"There are obvious
problems, made manifest over the past two years,
in letting this kind of personality loose on the
fragile web of unseen alliances and unspoken
enmities that constitutes any powerful nation's
map of the world,"
Joan Didion
writes. "The fundamentalist approach to
information, whether that approach is innate or
learned, does not encourage nuanced judgments."
"We now have the widest
gap we have ever had between Republicans and
Democrats" on church attendance, reports Andy
Kohut, the director of the Pew survey.
"I pray every day,"
he told
reporters in mid-December. "I don't wear it
on my sleeve, because I'm a New Englander, and New
Englanders don't wear much on their sleeve that's
personal," said
Howard Dean.
Democrats are "reaping
what they've sown. Their leaders have lined up
behind Howard Dean's brand of angry, intolerant
politics. They've made their message clear:
'moderates need not apply' and that's a sad trend
for a once-great party,"
Tom DeLay said
about Congressman Ralph Hall switching to
Republican.
"Our reforms insist on
high standards because we know every child can
learn. Our reforms call for testing because the
worst discrimination is to ignore a school's
failure to teach every child,"
President Bush
said.
"Governor [Howard Dean],
if you can't stand up and answer serious questions
from fellow Democrats, how can you expect the rest
of us to step aside and watch you lose your cool
against George Bush and lose the election,"
said Dick
Gephardt.
"You see, there is a
Howard Dean pattern,"
Gephardt said. "First, say something
indefensible. Then deny you ever said it. Then
when it's proven, don't tell anyone why you said
it."
"Since 1977, Dick
Gephardt has sponsored 20 pieces of health care
legislation -- not a single one has become law,"
Howard Dean’s
Iowa director Jeani Murray said. "Why in
the world would Americans want to keep an
ineffective leader in Washington, let alone
promote him to the White House?"
"He's a doctor [Howard
Dean]," Susan
Allen, his press secretary when he was governor.
"He sees a problem, he diagnoses the problem, and
he prescribes a fix. And then he moves on to the
next problem. It can come across as annoyance, I
guess. He also doesn't suffer fools."
“Does inflation still
result when excess domestic capacity is gone? Or
does globalization -- excess capacity and cheap
labor overseas -- suppress inflation? Evidently.
Inflation remained negligible after the
third-quarter growth of 8.2 percent -- three
months during which the U.S. economy increased in
size by more than Poland's annual gross domestic
product.” --
writes George Will.
Debate prelims
The Des Moines Register carries
a story about how Rep. Dick Gephardt blasted away
at Howard Dean yesterday. It also reports on how
Sen. John Kerry did the same thing in New
Hampshire. Both will be attending tomorrow’s Des
Moines Register Debate with Dean.
Wesley Clark and the Rev. Al
Sharpton did not accept invitations to take part
in the debate. This is a time when Clark should
not have skipped Iowa. The Register debate is one
of the most covered events up to this point. Clark
expects to offer a big domestic proposal on Monday
while everyone will still be covering what
happened at the debate in his absence. On Tuesday
of next week there is a lengthy radio debate with
WOI public radio in Ames. Clark’s skipping Iowa is
beginning to have consequences.
The debate will be carried live
by Iowa Public Television, Fox television news,
CNN and C-SPAN. IPTV will make the broadcast
available to other public stations, and Associated
Press television will make it available to member
stations. WNET of New York City is among public
stations planning to carry it live.
This is the first debate since
the capture of Saddam Hussein and will be the
first test of the new positions taken by Sen. John
Kerry and Rep. Dick Gephardt regarding their more
hawkish positions visa-a-vis Howard Dean.
Gephardt in Des Moines yesterday
signaled his intentions to blast away at Dean:
Gephardt said Friday that he plans to hammer away
on Dean's record in Vermont and statements on the
campaign trail between now and caucus night.
"But
according to Governor Dean, we're all lying - all
of the other candidates and every major newspaper
in the country," Gephardt said.
Joe Trippi, Howard Deans
campaign manager responded:
"Guess
why they are all in Iowa trying to do this
stop-Dean movement. It has nothing to do with our
electability," Trippi said. "Of course there's the
risk that we won't win, but that doesn't change
the fact that we're going to do everything we can
to win."
Ad pulled
The television station that
Ronald Reagan was a sports broadcaster for pulled
an anti-immigration ad. The station responded by
stating:
"We
took a look and decided the ads were unnecessarily
inflaming and borderline racist," said Jim Boyer,
general manager for WHO-TV, who said the ads took
a position he did not want represented at the
station. "It was a piece of business we did not
want."
The ad, described earlier by IPW,
pictured a kid’s plastic punching toy that bounces
back up that represented American workers losing
their jobs to immigrants. The organization that
bought the ad responded:
Roy
Beck, spokesman for the Coalition for the Future
American Worker, which paid for the ads, said
Wednesday that the group represented "the interest
of labor" and didn't consider itself to be
anti-immigrant.
