Howard Dean

excerpts from the Iowa Daily Report

October 1-15, 2003

… Union Leader online article from the Associated Press, “Dean tops Kerry, Clark in NH poll”. Excerpts: “Howard Dean topped John Kerry by 9 points in a new poll of likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, with newcomer Wesley Clark speeding past the other seven Democratic presidential contenders. Dean was the choice for 26 percent of voters, followed by Kerry with 17 percent and Clark with 10 percent, according to the poll by WHDH-TV and Suffolk University conducted between Sept. 26-28. The poll was released Monday. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut had 7 percent and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri were at 6 percent. The remaining candidates were at 2 percent or fewer. A Suffolk poll conducted in March showed Kerry leading with 32 percent of the vote, Lieberman second with 17 percent and Dean third with 10 percent. The new poll numbers are similar to a poll conducted Sept. 24-25 and released Friday by Zogby International that showed Dean leading Kerry by a 10-point margin and Clark in third with 10 percent of likely Democratic primary voters. The latest poll shows Dean has crossed an important bridge in his bid to win New Hampshire, according to Suffolk University adjunct professor and pollster David Paleologos. "This is a wake-up call for John Kerry," Paleologos said. "Kerry needs to reconnect with the voters that once supported him." The poll also found Dean's popularity strong, with a favorable rating of 61 percent, while only 14 percent rated him unfavorably. Clark's strong numbers despite his recent entrance into the race shows the retired general has room to boost his support as he continues to introduce himself to New Hampshire voters, Paleologos said. In other results, the poll of likely Democratic voters found 56 percent said it was not worth going to war in Iraq and 64 percent opposed President Bush's request for $87 billion to help rebuild Iraq. The poll of 400 New Hampshire Democrats who said they were likely to cast a ballot on primary day, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 27, 2004, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. (10/01/2003)

… Boston Globe online article by Thomas Oliphant, “Past haunts Dean on Medicare issue”. Excerpts: “Had Dick Gephardt been more politically correct last week, he would have rebuked Howard Dean for standing with Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico on proposed Medicare cutbacks in the 1990s or with then-Representative John Kasich of Ohio. To those bosses of the newly Republican budget committee in Congress, he could have added the GOP revolutionaries running the House Ways and Means Committee -- Bill Archer of Texas and Bill Thomas of California. Newt Gingrich, however, was a lightning rod for disbelief -- a distraction, really. Dean expressed wounded shock and horror that anyone would link him to the former speaker, who in turn tried to link slashes in eligibility and other restrictions on Medicare beneficiaries with a whopping tax cut for high-income Americans. The truth, however, is that as a conservative Democratic governor, Dean really did do what Gephardt says he did, and his shifting attempts to wiggle off that hook have made his conduct an issue in a Democratic race that grows more serious by the week. Ever since Gephardt -- followed by John Kerry -- raised the Medicare issue nearly a month ago, Dean has expressed wounded horror at the guilt by association, deplored the tactics of "Washington politicians," and declared Gephardt's criticisms "flat-out false." Actually, they are flat-out true. That becomes even more troublesome now that Dean has come up with still another explanation for his Medicare behavior -- Bill Clinton himself. Dean's inaccuracy here is also instructive. I have been watching this subplot to the Dean phenomenon for two months, ever since Dennis Kucinich nicked him for having supported an increase in Social Security's eligibility age -- a criticism that Dean also initially denied and then flipped on. It has happened on Social Security, on trade, on middle-class taxes, on budget-balancing policies. Medicare is an especially big enchilada.  (10/01/2003)

… Des Moines Register’s Thomas Beaumont reports  today that Democrat presidential candidates on both ends of the ‘war chest size’ are increasing campaign spending in Iowa. Excerpts: “Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who admits his fundraising has been disappointing, has rented an apartment in Des Moines amid rumors he’s scaling back in other states and will make his stand in Iowa. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who leads the field in money-raising for the year, is adding 50 campaign staff workers to his Iowa caucus operation. Graham aides denied Wednesday that the former Florida governor will marshal all his resources into a make-or-break Iowa strategy, but they also have no plans to increase campaign operations in other early nominating states. The apartment on Grand Avenue in Des Moines was rented in September... Meanwhile, Dean's $15 million quarter makes the beefed-up field staff possible, Iowa spokeswoman Sarah Leonard said. "... Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut continued to deflect rumors he planned to shut down his campaign in Iowa ...Lieberman plans to open a third Iowa campaign office in Council Bluffs this month and has 20 staff workers in Iowa, up from three last spring. Kevin McCarthy, Lieberman's Iowa manager, said the senator's Iowa plan is unchanged despite rumors he planned to shut down the Iowa campaign. ...Campaign aides for Rep. Dick Gephardt said a string of big labor union endorsements helped the Missouri congressman improve his fund-raising from a lower-than-expected second quarter. But Gephardt's national campaign manager, Steve Murphy, declined to say how much the campaign expected to have raised or how the Iowa campaign would be affected. "We'll raise more than we did in the last quarter," Murphy said. "We will be fully funded in Iowa. We continue to add staff. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts reported Tuesday he had surpassed the $20 million mark for the year, raising more than $4 million in the quarter. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina raised about $3 million.  (10/02/2003)

… Washington Post’s OnPolitics article by Terry M. Neal, “Green Isn’t the Only Color That Counts”. Excerpts: “One of the prevailing views of former Vermont governor Howard Dean is that his support is soft among minority voters -- a constituency that any Democratic candidate must inspire to win the nomination. This subject has been broached by a number of journalists and described as a potential weakness that could derail his march to the nomination. While there appears to be some truth to that point of view, the whole picture -- like so many things -- might be a bit more complicated. … I asked him why Dean supporters have been portrayed as homogenous. "It's not true," he said. Where does the perception come from then? "It comes from the reporters who go to the rallies." Well, that doesn't seem to be an outrageous way for reporters to assess candidate support.  … Dean repeated his controversial contention that he is the only one of the Democratic candidates who talks about race to white audiences. Dean's opponents took exception to that claim, so Dean put a caveat in it that he thinks will make it more difficult to dispute. "I'm the only politician who talks to white people about race the way it should be talked about," he said.  (10/02/2003)

