifying weaknesses. But
Massachusetts also knows its senator's
strengths. They include intelligence and
determination. Kerry must show that and
more. A candidate who is good only on paper
cannot defeat a flesh-and-blood president.
That is true in the South and everywhere.”
… Finally,
something works right – unlike the Nov. ’04
election – for the Dems. All concur –
apparently – on September debate site.
Excerpt from AP coverage: “The fourth of
seven planned televised debates for the nine
Democratic presidential candidates will be
held on the campus of Pace University in New
York, the school's president, David A.
Caputo, announced Wednesday. The Sept. 25
debate, hosted by cable network CNBC and
The Wall Street Journal, will focus on
economic issues. It will be carried live on
CNBC at 4:00 p.m. EDT and rebroadcast in its
entirety at 9 p.m. EDT on MSNBC. The debate
will be moderated by NBC News' Brian Williams
and feature panelists from CNBC and The Wall
Street Journal.“
… Best
overview/summary of the week: NY Post’s
Orin says Baghdad blast boosts Dean, forces
rivals – especially Kerry – to try to sound
more anti-war while “Arnie mania” sucks up
political coverage and airtime. Headline
on yesterday’s Deborah Orin column: “Another
Boost for Dem Dean” An excerpt: “A kind
of perfect storm is now pushing Howard Dean up
toward the 2004 Democratic presidential
nomination - with a new storm surge added
by the tragic terror bombing of U.N.
headquarters in Baghdad. That attack inspired
rival Democratic wannabes - especially
floundering Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry
- to try even harder to sound like the
anti-war-from-the-start Dean in
attacking President Bush's Iraq policy.
Sure, Dean's rivals can try to sound anti-war,
but Kerry and the other main ones all voted
for it. The activists who'll pick the
Democratic nominee are passionately anti-war,
so any bad news from Iraq revs up emotions on
the issue where Dean is strongest.
Iraq could be a prime reason the latest poll
in the key state of New Hampshire shows
Dean clearly leading Kerry, 28 to
21 percent - a big switch from last month,
when Kerry led by 6 points. There's
more to the perfect storm. Arnie mania is
sucking up all the TV space for politics, thus
freezing the Dem 2004 race in place with Dean
as front-runner. That could be most
troublesome for Kerry, who hoped to
revitalize his campaign with an ‘official’
kickoff on Sept. 2. Will the TV networks care?
Third, Arnie mania makes it hard for most Dems
to raise money, especially in California -
Dean's mastery of Internet fund-raising means
it's no big problem for him. All of which
makes it harder and harder to see how Dem
rivals can stop Dean unless he blows it
himself, perhaps with a show of his famous
temper. Republicans love this perfect storm
- they think it will sink the Democratic party
like the Titanic (or 49-state loser George
McGovern) because most Americans will never
trust Dean as commander-in-chief in an era of
terror.”
… Edwards trying to
build a political firewall between the early
nominating contests and the later Southern
states. Headline from yesterday’s Chicago
Tribune: “Edwards seeks a bounce…Anointed
the ‘sexiest politician in America’ early in
the race, the senator from North Carolina now
needs a political comeback to remain a
contender for the Democratic presidential
nomination” Excerpt from report – datelined
Richmond – by the Trib’s Jeff Zeleny: “The
most admired fresh face in the presidential
race once belonged to Sen. John Edwards, who
downplayed being anointed People magazine's
‘sexiest politician in America’ while telling
Democrats that his charisma and Southern roots
could win back the White House. But the
ascending candidacy of former Vermont Gov.
