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Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues Iowa
Presidential Watch's
IOWA DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
PAGE 1
Monday,
September 8, 2003
DEAN
“The sudden infighting between
Lieberman and Kerry, two New
England senators battling to upend
front-runner Howard Dean of
Vermont, showcases frustrations
simmering among the crowded field and
attempts by candidates to break out from
the nine-person pack.”
– Boston Herald’s David R. Guarino
“Dean,
the front-runner in polls in the early
states, doesn't talk about his family or
where he grew up (perhaps because a
childhood in the Hamptons with a
stockbroker father doesn't quite fit the
log-cabin genre).” – Washington
Post media critic Howard Kurtz,
reporting on early TV spots by the top Dem
candidates
“Dean could peak too soon.” –
Editorial, Christian Science Monitor
KERRY
“He's fishing, he's just fishing, I'm not
worried about it.” – Kerry,
responding to Lieberman charge he’s
a “waffler”
“It sets up an interesting political
dynamic. Will the Bush administration
decide they have to do something before
2004?
Will they
decide they'd rather disappoint Latinos
and Catholics and some of their business
supporters, or divide and anger some in
the populist base that think there's too
many immigrants already?” –
Frank Sharry, executive director of the
Natural Immigration Forum, commenting
on the immigration amnesty issue
“Immigration
has now become a litmus test for Hispanic
voters.” – Republican pollster Raul
Damas.
GENERAL
NEWS:
Among
the offerings in today's update:
It’s all or nothing for Edwards
Gephardt
and Dean weigh in on President
Bush’s address to the nation on Iraq
Des Moines Register's Thomas
Beaumont reports on latest Dean/Kerry
spat
From FOXNews.com -- Hillary on warpath:
Announced yesterday she’ll oppose Bush EPA
appointee Leavitt
Columnist Novak: Edwards still ducking –
dodging appearances on the toughest
political interview shows
Orlando Sentinel: Graham to skip next
wannabe debate
Apparently tired of attacking Dean, Kerry
and Lieberman square off over whether
Kerry’s a “waffler”
Washington Times: Immigrant amnesty issue
could become “litmus test” concern for
Hispanic voters – Will the eight
pro-amnesty wannabes at Thursday night’s
debate force GWB policy review?
Washington Post’s Kurtz: Initial media buys
expose the campaign personalities – and
image goals -- of the top-tier wannabes
Christian Science Monitor editorial says
Dean looks formidable, but it would be
foolish to write off other wannabes All these stories below and more.
… FOR EDWARDS, IT’S
WHITE HOUSE – OR BUST. North Carolina wannabe
announces he will not seek re-election to the
Senate. Coverage by AP’s Gary D. Robertson
from Raleigh: “John Edwards will not run
for re-election to the Senate in 2004 so he
can concentrate on seeking the Democratic
presidential nomination, a state party
official said Sunday. The North Carolina
senator wrote a letter received Sunday by
state Democratic Party chairwoman Barbara
Allen announcing his decision, state party
executive director Scott Falmlen said. ‘I ...
decided that I will not seek re-election to
the United States Senate in order to devote
all of my energy to running for president,’
Edwards wrote to Allen. Edwards was
first elected to the Senate in 1998 but
announced in January he would seek the
presidential nomination.” More on Edwards’
decision in Tuesday’s Daily Report.
… WHOTV.com,
coverage by the Washington-AP – “President
Bush's speech to the nation on Iraq did
little to change the minds of his Democratic
rivals for the presidency. Congressman Dick
Gephardt gives credit to Bush for
recognizing that he has been going down the
wrong path. Now he says the administration
must begin the process of "fully engaging"
America's allies and sharing the burden of
building a stable democracy in Iraq. Howard
Dean compared Iraq with Vietnam. He says
the government -- quote -- is again "feeding
misinformation to the American people in order
to justify an enormous commitment of US
troops." Dean says Iraq has pulled the
country's attention and resources away from
homeland security and the economy.”
... For everyone wondering
when Kerry would begin attacking
Dean, they have misjudged the situation.
