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Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues
IOWA
DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
PAGE 1
Sunday,
Aug. 10, 2003
Quotable:
“Looks like Sen.
Edwards is trying to take one of the most
important tests in the country without having
finished his homework.”
– The Union Leader editorial,
commenting on the hopeful’s inability to
discuss standardized testing
Quotable:
“In interviews, some of
them described Kerry's statements as
‘completely wrong,’ ‘patently untrue’ and
‘inappropriate and rather misleading.’"
– Washington Post report by Ceci
Connolly, reporting on Kerry’s
boasts that he has “the best” health care
proposal
Quotable:
“The
party is perilously out of touch with a large
swath of black voters — those 18 to 35 years
old who grew up after the groundbreaking years
of the civil rights movement.”
–
New York Times report on young black voters
abandoning the Democratic Party
Quotable: Dean
“happens to be the most
interesting candidate in a bunch of people
who are excessively gray.”
-- Brookings Institution political scholar
Stephen Hess
Quotable:
“The man who just a few
months ago looked like a cinch for re-election
now looks vulnerable.”
– Des Moines Register editorial,
commenting on polls showing “Bush’s numbers in
decline”
Quotable:
“Al Gore is so
completely out of touch with reality and with
the American people that we shudder to
imagine the state our nation would be in today
had he been President for the past two and a
half years.”
– The Union Leader editorial,
responding to Gore’s comments in a
Thursday speech
Quotable:
“These people cast
shadows far larger than any of these
candidates could even hope to have even if
they were standing on each other's shoulders."
-- Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist
Institute for Public Opinion, commenting
on the shadows Gore and the Clintons cast over
the Dem hopefuls
Quotable:
“We've gotten all of
them, but we've got one who is waffling a
little bit and that's Kerry.”
– Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the
Congressional Black Caucus announcing wannabe
debates in Detroit and Baltimore
Quotable:
“I’m glad I’m not in
California, and I’m certainly glad I’m not the
governor of California.”
– IA Guv Vilsack, saying Arnold
Schwarzenegger should stick to movies.
Iowa State Fair:
The
Fiddler’s Contest at Pioneer Hall during the
day followed by the Fiddler’s Dance tonight.
The Star Spangled Swingers Square Dancers from
Des Moines on the Riley Stage. Uncle
Kracker and Everclear in the Grandstand
tonight.
GENERAL
NEWS:
Among
the offerings in today's update:
Headline on
New Hampshire editorial says Gore was
“Delusion-Al” in New York speech and that
the ex-VP spoke “nonsense”
Kerry
Distortion I: On campaign trail and website,
Mass Sen gives himself “First Prize” blue
ribbon – and distorts rating -- for health
care proposal
Dean
bandwagon hits roadblock: SC poll has People
Powered Howard at 5%. Lieberman slips,
Edwards in double digits for second place
While
Edwards gains in SC, his numbers drop –
and his Senate seat in jeopardy – in NC.
Even GWB would top him 54-40 in his
home state
Des Moines
Sunday Register today devotes front page of
Opinion section to health care issues – an
editorial & overview of respective plans by
wannabes
Hundreds
of Teamsters rallied in DSM yesterday as
Gephardt got their formal endorsement – and
eyes AFL-CIO nod in October
Bob Novak’s
column today: Dean scored political
victory by stopping AFL-CIO endorsement of
Gephardt
The Union
Leader – in emerging campaign watchdog role
– drills Edwards in editorial for not
“finishing his homework” on standardized
testing, says he “didn’t know enough
about the subject” to answer a question
Kerry
Distortion II: Medical marijuana advocates
accuse Kerry of flip-flopping – again
Novak
reports administration will provide
“substantial evidence” of weapons of mass
destruction next month
Being a
wannabe made more difficult by
headline-grabbing Gore and the Clintons
IA Guv
Vilsack says Arnold should make more movies,
but sees silver lining in CA recall effort –
companies looking for states that are
politically stable will skip California
Graham-sponsored race car – driven by former
IA House Dem Leader Schrader – to make first
appearance Tuesday at State Fair
Des Moines
Register editorial says 2004 “looms larger”
with Dems in disarray, Dean climbing
in polls and Bush’s “numbers in decline”
California
craziness: CNN survey indicates that three
