|
BUSH |
“Although neither George W. Bush
nor Howard Dean is on the
California recall ballot, they are likely
to be its big winners on the national
stage.” – Orlando Sentinel
columnist Peter A. Brown, commenting
that the CA recall has frozen the pres
campaign in place
“:In a summer of political surprises,
Howard Dean catapulted to the head of the
Democratic presidential field while
President Bush lost his aura of
invincibility in Iraq. The fall
campaign presents critical tests for both
men.” – AP’s Ron Fournier |
|
DEAN |
“And if he gets re-elected and continues
at this rate, we will indeed have a
depression.” -- Dean, speaking
about GWB at New Hampshire event
yesterday.
“So, this
is a wake-up call for the Bushies. It’s
time for all the president’s men to
aggressively defend Bush’s policies and
attack Dean’s extreme left-liberal
positions.”
– Columnist Larry Kudlow
Dean is “the only candidate who will stand
up for what we believe and isn’t afraid of
what Washington thinks.”
– Line from pro-union Dean ad to appear
in tomorrow’s Des Moines Register
“You have
to wonder if Bush's political honcho, Karl
Rove, says a prayer for Dean every night
at bedtime.
If not, he should.”
– Brown
column
“Howard Dean has gotten himself into a
paint brawl.” – Newsday,
reporting on graffiti controversy after
Dean’s New York rally
"The Vermont liberal is very much in
Kennedy's far-out orbit.” –
Columnist Larry Kudlow, writing about
Dean’s liberal positions on health
care and other issues
"They won't beat me by claiming I switched
positions.” – Dean
“Howard Dean, who sells himself as the
presidential campaign's straightest
shooter, is starting to throw voters some
curves. As he transitions from
insurgent to the man to beat in the
Democratic primary, Dean is modifying or
switching his positions on several
political issues.”
– Washington Post’s Jim VandeHei
“My biggest fear is of the Republican
right wing." – 70-year-old
retiree Bill Tyler, who rode a bicycle
20 miles yesterday to attend a Dean
event in New Hampshire |
|
HILLARY |
"I am absolutely ruling it out.” –
Hillary, responding to the latest
round of reports she still might mount an
’04 campaign |
|
LIEBERMAN |
“It is my
chance to break out.”
–
Lieberman, apparently believing
Delaware will be pivotal in his
strike-late, comeback strategy after
losing IA and NH |
|
GRAHAM |
“We
got a late start, but we're trying to run
a 100-yard dash from now until January.”
– Graham, campaigning this
weekend in rural Iowa
“”Does it make sense that [Republican]
party officials want Bob out of a
race he supposedly can't win so he can
return to a crucial Senate race he
definitely can win?” – Thomas
column, on FL GOP release calling for
Graham to drop presidential bid
“No matter
how many Iowa state fairs he goes to, his
presidential campaign keeps slipping like
cowboy boots on a fresh cow pie.”
– Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike
Thomas, commenting on Graham’s
prez adventure |
|
KERRY |
“Sen. John Kerry released his
economic plan at the University of New
Hampshire yesterday, and our preliminary
analysis is: at least it’s not Howard
Dean’s.” -- Editorial from
Friday’s The Union Leader
“The candidate who wins Iowa automatically
gets a 8- to 10-point bump in the state of
New Hampshire, where Dean is
already leading Kerry by, in some
polls, double-digit margins. So I
don't know that Kerry could withstand Dean
winning here [in Iowa] because it
would just have a real multiplier effect
in New Hampshire.” – Des Moines
Register political columnist David Yepsen |
|
CLARK |
“Mr. Clark's actions in the
presidential arena make him the equivalent
of a political mercenary. Before Mr.
Clark campaigns for the White House,
he needs to go through basic training
in American politics.” –
Washington Times editorial |
|
KUCINICH |
“We're doing this at a time when many
people feel the race is over. I'm telling
you it's only just the beginning.” –
Kucinich, on opening two campaign
offices in New Hampshire |
|
EDWARDS |
Edwards
hopes to steal tomorrow’s Des Moines Labor
Day parade – and show – with proposal to
improve rights of workers and unions.
While the big pro-union cat – Gephardt
– is away in NH, Edwards will
play |
NOTABLE QUOTABLES:
“Day by day,
the competition for the Democratic
presidential nomination becomes more like a
PTA raffle.” – Washington Post’s Dana
Milbank, commenting on the contests being
held on wannabe websites
“Even here
[Boise, Idaho], in a bedrock Republican state
in the heart of the conservative Mountain
West, a lot of people think Attorney
General John D. Ashcroft has gone too far.”
– Washington Post, reporting on GOP
stalwarts concerned about the USA Patriot Act
GENERAL
NEWS:
Among
the offerings in today's update:
-
Hillary
says – again – she’s not running in ‘04
-
Veteran Iowa
caucus-watcher, Des Moines Register’s Yepsen,
says two senator-wannabes – Edwards
and Graham – might be due for a “gut
check” after failing to gain traction
-
Dean
attracted his biggest crowds yet in New
Hampshire yesterday, also outlined strategy
to go after white GOP voters in the South
-
Clark
gets taste of real world politics in
Washington Times editorial headlined “Wesley
Clark -- Mercenary”
Editorial says he needs to go back to basic
training before considering presidency
-
Dean’s
graffiti-covered backdrop sparks criticism
in New York
-
Kerry
backer Ted Kennedy admits Dean’s hot, but he
expects Kerry to surge in the fall
-
Orlando
Sentinel columnist Brown says Bush and
Dean are “big winners” as California
recall takes focus off White House races
-
Edwards
to challenge Gephardt and Dean for union
vote by outlining pro-labor proposal in Des
Moines tomorrow
-
Washington Post report says Dean is inviting
more scrutiny by switching positions on key
issues
-
Kucinich
strays from usual themes – calls for
improving passenger railroads and rebuilding
nation’s rail system
-
Columnist
Kudlow says it’s time for the Bush team to
start challenging Dean and holding him
accountable for his “left-liberal” positions
-
Novak
column: Senate Dems rally liberal groups for
a post-recess protest against GWB’s
education policies
-
Report:
Clark would become million-dollar wannabe if
he runs – but it still puts him far back in
the fundraising field
-
Dean
turns attention to Gephardt’s IA union base:
Ad planned for tomorrow’s Des Moines
Register lists names of 136 “labor
activists” in Dean’s corner. Gephardt
campaign
already counters – noting that Dean
supported NAFTA
-
With tongue
in cheek, Orlando columnist urges Graham
– the “King of Spam” -- to “hang in there”
and to keep sending those crazy e-mails
-
In New
Hampshire, Kucinich calls for
withdrawing troops in Iraq and defense
spending cuts to bolster education programs
-
Lieberman, apparently plotting post-IA and
post-NH strategy, says Delaware will be
critical to his success (or survival), picks
up three key endorsements
-
In Atlanta,
Sharpton guarantees “a public education
of equally high quality” for all when he’s
president
-
Washington
Whisper: Vouchers do work
-
Union Leader
editorial says that Kerry – unlike Dean
and Gephardt – “recognizes the economic
benefits of tax reduction.”