Dean, in a phone interview with Des Moines
Register Reporter Thomas Beaumont, has Dean
blasting Kerry for mimicking his position
of bringing in the U.N and specifically Arabic
speaking peace keepers. Kerry spokesperson
David Wade counters the claim of mimicking
Dean by siting a Senate speech of Oct. 9, 2002
where Kerry calls for post-war assistance from
nations in the region. Dean further lays claim
to the fact that Kerry is copying his position
at the same time he is claiming he has no
foreign policy experience. In the article,
reaction from Polk County Democrat Party
Chairman Tom Henderson is as follows: “I
just don’t think they [caucus attendees]
listen to that [spats]. There is no copyright
on ideas.”
… From the House of
Political Pancakes: Kerry confronts Lieberman
accusation that he’s a serial “waffler.” He
says Smokin’ Joe is just fishing for
headlines. Headline from yesterday’s
Boston Herald: “Miffed Kerry responds to
Lieberman’s attack” Excerpt of report from
Albuquerque by the Herald’s David R. Guarino:
“Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday tried to
shake off the ‘waffler’ tag given him by
opponent Joseph Lieberman, saying his
struggling rival is just fishing to get
headlines. Appearing at an Albuquerque
community center the morning after the
Democrats first major debate, Kerry
shrugged off Lieberman's post-debate attacks
on Kerry's Iraq stance. ‘He's fishing,
he's just fishing, I'm not worried about it,’
Kerry said of Lieberman, a
Connecticut senator and the 2000 Democratic
vice presidential nominee. ‘I think I've been
clearer than Joe Lieberman, who only
recently has started to try to talk about how
we ought to be managing (post war Iraq).’
The sudden infighting between Lieberman and
Kerry, two New England senators battling to
upend front-runner Howard Dean of Vermont,
showcases frustrations simmering among the
crowded field and attempts by candidates to
break out from the nine-person pack. In
the post-debate spin room, Lieberman
was asked why he only targeted Dean
during the debate. Lieberman responded by
teeing off on Kerry, who during his recent
campaign announcement tour said he voted in
the Senate on the Iraqi resolution just as a
threat to Saddam Hussein - not to go to war.
‘It was clearly an authorization for President
Bush to use force against Saddam, I don't get
it,’ Lieberman said. ‘(Kerry's)
been criticizing Howard Dean for
lacking experience to lead America in the
world today. It's true, it's not the best time
to put a rookie in charge of our country's
future, it hasn't been a good time to have a
cowboy (in Bush) in charge of our country's
future,’ Lieberman said. ‘But we
also don't need a waffler in charge of our
country's future.’ But Kerry said
yesterday he always maintained the vote was to
authorize force -- despite his most recent
statements. ‘Of course it was, I've said that
everywhere I go’ Kerry told reporters.
‘The threat came from the authorization, it's
that simple. Without the authorization, you
wouldn't have had a threat - it's very clear.
My language has been clear from day one, it's
been the clearest of anybody.’ Kerry
said he, unlike Lieberman and the other
Democrats, warned Bush that he needed more
support from Americans and international
allies before rushing into war. He said the
post-war debacles have proved him right. ‘My
experience comes out stronger as a consequence
of the way President Bush has screwed up what
we are doing in Iraq, it's what I predicted,’
Kerry said. ‘Joe Lieberman never
talked about those things, nor did the other
candidates.’”
… A setback for
wannabes – especially Gephardt – hoping to
secure AFL-CIO endorsement: AFSCME decides to
delay decision until November. Excerpt
from Associated Press report: “One of the
nation's largest unions will wait until
November to decide which Democrat to endorse
in next year's presidential race. Gerald
McEntee, president of the American Federation
of State, County and Municipal Employees, said
Friday the most important criteria will be
finding the candidate with the best chance of
winning the White House. ‘We are ready to
support a Democrat who supports our issues
most of the time, if not all of the time, but
who is electable, who is capable of defeating
George Bush,’ McEntee said. Most of the
nine presidential hopefuls will meet with the
organization's executive board next week,
with each making a final push for support from
the 1.4 million-member union, one of the
largest, fastest-growing and politically
active in the AFL-CIO. McEntee hinted
earlier this summer that he favored
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, but the union
reportedly is taking a second look at the
field to judge the strength of Howard Dean's
surge in early polls in New Hampshire and
Iowa. ‘Kerry had some traction
early on and seems to be regaining it,’
McEntee said Friday.”
… “Graham
to skip his next debate” – headline from
today’s Orlando Sentinel. Report says
Graham expecting to get $50,000 at FL
fundraiser – the same day Bush sweeps into the
state to “pick up a fast $2 million.”
