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Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news">
Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues Iowa
Presidential Watch's
IOWA DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
PAGE 1
Sunday,
September 14, 2003
Iowa Pres Watch Update: As the campaign
intensifies – and the Dem wannabes are
rounding the turn towards the homestretch in
Iowa at the four-month mark before the
caucuses – the www.iowapresidentialwatch.com will
launch an aggressive initiative to monitor,
challenge and expose the Democratic
candidates. Keep checking the Pres Watch
website for more details, make sure your
friends are aware of updated cartoon features
and the Daily Report – and
make a
contribution today to Iowa Presidential Watch.
Your interest in iowapresdentialwatch.com
– and continuing support – is essential for
us to accomplish our mission of holding
the Dem wannabes accountable.
In Iowa,
Bill Clinton unleashes attacks on Bush while
Dem wannabes engage in a lovefest and put
arguments aside
Washington
Times this morning: Poll indicates Clark
would enter campaign as a Top Five contender
Washington
Post this morning: Six in 10 Americans
oppose Bush proposal for $87B spending on
Iraq and Afghanistan, but his approval
ratings (58%) stay high – beating all Dem
wannabes and the infamous “generic”
Democratic nominee 49%-44%
Gephardt
joins Anti-Dean Wannabe Tag Team with
blistering attack in Des Moines, drills Dean
on senior issues
GOPUSA:
Dems observe 9/11 with attacks on Bush
presidency
Dean,
backpedaling on Israel statements, says GWB
should send Bill Clinton to Middle East to
save peace process
Washington Post: Wannabes haunted by past
pro-Bush votes in Congress
Boston Globe
columnist: Edwards “in the hunt” for
third-place NH finish
University
of Iowa ready for Clark’s
non-political Friday visit – news conference
already scheduled
Dean’s
doublespeak would probably hurt most
candidates, but his non-traditional
constituency may be eating it up
Graham
seizes 9/11 opportunity to attack Bush
terrorism approach
In Iowa
yesterday, Dem wannabes soften attacks on
each other -- apparently waiting for Bill
Clinton handle the real heavy work
Kerry
pulling out really big – and often
overweight – gun Kennedy to kickoff Iowa
barnstorming effort
“William
Jefferson Clark?”
– headline on Taranto column suggesting Bill
Clinton is playing in the prospective
Clark campaign
New York
Times: While GWB on “defensive” over Iraq
concerns, Dems scoring Capitol Hill
victories
Sharpton
protests Michigan’s Internet voting scheme,
challenges Dean and urges him to join the
anti-Internet effort
Orlando
Sentinel’s Mark Silva: Other wannabes –
especially Edwards and Kerry – trying to be
“hipper” than Dean
New York
Times: Dem wannabes arguing over how much
they’d cut the tax cuts
Kerry
apparently out of contention for major union
endorsement as Service Employees narrow
choices to Edwards, Gephardt and Dean
This should
be good – for a couple of laughs: Bill
Clinton expected to “artfully intermingle”
words “impeachment “ and “recall” during CA
trip today to save Guv Davis
Real
hardball politics: Hispanic lawmaker in
AZ says endorsement for Lieberman was
“somewhat premature” – switches to Kerry
In South
Carolina: Kerry commits to help
historically black colleges thrive
In New
Hampshire, Dean focuses on overhauling
mental health care
While other
hopefuls wait to see if there’s a Tenth
Wannabe, Kucinich already has another
opponent – waiting for him back in Ohio
CNN:
Clark rules out VP consideration – for now
Iowa:
Branstad says double-digit tuition increases
would never have been approved during his
governorship
Latest
theory on Graham’s Iowa demise:
Dems are confusing him with former GOP Sen.
Gramm
Iowaism:
Monarch butterflies make mid-journey visit
to Siouxland
All these stories below and more.
… TV
viewing guide: Keep the kids away tonight –
Dean to be on “K Street” with Carville and
Begala. Report in yesterday’s Washington
Post: “Howard Dean is willing to be
depicted as the tool of handlers -- and has a
sense of humor to boot. In Sunday night's
premiere of the HBO show ‘K Street,’ Dean
is seen being coached for this week's
presidential debate by Democratic strategists
James Carville and Paul Begala (who says he
did the scene without the script). ‘What about
heat and passion on TV?’ Dean asks, and
‘can a potential president of the United
States get away with that?’ Talk about
surreal: Dean even tries out a line about
being the only candidate willing to talk about
race to white audiences -- which caused a flap
when he actually delivered it in the real,
non-HBO debate. ‘K Street’ is bipartisan,
though; Carville keeps feuding with his wife,
Mary Matalin, a former aide to Vice President
Cheney, and Republican Sens. Don Nickles
(Okla.) and Rick Santorum (Pa.) make cameo
appearances.”
…
Clark Campaign
Update No. 5,786,049:
Iowa Campaign Event – or Letdown – of the
Week: Clark comes to Iowa City. Report by
the Orlando Sentinel’s Mark Silva: “Attention!…Gen.
Wesley Clark, the retired four-star supreme
commander of NATO threatening to become the
10th Democratic candidate for president, will
give a long-awaited address Friday at the
University of Iowa's College of Law. His
appearance is part of a campus lecture series
and was booked last winter, ‘long before
anyone considered him a presidential
candidate,’ university spokesman Tom Snee
says. It's not a political event. But the
school is setting up a news conference for the
general, too -- though Snee warns that any
real news is likely to break out before
Friday: ‘He's been telling people that
he'll announce beforehand, before he gets to
Iowa City.’”
… “Former
President Clinton stumps for candidates in
Iowa” – headline in this morning’s New
Hampshire Sunday News. Coverage – an excerpt
from Indianola report – by AP’s Mike
Glover: “Former President Clinton touted a
field of Democratic contenders he said was the
strongest in decade, and launched a spirited
assault Saturday on a Bush administration he
said governs through ‘ideology, enemies and
attacks.’ ‘The last election was tight as
a tick,’ Clinton told a party rally. ‘That
election was not a mandate for radical change,
but that was what we got.’ Clinton brought
thousands of activists huddled on a
rain-soaked field to life, repeatedly by
assaulting Bush. He ripped into Bush's tax
cut and handling of foreign policy and joked
he was now the beneficiary of tax cuts for the
wealthy. ‘Don't tell me about class
warfare,’ Clinton said. ‘I'm all for wealth
and business. I just think we all ought to go
up together.’ The former President told
activists that he has become rich since
leaving the White House, largely based on a
big book contract: ‘I never had a nickel
until I left the White House.’ The tax
cuts Bush pushed were a prime target. ‘What's
the sacrifice that's being asked of people who
make more than $1 million a year?’ Clinton
asked. ‘It's the energy they have to expend
opening the envelopes containing their tax
cuts.’ Clinton spoke after seven of the
Democratic Presidential contenders on hand
praised him. He said Bush was given great
opportunities but has largely fumbled them.
‘Instead of uniting the world, we alienated
it,’ he said. ‘Instead of uniting the country,
he alienated it.’ While some have warned that
the field of nine Democratic candidates will
have a tough time ousting Bush, Clinton
dismissed those worries. ‘I like this
field, and I'm tired of people saying that
this field can't beat an incumbent President,’
he said. ‘This is the best field of candidates
we have had in decades.’ Clinton urged the
candidates to hammer home their differences
with Bush, differences he said haven't
penetrated with most voters. ‘The American
people, not 5 percent of them know they gave
me a tax cut and then kicked children out of
after-school programs,’ said Clinton. ‘They
are not putting those things together. All we
have to do is make it clear what our
differences are.’ The exchanges came at Sen.
Tom Harkin's annual steak fry Saturday
at Indianola, 20 miles south of Des
Moines. Republican National
Committee spokesman David James said Clinton's
presence ‘clearly overshadowed a weak field of
candidates.’ He said Clinton campaigned
for several candidates who lost in the last
election, adding; ‘With that kind of track
record we hope to see him on the campaign
trail early and often.’” (Iowa Pres Watch
Note: Related coverage of the comments by the
wannabes at Indianola below.)
… “Double-talk
could derail Dean machine”
– headline on Deborah Orin’s column in
Thursday’s New York Post. Column excerpt: “Democratic
2004 front-runner Howard Dean is starting to
get a reputation for talking out of both sides
of his mouth – and not just on Israel.
That could become a big problem for a guy
who's running on a ‘tell it like it is’
platform --- it may be the first hint of an
Achilles heel that might slow Dean's
surge to the Democratic nomination.