Howard Dean, as well as a crowded field
of nine contenders, has complicated the
political path for Edwards. Suddenly,
after spending a year convincing party leaders
that he was presidential material, the
North Carolina senator is fending off
suggestions that his campaign has gone dormant
and that he is having second thoughts about
the race. ‘It's a fantasy. It's not true,’
Edwards said in an interview, exasperated
by reports he might shelve his presidential
ambitions and seek another term in the Senate
next year. ‘I am 100 percent committed to this
race for the presidency and I am in it to the
end.’ The lifeline for Edwards may rest in
Virginia and a collection of other Southern
states, which for the first time are playing a
pivotal role in the presidential nominating
season. The traditional early-balloting
states of Iowa and New Hampshire are followed
by primary elections in South Carolina,
Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma, where
Edwards hopes he can build a February firewall
that would sustain his campaign until a
nominee is chosen. So this week, between
the conclusion of a six-day bus tour in Iowa
and the opening day of a similar journey
across New Hampshire, Edwards made a quick
visit to Richmond to pursue a Plan B strategy.
He hopes to gain ground on rivals who so far
have edged him out of the first, second and
third positions in the opening states of the
2004 presidential campaign. ‘If he's going
to make the argument that he's going to win,
he has to show that he can take Southern
states,’ said Jim Nachman, a Richmond
lawyer who heard Edwards speak at a
Capital Club breakfast reception Wednesday.
‘It's not lost on me that the past three
Democratic presidents were from the South.’
The fact that Edwards hails from the same side
of the Mason-Dixon Line as Lyndon Johnson,
Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton has been one of
the strongest selling points of an otherwise
unlikely presidential bid for Edwards, who has
yet to complete his first term in the Senate.
In fact, among the Democratic candidates, only
Al Sharpton has less experience in
elective office. But after raising more money
than any other candidate during the first
three months of the year, Edwards now has
embarked on an aggressive plan to
introduce--and in some cases
reintroduce--himself to voters in the early
states. To regain its footing, the
campaign has purchased more than $1 million in
advertisements in Iowa, New Hampshire and
South Carolina, telling his son-of-a-millworker-makes-good
tale. The aggressive television push, coming
before Labor Day when political campaigns
traditionally intensify, underscores the
urgent concern for Edwards. Polls
routinely show him near the bottom of the
field, registering only 2 percent in a New
Hampshire survey last week and 5 percent in
the Iowa Poll in late July. While Edwards
disagrees that there is an 11th-hour urgency
to his campaign, he concedes that the coming
months are critical if his presidential
aspirations are to continue. ‘My job is to
make sure they touch me and see me,’
Edwards said last week, as Iowa corn and
soybean fields passed by the windows of his
campaign bus. ‘Over the next three
months--August, September, October, maybe into
November--I need to be moving.’ Few voters and
Democratic activists are paying careful
attention to the candidates or the campaign
this early in the race. But several of
Edwards' admirers said privately that the
momentum built by Dean, Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts and Rep. Richard Gephardt of
Missouri are troubling and may be difficult to
overcome.”
… Hillary adviser
joins Lieberman team in NY – but it turns out
the guy’s wife is also advising Sharpton.
A couple sentences Associated Press coverage:
“Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., has hired a
top adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton,
Basil Smikle, to be director of his
presidential campaign in New York.
Smikle's wife, Marjorie Harris-Smikle, happens
to be a top aide to Sharpton, one of
Lieberman's opponents. She offered no
immediate comment Thursday on her husband's
choice of candidates. Smikle has been
Clinton's deputy state director and managed
the former first lady's field events during
her successful campaign for the U.S. Senate
seat from New York in 2000.”
… Would the
Teamsters stay on the neutral sidelines – or
even endorse Bush – if Gephardt isn’t the Dem
nominee? A possible answer in the headline on
Robert Novak’s column: “GOP still hopes to woo
Teamsters” Excerpt from Novak column in
yesterday’s Chicago Sun-Times: “When the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
endorsed Democrat Richard Gephardt Aug.
9, did that mean years of courtship by
Republicans were in vain? President Bush's
political operatives don't think so. Nor does
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa's inner
circle. No realist could imagine the
Teamsters Union not endorsing Gephardt,
who attended law school with Hoffa and has
gone down the line for the union's full
agenda. Bush political adviser Karl Rove is
above all realistic, and he has been playing
the Teamsters card as a future prospect in the
event Gephardt loses the nomination.