Excerpt from report by the Sentinel’s
political ace Mark Silva: “Sen. Bob Graham
will skip a debate next week and instead
return to Florida to raise money for his
lagging presidential campaign. The reason?
There will be many more debates among the
Democratic contenders in the months to come,
his campaign says. But Graham also is
scrambling to raise money before a key
deadline at month's end that will be a measure
of his campaign's viability. In the
meantime, while Graham collects an expected
$50,000 in Pensacola on Tuesday, President
Bush will sweep into the state on the same day
and pick up a fast $2 million for his
re-election bid in Jacksonville and Fort
Lauderdale. Graham will forgo a debate in
Baltimore sponsored by the Congressional Black
Caucus to tend to his fund raising in
Florida -- but Graham is pledging to
attend another Black Caucus-sponsored debate
in Detroit in October. Pensacola trial lawyer
Fred Levin will serve as host Tuesday for a
fund-raiser at which they hope to provide
another $50,000. Levin also thinks that if
Graham's presidential bid falls short, the
senator will seek re-election to a fourth
term. Graham maintains that he is running for
president and does not intend to appear on any
other ballot in 2004. However, with the
permission of his contributors, the
presidential money Graham raises could
be used to finance a Senate campaign. The
Graham campaign asked the Democratic
National Committee if Graham could
appear via satellite at another
party-sponsored debate on Sept. 23 in Phoenix.
But the DNC insisted that Graham
attend. The Phoenix debate, to be staged in
one of the earliest-voting winter
primary-election states, is one of six
encounters the party is sponsoring…Fund
raising has become one of the greatest
challenges for Graham since Howard Dean, the
former governor of Vermont, started surging.
Money is just one measure in which Graham
is trailing a crowded field of Democrats. He
trails most of them in early polling for both
Iowa's Jan. 19 caucuses and New Hampshire's
Jan. 27 primary. Graham raised just $2
million in the most recent fund-raising
quarter, after raising $1.1 million with a
late-starting campaign formally launched in
early May. This is a fraction of the more than
$10 million that Dean has reported this
year.”
… Profiles in No Courage: Edwards dodging
tough interviews on national TV shows.
Under the subhead “Edwards Still Ducking,”
columnist Robert Novak reported in today’s
Chicago Sun-Times: “Sen. John Edwards,
trying to restart his flagging presidential
campaign, scheduled a second straight soft
interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulus
Aug. 14 without making himself available to
the other three Sunday talk shows in proper
rotation. On July 10, Edwards wrote
Tim Russert of NBC's ‘Meet the Press’ that
‘I'm looking forward to finding the time to
come to your show.’ The senator admittedly had
not performed well under Russert's questioning
May 5, 2002. Edwards has kept away from
‘Meet the Press’ since then, while finding
time to engage in easygoing dialogue aboard
his campaign van with Stephanopoulus that was
broadcast on ABC's ‘This Week.’ Edwards
also has been dodging non-Sunday television
programs that ask tough questions. He has
not gone on CNN's ‘Crossfire’ since May 23,
2001, after appearing there seven times the
previous nine months.”
… “The Tortoises and
Dr. Dean” – headline from Christian
Science Monitor commentary. Editorial says
Dean looks formidable, but it would be foolish
to write off other wannabes. Excerpt: “Election
pundits are out in full force, what with Labor
Day past and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts
officially launching his campaign for the
Democratic presidential nomination. (What
exactly was he doing before Tuesday?)
Unfortunately for the candidates, the
public has yet to pay much attention.
According to a new CBS News poll, two-thirds
of those questioned couldn't even name one
Democratic presidential candidate. That public
apathy (not unusual at this point in a race)
makes the constant speculation over who's the
front-runner the political equivalent of a
sports-radio call-in show. And the
California recall is stealing whatever
limelight the national contenders might have.
According to the CBS poll, Sen. Joseph
Lieberman of Connecticut draws the most
support from registered Democrat voters --with
14 percent. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
and Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri
are the only other candidates garnering double
digits. (Of course, there is no national
primary.) But for the inside-the-Beltway
crowd, Dr. Dean is the real front- runner.