For instance, Dean called for raising
the Social Security retirement age, then
denied it, then belatedly admitted it -- but
said he wasn't for it any more. Last week,
he said U.S. troops ‘need to come home’ from
Iraq -- now he says we shouldn't pull out.
He demanded that all U.S. trading partners
meet U.S. labor and environmental standards --
when reminded that would halt trade with
countries like Mexico, Dean said he
only meant the far lower international
standards. But that's not what Dean
told the Washington Post or the online
magazine Slate, which wrote that Dean
emphatically took the ‘exact opposite’
position this summer. Dean said ‘it's
not our place to take sides’ in the Mideast --
but then took sides on settlements, saying
Israel must give up an ‘enormous number.’
Under fire, Dean now insists he takes sides in
favor of a ‘special relationship’ with Israel.
In most campaigns, doublespeak hurts big
time --just look at how Dean has zapped Sen.
John Kerry (Mass.) for his Iraq doublespeak
since Kerry voted yes on the war and now
blasts it. But some say double talk won't
bother Dean's true believers. ‘Dean
isn't running a traditional campaign. It's a
cross between a populist campaign and a
movement,’ says Democratic strategist Donna
Brazile, who managed Al Gore's 2000
race. ‘It may not matter to the Dean
constituency because it's not a traditional
constituency. You may be playing into his
hands by saying he's flip-flopping,’
Brazile adds -- meaning criticism just makes
Dean fans more intense. True enough.
Dean fans sent more money -- not less --
when he had a disastrous time on NBC's ‘Meet
the Press.’ But the question now is whether
doublespeak stops Dean from lining up new
recruits. That would be big trouble.”
… Wannabes
apparently are wimps in Bill Clinton’s
presence at last night’s Harkin steak fry in
Iowa. Seven of nine wannabes on the menu in
Indianola -- but apparently fail to deliver
any hard hits on GWB or Bush. Excerpt from
coverage by AP’s Iowa specialist Mike Glover –
“Most of the active candidates seeking the
Democratic presidential nomination muted their
differences Saturday to pay homage to former
President Bill Clinton. Seven rivals lined
up to speak at Sen. Tom Harkin's annual
steak fry in Indianola, about 20 miles
south of Des Moines. Clinton
headlined the event, which was expected to
draw 5,000 party activists. Massachusetts Sen.
John Kerry, who opened a hectic
political day by attending a pancake breakfast
in Ames, just north of Des Moines,
said middle class taxpayers benefited by
Clinton's focus on working Americans. ‘With
George Bush in the White House, the middle
class has been forgotten all over again,’
Kerry said. Kerry said he speaks often
with Clinton. ‘He's available to everybody,’
Kerry said. ‘I like the advice I get.’
Kerry said the themes Clinton struck
during his tenure in office still resonate
with voters. ‘Middle class families can't
catch a break,’ Kerry said. ‘They're
getting battered by high taxes, high health
care costs, high college tuition's and a high
cost of living which means they are working
harder just to stay in place.’ Missouri Rep.
Richard Gephardt, who chose not to speak
because rain was delaying the event, said he
would welcome Clinton's help. ‘Bill
Clinton was a great president for the
economy,’ Gephardt said as he mingled
with supporters on the rain-soaked field.
‘Absolutely, he's going to help me beat George
Bush.’ Dean said he would welcome
Clinton's aid on the campaign trail should he
get the nomination. ‘He's a larger than life
figure,’ Dean said. ‘When you look at
what's happened to the country economically
since then, Clinton looks pretty good.’
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said Clinton
campaigned for him in 1998 at the heart of the
former president's political troubles. ‘I
stood with Clinton and it worked,’ said
Edwards. ‘He led the greatest period of
economic expansion in history and we ought to
be proud of him.’ Florida Sen. Bob Graham
said he's known Clinton since both were
elected governor on the same day and he'd
welcome Clinton's help campaigning. ‘I
have a very high regard for his political
intuition and skills,’ Graham said. The
focus on Clinton is in sharp contrast to the
2000 election when Democratic nominee Al Gore
rarely mentioned him. While they paid tribute
to Clinton, the Democrats were keeping their
criticism of one another larger under wraps.
Kerry said that some Democrats want to
eliminate all tax breaks pushed by Bush, a
plan that would hurt the middle class.
‘Repealing the tax cuts for the middle class
would hurt those who have borne the brunt of
the Bush bust, making it even harder for them
to make ends meet,’ Kerry said.
While Clinton was a controversial figure
enmeshed in sex scandals while in office, many
Democrats view him as a senior statesman who
demonstrated the path to success in gaining
the White House. Clinton's appearance at
Harkin's annual fund-raiser spurred
enthusiasm for the thousands of activists
attending who represent a significant slice of
the roughly 100,000 likely to attend Iowa's
leadoff precinct caucuses in January.’”
… Gephardt
– facing doubts about his candidacy in Iowa
and among union bosses – unleashes most direct
attack of campaign on IA co-leader Dean, ties
the alleged frontrunner to “the Gingrich
Republicans.” Headline from yesterday’s
Washington Times: “Gephardt turns guns on
front-runner Dean” Excerpt from
coverage by AP Iowa caucus watcher Mike
Glover: “Democratic presidential hopeful
Dick Gephardt delivered a stinging criticism
of rival Howard Dean Friday, likening him to
Republican Newt Gingrich and linking Dean to
past GOP policies to overhaul a bedrock
program for seniors. Intent on cutting
Dean's advantage in Iowa -- as well as
energizing his own campaign -- Gephardt
used a speech to a union audience to assail
Dean's past comments on Medicare and Social
Security and tie him to one of the
Democrats' political bogeymen -- former House
Speaker Gingrich, R-Ga. ‘Howard Dean
actually agreed with the Gingrich Republicans,’
said Gephardt, the Missouri congressman
and former House Democratic leader who battled
with Gingrich in the 1990s. ‘It was in this
period when Gingrich said Republicans wouldn't
immediately kill Medicare. Instead, they would
let it wither on the vine,’ Gephardt
said. ‘And it was also during this time
that Howard Dean, as chairman of the National
Governors Association, was supporting
Republican efforts to scale back Medicare.’
In December 1995, Dean, then Vermont
governor, advocated making government-run,
fee-for-service Medicare a wholly managed
health care program, saying savings from the
switch could be used to help Medicare
recipients pay for prescription drugs. Dean
acknowledged that balancing the budget would
mean making some unpopular decisions,
including changing Medicare. The
Republican-controlled House, following the
lead of Gingrich, passed a Medicare overhaul
bill in 1995 that would have resulted in
savings of $270 billion from the program over
seven years. Democrats warned that the move
was political suicide and would cost
Republicans with voters, particularly seniors.
Said Gephardt Friday: ‘We, as
Democrats, cannot afford any ambiguity on the
question of who will better protect our
seniors.’ The viability of Medicare, which
serves the elderly, is critical in Iowa, which
is ranked fourth in the nation in the portion
of its population age 65 and older, according
to the 2000 Census. Only Florida,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia have a higher
percentage of elderly. Gephardt, who
won the Iowa caucuses in his unsuccessful bid
for president in 1988, needs a victory in the
state Jan. 19. Recent polls show Dean
moving ahead of his rivals in Iowa. Gephardt's
speech represents his most direct challenge of
Dean to date and reflected a strategic change
by several of the Democratic candidates to
take on the front-runner…Questioned about
Gephardt's speech in a conference call
Friday, Dean said, ‘That's pretty
silly,’ and added, ‘Virtually everyone in my
state has health coverage. I can't imagine
what Dick's thinking.’ Gephardt
accused Dean of favoring balancing the
budget by cutting Social Security, moving the
retirement age to 70 and slashing veterans'
pensions. During the mid-1990s, Dean
advocated increasing the Social Security
retirement age to 70. He now says he no longer
thinks an increase in the retirement age would
be necessary and that a better solution would
be to let more salary above $87,000 fall under
the payroll tax. While Gephardt
argued that Democrats draw sharp distinctions
with Republicans on social issues, he said the
party cannot afford a nominee who faces
questions on those same issues. ‘Next year,
when our party has chosen its nominee for
president, there needs to be a clear choice on
issues like retiree health care and protecting
Social Security and Medicare,’ Gephardt
said.”
… And the
anti-Dean beat – and Dean beating – goes on.