tied for fifth place in CA gov polling – at
4% -- are porn publisher Flynt, columnist
Arianna Huffington, ex-MLB commissioner
Ueberroth. Arnold leads with 25%
Unlikely
combo – Congressional Black Caucus and
Fox News Channel – team up on two
wannabe debates next month and in October
Lieberman
tries another approach: Coattails – says
he’s a Clinton-Gore “centrist”
Downriver
interests lose latest round in the Great
Missouri River Flow Feud, river levels
expected to drop before Tuesday
Kucinich
escalates attacks on rivals – begins with
Dean by saying he’s not progressive enough
In
national poll, Lieberman clings to shrinking
lead while Dean moves past Kerry in the left
lane. The national numbers are academic,
however, since Dean leads both in key
opening-round states – and then, as noted
above, falters in SC
Five of six
fair-going wannabes to take to the
Register’s political Soap Box and address
Iowans, but Dean declines
Washington
Post: New liberal coalition – Americans
Coming Together (ACT) – plans to spend
$75M to beat Bush
In New
Hampshire, Kerry defends babbling wannabes
State –
Davenport father gets jail time for
assaulting high school basketball referee
Ashcroft
effort to track lenient federal judges
attracts criticism that he’s creating a
“blacklist’
NY Times:
Dems can’t take younger black voters for
granted anymore
War &
terrorism: National Guardsman from Des
Moines loses legs in Baghdad blast, two
other Iowans injured
Iowaism:
Dairy association plans to distribute 90,000
free samples of “Salad-on-a-Stick” at the
Iowa State Fair All these stories below and more.
Morning Reports:
… The
weekend political story: More than
100 make CA guv ballot. It’s a well-documented
fact that they can’t governor in California –
or at least Gray Davis can’t – but it appears
they can’t count either. Although some
media outlets reported that 130 or more
qualified for the California recall ballot,
CNN said today unofficial reports – since
officials were still double-checking the
signatures – indicated that 129 candidates
filed for the election with at least 106
qualified for the 10/7 ballot.
Meanwhile, Fox News Channel reported that 150
filed papers
…
CNN/TIME/Gallup Poll reveals that 54%
support removing Davis. Only two of
100-plus guv wannabes in double figures –
Republican Schwarzenegger 25%, Dem Lt.
Gov. Bustamante 15%
… Sioux City Journal reports that Corps of
Engineers may start lowering water levels
on the Missouri River before Tuesday. (See
related report below from Omaha World-Herald.)
… Early
responses to a Sioux City Journal online
“Quick Poll” indicate confidence that
Schwarzenegger will become the next governor
of California. The question: “Do you
believe Arnold Schwarzenegger will become
governor of California?” With 225
answers recorded -- Yes 66.2%, No 33.8%…From
online survey – under headline “Governator”
– by Chicago Tribune online: With nearly
16,000 responses, 51.7% said Arnold will
not be elected CA Guv, 48.3% say he
will…Also from the Sioux City Journal, a
citizen commentary: “For any guy who can
earn millions making movies of pure violence
and marketing them to children, then
reinvent himself as some savior for the
young, politics would seem a logical next
career move.” – Larry Johns, Sioux
City
… From IA Guv
Vilsack: ”My advice to him, if he’s
successful, is he’ll have to surround
himself with really smart people who are
very experienced.” …Featured headline
from yesterday’s Boston Herald online: “Arnold
could bring Camelot to California”
Opening sentence from report by Herald’s
Steve Marantz: “The sagging Kennedy dynasty
may return to glory on the muscle-bound
shoulders of a Republican as Arnold
Schwarzenegger campaigns to bring Camelot to
California.”
… The
Wannabe Week Ahead: Most of the wayward
wannabes will be wandering in Iowa –
especially at the State Fair (see next item)
-- during the coming week. Graham’s
“vacation” continues – with stops today in
Mount Pleasant and Eldridge – into
the week. He’s to be in Davenport and
Solon tomorrow. Edwards begins a
multi-county series of “Main Street Tours” –
primarily in eastern IA – on Wednesday. On
Thursday afternoon, six of the nine --
Dean, Edwards, Gephardt, Graham, Kerry and
Kucinich -- are scheduled to attend a
Vilsack-sponsored health care forum at
Drake University in Des Moines.
… State
Fair Soap Box schedule set – but Dean opts to
remain silent. The Des Moines Register is
providing a candidate’s Soap Box on the
Grand Concourse at the Iowa State Fair from
which the wannabes can address fairgoers.