Both the Bush and Hoffa camps think at least
neutrality and even a Bush endorsement is
possible if Gephardt is not nominated. The
AFL-CIO's failure at its recent Chicago
meeting to endorse Gephardt as the
clearly most pro-union candidate betrays
political disarray in the labor movement.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney's regime is
compared within labor to the ineffectiveness
of predecessor George Meany's closing years.
Inability to maintain a common front
diminishes chances of keeping George W. Bush
from a second term. Bush and organized
labor look like oil and water. One Teamsters
agent says talking to his assigned contact at
the White House is like facing a television
set with the sound turned off. Contacts
between the White House and Teamsters
headquarters on Capitol Hill have become less
frequent…The obstacles still confronting
Gephardt's efforts to get the two-thirds union
support needed for an AFL-CIO endorsement have
been two bitterly feuding labor barons:
Gerald McIntee of the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees and
Andrew Stern of the Service Employees
International Union. McIntee backs Sen.
John Kerry, and Stern leans toward Howard
Dean. Gephardt strategists still have
hopes for the SEIU, as well as the United Auto
Workers and the United Food and Commercial
Workers. However, the UAW's Ron Gettelfinger
is much less political than his predecessors.
The UFCW's Doug Dority is closely tied to John
Sweeney. According to Gephardt campaign
sources, Sweeney personally asked the
congressman not to press labor to support him.
Gephardt was at a loss of how to answer.
Union backing is essential if he is to win the
Iowa caucuses and escape instant early
elimination…When Sweeney replaced Lane
Kirkland in 1995, his intent was to make
organized labor an engine for the Democrats.
After eight years of failure, the labor
movement faces the possibility of Hoffa's
Teamsters being benevolently neutral toward or
even in support of the Republican president.”
… Former
Iowa “Governor” Fulton supports Edwards while
Dean gets backing of former Marines Corps
commandant. From Associated Press roundup
report: “Trying to shore up his lack of
military expertise, presidential candidate
Howard Dean announced Thursday that he has
been endorsed by former Gen. Joseph P. Hoar,
former commandant of the Marine Corps and
the successor to Norman Schwartzkopf as head
of U.S. Central Command. The former Vermont
governor has been a vehement critic of the war
in Iraq but that position, and his lack of
foreign policy experience, have raised
questions about his ability to convince voters
that he could lead the U.S. military.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards
said his campaign for president has been
endorsed by 210 Democratic activists in Iowa,
including former Iowa Gov. Robert Fulton.”
… “Kerry out for dough
as big kickoff nears” – Headline from
yesterday’s Boston Herald. Kerry – as
formal announcements nears – plans events to
qualify for federal matching funds and top
Dean as 9/30 finance reporting deadline nears.
Excerpt from coverage by the Herald’s
Andrew Miga: “Sen. John F. Kerry,
desperate to catch surging presidential rival
Howard Dean, next month plans a fund-raising
blitz of 25 events nationwide to coincide with
his formal campaign kickoff. Kerry
(D-Mass.) is organizing several large-scale
events of 800 or more donors to be held after
he formally announces his 2004 White House bid
with a four-day trip to key primary states
beginning Labor Day. ‘We will build on the
momentum of the announcement tour by holding a
series of larger events to grow our grassroots
supporters,’ said Kerry spokeswoman
Kelley Benander. ‘We're trying to generate
excitement along with the money, and crowds
help you do that.’ Events are set for New
York, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston and
Boston where tickets will range from $25 to
$250. There is a strategic bent to such
low-dollar events: all donations less than
$250 qualify for federal matching funds.