He's so far out front in fundraising that he
may dispense with public financing. His
hard-line position against the war in Iraq and
tough criticism of President Bush warm the
hearts of liberal-activists. He's also surged
to statistical leads in key-state polls --
outdistancing previous favorites Kerry in New
Hampshire and Gephardt in Iowa. Even so, the
race remains wide open. At this point in
1996, Republican Sen. Bob Dole held a wide
lead in New Hampshire, yet lost to Patrick
Buchanan on primary day. Dean could peak
too soon. He could falter in a barrage of
negative press coverage. Events could overtake
his campaign themes. Another candidate (Gen.
Wesley Clark?) could enter the race and
upset the poll numbers. At present, the
Vermonter appears formidable. But to write
off the others would be foolish - and
unhealthy for a democracy's political market.”
… Gephardt casts House “no” vote on
private-school voucher proposal, but it passes
by two votes anyway. Gephardt cast a rare
vote Friday as the House narrowly approved
private-school vouchers for poor students in
the District of Columbia. The $10 million plan
was approved on a 205-203 vote with four
Democrats joining 201 Republicans.
Kucinich, who has the best voting record of
the Dem wannabes, was recorded as “not
voting.” Three members of the IA
delegation – GOPs King, Latham and Nussle –
supported the legislation, Dem Boswell voted
“no” and Republican Leach did not vote.
… The Hispanic
“litmus test” – will Bush relax policy on
amnesty for illegal aliens” The Dem hopefuls
at the New Mexico debate all support amnesty,
increasing the pressure on the White House.
Headline from yesterday’s Washington
Times: “Democrats embrace amnesty for
illegals” Coverage – excerpted – from
report by the Times’ Stephen Dinan: “All
eight of the Democratic presidential
contenders at Thursday's debate embraced
amnesty for illegal aliens now in the United
States, pushing the issue onto the national
stage for the presidential contest. In a
debate specifically designed to showcase the
candidates for Hispanic voters who were
increasingly intrigued by President Bush's
outreach in 2000 and 2001, the Democrats went
on record in support of amnesty, a
high-profile issue in that community…All of
the candidates agreed that a form of amnesty
is necessary for some or all of the estimated
9 million illegal immigrants living and
working in the United States already. ‘I
believe we have to change it. It's a matter of
human rights, a matter of civil right, a
matter of fairness to Americans. It's
essential to have immigration reform,’ said
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who said
he wants instant citizenship for those who
have lived in the United States for about five
years. Among the others, Rep. Richard A.
Gephardt of Missouri introduced a bill
a year ago to grant legal status to those who
have lived in the United States for five years
and worked for two, and Sen. Joe Lieberman
of Connecticut introduced his own immigration
proposal earlier this week to promote
legalization, a guest-worker program and
increased due process for immigration
applicants. All of the candidates present
spoke about the contributions of immigrants
and criticized the Bush administration, which
had been working on a broad legalization
accord before the September 11 terrorist
attacks, for not having returned to the
issue. Mr. [Frank] Sharry, executive director
of the National Immigration Forum, said the
pressure is now on Mr. Bush. ‘It sets up
an interesting political dynamic. Will the
Bush administration decide they have to do
something before 2004?’ Mr. Sharry said. ‘Will
they decide they'd rather disappoint Latinos
and Catholics and some of their business
supporters, or divide and anger some in the
populist base that think there's too many
immigrants already?’ But Roy Beck,
executive director of Numbers USA, which
lobbies for immigration limits and a crackdown
on illegal immigrants, said the Democrats have
staked out a position at odds with what's best
for average workers. ‘It's the abandonment
of the American worker. It's an astounding
development for the Democratic Party — the
national leaders — to abandon the American
worker like this,’ Mr. Beck said. ‘They've
done something I didn't think was possible.
They're going to make Bush seem very moderate
and pro-worker,’ he said. Polls show a
majority of Americans oppose amnesties, while
a plurality would go even further and begin to
reduce legal immigration. But amnesties or
‘normalization’ of illegal immigrants' status
polls well among Hispanics. One poll last
month from Raul Damas, a Republican pollster,
found that 83 percent of registered Hispanic
voters support legalization. ‘Immigration
has now become a litmus test for Hispanic
voters,’ Mr. Damas said, who added that
kind of support among Hispanics has allowed
Democrats to abuse the issue. He said
Republicans must counter by putting forth
sensible plans that couch immigration reform
as a national-security issue.”