Graham was the first to participate during
the opening day on Thursday. Five more Dem
hopefuls are scheduled to visit the fair – but
only four will be on the Soap Box. The
Register reports that Dean, who will be at the
fair Thursday, has “declined to participate in
the Soap Box.” The latest Soap Box
schedule: Wednesday – Kerry 10:20 a.m.
Thursday – Kucinich 10:40 a.m.,
Gephardt 5:30 p.m. Friday – Edwards
10 a.m.
… “Kerry
blasts Cuomo for ‘babble’ remark” –
headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader.
Excerpts from report on Kerry campaign
stop in Derry, NH: “Responding to criticism
by prominent Democrat Mario Cuomo, John Kerry
said yesterday the former New York governor
needs to listen more closely to the messages
of the nine Democratic Presidential
contenders. ‘Cuomo ought to listen to what
we’re saying . . . I think people are going to
listen not to labels, but what your policies
are,’ Kerry said while campaigning in
New Hampshire yesterday. On Wednesday,
Cuomo labeled the comments by Democratic
contenders as ‘babble’ and said they lack a
unified voice. He called for former Vice
President Al Gore to enter the
campaign. Gore has said he was not
going to run, but would endorse one of the
candidates later in the election cycle.
Kerry also said his policies are strongly in
line with former President Bill Clinton,
despite his promise to keep tax cuts for the
middle class. When asked how important an
endorsement from Gore would be,
Kerry said ‘endorsements are welcome,’ but
that they are ‘not the whole deal by any
stretch of the imagination.’ Kerry said the
election was not about gaining endorsements,
but focusing on health care, improving the
economy and providing stronger homeland
security. The Massachusetts senator toured
shops in downtown Derry, played classical
guitar and flipped burgers in the kitchen of a
restaurant.”
… “Teamsters
rally for Gephardt” – Headline from this
morning’s Quad-City Times. Excerpt: “Hundreds
of Teamsters rallied Saturday as Democratic
presidential candidate Dick Gephardt formally
accepted the 1.4 million-member union’s
endorsement. The Missouri congressman, who
has been aggressively courting organized
labor, made his first stop Saturday in Detroit
where International Brotherhood of Teamsters
President James P. Hoffa announced the
endorsement, which Gephardt had
unofficially won on Aug. 1. At the next
rally in Iowa, Hoffa, who stood in front of
two end-to-end semitrailers plastered with
campaign and union signs, said Gephardt has
fought for America’s working families for 27
years in Congress. ‘He knows about
working people and what they’ve got to do
today,’ Hoffa told the cheering crowd of
about 300 Teamsters from Nebraska, Iowa and
Missouri. ‘He understands unions and he
understands you and me.’ Hoffa said more
than 90 percent of the Teamsters the union
recently polled support Gephardt,
including the unanimous support of the union’s
executive board. Gephardt, whose voice
cracked and eyes welled with tears, said the
Teamsters endorsement was a special one to him
because his father, a milk truck driver, had
been a Teamster. ‘I will be a president
every day in the Oval Office for people like
you and people like my parents,’ he said as
the crowd hollered and waved blue and gold
signs that read ‘Gephardt — Fighting for
Working Families.’ Gephardt has
trailed in many of the polls, but the longtime
ally of organized labor so far has won
endorsements from 11 international unions with
a collective membership of more than 3
million. He’s also working to nab the 13.2
million-member AFL-CIO’s endorsement when
labor leaders meet in October.”
… Edwards unable to
respond to question on standardized tests at
NH NEA convention – and the Union Leader hits
him with an editorial. Headline on Friday
editorial – “Cram time: Edwards fails a
practice test” Editorial excerpt: “Sen.
John Edwards had a ‘duh’ moment in Bartlett on
Wednesday. Edwards was there to hand out
copies of his 60-page booklet detailing his
policy agenda for the nation. The first
line of his booklet reads, ‘I’ve spent the
last year putting together a detailed plan to
get our country moving again.’ Handing out the
booklet in Bartlett, he said, ‘I want you to
know where I stand on everything.’ Then the
head of Derry’s teachers’ union asked Edwards
what he would do to improve standardized
testing. His answer? He didn’t know enough
about the subject to give an answer. The
man spent the past year crafting a ‘detailed
plan’ for the country, and he has no opinion
on standardized testing, one of the hottest
subjects in America in the past two years?
Looks like Sen. Edwards is trying to take one
of the most important tests in the country
without having finished his homework.”