-
GOP
conservatives seek to curtail Ashcroft’s
efforts on USA Patriot Act
-
In Iowa,
Graham addresses farm issues, stresses his
rural roots
-
Iowaism:
Civil War had impact on University of Iowa –
65% of students were women by 1863,
tuition dropped from $4 to $2 per course to
make it affordable for more women
All these stories below and more.
Morning Report:
Weekend
reports indicate that VP Cheney is scheduled
in Iowa on 10/3 to headline a fundraising
event in Des Moines for the Bush-Cheney
re-election effort
Typical light
Sunday morning news summaries this morning,
but newscasts are highlighting a “plea” by
the widow of an Iowa National Guardsman
for Iowans to turn off their fans and air
conditioners today. Brooke Kirchhoff of
Anamosa is asking the state’s residents to
empathize with the troops living in Iraq heat.
Pfc. David Kirchhoff died of
heatstroke while serving with a Cedar
Rapids-based transportation company in
Iraq
The Sioux City
Journal reports that the investigation
continues into a Friday explosion at Ag
Processing Inc. near Salix. The blast
injured eight workers – three of them
critically. This morning’s Journal reported
that five remain hospitalized
The
Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier reported that
Waterloo Mayor John Rooff will seek a record
sixth consecutive term in this fall’s
municipal elections
Radio Iowa reported that – after the figures
were added up – more than 1,400 tickets
were issued during a special enforcement
effort on the state’s interstate highways.
Dozens of officers worked Interstates 80 and
35 Thursday – producing over 1,100 speeding
tickets, 233 seat belt violations, three drunk
driving arrests and 45 drivers with suspended
or revoked licenses.
CANDIDATES
& CAUCUSES:
… Labor Day
parade plans: According to the latest
wannabe schedules and news reports, five of
the nine Dem hopefuls – Dean, Edwards,
Graham, Kucinich and Moseley Braun
– are scheduled to be in tomorrow’s Labor
Day Parade in Des Moines. The parade,
which starts at 11 a.m. and concludes with a
union-sponsored picnic, begins at the
Statehouse and ends at the state fairgrounds.
Graham – who participated in a
“workday” on an Indianola area farm
yesterday -- will be wrapping up a
four-day campaign swing in central IA. Dean
also is expected at union picnics tomorrow
in Iowa City and Burlington, and
to attend receptions in Wapello and
Muscatine. Edwards will reportedly
attend a Labor Day event in Oklahoma after his
IA appearance. Meanwhile in New
Hampshire, Gephardt and Kerry
will begin tomorrow at an AFL-CIO breakfast in
Manchester. The 56th annual Labor
Day Parade in Milford. NH lineup includes
Gephardt, Kerry and Lieberman.
(Also, CNN reports that Dean will be
interviewed from Iowa tomorrow during a
two-hour “Inside Politics” special – 3 p.m.
EDT.)
… Kerry in
Iowa for “official” candidacy announcement on
Tuesday. After first announcing his
candidacy in South Carolina, Kerry is
scheduled to announce his candidacy – for a
second time – in Des Moines. The
announcement is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. at the
Temple for the Performing Arts with an
“announcement after-party” set at the Hotel
Fort Des Moines from 7:15 p.m. to 10 p.m.
… “Dean returns to
largest crowds yet in NH” – headline from
today’s New Hampshire Sunday News. Excerpt
from coverage of Walpole (NH) Dean
event by AP’s Stephen Frothingham: “The
largest New Hampshire crowd of Howard Dean's
campaign greeted the Presidential hopeful
Saturday at an event billed as a house party,
but which more resembled a bucolic outdoor
festival. More than a 1,000 supporters,
including many from Vermont, Massachusetts and
farther afield, drove up narrow twisty roads
to a private home offering broad views of the
Connecticut River valley and the hills of
Dean's home state of Vermont. Campaign
officials said they signed up 1,200 people and
then ran out of sign-up sheets. Bill
Tyler, a 70-year-old retiree, rode a bicycle
20 miles to see Dean, who is enjoying a
21-point lead over Massachusetts Sen. John
Kerry among likely New Hampshire primary
voters, according to a recent poll. ‘My
biggest fear is of the Republican right wing,’
said Tyler, who lived in Vermont while Dean
was governor there. Tyler now lives in
Spofford. Tyler, an independent who said he
tends to vote for Democrats for state and
federal offices, said he thought Dean
was a good governor who appears to be a
sincere person. A later event in Chichester
attracted 200-300 people. At both events,
Dean continued his attack on President Bush's
economic and foreign policies. At the
Walpole event, he received the loudest
applause when he reminded supporters he
opposed the Iraq war. In Chichester, where the
crowd was more local, his remarks about Bush's
handling of the economy seemed to get a louder
response. He said no President since
Herbert Hoover has lost as many jobs as Bush.
‘And if he gets re-elected and continues at
this rate, we will indeed have a depression,’
Dean said again. In Chichester, a
supporter asked how Dean will respond
to Republican attacks now that he is a front
runner. ‘It's going to come at you when you
win the nomination, or even before,’ predicted
Lance Klass of Concord, who said he voted for
Republican John McCain in the 2000 primary and
was disappointed in McCain's response to
attacks by Bush in subsequent primary states.
‘They are going to come at you with a lot of
stuff. Are you going to be able to stay the
course against that Bush stuff machine?’ Klass
asked. Dean said his ability to raise money
from small donors would give him the funds and
the broad support to weather attacks. And
Dean, who said most Democrats are
embarrassed to talk about race, responded to
Klass' question with remarks almost identical
to those he used in the speech he gave in
Walpole. ‘Here's what we're going to say in
the South: You've been voting for Republicans
here for 30 years, if you are white voter.