Besides Gephardt, the Dem hopefuls are almost
lining up – Kerry, Sharpton, Lieberman,
Edwards – for shot at the Wannabe
Wonder. More – an excerpt – from Iowa AP
political ace Glover’s coverage: “While
Gephardt was challenging Dean, Sen. John Kerry
of Massachusetts took issue with Dean's call
to repeal all of President Bush's tax cuts.
Although Kerry didn't mention his rival by
name, it was clear who he was referring to
during an appearance Friday at Benedict
College in Columbia, S.C. ‘Middle class
families are taking too many hits already --
their health care costs are rising, housing
payments are higher, their jobs less secure,
and college is costing more and more…’
Kerry said. ‘Unfortunately, some in my
party want to repeal the tax cuts Democrats
gave middle-class families. This is wrong.’
Al Sharpton sent a letter to Dean Thursday,
challenging him to oppose a plan to allow
Internet voting in Michigan's presidential
primary. Sharpton said the plan would give an
advantage to voters who are wealthy enough to
have a computer and Internet access.
Earlier in the week, Sen. Joe Lieberman
of Connecticut criticized Dean's
comments on Israel in which the former Vermont
governor said ‘it's not our place to take
sides’ in the Mideast nation's conflict with
the Palestinians, a comment Lieberman
said broke with 50 years of U.S. policy. The
morning after Tuesday's Democratic
presidential debate, Sen. John Edwards
of North Carolina assailed Dean's claim
during the event that he is the only candidate
to talk about race with white audiences.
Edwards said Dean should know that virtually
all of his primary foes preach racial equality
on the campaign trail.”
…
Clark Campaign
Update No. 5,786,0492: Clark would be an
immediate Top Five player among Dems -- if he
jumps into campaign.
Headline from
this morning’s Times: “Gen. Clark gains
favor fast in poll” Excerpt from report by
Times political ace Donald Lambro: “Retired
Gen. Wesley Clark immediately would become one
of the top five candidates for the Democratic
nomination if he enters the presidential race,
according to the latest Gallup Poll.
As Gen. Clark prepares to announce his
decision sometime this week about whether he
will get into the contest, a national survey
of nearly 500 Democrats for USA Today and CNN
found that the former commander of NATO forces
in Europe could take away nearly 10 percent
of the vote from his potential rivals.
If Gen. Clark decides to run, he would start
out in fifth place in the Democratic marathon,
with 9 percent of the vote. Moreover,
virtually all of his vote will come at the
expense of the top four rivals ahead of him:
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri,
who is in first place with 15 percent; former
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, 13 percent;
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, 12
percent; and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry,
11 percent. Gallup's survey shows that if
Mr. Clark becomes the 10th candidate in the
race, he would take two points away from Mr.
Gephardt, two points from Mr. Dean, one point
from Mr. Lieberman and three points from Mr.
Kerry. Five other Democratic candidates
remain stuck in the low single digits,
including former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun,
Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, Sen. John
Edwards of North Carolina, the Rev. Al
Sharpton of New York City and Rep.
Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio. The
results of Gallup's comparative match up, with
Gen. Clark in and out of the race, suggest his
candidacy would further splinter the
Democratic vote and possibly make it more
difficult for the party to develop a national
political consensus around its strongest
candidate. As the race stands now — with
little more than three months to go before the
party caucuses and primaries begin in January
— the top-tier candidates (including Gen.
Clark) are bunched together in the battle
for first place with no clear national
front-runner. But as the newest face in an
expanding field of candidates, the leader of
U.S. forces in the war in Kosovo would have
more room to broaden his support than his
potential rivals, who have been campaigning
for many months.”
…
Laughable Lieberman: Hispanic legislator
in AZ says support for Lieberman was “somewhat
premature” – switches loyalties to Kerry.
Excerpt from AP Phoenix report: “As
Democratic presidential hopefuls compete for
endorsements, especially among Hispanics, one
Arizona leader plans to switch his backing
from Sen. Joe Lieberman to Sen. John Kerry.
State Rep. Ben Miranda said his endorsement of
Lieberman, D-Conn., six months ago was
‘somewhat premature.’ Miranda, a first-term
representative from south Phoenix, said he now
sees Kerry as ‘the guy who can beat
George Bush.’ Miranda said he found Kerry's
economic, immigration and foreign policy views
more compatible with his own. His support
for Kerry also was enhanced by the
Massachusetts senator's background as a
Vietnam veteran, Miranda said. Miranda
volunteered for Army duty in Vietnam. Like
Kerry, he served with valor but became a
critic of U.S. policy and the war effort.
Two other officials, Rep. Tom Downing of
Tucson and Avondale Vice Mayor Marie
Lopez-Rogers, planned to endorse Kerry for the
Arizona primary. State Reps. Olivia Cajero
Bedford of Tucson and Ken Clark of Phoenix
have previously voiced their support of
Kerry. Lieberman still has the
backing of six Hispanic state legislators,
Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox
and former Gov. Raul Castro.”
… “For
Dean, a Deeper Hole on Middle East…” –
subhead on roundup report in yesterday’s
Washington Post. Kerry charges Dean with
insulting the memories of innocents killed by
“these suicidal murderers.” The Post’s
Juliet Eilperin wrote: “Howard Dean, in a
hole for his statement that the United States
should not ‘take sides’ between Israel and the
Palestinians, keeps on digging. Under fire
from fellow candidates, Democratic lawmakers
and Jewish groups, Dean sought to
soften his claim that ‘it's not our place to
take sides’ in the Middle East. In an
interview with CNN on Wednesday, Dean
allowed that he only meant that the United
States should be an honest broker in
negotiations and that ‘perhaps I could have
used a different euphemism.’ But, in talking
about Israel's assassinations of leaders of
the Islamic Resistance Movement, known as
Hamas, Dean said: ‘There is a war
going on in the Middle East, and members of
Hamas are soldiers in that war, and,
therefore, it seems to me that they are going
to be casualties if they are going to make
war.’ U.S. politicians typically call
Hamas fighters ‘terrorists’ rather than
soldiers. Rival candidate Sen. John F.
Kerry (Mass.) yesterday said that in referring
to Hamas members as soldiers, Dean ‘insults
the memory of every innocent man, woman, and
child killed by these suicidal murderers.’
Dean, in a statement, said, ‘Of course,
Hamas is a terrorist organization,’ adding
that his rivals were guilty of ‘petty,
political gamesmanship.’ Fortunately for
Dean, he did not say ‘freedom fighters.’”
… Too many grams – or
Grahams or Gramms: Are Iowans confusing
Wannabe Graham with former GOP wannabe and
Texas Sen. Gramm? Report by Orlando
Sentinel’s Silva: “There may be more than a
gram of truth in this: Iowans are confusing
Bob Graham, a Democrat running for president,
with Phil Gramm, a Republican who ran. How
else to explain the latest Zogby International
Poll in Iowa? Never mind that Graham,
the senior senator from Florida, is still the
choice of just 1 percent of all likely
caucus-goers in the Sept. 8-9 survey. It's
the sour view of Graham in this poll that is
problematic. Among Iowans who even recognize
the name -- which is fewer than half -- more
voters (23 percent) have a negative impression
than those (21 percent) who hold a favorable
view. They have about the same enthusiasm for
the Rev. Al Sharpton. Could it be that
Iowa's Democrats are confusing Florida's
Graham with Phil Gramm of Texas, the
former Republican senator who ran for
president there in 1996? ‘I think you are
right,’ a senior Graham adviser concedes. ‘We
need to put a face on Bob Graham.’ That
means running TV ads, like other candidates
already are running. But when? ‘Soon.’
Perhaps Graham is better recognized in
California. Gov. Gray Davis hopes so, it
seems. Graham plans to campaign Tuesday
with Davis against the recall of the
California governor.”
…
Accelerated Iowa campaign effort highlighted
by four Dem wannabes taking to the TV
airwaves. Headline in yesterday’s
Quad-City Times: “Caucus field is opting
for TV” Excerpt from report by the Times’
Ed Tibbetts: “There’s still four months to
go before the Iowa caucuses, but Democrats
running for president have begun filling the
airwaves with television commercials. Four of
the candidates are already on the air, and one
says he’ll continue running commercials until
the Jan. 19 caucuses. Experts say the
advertising — which appears to be happening
earlier than in past Democratic caucus races —
is being prompted by the heavy slate of
candidates, peer pressure and the proximity to
Labor Day. And another says the ads are
spurred by a desire to look presidential to
political types beyond our borders. U.S.
Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass, John Edwards,
D-North Carolina, former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean and U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt,
D-Missouri, all are advertising on television.
In fact, Dean kicked it off with a $300,000
buy this summer. Edwards’ campaign says it
will continue with its commercials right up to
the caucuses. Like many of the happenings
on the campaign trail this year, Dean
appears to have been a catalyst for some of
the activity. ‘Dean upped the ante by
airing his ads,’ says Steffen Schmidt, a
political science professor at Iowa State
University.”
… IOWA PRES
WATCH SIDEBAR: Fox News reports that Dean
complicates his Middle East position by
referring to Hamas terrorists as “soldiers of
war.” Dean has been under fire for suggesting
the United States should not take sides in the
Middle East conflict and Israel should get out
of disputed territories of the West Bank.
While he has insisted that he backs U.S.
policy supporting Israel, statements made on
Wednesday about Hamas raise new questions.
‘There is a war going on in the Middle East,
and members of Hamas are soldiers in that
war,’ Dean said Wednesday. Dean condemned
terrorism but his description of Hamas --
designated by the United States as a terrorist
group -- as ‘soldiers in a war’ conflicts with
U.S. policy. The European Union also approved
last week the designation of Hamas as a
terrorist organization.
… Clark Campaign
Update No. 5,786,0493: Watching and waiting –
to see where Bill Clinton fits into the Clark
campaign puzzle. Headline on Friday’s
“Best of the Web Today” by James Taranto: “William
Jefferson Clark?” Excerpt: “Has anyone
else noticed how unimpressive are the
Democratic presidential candidates' chief
claims to fame? Howard Dean
balanced a budget in Vermont. Joe
Lieberman was almost elected
vice president. Dick Gephardt
climbed the ladder of House leadership,
advancing from majority leader to minority
leader. And of course John Kerry
served in Vietnam. They may soon be
joined by retired general Wesley Clark, who
won a war in Kosovo. Granted, the
liberation of Kosovo from Slobodan Milosevic's
dictatorship was a worthy effort, and Clark
and Bill Clinton deserve credit for it. But
c'mon. As wars go, they don't get much
easier than this. Wesley Clark isn't exactly
U.S. Grant or Dwight Eisenhower. The New
York Times reports that Clark ‘is
moving closer toward a run for the White
House, having put together the frame of a
campaign organization.’ And the Clark
campaign is trying to shoot down reports,
which we noted yesterday, that the ex-general
is interested in being Dean's running
mate. Indeed, according to U.S. News & World
Report, Clark's supporters call the veep
rumors ‘a dirty-tricks campaign’ by the Dean
camp. We must say, it's refreshing to see
some real conflict in a campaign that up till
now has been little more than a contest to see
who can most witlessly insult the president of
this great country. Is Bill Clinton
orchestrating the prospective Clark campaign?
There are intriguing hints that he is. The
Times reported earlier this week that at a
cocktail party at the Clintons' home in
Chappaqua, N.Y., Clinton said ‘that the
national Democratic Party had two stars: his
wife, the junior Democratic senator from New
York, and a retired general, Wesley Clark.’
The U.S. News report cites numerous
‘Clintonistas’ who are ‘ready to join the
Clark Brigade,’ including ‘the former
president's handyman, Bruce Lindsey, scandal
spokesman Mark Fabiani, and maybe even
ex-deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes.’ How
much will Clinton's backing help Clark? The
former president boasts a singular political
talent, but there isn't much evidence that
it's transferable to other candidates. Clinton
had no coattails in either 1992 or 1996, and
in the 1994 congressional elections his party
suffered its worst drubbing in decades.
Unlike Ronald Reagan, Clinton's popularity was
not enough to get his vice president, Al Gore,
elected -- though whether Gore was hurt by his
association with Clinton or his campaign's
distance from him is one of the great
imponderables of recent American history.
Last year six Clinton administration officials
ran for office. Only two won: Rahm Emanuel,
who sought a safe Democratic House seat, and
Bill Richardson, who had previously held
elective office. Of the other four, two
lost in primaries (Janet Reno and Robert
Reich), one dropped out under pressure from
the Clintons themselves (Andrew Cuomo), and
one lost the general election (Erskine
Bowles). The offices those four sought are all
now held by Republicans. Clinton did manage
to help his wife get elected to the Senate,
something no other president has done. And you
can credit him with some modest down-ballot
victories in the 1998 congressional race, when
Democrats defied expectations by picking up
several seats. Those gains, though, were a
consequence of a backlash against President
Clinton's impeachment. To give Wesley Clark
a boost next year, maybe Clinton can persuade
Congress to impeach him again.”
… And along
comes Teddy – to campaign for Kerry. In
yesterday’s Boston Globe, Glen Johnson
reported: “Senator Edward M. Kennedy will
return to the presidential campaign trail
later this month when he visits Iowa to stump
on behalf of his fellow Massachusetts
Democrat, Senator John F. Kerry. The two
will appear together Sept. 27 at rallies and
forums focused on health care in the capital
city of Des Moines, as well as
Blackhawk (Waterloo) [Editor’s Note:
That’s actually Black Hawk.] and Johnson (Iowa
City) counties, two Democratic
strongholds. Kennedy will also help Kerry
kick off an ‘Iowa Barnstorm’ the following
week, in which Kerry supporters in all 99 Iowa
counties will meet in homes, libraries,
theaters, and community centers to plan future
campaign events. Kennedy himself was a
candidate for the Democratic nomination in
1980. In recent weeks, he has increased his
appearances on Kerry's behalf, hosting
a Faneuil Hall rally in which Kerry
publicly declared his candidacy and a
fund-raising clambake at the Kennedy compound
in Hyannis Port.”
… Sharpton joins the
anti-Dean crowd in protesting proposed
Internet voting proposal in Michigan.
Excerpt from report by AP’s Nedra Pickler: “Democrat
Al Sharpton is protesting a plan to allow
Internet voting in Michigan's presidential
caucus and challenging rival Howard Dean to
stand with him. For the first time, the
Michigan Democratic Party is planning to allow
party members to vote for the party's
presidential nominee via the Internet, as well
as by attending the Feb. 7 caucus or mailing
in a ballot. Sharpton sent a letter to Dean
Thursday, challenging the former Vermont
governor to oppose the Internet voting plan.
Dean's campaign has focused on building
support from Web users. ‘Perhaps it is due to
the fact you governed a state with
virtually no people of color living within its
borders that you are unaware that this is
a racially biased proposal,’ Sharpton
wrote. Vermont is nearly 98 percent white.
Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright said
his campaign is not involved in Michigan's
Internet voting effort, but Dean supports
the concept of Internet voting or anything
else that can bring more people to the polls
‘as long as it's coupled with the need to
insure access to African Americans and others
when it might not be available.’ She said
Dean's campaign manager would contact
Sharpton's campaign to discuss the
issue. In a telephone interview Friday,
Sharpton said the plan would give an advantage
to voters who are wealthy enough to have a
computer and Internet access and can
participate from home. ‘A grandmother in a
housing development is going to have to go
downstairs and walk five blocks to vote,’ he
said. ‘Who do you think is going to get more
of the vote? Democracy is about equal access.
This is not equal access. It really is a
high-tech poll tax.’ Dean's lack of
experience with minority voters is seen by
some as a weakness of his campaign, which has
gained in fund raising and grabbed the lead in
many key polls. Now that Dean is the
front-runner, he has become the target of
criticism from his eight primary rivals.
Sharpton said he only wrote to the former
Vermont governor and not the other candidates
because Dean said Tuesday night at a
debate sponsored by the Congressional Black
Caucus that he speaks about race not only to
blacks, but to white audiences. ‘Here's
where he can take a real moral stand to show
that he wasn't just using one line at the
debate,’ Sharpton said. ‘Since he's now
posing as the guy who deals with race, this is
his responsibility.’ Some Michigan Democrats
are challenging the plan to allow Internet
voting with the Democratic National Committee.
The party allowed Internet voting in Arizona's
primary in 2000. Sharpton said he
called Democratic National Committee Chairman
Terry McAuliffe to express his concern.
McAuliffe is withholding judgment until the
party hears the challenge later this month.”