… Kerry
Distortion I: In the “Inside Politics”
column in Friday’s Washington Times, Jennifer
Harper reported that Kerry has come under
attack from medical marijuana advocates.
The item: “Medical
marijuana fans are accusing presidential
contender Sen. John Kerry of flip-flopping on
the issue to the point where he now
essentially embraces the Bush administration's
position. The Massachusetts Democrat said
Wednesday he'd put off any final decision on
medical marijuana because there's ‘a study
under way analyzing what the science is.’ But
Aaron Houston of the Granite Staters for
Medical Marijuana said that just a month
ago Mr. Kerry seemed to endorse medical
marijuana use, and when asked about the
content of his mysterious study, said, ‘I am
trying to find out. I don't know.’ Mr.
Kerry did say his ‘personal disposition is
open to the issue of medical marijuana’ and
that he'd stop Drug Enforcement Administration
raids on patients using the stuff under
California's medical marijuana law. Mr.
Houston said that rang hollow. ‘I was
embarrassed for the senator,’ Mr. Houston
said. ‘He seemed so afraid to take a clear
stand that he hid behind a study he knows
nothing about — and which may not even exist.’ Mr.
Kerry could end up endorsing the same
policy as Attorney General John Ashcroft, who
shepherded the DEA policy against medical
marijuana users, Mr. Houston said — leaving
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich as the most medical
marijuana-friendly presidential candidate.
The Ohio Democrat has promised to issue an
executive order allowing its use.”
… Under the
subhead “Labor Infighting,” columnist Robert
Novak reports that Dean secured a “political
victory” by sidetracking union endorsement of
Gephardt. Excerpt from Novak’s column in
today’s Chicago Sun-Times: “Former Vermont
Gov. Howard Dean's campaign scored a political
victory, with the help of his newly named
labor operative, by stopping the AFL-CIO's
immediate endorsement of Rep. Richard Gephardt
for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Gephardt, backed by 11 unions, pushed hard
for the labor federation's endorsement at the
AFL-CIO meeting in Chicago this past week. Bob
Mullenkamp, Dean's new labor aide, worked
to postpone further consideration of the issue
until another meeting was called for October.
Mullenkamp was an aide to former Teamsters
president Ron Carey and is on poor terms with
the union's present leadership headed by James
P. Hoffa, a strong supporter of Gephardt.
Mullenkamp is married to Karen Ackerman,
currently political director of the AFL-CIO.”
… In South
Carolina – with primary next after IA and NH
-- Lieberman slides in latest poll, Edwards’
finding second place support and Clark at 0%.
Commentators who suggest Dean will drop in the
South may be right. Excerpts from polling
and commentary by the American Research Group:
“While remaining in the lead, Connecticut
Senator Joseph Lieberman has lost ground in
ballot preference among likely Democratic
primary voters in South Carolina. A total
of 14% of likely Democratic primary voters in
South Carolina say they would vote for
Lieberman and 48% say they are
undecided. Ballot preference for
Lieberman was at 22% in January and 19% in
April. In a ballot preference Lieberman leads
with 14%. He is followed by Edwards at 10%,
Gephardt at 8%, Kerry at 6%, Dean at 5%, and
Sharpton at 4%. Others: Biden, Kucinich and
Moseley Braun at 1%, Clark “0%” non-showing. These
results are based on 600 completed telephone
interviews among a statewide random sample of
registered voters in South Carolina saying
they would definitely vote in the Democratic
presidential preference primary. The
interviews were conducted August 2 through
6. The theoretical margin of error for the
total sample of 600 is plus or minus 4
percentage points, 95% of the time, on
questions where opinion is evenly split.”
… “Kucinich
faults Dean for not being progressive enough”
– Headline from Friday’s The Union Leader.
Excerpt from report by AP’s Nedra Pickler: “Democrat
Dennis Kucinich is challenging the positions
of his presidential rivals, beginning with the
candidate he considers the front-runner —
Howard Dean.
The Ohio congressman said Thursday that
Dean has been labeled a liberal, a
perception he dismisses. Both Dean and
Kucinich entered the race as underdogs and
have been outspoken opponents of the U.S.-led
war with Iraq, but while Kucinich remains a
long shot in the field of nine, Dean has
become a leading contender. ‘His economics
are anything but progressive,’ Kucinich
said of Dean in a telephone interview.