Why? Tell me what you have to show for it?
There are 103,000 kids in South Carolina
without health insurance. Most of those kids
are white,’ Dean said. Dean
said he would appeal to white Republicans
in the South to try to take away some of
the Republicans' core support.”
… Ted
Kennedy – a Kerry supporter – says that Dean
may be the summertime favorite, but Kerry will
move up during the fall months. Headline
from Friday’s Boston Herald: “Kennedy:
Dean’s hot, Kerry’s the one” Coverage by
the Herald’s Noelle Straub and Andrew Miga: “Howard
Dean is connecting with voters in his bid for
the White House, but John Kerry will surge in
the fall, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy predicted
yesterday. ‘There is no question that
Howard Dean has tapped into an energy
in the country which is enormously important
and which he deserves credit for,’ Kennedy
said in an interview with the Herald. Noting
that Dean appeals to voters concerned
about President Bush's handling of both
foreign and domestic policy, Kennedy added, ‘I
think that's been a very effective campaign.’
But Kennedy, who has endorsed his fellow
Bay State senator, predicted that as the
campaign season picks up after Labor Day and
the public begins to pay more attention to the
race, Kerry ‘will be in the strongest
position. I think he's best able to lead,’
Kennedy said. ‘I don't think there's any
candidate that is better qualified than John
Kerry. I think that kind of experience
and quality and leadership will best be
reflected in the time during the fall when
individuals are finally making up their
mind.’ Polls show that Dean, who
trailed Kerry earlier this year, now
leads in both Iowa and New Hampshire.”
… Dean attracts
headline for “paint brawl” incident, but he
probably doesn’t care as long as they spell
his name right. Headline from Friday’s
Newsday: “Graffiti Lands Dean in Hot
Seat…Critics: Wrong message” Report by
Newsday’s Glenn Thrush: “Howard Dean
has gotten himself into a paint brawl. The
Democratic presidential hopeful is drawing
heat from City Hall after appearing in front
of a graffiti-covered backdrop during a rally
at Bryant Park on Tuesday. ‘It's
unfortunate that Mr. Dean would promote
and romanticize a form of vandalism,
especially considering this city's success in
eliminating this urban blight,’ said
Bloomberg's press secretary Ed Skyler. The
backdrop, spray-painted by Brooklyn ‘aerosol
artist’ KEO, was commissioned by Dean's
campaign. Dean's staff said they placed no
restrictions when commissioning the piece.
Councilman James Oddo, a Staten Island
Republican, says the backdrop is an
insulting token of bygone 1970s New York.
‘We have a pandering politician come in here
and basically say to the country that what
best symbolizes New York is graffiti and urban
decay,’ Oddo said. Dean, the former Vermont
governor and a native New Yorker who left the
city in 1978, was simply making the point that
he's in touch with inner-city youth,
according to his people. ‘Urban American youth
are among those who have the most to lose from
another four years of George W. Bush,’ said
Dean's New York spokesman, Eric
Schmeltzer, reading from a written statement.
‘Howard Dean ... afforded the opportunity
to an artist loved and respected by many of
them to express himself in a creative and
constructive way.’”
… Union Leader
editorial credits Kerry with tax reduction
proposal, but criticizes him for returning
money to the states rather than the taxpayers.
Headline from Friday’s Union Leader: “A
Kerry economy: Somewhere between Dean, Edwards”
The editorial: “Sen. John Kerry released
his economic plan at the University of New
Hampshire yesterday, and our preliminary
analysis is: at least it’s not Howard Dean’s.
To his credit, Kerry recognizes the
economic benefits of tax reduction. He has
repeatedly criticized rival Presidential
candidates Howard Dean and Dick
Gephardt for wanting to repeal all of
President Bush’s tax cuts. Understanding, as
he does, the value of taking money from
government bureaucrats and returning it to the
people who earned it, Kerry disappoints by
proposing to stimulate the economy by giving
federal money to the states, instead of to the
people in the form of tax cuts. On
balance, Kerry’s plan would do little to
stimulate the economy in the short run and
would be less beneficial than Bush’s plans in
the long run. Compared to the plans offered
by Dean and Gephardt, Kerry’s is preferable.
But among the Democrats, John Edwards’ plan
still looks better. Combine Edwards’
spending reductions with some of Kerry’s
tax credits and the ‘pro-growth tax cuts’
called for by Joe Lieberman, and you’d
have the makings of a moderately conservative
economic plan that wouldn’t be half bad,
especially considering that Edwards has shown
more interest in cutting discretionary
spending than has the Bush administration.”
… $1M in
pledges await Clark decision, but even
Kucinich has raised more than that. Under
the subhead “Million-dollar man,” Greg
Pierce reported Friday in his “Inside
Politics” column in the Washington Times: “A
group trying to persuade retired Army Gen.
Wesley Clark to run for president announced
yesterday that it has exceeded $1 million in
pledges. ‘By raising over a million
dollars in pledges before General Clark
has even finalized his decision, Clark
supporters everywhere have sent a powerful
message of just how strongly they want General
Clark as our next president,’ said John
Hlinko, co-founder of DraftWesleyClark.com.
‘But we're not stopping at $1 million — we
will continue to drive this effort forward,
raise as much as possible in pledges for this
candidacy, and give General Clark the
money he needs to hit the ground running from
Day 1,’ he said.”
… Des Moines
Register political ace David Yepsen warns
Kerry might not withstand a Dean win in Iowa,
says it may be time for Edwards and Graham to
get “gut checks” and notes that it’s “getting
pretty late” for Clark to join the fun.
Excerpt from column on CNN.com by “Inside
Politics” anchor Judy Woodruff: “David Yepsen,
veteran Des Moines Register reporter and
political watcher, appearing on Friday's CNN's
‘Inside Politics,’ told me that he sees
Dean building a slight lead over Gephardt.
Yepsen believes a Dean win in Iowa could
prove costly to another rival, Kerry, down the
road. ‘The candidate who wins Iowa
automatically gets a 8- to 10-point bump in
the state of New Hampshire, where Dean
is already leading Kerry by, in some
polls, double-digit margins,’ he said. ‘So
I don't know that Kerry could withstand Dean
winning here because it would just have a real
multiplier effect in New Hampshire.’