Kerry will also court more well-heeled
fund-raisers, beginning with a ‘Nantucket
Supporters Weekend’ Sept. 5-7 limited to
supporters pledging to raise $10,000 or more
for the senator's campaign. Participants
will be treated to a cocktail party at Teresa
Heinz Kerry's Nantucket mansion and a clambake
at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport…’We
are using a combination of more traditional
methods as well as some creative new ways,
particularly on the Internet,’ said Benander,
citing a campaign Web site contest to spend a
day campaigning with Kerry. The Bay
State senator is tapping his broad national
network of financial backers in hopes of
eclipsing Dean for the third quarter
fund-raising period that ends Sept. 30.
Kerry, who also has a direct mail donor
list that is the envy of his rivals, has only
recently begun focusing on Internet
fund-raising. Once the presumed
front-runner, Kerry is seeking to revive his
slumping campaign as the traditional Labor Day
kickoff nears. Dean's emergence has
pushed Kerry back in the crowded pack,
raising questions about his message and his
ability to connect with average voters.”
… Lieberman
dismisses latest NH poll and says he will
appeal to “independent-minded” New Hampshire
voters – and attacks GWB. Headline from
yesterday’s The Union Leader: “Lieberman
criticizes Bush economic policy” Excerpted
from coverage in Hampton by the UL’s Jerry
Miller: “Appearing before more than 120
employees and guests at Fisher Scientific,
Democratic Presidential hopeful Joseph
Lieberman yesterday accused the Bush
administration of having a ‘stand-back
attitude’ to the nation’s current economic
woes and other social issues. Lieberman
spoke for nearly 25 minutes but didn’t mention
foreign policy, the war on terror, Afghanistan
or Iraq until the question-and-answer period
when he responded to a question from the
audience. The longtime U.S. senator from
Connecticut characterized Bush’s compassionate
conservatism as being little more than a
‘Trojan horse’ and said the President was at
fault for ‘allowing bad things to happen to
the American people.’ Lieberman
blamed the administration for the loss of 3.2
million jobs, including 2.5 million in
manufacturing, and added, ‘You can’t live the
American dream on an unemployment line.’ The
senator said Bush’s only solution to the
nation’s economic downturn seems to be tax
cuts, whether or not they are affordable, and
warned the nation could face a $2 trillion
dollar deficit within five years. ‘We need a
different kind of leadership to turn this
around,’ he said…Lieberman also criticized
some of his Democratic opponents — without
naming them — for wanting to return to a
so-called big government approach to the
economy. The candidate accused some of his
opponents of wanting to rescind all the Bush
tax cuts and said, ‘I don’t.’ Rather, he said,
he favors a series of ‘targeted’ tax cuts for
businesses and individual taxpayers.
Lieberman also called for full funding for
special education and the recently passed
education initiative, the No Child Left Behind
Act; and additional research funding for the
National Science Foundation, the U.S.
Departments of Energy and Defense and the
National Institutes of Health. In his sole
response to a foreign policy question,
Lieberman again reiterated his support for
the Afghanistan war and the war in Iraq, which
deposed Saddam Hussein, calling them ‘the
right thing to do.’ He faulted the Bush
administration for pulling out of a global
warming treaty and for failing to have the
country join the International Court of
Criminal Justice…Earlier in Rochester,
Lieberman dismissed a recent poll showing him
trailing fellow Democrats in the New Hampshire
primary race and said his campaign message is
just beginning to resonate in the state.
‘Look, I’m an independent-minded Democrat, and
there’s just a lot of independent-minded
people here in New Hampshire,’ Lieberman
said after a tour of businesses along Main
Street in this city of 30,000. A poll by the
American Research Group of Manchester shows
support for Lieberman has fallen from 11
percent in June to 4 percent in the poll taken
Aug. 15-18.”
