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Iowa 2004 presidential primary precinct caucus and caucuses news">
Iowa 2004 presidential primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues Iowa
Presidential Watch's
IOWA DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
THE DAILY
REPORT for Sunday, October 5, 2003
... QUOTABLE:
“This is the ultimate statement she is not
running. Frankly, we wouldn't have her emcee if
there were even a possibility she would become a
candidate. That would be giving her a higher chair
than the other candidates, which would be unfair."
-- Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Gordon
Fischer, on Hillary Clinton emceeing the Iowa Dem
Party fundraiser November 15th.
"There is still money to be gotten here; it's
just not in the huge sums it was before. Because
of the lack of the ability to raise soft money,
it's a very different kind of campaign." –
director and avid Democrat Rob Reiner, reflecting
on the impact of new ‘soft money’ limits on planet
Hollywood.
“… a war in Iraq is testing this 30-year-old
policy [volunteer army] by turning a national
guard into an international guard…” –
editorial comment in today’s Des Moines
Register.
“They [Bush folks] need to get a handle on
these things…we have a saying around here – don’t
let your monkeys turn into gorillas.” --
Republican Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia.
“As a boy raised on
a cattle farm, I can tell you that this president
gives us many opportunities for raw hamburger… and
bull.'' –
big, bad Bob Graham, speaking to the DNC meeting
in Washington, D.C. yesterday.
"That should be a model for the rest of the
country, Mr. Secretary. I mean, I was so impressed
with the level of detail and involvement and
interaction that the 101st is having with all
these people in those three provinces. I think
that that should be the model. If we follow that,
and if we can give those generals the resources
necessary to keep up their effort, I think this--I
think we can do this."
–
Democrat Norman Dicks
to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld regarding
the conclusion of the bipartisan congressional
visit to Iraq
"For me, being a Democrat is a commitment of
the heart, not a matter of convenience for the
moment," – John Edwards, taking a swipe at
Wesley Clark at the DNC meeting in Washington,
D.C.
"Governor Dean, it's not enough to talk the
talk. You got to walk the walk. Your coffers may
be full but your talk is cheap.” – the
never-subtle Al Sharpton, taking a swipe at Howard
Dean at the DNC meeting in Washington, D.C.
“The fact that these candidates haven’t caught
fire, haven’t raised any money, can’t campaign in
every state and won’t even qualify for Secret
Service protection in January tells me it’s time
for them to go,” -- Donna Brazile, manager of
Al Gore’s 2000 campaign, at the DNC meeting. …
Among the offerings in today’s update:
Hillary Clinton’s fundraising fire-power comes
to Iowa next month
Kerry flings radioactive dirt at Howard Dean.
Did Bill Clinton drain Hollywood dry?
Bush fundraising roars on
Iowa father-son team doing ‘recon’ for John
Edwards campaign
Editorial in today’s Des Moines Register takes
aim at America’s volunteer army policy
Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu calls
for an independent investigation of the White
House/CIA leak allegation
Are Bush’s monkeys turning into gorillas?
Graham I: Bob Graham’s not down for the count…
yet
Graham II: Bob calls Bill Clinton, Tom Daschle
for advice
The New York Times recaps the DNC meeting
Ron Fournier reports in on the DNC meeting
Associated Press says Wesley Clark raised more
than $3.5M in two weeks
U.S. bipartisan Congressional group on Iraq: 'I
think we can do this'
Clark faxed voter registration form to Pulaski
County, Arkansas, on Friday
Former Clinton guy shows up at Camp Clark
* CANDIDATES/CAUCUSES:
… Presidential candidate John Kerry has found
more dirt – radioactive dirt -- to fling at
rival Howard Dean. This time, Kerry says Dean
showed “environmental and ethnic insensitivity”
during his tenure as governor of Vermont.
According to a
Des Moines Register article by Thomas
Beaumont, Kerry is pointing to a 1993
agreement by the state of Vermont to send its
nuclear waste material to Texas town Sierra Blanca –
a town whose population is predominately Hispanic.