Yepsen also said that Sens. Bob Graham,
D-Florida, and John Edwards, D-North Carolina,
might be due for a ‘gut check’ after spending
considerable time and resources in the state,
but failing to register any movement the polls…And
what about a possible tenth member for the '04
Democratic field? Yepsen says it's still
possible for former NATO Supreme Allied
Commander Wesley Clark, who is weighing a run,
to throw his hat in the ring. ‘Fifteen
percent say they're undecided, so there's room
for General Clark to get an audience,
but it's getting pretty late.’ In a sign that
some Democrats can't let go of the regular
fall campaign marker, Kerry and
Edwards scheduled official campaign
‘announcements’ for September 2 and September
16 respectively. Some political traditions
never die.”
… Moseley
Braun says it again: She’s in the race to
stay. Excerpt from a report on CNN.com by
“Inside Politics” anchor Judy Woodruff: “In
a signal that the field isn't going to winnow
anytime soon, former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun,
who ranks consistently in the bottom tier in
the polls, told me on Friday that she's in the
race to stay. Her campaign scheduled an
official campaign kick off for September 22.
‘People tried to dismiss my candidacy when I
ran for the United States Senate against an
incumbent in 1992, and I had little money...
And so I believe that so long as we have
enough to keep going, to keep our operation
going, to get to the point that people -- the
people can speak, not just the money. The
money primary is one thing, but the people's
votes in the end will determine who wins,’
Moseley Braun argued.”
… “Dean Invites
More Scrutiny By Switching Key Stances” –
headline from yesterday’s Washington Post.
Excerpt from coverage by the Post’s Jim
VandeHei: “Howard Dean, who sells himself
as the presidential campaign's straightest
shooter, is starting to throw voters some
curves. As he transitions from insurgent to
the man to beat in the Democratic primary,
Dean is modifying or switching his positions
on several political issues. In recent
weeks, Dean, the former Vermont
governor, has softened his support for lifting
the trade embargo on Cuba -- an important
issue in voter-rich Florida -- and suggested
he might opt out of the public campaign
finance system he endorsed weeks earlier.
Dean also has backed off his support for
raising the age at which senior citizens can
collect their full Social Security benefits,
a change that would save the government money
by trimming monthly payments to thousands of
older Americans. Dean initially denied
he ever supported raising the retirement age,
but later admitted he did. While it's not
unusual for politicians to flip-flop, massage
or tailor their positions to placate
politically important audiences, Dean is
inviting greater scrutiny and criticism by
running as a truth-teller who doesn't bend to
prevailing political winds, campaign
strategists said. With Dean pulling
ahead in Iowa and New Hampshire polls, and
surging nationally, several rival campaigns
are gearing up to hammer him for switching
positions over the years for what they
consider purely political reasons. They
hope to dilute Dean's appeal as the
anti-politician in the crowd. ‘He has sold
himself as the straight-shooting candidate,
the truth-teller, the one who will say what's
hard and unpopular,’ said Jim Jordan, campaign
manager for presidential candidate Sen. John
F. Kerry (D-Mass.). ‘In truth, he's
a very crafty politician, very calculating.’
Dean said what differentiates him is
his willingness to speak his mind, change his
positions and admit when he's wrong. ‘They
won't beat me by claiming I switched
positions,’ Dean said in an interview
Wednesday. ‘They better come out with better
ideas.’ Dean said he has no qualms about
‘changing his mind’ when facts warrant it.
Others disagree. Dean is ‘raising the bar’
for consistency and truthfulness by
campaigning as a straight-talker, said Rick
Davis, who managed the presidential campaign
of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2000. McCain
campaigned aboard the original ‘Straight Talk
Express.’…’The danger is you …trade political
reality for straight-talking, and it comes
back and bites you,’ Davis said. He should
know: McCain, he said, took a hit when he
chose politics over principle and refused
before South Carolina's primary to speak his
mind in firm opposition to the flying of the
Confederate battle flag in that state. Davis
said it was the ‘biggest mistake’ of the
campaign because it made McCain look a typical
politician.”
… While union
darling Gephardt hangs out in New Hampshire
and Dean has a pro-union appeal in tomorrow’s
DSM Register, Edwards will outline his own
union initiative. Coverage – an excerpt
– from Des Moines by AP’s political ace Mike
Glover: “Democratic presidential candidate
John Edwards will use a Labor Day appearance
in Iowa to reveal legislation aimed at
bolstering the rights of workers and unions.
The package also puts in place new
protections for workers who become union
organizers. Edwards, a North Carolina
senator, is arguing that many are routinely
and illegally fired but can get no hearing of
their complaints for years. ‘If we are serious
about corporate responsibility, we have to
hold corporations responsible when they break
the law in order to break the union,’
Edwards said Saturday in a statement
advancing his proposal. Edwards is headed
to Iowa, home of January precinct caucuses
that start the presidential nominating season,
to march Monday in a parade sponsored by the
South Central Iowa Federation of Labor. The
event is the centerpiece of Labor Day
activities in the state and traditionally
draws a heavy crowd of politicians. Several
Democratic presidential contenders plan to
show up for the event, and Edwards sought
to steal a march on his rivals by announcing
his new package ahead of time. While he
plans to release the proposal officially
Monday, copies of the package were provided
Saturday to The Associated Press. Virtually
every plank in the Edwards package are sought
ardently by labor unions, a key constituency
in the caucus campaign. Proposals
Edwards is seeking include: Forcing
prompt hearings and enforcing significant
financial penalties for companies that
illegally fire workers involved in union
organizing. Edwards said as many as
one-fourth of companies where union organizing
takes place fire those involved… Enacting a
requirement for mediation when workers
organize a union but cannot agree on an
initial contract. He said up to one-third
of newly organized unions don't have contracts
two years after organizing because employers
refuse to bargain…Banning the hiring of
permanent replacements for striking worker and
putting place card check requirements,
allowing a union to be recognized when a
majority of workers sign up. Edwards said
he considers it time to toughen the National
Labor Relations Act, which governs organizing
in the workplace, because the national trend
is running against workers…While more than
600,000 registered Democrats are in Iowa.