Harkin still on the fence
The LA Times reports on how Iowa Sen. Tom.
Harkin’s endorsement could tip the scales on who
becomes the Democrat nominee. Iowa shows a close
race between Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt with
John Kerry in reach of the top two. A Harkin
endorsement of anyone of these could change the
whole momentum of the race. Despite all of this
Harkin is still not decided what he is going to
do:
Jeff
Link, who managed Harkin's recent Senate campaigns
and led Gore's winning Iowa operation here in
2000, said the senator's advisors have gamed out
every option and scenario for him. If Harkin jumps
in with an endorsement, Link predicted he would go
all-out to help his choice win in Iowa and
elsewhere.
Yet
Harkin remains torn. "He thinks this is such a
close call on all sides," Link said. "He's got a
lot of close friends on all sides of this debate."
Dean struggles with religion
Howard Dean while campaigning in
Iowa told reporters that he was struggling with
speaking about religion in public. He also
struggled to come up with his favorite book in the
New Testament according to the LA Times:
When
asked about his favorite book in the New
Testament, Dean first cited the Book of Job, which
is in the Old Testament and is the story of a
pious man whose possessions are stolen and
children killed before God ultimately restores his
good fortune.
Dean
corrected himself about an hour after the
interview ended, returning to the front of the
plane to tell reporters he misspoke when he said
the book was in the New Testament.
He
said that despite its dark tone, the story
resonates with him. "It's such an allegory," he
said. "It sort of explains that bad things could
happen to very good people for no good reason."
Dean lousy on Vermont security
The
Associated Press reports on the fact that
Howard Dean made a lousy security administrator as
Governor of Vermont:
Presidential hopeful Howard Dean, who accuses
President Bush of being weak on homeland security,
was warned repeatedly as Vermont governor about
security lapses at his state's nuclear power plant
and was told the state was ill-prepared for a
disaster at its most attractive terrorist target.
The
warnings, according to documents obtained by The
Associated Press, began in 1991 when a group of
students were brought into a secure area of the
Vermont Yankee nuclear plant without proper
screening. On at least two occasions, a gun or
mock terrorists passed undetected into the plant
during security tests.
Temper – what temper?
The NY Times covers Howard Dean’s temper and the
fact that he doesn’t think that he has one. This
despite the fact Dean wrote about it in high
school. Dean characterizes it as standing up for
himself. An incident with friends shows it to be
different:
Late
one night last August, he found himself way ahead
in a heated game of hearts with two of his Yale
classmates, David Berg and Ernie Robson, who are
among his oldest friends. Suddenly he began losing
one hand after another, until his certain win had
disappeared.
"He
throws his cards all over the floor and gets up
smoking and huffing," Mr. Berg recalled.
"Naturally, Robson and I are in hysterics, because
it's all just theater."
Clark’s harsh words
The Washington Post reports on Wesley Clark’s
campaigning in New Hampshire:
When
it comes to national security policy, retired Gen.
Wesley K. Clark does not think much of President
Bush, former Vermont governor Howard Dean or some
of the Pentagon brass who helped engineer his
early retirement from the U.S. Army
Clark
was questioned about being fired as the head of
NATO troops and he did not have kind words for his
military commanders.
Not at
all, Clark replied, saying that he was not
relieved of his command of NATO troops, as the
questioner implied -- only that he was forced to
retire three months early after long-running
battles over how to wage the war in Kosovo with
his military superiors and then-Defense Secretary
William S. Cohen.
Clark: drugs for veterans
Wesley Clark expressed outrage
that the Bush Administration is considering
dramatically increasing the fees military retirees
pay for prescription drugs.
"I
have a three word message for Mr. Bush: Don't do
it." Clark said. "It's just wrong. How could Bush
consider cutting retiree benefits now while our
servicemen and women are risking their necks in
Iraq? They deserve a pat-on-the-back not a fee
increase."
"Our
country and our military deserve a higher standard
of leadership," Clark continued. "When I commanded
troops, I felt that my most solemn responsibility
was to take care of their well-being, including
ensuring that they got good health care. As
commander in chief, I will make sure no service
member and no veteran is ever left behind again."
“This
Administration's budget is already $2 billion
short of giving our veterans the health care they
need. Now, according to The Virginian-Pilot, the Administration might
triple prescription fees.”
Kerry: drugs for veterans
John Kerry had this to say about
drugs and veterans:
"Just
last month, George Bush signed a big giveaway
prescription drug plan that lavished billions of
dollars on pharmaceutical companies and HMOs and
left our seniors high and dry. Now, as if it's not
enough to shortchange our seniors, George Bush is
cutting drug benefits for the men and women in
uniform who served our country and even risked
their lives in defense of our freedoms. George
Bush wants to double the copayments for
prescriptions for our military retirees, so that
he can have additional funds for wealthy tax cuts
or irresponsible policies that leave Americans no
better off.