Howard Dean’s response? According to the article,
Dean says he was just following orders – federal
orders that require disposal of nuclear waste.
Dean says Vermont didn’t choose the site, Texas did.
Meanwhile, Kerry is pointing his finger at Dean and
declaring Dean should have objected to the site’s
location. BY THE WAY -- as it turned out, the
nuclear dumpsite was never built in Sierra Blanca.
The permit to build was tossed out by the Texas
Natural Resource Conservation Commission due to
“geological instability.” Where did the Vermont
nuclear waste end up? South Carolina.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: wonder what John Edwards has to say
about that…]
… The Myers father-son duo has resurrected their
Bill Clinton role, running ‘recon’ for the John
Edwards campaign in Iowa. Translation: doing
the “front” work. As reported in today’s
Boston Globe article by staff writer
Patrick Healy, back in 1993 Sam Meyers, Sr. and
Sam Meyers, Jr. found the right homes and home
dwellers for then-president Bill Clinton to visit
during the 1993 Iowa flood disaster. Today
they’re director/deputy director of “advance
operations” for the John Edwards campaign in Iowa.
Waxing eloquent, Sam, Jr. is quoted in the article
as saying, "We both fight like hell to get the job
done." Sam’s I and II believe Edwards, like Clinton,
has the ability to win over an group of listening
people. Quoting Junior again, “I'm there to make
sure the candidate interacts with real people, so
they can look in his eyes and see this guy is
genuine.”
…
Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu calls
for an independent investigation of the White
House/CIA leak allegation. Excerpts from the
editorial: “… The latest evidence suggests
the Bush administration was so hell-bent on starting
a war with Iraq that it was willing to go to any
length - deception, fabrication, persecution of
doubters and their families. To drum up support
for the war, the White House spread bogus
information about its weapons program and suggested
nonexistent links to Sept. 11. Then, when a
scientist hired by the CIA to investigate claims
about Iraq's weapons program discredited them, some
White House officials may have launched a campaign
to punish him. They did it, the theory goes, by
"outing" his wife as a CIA operative. … the question
is whether someone in the White House leaked Valerie
Plame's identity as an undercover CIA employee to
get back at her husband, Joseph Wilson, when his
findings didn't support Bush's weapons claim.
Plame's job in intelligence involved weapons of mass
destruction. Her husband, a former diplomat in Iraq,
was hired by the CIA to travel to Niger last year to
investigate claims that Iraq was trying to buy
enriched uranium for its weapons program. He found
that never happened, and he said so in the New York
Times. Soon after, columnist Robert Novak revealed
that Wilson's wife, Plame, was a CIA operative.
Novak has acknowledged administration officials fed
him that information, but won't say who.
[EDTOR’S NOTE: as reported in our
Oct. 1st Report… “Yesterday on CNN's "Crossfire,"
of which he is a co-host, Novak had this to say:
“Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak
this. In July, I was interviewing a
senior administration official on Ambassador
Wilson's report when he told me the trip was
inspired by his wife, a CIA employee working on
weapons of mass destruction. Another senior official
told me the same thing. As a professional journalist
with 46 years experience in Washington, I do not
reveal confidential sources. When I called the CIA
in July, they confirmed Mrs. Wilson's involvement in
a mission for her husband on a secondary basis, who
is--he is a former Clinton administration official.
They asked me not to use her name, but never
indicated it would endanger her or anybody else.
According to a confidential source at the CIA, Mrs.
Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert
operative, and not in charge of undercover
operatives.” That last sentence is the key:
If Novak's source is telling the truth, then there's
no crime, and the "scandal" is utterly phony.”]
… GRAHAM I: Well, it looks like Bob Graham isn’t
going down for the count -- yet. A
Miami Herald article, by Peter Wallsten, reports
that Graham “reintroduced himself” on Saturday as a
“red meat” contender and best-hope candidate to beat
Bush and win the White House. Graham spoke
Saturday at the Democratic National Meeting in
Washington, D.C., dressing up his speech in full
‘red meat,’ Bush-Bashing regalia: “'As
a boy raised on a cattle farm, I can tell you that
this president gives us many opportunities for raw
hamburger,'' he said, adding, ``and bull.''