‘So the question is: What constituency will he
be representing in the White House?’ Dean’s
insurgency has made him the object of
increasing criticism. Moderate Joe
Lieberman, a senator from Connecticut,
said Monday that Dean’s opposition to
the war and his call to repeal President
Bush’s tax cuts are ‘a ticket to nowhere.’
Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright said if
Lieberman is attacking Dean from the right and
Kucinich from the left, ‘You know what that
means — the American people think he’s just
right.’ Kucinich took his first
shot at Dean in Tuesday night’s
presidential forum hosted by the AFL-CIO.
Kucinich said the age to receive full
Social Security benefits should return to 65,
but pointed out that Dean has suggested
raising the age to 70 or 68 in the past to
help balance the budget. Dean says he
no longer thinks an increase is necessary. He
still wants to work toward a balanced budget,
but says it can be done without raising the
age or cutting defense spending if the economy
improves. But Kucinich said if Dean wants
to balance the budget without reducing the
Pentagon’s funding, he must take money from
social programs. ‘If someone wants to be a
fiscal conservative, a good place to start is
the Pentagon budget and he’s already taken it
off the table,’ Kucinich said. ‘How in the
world can you be for peace when you won’t
touch a Pentagon budget that needs war to
expand, that needs war in order to justify
itself?’”
… Must read.
Apparently feeling no sympathy about Gore’s
2000 defeat, The Union Leader editorializes
that the former VP is – to put it bluntly –
unrealistic, uninformed and unwelcome.
Headline: “Delusion-AL: Gore speaks
nonsense in New York” Editorial: “Occasionally
history produces moments that make one pause
and give thanks that some past event turned
out the way that it did. Al Gore’s speech at
New York University yesterday was one of those
moments. It made us very thankful that
George W. Bush won the 2000 Presidential
election. Gore strongly suggested
yesterday that had he been President he would
not have used American military forces to
remove Saddam Hussein from power. After
accusing the Bush administration of being
dishonest, he said: ‘The way we went to war in
Iraq illustrates this larger problem.
Normally, we Americans lay the facts on the
table, talk through the choices before us and
make a decision. But that didn’t really happen
with this war — not the way it should have.
And as a result, too many of our soldiers are
paying the highest price, for the strategic
miscalculations, serious misjudgments, and
historic mistakes that have put them and our
nation in harm’s way.’ About the reasons for
going to war, Gore concluded, ‘In other
words, when you put it all together, it was
just one mistaken impression after another.’
In sum, a President Gore would have left
Saddam Hussein sitting fat and happy in his
palaces, left the Iraqi people to be tortured,
raped and murdered at will, and left Saddam’s
weapons programs — which did exist — unchecked
and under the control of a maniac who hated
the United States and had gone so far in
expressing this hatred as to attempt the
assassination of one of its Presidents.
That Gore fails to comprehend the
magnitude of the security threat Saddam
Hussein’s regime posed to the United States —
and that he believes the Bush administration
initiated an unjustified war purely out of
venal political motives — ought to immediately
disqualify him from being taken seriously as a
major political candidate. This is the
stuff of delusionals and conspiracy theorists.
Gore went on to repeatedly accuse the
Bush administration of deliberately deceiving
the public on virtually every issue under the
sun. That’s pretty rich coming from the
vice president of the most dishonest
administration in American history. Al
Gore is so completely out of touch with
reality and with the American people that we
shudder to imagine the state our nation would
be in today had he been President for the past
two and a half years.”
…
NC poll: By 48-47 margin, home state voters
disapprove of his White House bid. Numbers
below 50% in possible Senate re-election bid –
and Bush would carry the state 54-40 in a
head-to-head matchup.
Under the subhead “Edwards
malaise,”
Jennifer Harper reported in the “Inside
Politics” column in Friday’s Washington Times:
“Democrat John Edwards, whose presidential
campaign has been going nowhere, is running
well behind President Bush in his home state
of North Carolina. The senator's re-election
prospects are looking shakier, too, if he
decides to seek a second term. The
president would defeat Mr. Edwards 54
percent to 40 percent, according to a Research
2000 North Carolina Poll conducted July 13-16.
Voters also said by a margin of 48 percent
to 47 percent that they disapproved of Mr.
Edwards' White House bid, though he leads in
the state Democratic primary with an
underwhelming 43 percent. In a trial
matchup against Republican challenger Rep.
Richard M. Burr, Mr. Edwards leads 47
percent to 39 percent, ‘a poor showing for an
incumbent this early in the election cycle,’
election analyst Hastings Wyman said in the
Southern Political Report. ‘Moreover,
Edwards' Senate margin is decreasing — in
mid-May, he led Burr 47 percent to 36
percent.’”