Most expect only about 100,000 to show up for
the caucuses, however, with a third of whom
expected to come from union households.”
… “Mr. Clark says he is
considering running because of a ‘groundswell’
of public support. He seems to be the only
political observer who has spotted the
groundswell.” – Sentence from Friday’s
Washington Times editorial examining the
former general’s possible candidacy. The
headline: “Wesley Clark – Mercenary” An
editorial excerpt: “Retired Gen. Wesley
Clark's year-long flirtation with running for
the presidency is becoming absurd. Not since
Mario (Hamlet-on-the Hudson) Cuomo's
ultimately fruitless presidential dalliance in
the eighties has a non-candidate received so
much press coverage, most of it uncritical.
Mr. Clark is posturing himself above
partisan politics, presumably deciding which
party he will represent should he actually run
for president based on an undisclosed calculus
of self-interest. He doesn't seem to grasp
that there are clear philosophical differences
between Republicans and Democrats, and that
choosing sides is a matter of principle, not
expediency. Mr. Clark's actions in the
presidential arena make him the equivalent of
a political mercenary. Before Mr. Clark
campaigns for the White House, he needs to go
through basic training in American politics.
His first lesson should be to memorize
Lincoln's adage about the impossibility of
fooling all the people all the time. Mr.
Clark has been posturing as an
independent who doesn't know whether to run as
a Democrat or a Republican. In August, he told
CNN's Aaron Brown that ‘for me, it's not about
partisan politics.’ Yet Mr. Clark's track
record is plainly partisan. In Georgia's
Senate race last year, he endorsed the
Democratic incumbent over Republican
challenger Saxby Chambliss. Mr. Clark
votes as a Democrat in primaries in his home
state of Arkansas. The ‘Draft Clark’
Web site lauds him for having ‘progressive
social principles in line with our Democratic
ideals.’ Time magazine reported last year that
Mr. Clark's presidential prospecting
included meetings with top Democratic donors
and fundraisers. Mr. Clark's
evasiveness regarding his Democratic Party
affiliations is troubling, but his ignorance
of American politics is more disturbing. Last
week on ‘Crossfire,’ Mr. Clark said:
‘The majority of the people in this country
really aren't affiliated with parties, they're
independent.’ This is dead wrong.
Three-quarters of the voters register as
Republicans or Democrats, and another five
percent or so belong to minor parties. Four
out of five voters identify themselves as
partisans because they embrace the particular
set of political ideals for which their chosen
party stands. They grasp something that
apparently eludes the general: Politics is
about principles. Mr. Clark is a
mature man whose intellectual formation
includes West Point and Oxford University. If
choosing between political parties is so
difficult for him, it reveals a core lack of
principles. This mercenary mentality raises
serious doubts concerning his fitness for the
presidency. Mr. Clark could be
attracted to the commander in chief component
of the job. Ambition may tell him it is the
only rank left to attain higher than that of
four-star general. But that is only part of
the president's job description. The majority
of a president's duties involve working with
other elected officials. This requires
keenly-honed political skills. Mr. Clark's
dismissive attitude toward the role of parties
on America's governing process suggests he
would fail miserably as our top politician.
Mr. Clark says he is considering
running because of a ‘groundswell’ of public
support. He seems to be the only political
observer who has spotted the groundswell.
We rather doubt that the people are, or will
be, clamoring for a political mercenary in the
Oval Office. They know that the presidency
isn't a matter of choosing a flag of
convenience.”
… Lieberman
takes on GWB’s tax and environmental policies
as first Dem hopeful to visit Delaware since
Biden dropped out. The problem, however, is
that he sees the state as his possible
salvation after anticipated IA and NH
setbacks. Excerpt from report by Patrick
Jackson of the New Castle-Wilmington
News-Journal’s Dover Bureau: “Sen. Joe
Lieberman, D-Conn., brought his presidential
campaign to Wilmington [Friday], criticizing
President Bush’s tax and environmental
policies. Lieberman said the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s decision
this week to weaken emissions standards for
factories and power plants was ‘an assault on
our health.’ During his visit,
Lieberman toured the Wilmington Riverfront
and Riverfront Market, then met with local
political leaders. He is the first of the nine
Democratic presidential candidates to visit
the state since U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.,
announced his decision not to run. He said
a good showing in Delaware’s Feb. 3 primary is
important if he is to win the Democratic
nomination. Delaware is one of seven
states holding a primary that day, a week
after the first-in-the-nation primary in New
Hampshire. ‘It is my chance to break out,’
Lieberman said. ‘I plan to come here often and
spend the resources I need to win.’”
… Orlando
columnist says GWB is “the big overall winner”
in the CA recall while it’s also a “boon
for Dean.” With media attention focused on
West Coast, GWB and Dean are only ones getting
coverage as fall campaign picks up.
Excerpt from commentary by Orlando Sentinel
columnist Peter A. Brown: “Although neither
George W. Bush nor Howard Dean is on the
California recall ballot, they are likely to
be its big winners on the national stage.
Non-Californians may see the recall election
as an amusing spectacle with little effect on
their own lives. They are half right. In
addition to being a hoot, the recall is
relevant to all Americans. California's
decision about whether to fire Gov. Gray
Davis, and, if so, who will replace him, is
already shaping the 2004 race for the White
House. The recall is freezing in place the
presidential campaign, monopolizing news-media
attention and political money nationally.
That's a boon for Dean and, therefore, Bush,
who would love to run against the former
Democratic governor of Vermont. Perhaps
because only a screenwriter could have penned
a more entertaining drama, the recall has
become a story that sucks all the energy out
of the media beast. Normally at this time of
the presidential-election cycle, virtually all
political coverage would be focused on the
White House wannabes. But the attention paid
to California is obscuring the Democratic
presidential race. News coverage of
non-California politics is limited, and Dean
dominates what exists. Here's an example: The
other day, The Hotline, the Internet political
tip sheet that is the bible for political
journalists and insiders, devoted its first
nine items to the California recall.