… ``I am outraged as an American, as a Democrat and
a Floridian that brother-helping-brother
embezzlement took my state from Al Gore and Joe
Lieberman,'' Graham said. According to the article,
Graham's words to the DNC on Saturday ‘struck a
dramatic contrast to the confusion that has reigned
for days inside his campaign organization, amid
conflicting reports of staff shake-ups.’ True
enough. Reports still surface regarding the
campaigns soon demise, coupled with Graham’s rivals
waiting to pounce on the Florida political treasure
chest of money, still awaiting a Dem candidate.
… GRAHAM II: the
New York Times reports today that
presidential candidate Bob Graham recently sought
the advice of Bill Clinton and Tom Daschle regarding
his floundering campaign. The article quotes Graham
as saying, “I have had several conversations
with President Clinton and I have talked with
Senator Daschle and other leaders in the Senate
about, to solicit their advice," he said. "None of
them have encouraged me to not continue the pursuit
for the presidency."
… The
New York Times recaps Saturday’s wannabes at the
DNC meeting in Washington, D.C.: “On Saturday,
Mr. Graham, Representative Richard A.
Gephardt of Missouri, Senator John Edwards
of North Carolina and the Rev. Al Sharpton
outlined their political platforms, criticized
President Bush for the war in Iraq and took swipes
at their rivals. Mr. Edwards asked how
President Bush could justify spending $87
billion on Iraq while millions of Americans go
without health care and live in poverty. He promised
to widen access to health insurance and to provide
free college education to students who commit to
teaching in poor schools. But Mr. Edwards
also was critical of Gen. Wesley K. Clark,
who has publicly acknowledged voting for the
Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and
Richard M. Nixon. "For me, being a Democrat
is a commitment of the heart, not a matter of
convenience for the moment," Mr. Edwards said.
Mr. Gephardt and Mr. Sharpton directed
attacks at President Bush and former Gov.
Howard Dean of Vermont. Mr. Gephardt
called Mr. Bush "the vanishing president,"
saying he had made jobs, civil liberties and
European allies vanish. He also criticized Dr.
Dean for supporting Republican plans to cut the
growth of Medicare in the 1990's. Mr. Sharpton
called on Dr. Dean to reject Michigan's plan
to allow Internet voting in its Feb. 7 caucus. He
said online voting would favor affluent white voters
over poor black voters who lack computers. "We
cannot have a situation in February where some can
vote in the living room and others have to go
through the snow and feel impaired," Mr. Sharpton
said. "Governor Dean, it's not enough to talk the
talk. You got to walk the walk. Your coffers may be
full but your talk is cheap. We must do
something about the racial divide, and Michigan is a
test point on that."
… The
Union Leader offers this Ron Fournier report on
the doings of the DNC during their Washington D.C.
meeting. Headline: “Democrats smell blood but fret
over unity.” Excerpts: “In more than a dozen
interviews, party activists warned that Bush still
has the upper hand; raised doubts about their newest
candidate, Wesley Clark; urged second-tier
contenders to get out of the race and worried that
the primary fight could drag longer than expected —
perhaps even into the summer convention. …Democratic
Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe led a drive to
compress the primary contests into a six-week window
ending in early March. …Most DNC members said they
believe Dean’s fundraising success makes him a sure
bet to survive the first few primary rounds, and the
only question now is who emerges as the alternative.
Some are anxious to get on with it. “The fact
that these candidates haven’t caught fire, haven’t
raised any money, can’t campaign in every state and
won’t even qualify for Secret Service protection in
January tells me it’s time for them to go,” said
Donna Brazile, manager of Vice President Al Gore’s
2000 campaign … One thing the Democrats agree
upon is Bush’s vulnerability… Still, no Democrat
thinks the President is a pushover.