… Register
editorial. Headline from yesterday’s
editorial in the Des Moines Register: “2004
looms larger…With Democrats in disarray
and Bush’s numbers in decline, the choices of
Iowans grow in importance…Democrats are almost
as upset with their own party leaders as they
are with the Republicans.” Editorial excerpt:
“Comes now a poll that helps explain Howard
Dean's meteoric rise as a candidate for the
Democratic presidential nomination. It seems
that rank-and-file Democrats are almost as
upset with their own party leaders in
Washington as they are with the Republicans.
The poll by the Pew Research Center for the
People & the Press found that about six out of
10 Democrats are dissatisfied with their
party's performance on issues that involve
core Democratic values. Dean, the former
Vermont governor, has not been part of the
party's Washington leadership and may be
tapping into that dissatisfaction. The Pew
poll found that most Republicans rate their
party's leaders well in pushing issues
involving core GOP values. That's not
surprising, considering the success President
Bush and Republicans in control of Congress
have had in enacting their agenda.
Democrats, on the other hand, might be turning
away from party leaders who may seem at times
to have let the Republicans roll over them.
Being in the minority, Democrats in Washington
have a problem: Fight too hard and look like
obstructionists. Fight too little and lose the
respect of their own rank and file. Among
the nine Democrats seeking the nomination,
Dean had a slight lead in the most recent Iowa
Poll of party members likely to attend the
Iowa caucuses in January. Nationally, however,
the Pew poll showed Dean still trails
better-known Democrats Joe Lieberman, John
Kerry and Dick Gephardt, all key party leaders
in Washington. The other poll news this
week was the further slippage in President
Bush's approval ratings. The man who just a
few months ago looked like a cinch for
re-election now looks vulnerable. What all
this means is anybody's guess, but it sure
makes the Iowa caucus campaign grow more
interesting every day - as does the
seriousness of the choices Iowa Democrats will
make in the next few months.”
… Lieberman
– who seems to change messages and approaches
on a daily basis to gain traction – now trying
to get some political traction by identifying
himself as the next Clinton and the next Gore.
(Iowa Pres Watch Note: It’s easy to see
Smokin’ Joe as the next Gore – since he’s
gonna lose.) Headline from yesterday’s Union
Leader coverage by senior political reporter
John DiStaso: “Lieberman touts himself as a
Clinton-Gore ‘centrist’” Excerpt from
report with Manchester dateline: “Democratic
Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has a
message for likely New Hampshire primary
voters: If you liked Bill Clinton and Al Gore,
you’ll love Joe Lieberman. At Anthem Blue
Cross and Blue Shield’s headquarters
yesterday, the Connecticut senator invoked the
former President and vice president to draw
distinctions between himself and the eight
others in the Democratic Presidential field on
issues ranging from Iraq to taxes.
Lieberman told reporters he considers himself
part of the Clinton-Gore ‘centrist’ lineage.
‘I came up out of the New Democratic movement
with Bill Clinton and Al Gore,’ he
said, ‘and was the first senator outside of
Arkansas to endorse Bill Clinton in 1992.
I’m not going to stand back and let the party
go back to the old ways that not only didn’t
work, but also didn’t get us elected.’
Lieberman, Gore’s running mate in 2000,
said the current debate among the Democratic
rivals is ‘similar to the one that occurred in
1992,’ when Clinton won the nomination and
Presidency after finishing second in the New
Hampshire primary. ‘The judgment here is
whether we want to go back as a party to the
old ideas that Bill Clinton and Al Gore
campaigned against in ’92, or whether we
want to go forward, continuing the Clinton-Gore
ideas.’ For instance, said Lieberman,
‘It’s not the time, as one of my Democratic
opponents would do, for huge government
spending programs to solve programs. And the
middle class is stressed today, so it’s not
the time — as some of my Democratic opponents
would argue — to raise middle-class taxes. And
it’s not the time to go back to protectionism,
which doesn’t create a job, at a time when we
need to continue to make things here in
America and sell them abroad.’ Lieberman
told Anthem employees that during George W.