Typically, no matter what is going on, the
White House gets top billing. Both Bush and
Dean, who has zoomed to the head of the
Democratic pack in the early-voting states,
would be thrilled if the Democratic
primary-election season began today…Of
course, the retail campaigning continues in
Iowa and New Hampshire, but the presidential
race is not grabbing the attention of most
Americans. That is only likely to continue
in the remaining weeks before the Oct. 7
California vote. Iowa begins the
presidential-delegate selection only three
months after that, in January. And December is
mostly useless to candidates because the
holidays divert voters' attention. Remember,
the eventual Democratic nominee is almost
certain to emerge by March. All this helps
Dean, who became the political flavor of the
month as the summer began because of his
growing support in Iowa and New Hampshire,
where he now leads in the polls, and
impressive fund raising, largely driven by a
highly sophisticated Internet appeal. The
focus on California allows him to remain in
that limelight as his national poll numbers
rise, preventing other Democrats from gaining
traction…However, Bush is the big overall
winner for two reasons. The attention paid to
California lessens media coverage of national
problems -- be they the economy or the postwar
turmoil in Iraq -- that would reflect badly on
the president. More important, the California
recall benefits Bush because anything that
helps Dean to gain the Democratic presidential
nomination is a godsend to the president's
re-election chances. You have to wonder if
Bush's political honcho, Karl Rove, says a
prayer for Dean every night at bedtime.
If not, he should. It would be hard to find
a candidate the Republicans want to run
against more than a socially liberal, former
governor of a small, atypical state who has no
foreign-policy experience and whose overriding
image is that of opposing the Iraq war.
The GOP gets even giddier because Dean
has no experience exciting the Democrats'
minority base, comes from a background of
wealth similar to Bush, and wants to raise
taxes to enlarge the role of government. That
is a profile that is likely to appeal to much
of the Democrats' base, yet unless Joe and
Jill Sixpack suddenly change their views and
values, Dean will be much less
attractive to most voters in the November
general election. Of course, Americans'
political tastes might change. Maybe they now
favor higher taxes and having the United
Nations manipulate U.S. foreign policy. But
otherwise, no matter whom Californians make
governor, the president should be a very happy
fellow these days.”
…Comic
Relief I: “Don’t listen to ’em,
Bob: Hang in there” – headline on Mike
Thomas column in Friday’s Orlando Sentinel. “Poor
Bob Graham, the King of Spam. No matter
how many Iowa state fairs he goes to, his
presidential campaign keeps slipping like
cowboy boots on a fresh cow pie. And now
this newspaper wants him to quit his
presidential quest and go back to running for
the Senate. Don't you listen, Bob. Just
keep those e-mails coming. I'm lucky to get
one or two e-mails a week from Joe Lieberman
or Dick Gephardt. But on some days, I get six
from Bob. In this one, he is calling for
spending millions of dollars to upgrade the
infrastructure in Iowa. In these three, he
is offering to fix the infrastructures in
New Hampshire, New Mexico and South Carolina.
Bob also let me know he is starting an online
petition to stop the merger of Smithfield
Foods' and Farmland Industries'
pork-processing plants. Bob knows what this
race is about. It's the bacon, stupid.
Here's one in which Bob is pushing his
economic plan at the Weed and Seed Center
in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.
As goes Pee Dee, so goes the nation. Don't
laugh. The Republicans still fear Bob.
Why else would the Republican Party of Florida
put out a release agreeing with our editorial?
Does it make sense that party officials
want Bob out of a race he supposedly can't win
so he can return to a crucial Senate race he
definitely can win?”
… “Launch the
Dean counterattack” – headline from
townhall.com. Excerpt from commentary by
columnist Larry Kudlow: “A shocking Zogby
Poll this week had former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean at a giant 21-point lead over former New
Hampshire primary front-runner Sen. John
Kerry. That's more than two-to-one with a 38
percent to 17 percent margin. Dean is the
clear front-runner and may well lead the
Democrats next year. So, this is a wake-up
call for the Bushies. It’s time for all the
president’s men to aggressively defend Bush’s
policies and attack Dean’s extreme
left-liberal positions. So far, Dean
has been relying on a relatively narrow
base of voter support -- largely Bush-hating,
anti-war liberals who make up about half of
the Democratic Party and a third of the
electorate. But Dean is well-funded, and he
has quickly become the darling of the liberal
media. Following his successful rally in
New York's Bryant Park this week, The New
York Times saw fit to run a huge front-page
story with a color picture of the candidate.
Meanwhile, a story on Bush's excellent speech
at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention --
where he emphasized a stay-the-course
commitment in Iraq -- was placed below the
Dean story with a much smaller headline.
In the long Times piece on Dean, you
had to go 23 paragraphs deep to find a
statement on the candidate's basic policy
positions: universal health insurance,
opposition to the Iraq war, balanced budgets,
tax-cut repeal, affirmative action and gay
rights. This is not a winning combination,
as numerous moderate Democrats point out.
Still, if Dean's the one,
administration spokespeople should start
underscoring the extremism that defines his
campaign. For example, Dean's universal
health care is Hillarycare. It's the same
government-paid health insurance that's been a
disaster in Western Europe and Canada. And
it's the same socialist proposal that was
defeated handily in a Democratic Congress 10
years ago. True patient power requires
health-insurance choice and market competition
along with tax reform. It will be incumbent on
the administration to state this clearly. That
means coming out in favor of the House bill on
Medicare and prescription drugs and strongly
opposing the all-government-all-the-time Ted
Kennedy version in the Senate. Linking Dean
to Sen. Kennedy makes sense -- not only on
health care but also on taxes and the war.
The Vermont liberal is very much in Kennedy's
far-out orbit.”
… Lieberman
picks up big-name support as he hinges his
campaign prospects on Delaware and other early
February nominating contests. Excerpt from
AP’s Randall Chase in Wilmington: “Democratic
presidential candidate Joe Lieberman picked up
the endorsement of Delaware Sen. Thomas R.
Carper on Friday. Appearing at a campaign stop
on the Wilmington riverfront, Lieberman also
earned the backing of Lt. Gov. John Carney and
state treasurer Jack Markell. ‘With the
economy continuing to struggle, the national
debt continuing to increase, and terrorists
continuing to threaten the peace at home and
abroad, we need to elect a president who can
make America secure and get the economy moving
again,’ Carper said in a statement released by
Lieberman's campaign. ‘Joe Lieberman
is that man, and that's why I'm endorsing him
for president.’ Carper and Markell did not
attend the riverfront event, though Carper
later caught up with Lieberman at a
meeting in Wilmington with local Democrats.
‘He's a uniter,’ said Carper, whose ties with
the Connecticut senator include membership in
the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.