… Hmmmm, Bill Clinton’s ace guy Bruce Lindsey has
shown up at ‘Camp Clark’ to get the Clark soldiers
in better shape – ah-ten-SHUN! Paul
Bedard’s column, Washington Whispers” reveals all in
today’s
USNews.com. Here are some excerpts; “…it's
the little things--like a press release using
Alaska's postal abbreviation for his home state of
Arkansas--that nag his operation. Which is why
Bill Clinton's longtime handler, consigliere,
and taskmaster has been brought on board to crack
the whip. "It's not rocket science," says Bruce
Lindsey. His role: in the first weeks, help the
campaign get on schedule and provide the tips to
flawless scheduling. Stuff like making sure Clark
has enough time after speeches to shake hands and
kiss babies. Allies of both say their Arkansas
ties--not any Clinton connection--led Lindsey to
help Clark. "I try to be helpful," says the normally
press-shy Lindsey, "and it helps that I live in
Arkansas and the campaign is here. Clark has a lot
of good people around him." And more are coming.
Whispers hears that Clark's team plans to woo aides
away from other stumbling presidential campaigns,
like that of Sen. Bob Graham.”
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Poor Bob…]
… The
Associated Press is reporting today that Wesley
Clark has raised over $3.5M in his first two weeks
campaigning. The article, written by AP’s
Sharon Theimer, points out that newcomer Clark
raised more in those two weeks than some of the
other wannabes (e.g. notables, John Edwards and
Bob Graham). It looks like Clark has made good
on his Internet strategy, too – over two-thirds
of the money raised is attributed to the Internet.
… more on Clark: Clark faxed voter registration
form to Pulaski County, Arkansas, on Friday & Wes
visits El Dorado, Arkansas’ Musicfest on Saturday.
This report, from the
ElDoradoNew.com: “All over the land, there’s
a new spirit of patriotism. People sense there is
something wrong with this administration,” Clark
said… On Friday, he faxed a registration form
from Washington to the Pulaski County registrar’s
office, officially aligning himself with the
Democratic Party.” The El Dorado News also
reports Clark is holding a town hall meeting today
at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.
* ON THE BUSH BEAT: …
The Bush fundraising roars on, raising an
interesting comparison by Scott Reed – Republican
Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign manager.
According to an article in today’s
Boston Globe, by Brian Mooney, Reed
recalls the battle between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole
by saying, “Clinton had about a 10-to-1 cash
advantage. The media focused on it, and it drove the
debate for about six weeks, creating this impression
that it was impossible for Dole to win." With
Howard Dean as the biggest Dem wannabe fundraiser at
$15M (last quarter), and George Bush at around $50M
for the same quarter… well, you get the picture. And
folks are guesstimating Bush could receive as much
as $200M by the first part of next year. The
Boston Globe article further reports that
according to Kevin Madden, Bush-Cheney reelection
committee spokesman, the president's campaign is
hiring field directors to build a grass-roots
network and stockpiling money in anticipation of
heavy spending of "soft money" by independent
committees hostile to Bush.
…
Los Angeles Times article says there’s
doom and gloom in Republican hearts regarding Bush’s
re-election prospects. Excerpts: “…In
a sharp reversal, Republicans who just months ago
daydreamed about a 2004 election landslide now worry
that President Bush is losing control of events at
home and abroad and faces a real chance of leading
the party to defeat.
At home, anxiety about the economy is
escalating and respect for Bush is sinking. His
domestic agenda has stalled in Congress. Abroad,
troubles in Iraq and Afghanistan have eroded Bush's
traditional Republican advantage on foreign policy.
His calls for international help in Iraq have gone
unanswered. And in both countries, Americans
continue to die in guerrilla attacks.” The article
goes on to say that there’s time for things to
improve, but Bush2 needs to push hard to escape
Bush1’s re-election flop. A Capitol Hill quote shows
up from Republican Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia,
“They need to get a handle on these things…we have a
saying around here – don’t let your monkeys turn
into gorillas.” The article seems to dismiss the
report on Friday that the nation’s businesses had
added 57,000 new jobs in September (the first gain
in jobs in eight months…) and casts it as falling
into a ‘wait and see’ status regarding public
opinion.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: check out Wall Street’s reaction to
the job increase report. No ‘wait and see’ there!]