… “Candidates
try to be hipper-than-thou” – headline on
Mark Silva’s column in yesterday’s Orlando
Sentinel. Silva reports other wannabes try
to outdo Howie – jog with Edwards or jam with
Kerry. Excerpt: “Everybody wants to be
Howard Dean. He's the former governor of
Vermont raising millions of dollars for his
campaign for president from small donors
logging on to his Web site. Here are some
actual outtakes from the imaginary set of
Being Howard Dean: * ‘Jog with
John.’ Forty-four dollars and a little
chain e-mail buys a headband with that
inscription. That's $44 for the campaign of
U.S. Sen. John Edwards, the jogging junior
senator from North Carolina seeking the
Democratic nomination. That's 44, as in 44th
president. Buy one, and get four friends
to donate $44 online, and the headband is
yours. Or, if you want to skip the hard
work of recruiting four friends, the campaign
says, you can buy the headband for $220.
Really. * Howard Dean has his
"Meet-Ups," town-hall styled Internet salons
for supporters. John Kerry has
Meet-Ups, too, fourth Thursday of each month.
Howard Dean played guitar at a blues club
in Des Moines, Iowa, this summer. But Kerry
already was playing guitar for a long time.
‘Kerry Unplugged’ is prominently featured
on his Web site, complete with pictures of the
senator from Massachusetts and his sunburst
Gibson ES-137 guitar. See Kerry playing
with Moby, and see Kerry practicing a
routine he hopes to run on the Democratic
field: Bruce Springsteen's ‘Tenth Avenue
Freeze-Out.’”
…
Washington Post: Most Dem wannabes are haunted
by their past records -- but Dean benefits
since he’s the one without a voting record on
the Bush agenda. Headline from Friday’s
Post: “Past Votes Dog Some Presidential
Candidates… Democrats Defend Siding With
Bush” Excerpt from report by Jim VandeHei: “Presidential
candidate John F. Kerry is bashing President
Bush's policies on Iraq, education and civil
liberties. What he rarely mentions, however,
is that his Senate votes helped make all three
possible. The Massachusetts Democrat is
not alone. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt
(Mo.) -- who is calling Bush's Iraq policy a
‘miserable failure’ -- led the House fight
last year to allow the president to wage the
war without the international help the
lawmaker now demands. Gephardt, then the
House Democratic leader, also voted for the
USA Patriot Act, which expands the
government's surveillance powers, and for
Bush's No Child Left Behind education program.
He often criticizes the policies now. Sen.
John Edwards (N.C.) is calling for Bush to
enlist the help of the United Nations in Iraq,
even though he, like Kerry and Gephardt, had
the opportunity to vote against the war
resolution and in support of one measure
demanding U.N. involvement during last fall's
congressional debate. Edwards is
also calling for changes to the Patriot Act,
for which he voted, and more funding for the
education plan, which he voted to authorize.
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) voted with
Bush on all three, too. That these
lawmakers voted with Bush on key issues is
complicating their bids to win their party's
nomination, as fellow Democrats demand
explanations. As the campaign progresses,
it also could make it harder for them to draw
sharp distinctions with Bush on what are
shaping up as among the biggest issues of the
2004 campaign, according to political
strategists. Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman and
Gephardt contend that their votes for Bush's
agenda took place in much different political
climates and were predicated on their beliefs
the president would carry out each initiative
in a different manner than he has. In
Iraq, they say, they believed he would work
harder to win U.N. assistance. On the Patriot
Act, they believed the administration would
carefully protect citizens' privacy and civil
rights. And on education, they believed Bush
would fully fund the program. Moreover, a
large number of congressional Democrats voted
the same way they did. ‘Your votes are your
votes, and you need to stand and explain,’
Gephardt said. ‘You have to also describe
changes you would like to now make and also be
legitimately critical of where the
administration has done something’ wrong.
Still, their rivals are starting to use the
votes against the lawmakers, especially Kerry
and Gephardt. In Tuesday night's debate at
Morgan State University, Rep. Dennis J.
Kucinich (Ohio) -- the only House member
running for president who opposed the Bush
agenda in Congress -- and others repeatedly
accused their rivals of trying to have it both
ways, voting with Bush in Congress and bashing
him on the campaign trail, especially on Iraq.
The most stinging rebuke came when Al
Sharpton turned Gephardt's new favorite phrase
against the Missouri lawmaker, saying it was a
‘miserable failure’ for Gephardt and other
Democrats to have helped authorize the war.
The biggest beneficiary of all this appears
to be Howard Dean, who as a former Vermont
governor did not have to vote for or against
the president's agenda, party strategists
said. ‘He does get a break, because he didn't
have to lay it on the line with a vote,’ said
Gerald W. McEntee, international president of
the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees. This has freed Dean to
become Bush's biggest critic of the war and
helped distinguish him from the Democratic
pack by allowing him to ridicule Bush's
domestic agenda without having to defend a
series of votes.”
… Edwards
boosts prospects for union endorsements.
Headline from Thursday’s News & Observer of
Raleigh: “Edwards in running for key
endorsement” Excerpt from report by N&O’s
John Wagner: “U.S.
Sen. John Edwards has moved into the running
for a key union endorsement that could provide
a major boost for his presidential candidacy.
Based on the strength of his performance
Monday at a conference of the Service
Employees International Union, the North
Carolina Democrat is now one of three
candidates under consideration for the backing
of the group, which claims 1.6 million
members. ‘John Edwards, a person who a
lot of members didn't know much about,
introduced himself powerfully, and moved from
having almost no support to being one of the
top three candidates that the members leaving
this conference are interested in,’ SEIU
President Andrew L. Stern state in a statement
Wednesday. Also under consideration are
U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, a
long-time ally of labor unions, and former
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who has emerged as
the Democratic front-runner in Iowa and New
Hampshire, the first two key nominating
contests. The SEIU is the fast-growing of
unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO, labor's
umbrella organization.”
…
Clark Campaign Update No. 5,786,0494:
Headline
from CNN.com – “Clark rules our vice
presidential bid for now” Excerpt:
“Former NATO commander Wesley Clark said
Friday he will make a decision ‘sometime
pretty soon’ about whether he'll seek the
Democratic nomination for president.
He also ruled out -- for now -- any possible
run as a vice presidential candidate.
‘There's only one decision to make: Run for
president or stay in private business,’
Clark said during an interview on CNN's
American Morning. ‘You have to really
understand what the process is and what the
variables are in the process that will make
for an effective candidacy.’ Clark was
responding to reports that he and Democratic
presidential hopeful Howard Dean, the
liberal anti-war former Vermont governor, met
in recent days to discuss the possibility of
Clark as a running mate. Asked what
he thinks of Dean, Clark said he likes ‘all of
the people who are running,’ admiring them for
their stamina, organizational skills and
courage. ‘I think the American people
should be really proud of the political
process we have,’ he said. Several
Democratic sources have said Clark -- the
leader of NATO forces during the 1999 war in
Kosovo and a former CNN military analyst --
has begun the process of putting together a
campaign team, including talking to potential
campaign managers, and could announce his
candidacy next week during a trip to Iowa.”
… Kerry – practicing his southern strategy
– tells South Carolina audience he wants to
help historically black colleges thrive.
Excerpt from report in yesterday’s The State
of Columbia by AP’s Jennifer Holland: “Historically
black colleges are an important part of
America, Democratic presidential hopeful John
Kerry said Friday, and he wants to help the
schools find the financial support to thrive.
The U.S. senator from Massachusetts sat in
a semicircle and talked with about 50 students
at Benedict College, one of five predominantly
black colleges in South Carolina, about his
plans to pay for higher education.
Kerry said he understands many minorities
want to attend colleges where they can
celebrate their heritage and share
similarities with their peers. ‘They are
extraordinarily valuable,’ he said. ‘We have
to respect that.’ Kerry is one of nine
Democrats vying for the presidential
nomination who have made an effort to reach
out to South Carolina's black population,
which could make up almost half the voters in
the state's first-in-the-South primary Feb. 3.
While he didn't have a specific plan to
support historically black colleges, Kerry
said he would push money into science and
technology research and increase spending on
Pell Grants, a need-based grant program aimed
at aiding low-income college students.
Kerry also highlighted his plan for a tax
credit to help middle-class families afford to
pay for college. His proposal would apply to
100 percent of the first $1,000 spent on
tuition and 50 percent of the rest, up to
$4,000 a year. His plan includes a ‘service
for college’ initiative, which would offer
students the equivalent of their state's
four-year public college tuition in exchange
for two years of service. Students asked
whether Kerry's plan would apply to
private schools like Benedict College. He said
students at private college would qualify for
assistance. Kerry said he would pay for
part of the plan by closing corporate
loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying
taxes and the rest would be paid for by some
of the money the government would get back by
repealing President Bush's tax cut. Some
of Kerry's proposals sounded familiar
to one of his Democratic rival's plans. U.S.