‘Delaware is going to play an early and
critical role in the run for the White House,’
Lieberman said. He said he planned to make
more visits to Delaware, one of several states
holding early primaries or caucuses on Feb. 3.
Carper, a former Delaware governor, also was
named state chair of Lieberman's
campaign.”
… Kucinich
adopts a new theme: Rather than constant
criticism of GWB on Iraq and other policies,
the Ohio wannabe pushes railroad improvement
plans. Headline from yesterday’s The Union
Leader: “Kucinich wants investment in
passenger rail service” Excerpt from AP
report from Dover: “Democratic presidential
hopeful Dennis Kucinich, campaigning at an
Amtrak station, called Friday for bringing
public transportation back to the way it was
during the era of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
‘I am determined to bring back passenger
railroads in this country and rebuild the
American rail system’ and alleviate pollution
in our society, the Ohio congressman said.
He spoke of rebuilding infrastructure,
comparing his idea to Roosevelt's ‘New Deal’
program of government-backed construction
programs intended to create jobs during the
Depression. ‘Public transportation is
essential for mobility in our society,’ said
Kucinich, who planned to take a train to
Maine to spread his message. Kucinich has
long advocated that the government should do
all it can to keep Amtrak running. Amtrak's
future is unclear because President Bush
proposed last month that the federal
government should largely withdraw from the
passenger rail business. He also expressed
concern about against privately owned utility
companies and water pollution, saying, ‘If
they don't want to clean up their pollution,
we'll shut them down.’”
… Political ace
Fournier: Fall campaign will be critical for
both Bush and Dean. Headline from today’s
New Hampshire Sunday News: “As fall
politics loom, Dean leads Democratic pack”
Excerpt from report by AP’s Ron Fournier: “In
a summer of political surprises, Howard Dean
catapulted to the head of the Democratic
presidential field while President Bush lost
his aura of invincibility in Iraq. The
fall campaign presents critical tests for both
men. An ailing economy and unrest in the
Middle East threaten the president's
re-election prospects although he remains a
relatively popular leader, according to
officeholders and activists in both parties
who took stock of the 2004 race at the
traditional Labor Day break. In more than
two dozen interviews, experts said they expect
the Democratic primary fight to turn nasty as
eight rivals try to halt Dean's rise. Some
Democrats worry that none of the current
contenders can stop Dean's anti-establishment
candidacy, prompting speculation that
high-profile alternatives may join the race.
‘He appeals to your heart and the part of you
that is angry with the Bush administration,
but the ultimate issue is his ability to win
the general election,’ said Waring Howe Jr., a
prominent South Carolina Democrat. He likes
Dean, but is wary… ‘Don't give us
another Michael Dukakis.’ Bush's father
soundly defeated Dukakis after a campaign that
emphasized the Massachusetts governor's
liberal credentials. At Bush re-election
headquarters, where Dean once was dismissed as
a perfect foil, the former Vermont governor is
getting a closer look. He still can be
cast as a tax-raising, ill-tempered,
undisciplined candidate, Republicans argue,
but what if he should win the nomination while
swelling the Democratic base? ‘They better
be worried,’ said Donna Brazile, manager
of Al Gore's 2000 campaign. ‘Dean's cooking
with grease.’…Both parties are
targeting 16 states that were decided by 5 or
fewer percentage points in 2000. Bush is
constantly on the prowl for votes in those
battlegrounds - from Washington state,
east to Arkansas, north to Maine and to more
than half a dozen Midwestern states… Leslie
Gromis, a GOP strategist in Pennsylvania, said
Bush will ease those doubts once a Democratic
nominee emerges. ‘Right now, you have five
serious Democrats trying to point out what his
vulnerabilities are,’ she said. ‘It's five
against one. Let's see what happens when it's
one-on-one.’”
… “Policies are
outdated, Graham tells Iowa farmers…The
presidential candidate is behind in the polls
but says he’s ready for a 100-yard dash from
now until January.” – headline from
yesterday’s Des Moines Register. Excerpt from
report – datelined Colo – by the
Register’s Jonathan Roos: “U.S. Sen. Bob
Graham of Florida courted Iowa farmers Friday
in his quest for a come-from-behind victory in
the Iowa caucuses. The Democratic
presidential candidate kicked off a four-day
campaign trip in central Iowa by meeting with
a group of farmers over lunch at the Country
House Restaurant here. ‘I heard a lot of
distress. The family farm is under a lot of
economic pressure. Young people aren't coming
back to the farm. There's a great deal of
(industry) consolidation, which has eliminated
competitive options for farmers,’ said
Graham, who took notes while dining on
roast beef and coleslaw. ‘Much of that is a
result of federal farm policies that are
focused on an agriculture of the mid-20th
century as opposed to one that is trying to
shape the 21st,’ he told reporters
afterward. Graham is one of nine
Democrats seeking their party's presidential
nomination. With polls showing him well back
in the pack in Iowa, Graham acknowledged he
has some catching up to do. ‘We got a late
start, but we're trying to run a 100-yard dash
from now until January,’ he said. Graham
said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's surge
in the polls partly has to do with the
resonance of a message that he and Dean share:
opposition to the war in Iraq. ‘I actually
voted against going to war when this was
before the Senate in October of last year,’
Graham said. The Florida senator is
spending the weekend in Iowa showing his
solidarity with family farmers and union
workers.”
… Comic
Relief II: OK, Iowa Pres Watch last
week mentioned Gephardt’s pie contest and
Lieberman’s baseball contest, but couldn’t
resist this item that mentions Kerry’s contest
too. Headline from Friday’s Washington
Post: “Baseball, Apple Pie – and the
Campaign Trail” Excerpt from report by the
Post’s Dane Milbank: “Day by day,
the competition for the Democratic
presidential nomination becomes more like a
PTA raffle. ‘Dick Gephardt today
called on Iowans to help him find the
tastiest, flakiest, fruitiest, creamiest, most
scrumptious slices of pie in Iowa,’ the
Missourian's campaign announced recently. The
‘pie challenge’ -- which cites the candidate's
‘deep-dish support,’ along with other puns as
subtle as a pie in the face -- urges Iowans to
use his campaign Web site to ‘follow the
different places that Gephardt has
stopped for pie.’ The site lists the
best-ranked pies. Sen. Joseph I.