* THE CLINTON COMEDIES:
… Talk about fire-power, Hillary Clinton
is coming to Iowa November 15th to lend her fame to
the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson Day
Dinner fundraiser at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in
Des Moines. Does this stop speculation she’s going
to slide into the 2004 Presidential race?
Excerpts from the Thomas Beaumont article in
the
Des Moines Register: “This is the
ultimate statement she is not running," Iowa
Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer said
Saturday. "Frankly, we wouldn't have her emcee if
there were even a possibility she would become a
candidate. That would be giving her a higher chair
than the other candidates, which would be unfair."
… Clinton felt the Iowa event marked an appropriate
time to get involved in the 2004 race as a
supporter. … But she could also overshadow the
candidates whom she will be introducing,.
"Ultimately, it's a good thing for the party. She's
a celebrity," retired University of Wisconsin
political science professor Charles Jones said. "But
she could create a sense of yearning among the
undecided Democrats, that they wish she would be in
the race." …
Did Bill drain Hollywood dry? Back in the 1990’s,
Bill Clinton drilled a money gusher as Hollywood
handed over hundreds of thousands of dollars to his
prezzz-i-dentialness. But alas, things have
changed. With new campaign finance laws now in
effect against mega ‘soft money’ donations, the
whopping donations have stopped and Hollywood has
turned into, well, Mudville. Now that the law limits
individual donations to $2k, the Dem candidates are
striking out right and left in tinsel town. Here’s
some interesting stuff in today’s
Boston Globe, written by staffer Anne Kornblut: quoting
director Rob Reiner: "There is
still money to be gotten here; it's just not in the
huge sums it was before. Because of the lack of the
ability to raise soft money, it's a very different
kind of campaign." Reiner got $4 million for Al
Gore’s 2000 run; the Reiner-fundraiser this year for
Howard Dean only bagged $125,000. Today’s Dem
candidates are reduced to buzz instead of bucks. And
clearly, there is no particular Democratic candidate
that strikes Tinsel Town’s fancy yet. As Howard Dean
and Wesley Clark saw, who campaigned there recently,
there are a lot of watchers and not many givers in
Hollywood.
* WAR/TERROR:
… An editorial in today’s Des Moines Register
takes aim at America’s volunteer army policy.
Excerpts: “…America’s national defense shouldn’t
depend on citizen soldiers doing extended tours of
overseas duty …the unnecessary reliance on
National Guard and Reserve troops is taking its toll
back here at home, as explored in a Des Moines
Register series last week. A “total force
policy” crafted in the 1970s reduced the fulltime
military by millions and expanded the role of the
National Guard. Money was saved. The bridge between
the military and civilian world was solidified. But
now a war in Iraq is testing this 30-year-old
policy by turning a national guard into an
international guard…”
* NATIONAL POLITICS:
... Posted today online at the Wall Street
Journal’s
PoliticalJournal: “I think we can do
this”. The ‘we’ is a bipartisan group of congressmen
who bring – gasp -- good news back
from their exploratory trip to Iraq. The article
says Democrat Norman Dicks spoke optimistically
to Donald Rumsfeld during last week’s House
hearing on the Bush Admin $87B request. Excerpt:
“Congressman Dicks said: ‘That should be a model
for the rest of the country, Mr. Secretary. I mean,
I was so impressed with the level of detail and
involvement and interaction that the 101st is having
with all these people in those three provinces. I
think that that should be the model. If we follow
that, and if we can give those generals the
resources necessary to keep up their effort, I think
this--I think we can do this.’ He was referring
to the Army's 101st Airborne Division, under the
command of Major General David Petraeus.” As printed
in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (last
month), Rep. Jim Marshall, Ga., was part of
the visiting group and wrote an editorial
exposing the ‘bad only news’ reporting of the
nation’s media. Marshall went on the air his view in
the Washington Post last Wednesday, citing the
unbalanced media reporting and cautioning Democrats
against ‘failure language.’
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