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina
wants the government to pay for students'
first year of college in exchange for
community service.”
… Just in
case Kucinich isn’t the Dem nominee, he’s
already got an opponent waiting for him back
in Ohio – who’s already blasting him for his
unrealistic terrorism policies. Report in
yesterday’s Washington Post by Juliet Eilperin:
“Rep. Dennis Kucinich's ambitions are set
on winning the nation's highest office, but
the lawmaker from Ohio may need to turn some
of his attention to keeping his House seat --
just in case he doesn't succeed in winning the
Democratic presidential nomination
Republican Edward Fitzpatrick Herman has
announced he will challenge the four-term
lawmaker. Herman was a corporate and
government consultant before being called up
to active military service in the wake of the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. As a part of a
military intelligence task force under Central
Command, he interrogated dozens of al Qaeda
operatives in Afghanistan, according to his
campaign. ‘Northeast Ohioans deserve a
representative in Washington who understands
the importance of the war on terror,’
Herman said. ‘I am running for Congress
because Dennis Kucinich does not appreciate
the nature and magnitude of the threat facing
America from worldwide terrorist
organizations.’ Kucinich spokesman Doug Gordon
countered that Kucinich -- a sharp critic of
the Bush administration's handling of the
fight against terrorism -- can withstand his
opponent's attacks because he has a strong
record where it counts: Ohio's 10th District.
"He saved two community hospitals, a steel
plant and reduced train traffic throughout the
district. He is well known as a fighter for
the little man," Gordon said.
…
From the Iowa Caucus Combat Zone: Witcover
notes that accelerated nominating schedule has
Dem hopefuls in “full pursuit” with four
months remaining until the caucuses.
Headline on Jules Witcover report – dateline:
Des Moines
-- in Friday’s Baltimore Sun: “Iowa’s
stakes”
Excerpt: “In
previous presidential election cycles, White
House hopefuls at this stage were only warming
up for the Iowa precinct caucuses, the first
step in the process of selecting delegates for
the national nominating conventions that are
still nearly a year away. But because the
calendar has been advanced to begin the cycle
earlier than ever - in January - the nine
declared Democratic candidates for 2004
already are in full pursuit here of the votes
that will decide which of them will take on
President Bush a year from November…The
front-runner going in was considered to be
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of neighboring
Missouri, who won the Iowa presidential
caucuses in 1988 but then faded. In recent
months, however, the phenomenon of former Gov.
Howard Dean of Vermont as a fund-raiser
and recruiter of a sizable grass-roots army,
significantly via the Internet, has changed
that perception. A Zogby International poll
out yesterday had Mr. Dean ahead with
23 percent of voters surveyed to 17 for Mr.
Gephardt, 11 for Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts, and the others trailing. So as
the field [gathered yesterday] for Mr.
Harkin's steak fry, the questions of
the day here [were] whether anyone can slow
down the Dean surge and, specifically, whether
Mr. Gephardt can survive a defeat in the one
state he originally was favored to win.
Of particular note in the poll was a Dean edge
over Mr. Gephardt among union voters, the
backbone of the Missourian's support in his
1988 victory here and ever since. But the
survey's indication that 23 percent of Iowans
remain undecided underscored what state party
chairman Gordon Fischer says is still ‘a fluid
situation.’ Jeanni Murphy, a veteran
Democratic Party state official now running
the Dean campaign here, diplomatically
shies away from any predictions. But she
acknowledges that ‘the caucuses are all about
expectations,’ and her candidate's are so high
right now, ‘it keeps me up at night.’ Mr.
Gephardt, however, has had more long-standing
expectations for victory in Iowa, so the
stakes are particularly high for him. A
loss in his back yard would send him into less
hospitable territory in the New Hampshire
primary eight days later, where two New
Englanders, Mr. Dean and Mr. Kerry,
will be waiting in ambush for him. As the
kickoff state in delegate selection, Iowa does
not have a history, however, of deciding
nominations as much as it tends to be, as Mr.
Kerry's Iowa manager John Norris puts
it, ‘more of an elimination process.’ That is,
it serves to winnow the field, indicating
which candidates have sufficient strength and
resources to go on. Mr. Norris, who ran the
Rev. Jesse Jackson's campaign here in 1984 and
is Gov. Tom Vilsack's former chief of
staff, remembers how Sen. Fred R. Harris of
Oklahoma finished a distant fourth in the 1976
Iowa caucuses and declared that he had been
‘winnowed in’ -- but not for very long. ‘If
you don't get to the double-digit threshold
among the candidates,’ Mr. Norris notes, ‘it's
awfully hard to ignite your candidacy.’ One
Democratic candidate who famously exceeded
expectations in Iowa was Jimmy Carter, whose
emergence from nowhere in 1976 remains the
storybook saga of the state as a
president-maker. Mr. Dean's rise this
year has been compared with Mr. Carter's, but
Dean manager Murphy says:
‘Everyone's seen that movie. You have to make
your own movie.’ In 1984, an obscure
Colorado senator named Gary Hart finished a
distant second in the Iowa caucuses to former
Vice President Walter F. Mondale. But he
parlayed his vote of about 12 percent (to Mr.
Mondale's 49) into success by exceeding his
meager expectations. He went on to win the New
Hampshire primary until also fading. It is
with this history in mind that the nine
Democratic hopefuls are already busy beating
the Iowa bushes in hopes of avoiding being
‘winnowed out’ here in January. But the
greater stakes may face Mr. Gephardt,
for whom the bar remains high even in light of
the Dean phenomenon.”
…
People-powered Howard continues to backpedal
on Israel comments, says he had no intention
of suggesting U. S. abandon long-standing
relationship – urges Bush to “swallow his
pride” and send Bill Clinton to the Middle
East to rescue peace process.
Headline from CNN.com: “Dean
defends Middle East remarks”
Excerpt:
“Under fire for saying that the United States
should be even-handed in the
Israeli-Palestinian dispute, 2004 Democratic
presidential front-runner Howard
Dean Wednesday said he would not abandon the
long-standing policy of strong U.S. support
for Israel.
The former Vermont governor said criticism of
his remarks by presidential rival Sen. Joseph
Lieberman was a ‘despicable’ attempt to
divide the Democratic Party, which has long
enjoyed the support of many Jewish voters.
‘We do have a special relationship with
Israel. We would defend Israel if necessary. I
think that is well-known,’ he told CNN.
‘However, we are also the only country capable
of bringing peace to the Middle East, and when
we sit at the negotiating table, we do have to
have the trust of both sides or we will never
succeed.’ Dean also called on President
Bush to ‘swallow his pride’ and send former
President Bill Clinton to the Middle East to
salvage the peace process. ‘I think Bill
Clinton is the president who has come the
closest to bringing Israelis and Palestinians
together,’ he said. ‘Bill Clinton may just
be the person we need to put those
negotiations back on track.’ The
controversy began last week when Dean,
speaking about the Middle East, said he didn't
‘believe stopping the terror has to be a
prerequisite for talking. You always talk.’”
… Going for the bronze
in New Hampshire: In the largely ignored
battle for third in New Hampshire, Boston
Globe columnist says Edwards is making a move.
Headline on Friday’s column by Scot Lehigh
from Bedford, NH: “Edwards is getting a
closer look in N. H.” Excerpt: “As a
mark of seriousness, it was unmistakable. US
Senator John Edwards surprised the political
world this week by ruling out a run for
reelection to his North Carolina seat, an
option widely assumed to be his fallback if
his presidential campaign sputters. ‘I
obviously feel very optimistic or I wouldn't
have made that decision,’ Edwards says,
noting that he is now ahead (albeit very
narrowly) in South Carolina, site of the most
important early Southern primary, and making
progress in Iowa and New Hampshire. By
boldly burning his bridge, the first-term
senator, who will formally announce for
president on Tuesday, has underscored his
determination. That hasn't gone unnoticed in
New Hampshire, where Edwards is in the hunt
for third place. With most media watching
the duel between former Vermont governor
Howard Dean and Massachusetts Senator
John Kerry, little attention has been
paid to the battle for bronze. Still,
finishing a solid third is important for those
candidates hoping to survive Iowa and New
Hampshire and then jump-start their campaigns
in the Feb. 3 round of primaries. A new
Boston Globe poll has three of those hopefuls
-- Edwards, US Representative Richard Gephardt
of Missouri, and Connecticut Senator Joseph
Lieberman -- bunched in single digits.