… “Kerry,
Graham fault Bush in deadly Baghdad bombing”
– Headline from the Washington Times. Excerpt
from report by the Times’ Stephen Dinan:
“Yesterday's suicide bombing in Baghdad left
some Democrats calling for re-evaluating the
U.S. role in Iraq and blaming the Bush
administration for lacking foresight and
losing control of the situation in Iraq. ‘It
is becoming increasingly clear each day that
the administration misread the situation on
the ground in Iraq and lacks an adequate plan
to win the peace and protect our troops,’
said Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts
Democrat and presidential candidate, calling
on President Bush to invite more troops from
other nations to help out…Sen. Bob Graham,
Florida Democrat and another presidential
candidate, said Mr. Bush bears some blame for
the bombing, by mistakenly pursuing the war in
Iraq. ‘Had the president pursued the war
on terrorism prior to initiating military
action against Saddam Hussein — as I advocated
last year — it is likely that al Qaeda and
other terrorist networks would not have been
able to take advantage of the chaos that now
exists in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq,’
Mr. Graham said. He also called on
Mr. Bush to admit ‘he misled Americans’ by
declaring three months ago that major combat
operations had ended in Iraq. Hours before
the bombing, Sen. John McCain, Arizona
Republican, said stabilizing postwar Iraq is
proving a more difficult task than anybody
thought, and said more American troops are
probably needed.”
… Despite
new “people powered” image, Dean may still be
the same old Howard when it comes to his
public financing claims and games.
Headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader: “Dean’s
flirtation with foregoing public funding isn’t
first time” Excerpt from AP report –
dateline Montpelier, VT – by Ross Sneyd: “Howard
Dean's flirtation with foregoing spending
limits for the Democratic presidential
primaries is no surprise to the woman he beat
in his last race for governor of Vermont.
In 2000, he not only flirted, he ended up
rejecting the limits altogether and helped set
what up to then was an all-time record level
of spending on a governor's race. ‘It's
extremely reminiscent of 2000,’ said Ruth
Dwyer, the Republican who lost to Dean
that year. 2000 was the first year that
candidates for governor and lieutenant
governor in Vermont could take advantage of
publicly financed campaigns. The tradeoff was
that they would not be able to spend more than
$300,000. In Dean's case, because he was
the incumbent, the limit would have been
$255,000. Dean signed up to participate in
public financing and began raising the small
contributions necessary to qualify. In the
meantime, the law was being challenged by a
number of groups and in August of 2000, a U.S.
District Court judge declared it
unconstitutional to impose spending limits on
a candidate like Dwyer who was not seeking
public financing. That threw campaign
financing into turmoil and drew the national
parties into a race in which Dean was
considered to be vulnerable because he had
signed a few months earlier the civil unions
law granting marriage benefits to gay and
lesbian couples. So Dean - who had signed
the campaign finance law a few years earlier
and expressed support for the concept of
campaign limits as well as public funding -
backed out of spending limits and public
financing. ‘I am not going to fight this
campaign with one hand tied behind my back,’
Dean said at the time. By the time the
campaign had ended and Dean hung on to
his job with slightly more than 50 percent of
the vote, new spending records had been spent.
He and Dwyer both spent a little more than $1
million apiece and a third party candidate who
did accept public financing spent another
$300,000. Now, Democratic presidential
candidate Dean - who said as recently as March
that he was dedicated to the spending limits
built into federal law - is considering
reprising his role of 2000 on the national
stage. He said last week that some on his
campaign staff were urging him to consider
backing out of his commitment to accept
federal matching funds for his primary
campaign, which also would free him up from
limiting how much he can spend before the
general election. Some of his former
Vermont colleagues question Dean's commitment
to the campaign spending regulations that he
championed while governor. ‘I guess I
wouldn't say it's an excessive dedication,’
said state Sen. William Doyle, a Republican
who is chairman of the committee responsible
for campaign finance.”
… Between
bus tours of Iowa and New Hampshire, Edwards
stops in Virginia to deliver attack on GWB.