"I
can't wait to stand up when Donald Rumsfeld and
George W. Bush question the patriotism of
Democrats, I'm going to remind them that the real
definition of patriotism begins with keeping faith
with those who wear the uniform of our country.
"When
I'm President, I will keep my word with those that
defend our nation. I will fight to make
prescription drugs more affordable - by
negotiating lower prices and canceling giveaways
to pharmaceutical companies and HMOs and using the
money to make prescriptions even more affordable.
"It's
bad enough that Halliburton gets big contracts in
Iraq while soldiers go without body armor. Here at
home prescription drug companies get windfall
profits while military retirees are told to pay
more for prescription drugs. That is wrong and we
must stop it."
Kerry: opponents raise taxes
The Manchester Union Leader reports on Sen. John Kerry taking
a page out of the Sen. Joe Lieberman playbook,
accusing Dean and Gephardt of raising taxes:
“I
think the people of New Hampshire care about the
children’s tax credit. Now, Howard Dean and Dick
Gephardt are going to get rid of it. They’re going
to raise taxes on middle-class New Hampshirites. I
don’t want to do that,” the Massachusetts senator
told reporters less than a month before the
state’s Jan. 27 primary.
“I
think it matters that John Kerry, my economic
plan, is not going to raise income taxes,
middle-class taxes on New Hampshire citizens.
That’s not sniping. That’s a very important policy
difference,” he said.
Both Dean and Gephardt would get
rid of all of President Bush’s tax cuts and spend
them many times over on proposed social programs.
Kerry’s Vietnam profile
The Washington Post profiles Sen. John Kerry’s
service in Vietnam and how it has colored his time
in the U.S. Senate.
Edwards trucking on
The Manchester Union Leader reports on Sen. John Edwards
stopping at a dinner in South Carolina, talking to
people in retail politics and still not
moving up in the polls or increasing his
possibility of winning the nomination.
Kucinich filed in 32 states
Rep. Dennis Kucinich made a
release that touts his ability to win Ohio and
thereby become President. However, Kucinich is
also filed in 32 states and is likely to continue
to lend his voice to the liberal peace wing of his
party for a long time to come.
"Ohio
is the mother of presidents and the state which
chooses presidents. The last member of the United
States House of Representatives elected to the
White House, James Garfield, also came from
Cuyahoga County and won an upset victory at his
party's convention, just as I intend to do in this
nominating process. Ohio is bound to play a
critical role at the Democratic Convention.
"Ohio
has felt the brunt of the Bush Administration's
economic policies. More than 369,500 Ohioans are
out of work, and our nation is averaging a loss of
68,000 jobs a month. The nation has lost nearly 3
million manufacturing jobs since this President
took office. Many of the lost manufacturing jobs
have been due directly to trade agreements which
have been unfair to American workers. I intend to
cancel NAFTA and the WTO.
"I
will cancel the tax cuts to those in the top
brackets. Under the latest tax cuts, the first 60
percent of Ohio taxpayers will only see a cut of
$380 in total over the next four years. But the
richest 1 percent of Ohioans will be rewarded with
tax cuts worth $52,240 on average over the next
four years.
"I
intend to make the health of Ohioans and Americans
my number one domestic concern, and that is why
I'm co-sponsoring legislation to create universal
health coverage.
"Finally, my candidacy will give Ohioans an
opportunity to vote to end the war in Iraq, to
bring in UN peacekeepers, and to bring home our
troops. I have had a plan on my website for nearly
three months at www.kucinich.us which describes
how this can be accomplished. The Democrats cannot
win the election unless the nominee of the party
is clearly committed to an immediate withdrawal
from Iraq with the help of UN peacekeepers.
"The
Democrats will not win the White House without
Ohio's 20 electoral votes. I'm in the best
position to win those votes based on the fact that
I defeated Republican incumbents in races for
Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio State Senator, and Member
of the United States Congress. I've shown a strong
vote-getting ability in Republican areas where
other Democrats have been soundly defeated. I can
win Ohio for the Democrats, and because I can win
Ohio for the Democrats, I can win the White
House."
Today at 4 p.m. ET is the
deadline for candidates to place their names on
the ballot for the Democratic Primary in Ohio.
Kucinich is on the ballot in Ohio, having filed in
person in Columbus on Dec. 17, 2003.
Today is also the deadline in
Texas, and Kucinich is filing in person in Austin
today. The Kucinich campaign has also placed
Kucinich on the New York state primary ballot
today. Kucinich is officially on the ballot in 32
states so far and expects to be on the ballot for
every primary in the country.
homepage
|
click here
to read past Iowa Daily Reports
|