However, among New Hampshire observers,
there's a sense that Lieberman is fading
and Gephardt is stalled. And increasingly
that it's Edwards, the new face, who is
earning an interested look as the campaign
quickens. ‘He is in the mix, and his window of
opportunity is right now,’ says Senator Lou
D'Allesandro, Democrat of Manchester, who is
uncommitted in the race. To be sure,
Edwards hasn't yet found the perfect pitch.
His twangy Southern warmth sometimes overheats
into cornpone, and his focus may be too
weighted toward the working class for a
relatively well-heeled state. Still, the
North Carolinian has put forth an interesting
mix of ideas to expand educational
opportunities, boost savings, promote ‘fair
trade’ policies, close tax loopholes, and
target business-development funds to regions
suffering trade-related job loss.
Meanwhile, his status as a Southerner adds
extra electoral weight to a resume otherwise
seen as somewhat slender…A non-Southern
candidate risks conceding to the Republicans a
base that includes the 11 states of the old
Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Oklahoma, 13
states that total 168 electoral votes, says
Mayer. To that total, add some other
regularly Republican states from the Midwest,
Great Plains, and Rocky Mountain West.
Including those that George W. Bush won by at
least 9 percentage points in 2000 puts another
11 states, with 55 electoral votes, in the GOP
column. ‘Assuming national conditions are
approximately what they are today, with a
non-Southern candidate at the top of the
Democratic ticket, the Republicans have a
pretty safe, solid base of 223 electoral
votes’ of the required 270, Mayer says. Now,
there's always a risk of reading too much into
results from a handful of elections. And yet
that data does make a certain strategic
argument for a Southerner. Interestingly,
it's an argument Edwards isn't inclined
to make for himself. Meeting with reporters
after a Tuesday speech to a New England
Council breakfast, Edwards saw
biography, not geography, as destiny, saying
his real strength was his roots in the working
class. ‘If I am on a stage with George Bush in
2004, I can make the most powerful case about
him leaving those people behind,’ Edwards
says. So is a Democrat from the South more
electable than the candidates from the North?
‘I think I can beat George Bush,’ Edwards
said. ‘I'll let voters decide what they think
about the other.’
… Graham
defends decision to criticize Bush policies on
9/11, says they were delivered “in the best
tradition” of political dialogue. Headline
from Friday’s The Union Leader: “Graham:
Iraq has become battleground for terrorists”
Excerpt from Associated Press coverage by
Devlin Barrett in New York: “Democratic
presidential hopeful Bob Graham assailed
President Bush on the anniversary of the Sept.
11 attacks, arguing that the Iraq conflict
undercut the war on terror and transformed the
Persian Gulf nation into a magnet for
terrorists. The only candidate of the nine
challengers to criticize Bush on Thursday, the
former chairman of the Senate Intelligence
Committee said Iraq was not a battleground in
the global war on terrorism until the
president decided to use force to topple
Saddam Hussein's regime. ‘Iraq was not part
of the war on terrorism prior to our military
invasion,’ the Florida senator told
reporters. ‘The reason it's now part of it is
because terrorists have been induced to come
into Iraq because of their enmity toward the
United States and the circumstances inside
Iraq. Our real enemies continue to be al-Qaida,
Hezbollah and other international terror
groups which have their base of operations
outside of Iraq.’ Blocks from the World
Trade Center site, Graham delivered the same
criticism of the Bush administration's foreign
policy that he has said repeatedly on the
campaign trail. Of the six lawmakers
seeking the Democratic nomination, only
Graham and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of
Ohio voted against the congressional
resolution authorizing the use of military
force in Iraq; Graham contended that it
shifted the focus from the pursuit of
terrorists. ‘The elimination of Saddam Hussein
had a series of adverse affects on the United
States, only one of which is the fact that
we've taken the focus off the war on
terrorism, and therefore allowed al-Qaida to
regenerate and allow an even more competent
group of terrorists, Hezbollah, to go
untouched,’ Graham told the Council on
Foreign Relations. Most of the candidates put
their campaigns on hold on the second
anniversary of the attacks. Some took part in
memorial services, others had no public
events. Asked if political criticism was
appropriate on Sept. 11, Graham defended his
comments, saying it was ‘in the best
tradition...to reflect on what we have done to
reduce the prospect of another Sept. 11.’
Graham said Bush has strayed from the
anti-terrorism priorities set in 2001. The
effect of the war outside Iraq, he argued, has
been to encourage recruitment of militants,
strain relations with needed allies and
sharpen the religious fervor of anti-American
sentiment. For those reasons, and what he
called the shortcomings of homeland defense
funding and organization, Graham
said the country is no more secure than it was
two years ago. The candidate predicted it
would take about five years of effort in Iraq
‘to do the things that are urgent.’”
… “Dean
calls for overhaul of mental health care”
– headline from yesterday’s Union Leader.
Excerpt from coverage – dateline: Lebanon – of
Dean’s remarks in New Hampshire by AP’s
Holly Ramer: “Complaining that jails and
prisons have become the largest providers of
mental health care, Democratic Presidential
hopeful Howard Dean yesterday proposed an
overhaul focused on early intervention and
integrating treatment with existing social
services. ‘The Los Angeles jail now
treats more patients than any psychiatric
hospital in the United States of America,’
Dean told an audience of doctors at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. ‘Treating
mental health problems early is less
expensive, more effective and more humane than
waiting until people with serious mental
illness end up in a hospital or a jail cell,’
he said. Dean, who said his background as
a physician gives him a unique appreciation of
the problem, said the public mental health
system is in shambles and the federal
government does little to help the 11 million
American adults who struggle with mental
illness. ‘As access to health insurance
has declined for all but the wealthiest
Americans, mental health care has been pushed
to the bottom of the barrel. The result has
been treatable illnesses turning into serious
health crises, and too many working people
being driven into poverty and homelessness,”
Dean said. Dean promised to
improve school-based screening to identify
children who are at risk and proposed pairing
mental health treatment with programs that
address unemployment, homelessness and drug
addiction. ‘Too many children who need help
are going unnoticed and failing to address
their needs contributes to alarming suicide
and dropout rates,’ he said.”
… Tax cut
craziness: Wannabes divided on how much they
would cut the tax cuts. Headline from
Friday’s New York Times: “Tax Cuts Split
the Democratic Presidential Field” Excerpt
from report by the Times’ David E. Rosenbaum:
“At nearly every campaign stop, Howard
Dean says most Americans would happily pay as
much taxes as they paid under Bill Clinton if
they could have the same economy they had in
the Clinton years. Dr. Dean, former
governor of Vermont, advocates repealing all
of President Bush's tax cuts and using the
money for universal health insurance, domestic
security and job creation. ‘Most middle-class
people never got a tax cut from George Bush,’
Dr. Dean asserted last week in a debate
in New Mexico with the other Democratic
presidential candidates. ‘I'm sure they'd
rather have health insurance for everybody
than the $100 they got from George Bush's tax
cut.’ Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
takes a different tack. He would repeal the
Bush tax cuts enjoyed primarily by the wealthy
but would retain and possibly expand those
provisions that help taxpayers of modest
means, for instance the new 10 percent tax
bracket and more generous child credits for
parents. ‘Some in my party want to balance
the budget on the backs of the middle class,’
Mr. Kerry, who voted against all the
Bush tax cuts, said on Tuesday at a day care
center in downtown Baltimore. ‘I want to give
the middle class a tax cut, not a tax
increase. Too many middle-class people are
getting pummeled everywhere they turn.’ The
tax issue is a main divide on domestic policy
among the Democrats running for president. All
of them call the Bush tax policies
irresponsible, but they differ on what to do
about them. Like Dr. Dean, Representative
Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri would repeal
all the tax cuts enacted in the last three
years. He would use the revenue for a
multibillion-dollar program to provide health
insurance for nearly all Americans. The
president, Mr. Gephardt declared at a
debate of the candidates in Baltimore on
Tuesday night, ‘has only one idea in his head:
tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans,
followed by tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans, followed by tax cuts for the
wealthiest Americans.’ But like Mr. Kerry,
the other Democratic candidates, perhaps
taking their cue from Mr. Clinton's 1992
presidential campaign strategy, would do away
only with the tax cuts for the wealthy. They
emphasize the importance of maintaining tax
reductions for middle-class taxpayers.