Headline from Wednesday’s News & Observer:
“Edwards bashes Bush on jobs, civil
liberties” Excerpt of report from Richmond
by AP’s Bob Lewis: “Democratic presidential
candidate John Edwards criticized President
Bush on the issues of civil liberties and job
creation Tuesday, accusing the president of
turning his back on factory workers and giving
companies incentives to leave the United
States. Edwards cited thousands of
job losses when Pillowtex closed factories in
North Carolina and Virginia last month. ‘The
best way for us to make sure we have an
economic recovery is to make sure George W.
Bush gets another job next year,’ Edwards
told about 100 people at a morning campaign
gathering in downtown Richmond… Edwards
said the Bush administration was more
interested in the welfare of chief executives
than workers and was actually providing
incentives for manufacturers to move their
operations overseas. ‘The last thing we
need to be doing is giving our companies a
reason to leave America,’ Edwards said
in advocating creation of a national venture
capital fund that would provide inducements to
help companies such as Pillowtex to keep their
operations in small American towns. Shawn
Smith, spokesman for the state Republican
Party, said most Virginians ‘support the
president's plan to strengthen the economy and
create jobs by allowing taxpayers to keep and
invest more of their own money. John Edwards
has no solutions other than to be critical of
the president.’ Edwards also
alleged that the Bush administration and
Attorney General John Ashcroft had weakened
protections for civil liberties as a result of
the anti-terrorism Patriot Act. ‘We cannot
allow people like John Ashcroft to take away
our rights,’ Edwards said as the crowd clapped
loudly and some shouted, ‘Amen!’ Said
Smith: ‘John Edwards' scare tactics will not
take away from the intent of the Patriot Act -
to protect our citizens from another terror
attack.’”
… Graham
targeting rural – and Republican – areas with
NASCAR connection. The main question now is
how many Republicans will attend next
January’s Dem caucuses in Iowa? Headline
from Wednesday’s Washington Times: “Graham
tries to win with NACSAR logo” Report – an
excerpt, datelined Roanoke – by the Times’
Charles Hunt: “Dawn Youngblood is an
unwavering Republican, but on a recent
Wednesday she stood for two hours on the
shimmering, hot pavement outside a shuttered
Sears to take part in a campaign event for
Sen. Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat
running for president. Mrs. Youngblood hadn't
thought much about Mr. Graham before
she got there. ‘I saw the name before but it
never interested my mind,’ she said. ‘Until he
got into racing.’ Like 75 million Americans,
Mrs. Youngblood, 41, is an auto-racing fan,
and the real reason she came to Mr.
Graham's event was to see NASCAR driver Ward
Burton sign autographs with Mr. Graham. ‘I
was raised a Republican and I share the
conservative values,’ she said. ‘But I am such
a NASCAR fan.’ Mrs. Youngblood is precisely
the type of voter Mr. Graham aims to win over
through a political strategy targeted to rural
— and devoutly Republican — areas. Though
this was a one-time appearance with Mr.
Burton, Mr. Graham is also sponsoring a
NASCAR racing truck and team as part of a
larger effort to tap into cultural passions of
rural America. In its debut last month,
Mr. Graham's truck won a Kansas race,
creating a stir in NASCAR as the first
presidential campaign to sponsor a team. Making
inroads into traditionally Republican NASCAR
country is no small undertaking. At the
campaign event in Roanoke, Mr. Graham
found himself in a congressional district
where George Bush beat Al Gore by 19
percentage points in the 2000 election. Mr.
Graham said he can convince people like Mrs.
Youngblood that the Republican Party has left
her in the dust. ‘There are a lot of
people in America who have been overlooked,’
he said. ‘There are millions of Americans who
feel they have been left out by
politicians.’ Certainly, NASCAR has its loyal
fans. In the United States, its followers are
eclipsed only by the 100 million fans of the
National Football League, according to sports
industry statistics. Among NASCAR fans, 40
million are ‘hard-core fans,’ digesting 9.8
hours per week of NASCAR from newspapers,
television and radio. ‘They're very passionate
folks,’ said John Miller, director of business
development for Roush Racing, which owns and
operates the team Mr. Graham
sponsored.”
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