Bush’s tenure, 3.1 million jobs have been lost
and 1.3 million people ‘fell from the middle
class into poverty.’ Not naming any of his
foes, Lieberman said, ‘Some of my
Democratic opponents are proposing huge
government spending programs to solve our
problems, and that only makes the deficit
worse.’…’The middle class is under stress
today, and some Democrats propose repealing
all of the Bush tax cut. I don’t, because that
would mean an increase on taxes on the middle
class. People can’t take that now.’ Also
referring to Rep. Richard Gephardt’s
opposition to the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), Lieberman said that
instead of ‘protectionism,’ the government
should help manufacturers train workers and
‘invest in innovation.’”
… Under the
headline “Turning Left,” the DSM Register
reported yesterday that former Iowa House Dem
Leader Dave Schrader will drive
Graham-sponsored car in Iowa State Fair race
Tuesday. Excerpt of sports page coverage
by the Register’s Lisa Colonno: “Democratic
presidential candidate Bob Graham is bringing
his name to the Iowa State Fairgrounds - via
the hood and sides of a local race car. The
U.S. senator from Florida formed a unique
relationship this summer when he chose to
sponsor former Iowa House Minority Leader Dave
Schrader's late model race car. Graham
is the lone presidential candidate campaigning
in Iowa to sponsor a race car this season -
locally or nationally. ‘One of the goals is to
use it to send a message,’ Graham said.
‘And the message is that we understand, care
about, come from, rural values.’ Schrader,
who retired from the Iowa House in 2002, likes
that Graham is willing to support the sport he
became involved with more than 30 years ago.
‘The idea is to get people's attention, and I
think it will,’ Schrader said. ‘Of course, I
believe in racing - but I've won a few
political contests too.’ The 50-year-old
Schrader spent 16 years involved in politics.
He started racing in 1971 and now competes
weekly in the IMCA's top division at the
fairgrounds. The Monroe native's worlds
of politics and racing will mesh Tuesday
when he races his freshly-painted car for the
first time with Bob Graham decals.
Schrader will compete in a Deery Brothers
Summer Series special at the Iowa State
Fairgrounds, starting at 5:30 p.m. with hot
laps. ‘If I can get in the middle of the pack
I feel pretty good,’ Schrader said.”
… Kerry
Distortion II. Mass wannabe claims blue
ribbon in health care derby – after juggling
with the ratings. Headline from Friday’s
Washington Post: “Experts Question Kerry’s
‘First Prize’ in Health Care Plans”
Condensed account of coverage by the Post’s
Ceci Connolly: “On the campaign trail and
on his Internet site, Sen. John F. Kerry
(D-Mass.) boasts that a bipartisan group of
policy experts has rated his proposal to
reform health care ‘the best’ among those
offered by the presidential candidates,
including President Bush's plan. He even
features a ‘First Prize’ blue ribbon on his
Web site. But the statement is, at best, a
questionable extrapolation of a recent report
on the candidates' health plans, say the
analysts who rated them. The10
reviewers cited by Kerry say they did not
choose a top health plan and would be at pains
to label one ‘the best.’ In interviews,
some of them described Kerry's statements as
‘completely wrong,’ ‘patently untrue’ and
‘inappropriate and rather misleading.’
Kerry aides, noting that a bit of puffery
is common in campaigns, say the claim results
from simple math. They took a set of scores
compiled by National Journal magazine on July
19 and tallied them. The result, according to
his campaign Web site and press releases:
‘Kerry Wins Health Care Primary! Bipartisan
panel of experts say Kerry plan to make health
care accessible, affordable for all Americans
rates above all other '04 candidates.’ The
10 analysts ‘all agreed that John Kerry's
plan is the best choice for doctors, health
care workers, businesses and all Americans
looking for a solution to the health care
crisis that has plagued our country for too
long.’…’That's completely wrong in two
ways,’ said reviewer Paul Ginsburg,
president of the Center for Studying Health
System Change. ‘We didn't agree on anything,
and we were never asked to give an overall
rating.’ National Journal asked 10 policy
analysts of divergent political ideology to
rate the candidates' ideas for health care in
10 broad areas on a scale of 1 to 5.
Categories included the uninsured, pricing,
quality of care, government expense and
accessibility…Often a high score in one
area led to a lower score in another. Rep.
Richard A. Gephardt's plan, for
instance, scored 4.5 for covering the
uninsured, but his ambitious plan is quite
expensive, which meant a 1.4 in limiting
government costs. Gephardt (D-Mo.) had the
highest rating in four categories; Kerry in
three. Former Vermont governor Howard
Dean, a physician, received the top score
for plans to reduce medical errors, while
Bush scored highest for minimizing
administrative burden. Kerry
spokesman Robert Gibbs compared the campaign's
exercise to tallying up Olympic scores to
determine the gold medalist. ‘Simply adding
the scores together, John Kerry's plan
received the highest score,’ he said.