After Dr. Dean's remark at the New Mexico
debate about the Bush legislation's $100 in
tax relief for most, Senator Joseph I.
Lieberman of Connecticut declared: ‘We've got
to take back some of those high-income tax
cuts, but I disagree with Governor Dean and
others who would adopt so large a program that
it would force an increase in middle-class
taxes. That's not fair. The middle class is
stressed today. They've got it up to here. And
they've got more than $100, let's be honest
about it.’”
… Edwards
pushes for college vote in Iowa – calls
himself “the most appealing candidate to
university students.” Headline from
Thursday’s Iowa State Daily (Iowa State
University): “College Dems’ president
endorses Edwards” Excerpt from report by
the Daily’s Scott Rank: “Sen. John Edwards,
D-NC, announced he had received the
endorsement of Ashley Bell, president of the
College Democrats of America, and announced
his agenda for young Americans during a
conference call with college newspapers
Wednesday. Edwards took advantage
of the endorsement from the president of the
College Democrats, the official outreach arm
of the Democratic Party, calling himself
the ‘most appealing candidate to university
students.’ While Bell announced his
individual support for Edwards, the
College Democrats don't officially support any
of the nine democratic presidential
candidates….’Young people are aching for real
leadership on the issues to our lives. Today's
graduates are struggling to find jobs,’ Bell
said. ‘I want a job after college, and John
Edwards will make the first year of college
free and has a plan to create jobs for the
college graduates this administration has
neglected. He is our best hope of winning
back the White House.’ Edwards said he
was motivated to provide a year of free
college education because of personal reasons.
He was the first member of his family to
attend a university and worked his way through
North Carolina State University. Edwards
said his plan is to provide free tuition to a
student at a state university or college if
they meet the qualifications to be enrolled in
college and are willing to work 10 hours a
week during the first year in school.
Bell's support came at a critical time for
Edwards when his campaign is looking to
break away from the middle of the pack of nine
candidates and convince voters he is in the
presidential race for the long haul…Headline
from Thursday’s Daily Iowan (University of
Iowa): “Edwards pushes free-college plan”
Excerpt from report by the DI’s Jeffrey Patch:
“Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., defended his
‘College for Everyone’ plan and secured the
endorsement of the president of the College
Democrats, a national organization with 475
campus chapters, in a conference call with
reporters Wednesday. ‘John Edwards
will make the first year of college free, and
he has a plan to create jobs for the college
graduates this administration has neglected,’
said Ashley Bell, the national president of
the College Democrats. ‘He is our best hope
of winning back the White House.’ The
senator's college plan would give states
resources to make the first year of tuition at
every public university and community college
free for students who commit to working 10
hours a week. The 50-year-old senator said he
will repeal the Bush tax cuts on the
wealthiest Americans and ‘cut unnecessary
corporate subsidies and close pointless tax
loopholes’ to pay for such programs as College
for Everyone. On Sunday, Edwards
announced that he is fully committed to
running for president, and he will not seek
re-election to the Senate in 2004 or the
vice-presidential spot. ‘I am running for
president, period,’ he told The Daily Iowan on
Wednesday from a Philadelphia campaign stop.
‘There is no doubt in my mind whether I will
be the Democratic nominee.’”
… Dean – an
admitted “big mouth” – learning that not all
words and phrases are favorable to his
candidacy. Report says “it is his casual --
some would say reckless -- use of language on
issues demanding precision that has landed
Dean in the hottest water.” Headline from
Friday’s Union Leader: “Dean finds words
can be a friend or foe” Excerpt from
coverage by AP political watcher Ron Fournier:
“Howard Dean is learning that his
words count -- and can count against him -- as
the Democratic presidential front-runner. From
the Middle East to race, Social Security and
campaign finance reform, the former Vermont
governor is getting singed by nearly every
hot-button issue he touches. His eight
Democratic rivals hope to slow Dean's
momentum by highlighting his policy flip-flops
and misstatements, probing every pronouncement
for the slightest sign of a gaffe. Dean has
given them plenty of ammunition, though his
foes have taken some liberties with his
record. ‘It's what the field typically
does to front-runners,’ Democratic strategist
Paul Begala said. ‘People attack you over
every minute difference.’ Dean holds a
precarious perch atop the Democratic field.
Casting himself as a straight-shooting,
anti-establishment candidate, he raised more
money than his rivals from April to June, drew
massive crowds at summer rallies and surged to
the lead in key-state polls. After they
were slow to recognize his summer ascent,
Dean's opponents opened the fall campaign by
questioning his foreign policy credentials and
attacking his positions on taxes and trade.
Rival campaigns also highlighted shifts in
Dean's policies, including: His denial
that he ever suggested raising the retirement
age, though he has…His vow to attack any
Democrat who opts out of the public finance
system, only to consider leaving it
himself…His softening of support for rolling
back the embargo on Cuba. Dean allies
argue that any open-minded politician evolves
on issues -- or gets caught musing aloud about
possible reversals, a habit Dean says he
picked up as governor. ‘Sometimes I think
out loud when I shouldn't,’ he said in a
recent interview. But it is his casual --
some would say reckless -- use of language on
issues demanding precision that has landed
Dean in the hottest water.”
… IOWA PRES
WATCH NOTE: Graham embraces laudable goal of
helping U. S. troops – but does anybody care
or make any difference in Graham’s fading bid
for the presidency. Excerpt from report by
AP’s Nedra Pickler: “Democratic presidential
candidate Bob Graham said Friday that the
least the government can do for soldiers who
are injured or get sick in the line of duty is
let them keep their meal allowance. Soldiers
in the field get $8.10 a day for food, but
since those who are hospitalized get free
hospital meals, the military requires them to
repay the allowance. Graham, a Florida
senator, said he will introduce a bill next
week that prevents them from having to
reimburse the government. Rep. C.W. Bill
Young, R-Florida, sponsored a similar bill in
the House after learning that Marine Staff
Sgt. Bill Murwin of Nevada had been billed
$243 for his meals while hospitalized due to
wounds suffered in Iraq. Part of his left foot
was amputated. Graham's bill would cover those
who get sick as well as injured. ‘How can we
justify spending billions of dollars on no-bid
contracts to rebuild Iraq, then turn around
and charge an injured soldier $8.10 a day for
meals while they are being treated for war
injuries?’ Graham said in a statement.”
… One of
strangest issues of the campaign – Lieberman
babbles on and on about hamburgers and the
Chinese yuan. Under the subhead “Certain
it's beef?” – John McCaslin reported in
Friday’s “Inside the Beltway” column in the
Washington Times: "Looking for a
cheap hamburger? ‘If you should find
yourself hankering for a hamburger, may I
respectfully suggest that you go to Beijing?’
says 2004 presidential hopeful Sen. Joe
Lieberman. ‘That's where you'll find the
world's cheapest hamburgers.’ No, this
isn't ‘Joe's’ (that's what his campaign
wants us to call him) latest campaign gimmick.
Rather, Mr. Lieberman this week introduced
Senate Bill 1592, to require negotiation and
appropriate action with respect to certain
countries that engage in currency
manipulation. As for the hamburger
analogy, the senator borrowed a page from the
Economist magazine, which for more than 15
years has compiled a ‘Big Mac’ index to chart
the relative values of national currencies. As
the Connecticut Democrat notes, the recipe for
a McDonald's Big Mac is pretty much the same
everywhere, and in a perfect world it would
presumably cost about the same everywhere. ‘But
we find that instead of costing about the
same, as one would expect, in Chinese yuan a
Big Mac costs about 56 percent less than it
would in the average American city,’ he says.
‘Such a bargain.’ What's wrong with that?
The yuan, the senator explains, has been
systematically kept at low value — an
artificially low value — pursuant to
intervention by the Chinese government in
currency markets. In fact, it's about 40
percent lower than it should be in an
unfettered currency market. And since 1994,
the Chinese have bought almost 300 billion
U.S. dollars to keep the yuan's value low.
‘That's why China has the world's cheapest
hamburgers,’ he says. ‘If we were only
dealing with hamburgers, I would not object,
but the Big Mac Index explains a good deal
about why we have seen a catastrophic and
growing trade deficit with China, and why this
is causing massive layoffs in the U.S.
manufacturing sector.’”
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