…
Sharecroppers, milkman, anti-Bush, courage –
The themes for the initial flight of media
spots being seen by the initial players in the
2004 nominating contests. Washington Post
media guru Howard Kurtz says the wannabes are
projecting the image that they feel best suits
them in early TV spots. Headline from
today’s Post: “Media Primary Commences as
Democrats Run First Ads” Excerpts from
Kurtz’ report: “ John Edwards talks about
hailing from a family of sharecroppers. Dick
Gephardt says his father was a milkman. Howard
Dean says he's the man to stand up to
President Bush, unlike many timid Democrats in
Washington. John Kerry talks about the courage
of Americans -- while using a flag-bedecked
backdrop that may remind viewers of his own
courage in Vietnam. The initial television
ads of the Democratic presidential candidates,
even at this early stage, shed considerable
light on how they want to present themselves
to primary voters in the only format they
fully control. If you get just one chance
to make a good first impression, these
30-second snapshots are an important clue to
each man's media strategy. Despite their
stylistic differences, the commercials,
running mainly in Iowa and New Hampshire, all
trumpet the need for jobs and, almost as
often, expanded health care -- an issue about
which Democrats had been skittish since the
Clinton health plan crashed and burned in
1994. The ads all strike an us-vs.-them
tone in which the candidates sell themselves
as champions of the middle class. ‘I'm not
sure how much it does with voters,’ said
former Clinton White House spokesman Joe
Lockhart. ‘But the unwritten rule is if you
don't do well in the media primary, you may
not get to the real primary. Obviously,
Dean has passed the test, so he's in a
different place than everyone else. But
several of the others have to move numbers to
keep reporters from dismissing them.’
Republican media consultant Don Sipple agreed
that ‘the shelf life of early advertising is
very short. But these candidates need to show
movement in key early states in order to raise
money around the country.’…Dean, the
front-runner in polls in the early states,
doesn't talk about his family or where he grew
up (perhaps because a childhood in the
Hamptons with a stockbroker father doesn't
quite fit the log-cabin genre). Instead,
he portrays himself as the anti-Bush, saying
he wants ‘to change George Bush's reckless
foreign policy, stand up for affordable health
care and create new jobs…Has anyone really
stood up against George Bush and his policies?
Don't you think it's time somebody did?’…Kerry
says nothing about himself in the three ads
unveiled this week, taped at Iowa and New
Hampshire speeches. But two of them
mention ‘courage,’ which dovetails with the
Vietnam-era photo of Kerry on his Web
site, featuring the headline: ‘The courage to
fight for America.’ The colorful, fast-moving
ads, which keep cutting to cheering crowds,
hit the unemployment issue hard. ‘Three
million jobs lost, too many of them in the
heartland," Kerry says in one. ‘That is
an astonishing failure. If I am president, I
will roll back the Bush tax cuts for the
wealthy so we can invest in education, health
care and the skills of our workers. We need to
be on the side of America's middle class."…Edwards
takes a far more biographical approach.
Appearing in rolled-up shirtsleeves, the
freshman senator opens one ad in his hometown
of Robbins, N.C., ‘a place where values like
hard work, family, faith and community
mattered. And they still do. But today our
small towns and rural areas are hurting, and
Washington doesn't seem to care.’ He says he's
got a ‘detailed plan’ to boost jobs, schools
and health care in rural America…Edwards
also plays the class card against Bush, the
son of a president and grandson of a senator.
‘My grandmother came from a family of
sharecroppers,’ he says in a third ad. ‘My
father worked in a cotton mill all his life,
and I helped out there in the summers…George
Bush -- he comes from a very different place.
He believes if we take care of folks at the
top, that somehow the whole country will be
lifted.’…While Gephardt, a veteran House
member from Missouri, is better known, he uses
his first ad to cast himself not as a dull
legislator but as the product of the working
heartland who will ‘fight for America's middle
class.’…Gephardt has produced one
spot about his record, making him the only
candidate to tout President Bill Clinton. The
former House minority leader recalls his 1993
role in narrowly passing the Clinton economic
plan (including tax increases, which are not
mentioned). While ‘every Republican’ opposed
the plan, says the ad, flashing a
black-and-white picture of former Georgia
representative Newt Gingrich, ‘Democratic
leader Dick Gephardt digs in and wins the
fight in Congress by one vote,’ leading to
‘millions of new jobs.’”
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