Kerry policy adviser Sarah Bianchi noted
that Gephardt has bragged about the
categories in which he scored well. ‘We're
both showing the data in a way that makes our
best case,’ she said. But the analysts said
it would be misleading to tally the figures,
because not every category deserves equal
weight…Jack Meyer, president of the
Economic and Social Research Institute, said
Kerry's attempt to compare ‘apples and
oranges’ is ‘inappropriate and rather
misleading.’ The Kerry campaign's math gave
him a 29.2, with Bush in second place with a
28.9. Candidates received ‘not applicable’
if they did not provide enough information,
which Kerry aides scored as 0.”
… All but Kerry have
signed up for debates sponsored by
Congressional Black Caucus and Fox News
Channel – but smart money says he’ll be
intimidated into playing too. Excerpt from
FOXNews.com report: “The Congressional
Black Caucus and Fox News Channel will hold
two presidential debates on Sept. 9 and Oct.
26. The September debate will take place
on the campus of Morgan State University in
Baltimore, a historically black college.
The second event will be held in Detroit.
Both are sponsored by the CBC's Political
Education and Leadership Institute. ‘Debates
play an important role in the election
process,’ said CBC Chairman Elijah Cummings,
D- Md. ‘We want to make sure people have
access to the candidates and their positions
on critical issues in order to make informed
choices when voting.’ Cummings told a news
conference that all nine of the Democratic
presidential candidates have committed to the
Detroit event, and eight of the nine
presidential candidates have committed to the
Baltimore debate. Massachusetts Sen. John
Kerry has not yet responded to the
invitation to participate in the Baltimore
forum. ‘We've gotten all of them, but we've
got one who is waffling a little bit and
that's Kerry,’ Cummings said from the
Morgan State campus. ‘But we're convinced by
the time he sees this and his staff tells him
about it that he will be here. We are fully
confident all of them will be here.’ Fox News
Channel, which is available in 82 million
homes, will nationally air each debate live.”
… For the Record:
Although those addicted to USA TODAY and CNN
have seen or heard this info, Iowa Pres Watch
is committed to compiling the record – and
that includes the latest national poll. The
bad news for Lieberman, however, is that
nominations are determined on a state-by-state
basis – vs. national elections – which makes
Dean look stronger than Lieberman, Gephardt
and Dean on a national basis. That means
Lieberman – hardly showing in IA and NH –
won’t be getting big headlines early in the
nominating process. Partial coverage of
report by USA TODAY’s Richard Benedetto:
“Former Vermont governor Howard Dean,
riding a blitz of media publicity and talk
show buzz, has surged into the top tier of
2004 Democratic presidential candidates, a USA
TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows. In 10 days,
Dean has climbed from fourth place to a tie
for second, passing a highly touted rival,
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts Written
off not long ago as a long shot from a tiny
state, Dean, 54, is suddenly being
taken much more seriously. The former governor
landed on the covers of Time and Newsweek this
week, and political analysts are taking
notice. Dean ‘happens to be the most
interesting candidate in a bunch of people who
are excessively gray,’ says Stephen Hess, a
Brookings Institution political scholar.
Analysts attribute Dean's surge to his
feistiness, his ability to raise millions of
dollars through the Internet and his firm
anti-war position, which appeals to the
activist liberal wing of his party. He
also is attracting many young people eager to
work for him in early-voting states such as
Iowa and New Hampshire. However, Dean shows
weakness among female voters, a key voting
bloc for Democrats. Men are twice as
supportive of Dean as women. Connecticut
Sen. Joe Lieberman, who was Al
Gore's running mate in 2000, leads the
Democrat pack. Dean and Missouri Rep.
Richard Gephardt tie for second. Kerry is
next, dropping 3 points in 10 days. The
other five candidates have single-digit
support. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards,
who has raised as much money as his top-tier
rivals, launched TV ads in Iowa and New
Hampshire on Wednesday in hopes of improving
his standing. His lackluster showing so far
has surprised many who saw him as a fresh,
moderate face who would do better than he has.
Analysts say Lieberman's lead in the
national poll is largely a result of his being
better known than the other candidates. But
even his lead has slipped.”
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