Lieberman's campaign opted for baseball over
pie. The Connecticut candidate's campaign
announced a ‘See Joe's Car & Go See Nomar!’
for New Hampshire residents. Would-be
voters in the first primary state who spot a
campaign ‘JoeMobile’ (a festooned Chrysler PT
Cruiser or Dodge Intrepid) can vie for free
tickets to see the Boston Red Sox (and
star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra) play host to
the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 14.With
Gephardt claiming the apple pie and Lieberman
grabbing baseball, that left Sen. John F.
Kerry of Massachusetts to auction off…himself.
‘From all the entries we receive we'll select
one lucky winner to spend a day campaigning
with John Kerry in Iowa or New Hampshire,’ his
campaign announced. Those who make a $25
online contribution get an extra chance to
‘spend a day on the road to the White House.’”
… Developing
question: Can Dean really win the Iowa
caucuses – or will he just drive the other
wannabes crazy before January? The latest
target: Gephardt – with an ad in tomorrow’s
Register listing names of “labor activists”
backing Dean. Headline from Friday’s Union
Leader: “Iowa union activists tout Dean in
new ad” Excerpt from report – datelined
Des Moines – by AP’s Mike Glover: “Democrat
Howard Dean picked up support from Iowa union
activists who plan to run ads touting his
Presidential candidacy to coincide with the
Labor Day holiday. The advertisement, set
to appear in Monday’s editions of The Des
Moines Register, says Dean is ‘the only
candidate who will stand up for what we
believe and isn’t afraid of what Washington
thinks.’ At a news conference yesterday,
136 labor activists unveiled the ad and
announced their support for Dean in the
nine-way Democratic primary. Tom Gillespie,
president of the Iowa State Building and
Trades Council, said he was committed to Dean
because the former Vermont governor has argued
for increased domestic spending. ‘If we
can afford to rebuild Iraq, then we can afford
to rebuild our country,’ Gillespie
said…Polls have shown Dean bunched with
Dick Gephardt atop the field of
contenders for the Jan. 19 caucuses in Iowa.
Gephardt, who won Iowa in his unsuccessful
bid for the Democratic nomination in 1988, has
had the closest ties of any of the candidates
to organized labor. Dean is trying make
inroads with Gephardt’s base. The Missouri
lawmaker countered that effort by pointing out
that Dean has been a strong backer of
trade deals such as the North American Free
Trade Agreement. ‘Howard Dean was one
of the leading governors to support NAFTA and
even attended the initial White House ceremony
with Canadian and Mexican leaders in 1993,’
Gephardt’s campaign said in a statement…Gephardt
aides also pointed out that 12 international
unions have endorsed their candidate, and
they dismissed Dean’s announcement, noting
that 30,000 Iowans belong to unions that have
endorsed the former House Minority leader.”
… “Kucinich wants
military cuts for education” – headline
from Friday’s Union Leader. Excerpt from AP
report datelined Portsmouth: “While
trumpeting his plans for withdrawing troops
from Iraq and swapping defense spending for
education programs, presidential candidate
Dennis Kucinich yesterday caught the attention
of a couple soldiers who had just returned
from Baghdad. Peter Manning, a former
University of New Hampshire student from
Amherst, Mass., and Palmer Phillips, of
Beverly, Mass., listened with interest to the
Ohio Congressman's plan to replace American
troops with soldiers under United Nations
command. While keeping their political
opinions to themselves, the two testified to
the challenges such a move would pose to
leaders and soldiers on the ground…The
meeting was one of several in what Kucinich
said would be a stepped up effort to reach out
to New Hampshire voters, which includes
opening new campaign offices in Portsmouth and
Keene. ‘We're doing this at a time when
many people feel the race is over,’ he told
about a dozen supporters and news reporters at
a gathering in Market Square. ‘I'm telling you
it's only just the beginning.’ Among other
ideas, Kucinich announced a plan to shift
$60 billion from the military's budget to fund
a universal pre-kindergarten program for
children ages 3 to 5. On the chopping
block, he said, would be Pentagon programs for
missile defense, bunker-busting nuclear
weapons and other advanced weapons systems.
Kucinich said he would work to make the United
States party to several international
agreements rejected by the current
administration, including the Kyoto Protocol
on climate change, the treaty to ban land
mines and the International Court of Justice.”
… Sharpton
chooses Atlanta stop to roll out his
educational plan. Excerpt from report by
Tom Baxter in Friday’s Atlanta
Journal-Constitution: “With Labor Day
approaching, the Democratic presidential
candidates are laying down the last planks of
their platforms. The Rev. Al Sharpton used the
40th anniversary commemoration of the March on
Washington in Atlanta on Thursday to roll out
his position on education. Sharpton
supports a constitutional amendment that would
guarantee all Americans the right to ‘a public
education of equally high quality.’ In
essence, that would mean federalizing the
public education system and spending billions
to repair school buildings, upgrade programs
and hire teachers. ‘Part of Dr. King's
dream was to make it possible for his children
to have the same privileges as all children.
So that is why on this occasion, I wanted to
say that a commitment we must make in the name
of the dream is to education,’ the New York
civil rights activist said. The education
amendment is one of several that have been
proposed by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.).
A common link is Frank Watkins, Sharpton's
campaign manager, a close associate of both
Jackson and his father, the Rev. Jesse
Jackson. The idea seems to stem in part
from a Decatur, Ill., case in which the elder
Jackson focused attention on the suspension of
several African-American students expelled for
fighting at a football game. In 2000, U.S.
District Judge Michael P. McCuskey dismissed
the claim that the students were being denied
equal protection under the Constitution. ‘The
right to an education is not guaranteed,
either explicitly or implicitly, by the
Constitution, and therefore could not
constitute a fundamental right,’ he wrote.
The proposed amendment takes aim at what
Sharpton called the ‘privatization’ of public
education through vouchers and other measures
favored by Republicans. Although
Sharpton got a warm reception at the
commemoration Thursday, his campaign so far
has not registered much more than a blip in
the polls. Sharpton is critical of what
he calls ‘Bush Lite’ Democratic candidates,
but his biggest competition comes from several
other candidates who appeal to Democratic core
groups. The list includes former Vermont Gov.
Howard Dean, Ohio Rep. Dennis
Kucinich and former Illinois Sen. Carol
Moseley Braun.”
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