… Washington Post’s OnPolitics article by staff writer Laura Blumenfeld, “Empower Play: The Pitch That Works for Dean”. Excerpts: “…"He's short," said Teresa Pierce, 40. "Reminds me of someone my mother might date," muttered Denise Mallett, 33. Yet half an hour later, as Dean finished his stump speech, Pierce stood up, joining the crowd in a hooting ovation. The Democratic presidential hopeful had moved her, she said, made her feel like recruiting friends to vote for him. As she reached for Dean's hand, her eyes lit up. "He inspired me," she said. The question is: How? What did Dean do to enchant Pierce, and to stir up thousands of avid supporters? … While the other candidates focus on their humble roots or heroic feats, Dean inverts the telescope: He talks about the voters. He tells them they're okay. Instead of trying to get them to love him, he tells them to love themselves. A doctor by training, he injects psychology into politics. "I liked it when he said the election wasn't about him, it was about us," said Pierce. "He's empowering me." This is the intended effect, the candidate said in an interview. "People feel horribly disempowered by George Bush," he said. "I'm about trying to give them control back. This is not just a 'campaign,' it's a movement to empower ordinary people. I don't say, 'Elect me.' " Instead, Dean says the election is in their hands. Delivering a series of exhortations, he'll turn a garden party into political group therapy:

"Stop being ashamed."

"Stand up and say what you think."

"You ought to be proud."

"The power to change this country is in your hands."

"You have the power."

"You have the power."

Yes, there is anger. But it is tightly managed. "It's raw energy, an energy I know could be channeled," Dean said. "It's similar in a patient relationship, helping them channel their energy into something better for them. " Which, notably, has fed a river of campaign contributions. (10/02/2003)

… Unionleader.com article by AP writer Robert Jablon, “Dean Campaigns in Los Angeles”. Excerpts: “LOS ANGELES (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean poked fun at his fund-raising success Tuesday in his first appearance on the Jay Leno show. In a film clip, Dean was shown playing a guitar on a street next to signs reading, "Your change for real change" and "We'll strum for presidency." People were shown placing money in an open guitar case. Posted updates on his Web site showed Dean had raised more than $14.2 million in a three-month period, breaking the Democratic presidential record for a single quarter set by then-President Clinton, who raised $10.3 million over three months in 1995. Earlier in the day, Dean campaigned in the inner city of Los Angeles, promising jobs, health care and a dialogue on race at a meeting with local leaders who have long been skeptical of politicians' promises. Dean didn't call for money but rather assailed President Bush for what the Democrat said was the government's failure to put money into blighted urban areas. The former Vermont governor also promoted his plans for widespread health care coverage and education funding and promised to work toward creating jobs in inner cities. He also supported affirmative action. "We have a 400-year-old legacy of Jim Crow and slavery and that is not going to be overcome because we all have good intentions," he said. Dean called for a national dialogue on racial issues, saying whites can be indifferent to the plight of minorities.(10/02/2003)

 … Attacks on Dean. Jim Vandehei of the Times Mirror has a featured story in the Manchester Union online edition. Presidential candidate Howard Dean has excelled throughout his political career by speaking bluntly, usually un-scripted, about the problems facing the country. Now, his words are coming back to haunt him on the campaign trail. "Howard Dean has tried to reinvent his record on a lot of issues in this campaign because time after time ... he is on the wrong side of seniors and working families," [Democratic presidential candidate] Kerry said recently. If the charges stick, they could undermine Dean's appeal as the political outsider willing to tell it like it is, strategists said. The four issues that Dean’s opponents are pressing him on are Social Security, North American Free Trade Agreement, Medicare and the Middle East. On NAFTA, Dean is attacked by Gephart as being to much for it and by Kerry for not being enough for it. The most damaging potentially is the Middle East issue where Dean called Hamas terrorists soldiers.  (10/03/2003)

 … Governor Bush piled on yesterday. Excerpts from the Miami Herald article: “TAMPA - Gov. Jeb Bush unleashed a river of ridicule Wednesday at the expense of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the Democratic front-runner in the race to challenge Bush's presidential brother next year for the White House. The Florida governor chided Dean for having led a tiny state ''half the size of Miami-Dade County,'' labeling him a candidate for ``hot, angry people that aren't rational.'' (10/03/2003)

 … College tour. The university of Iowa Daily Iowan reports: former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean kicks off a four-day campaign tour of U.S. colleges today, which will include a 1 p.m. rally in the IMU on Oct. 5. The Daily Iowan will follow the Dean campaign starting in Washington, D.C., today and continue on with the campaign through Charleston, S.C.; Norman, Okla.; Seattle, and Iowa City. The campaign will also stop in Madison, Wis., and New Hampshire on Oct. 6. (10/03/2003)

… Dean staffers are irked by rivals Democratic candidates’ assertions that he’s ‘too far right’ fiscally. In an article in the Boston Globe online, by Sarah Schweitzer and Anne Kornblut, the ever-increasing attacks about Dean’s 1995 Medicare comments have found testy ground in the Dean staff. His campaign insists Dean remains a maverick, even with a lead in key early voting states and fund-raising of nearly $15 million in the year's third quarter. "We have said repeatedly that you can't define the governor on an ideological scale. That's why you can have a governor who will sign a civil union law because it's the right thing to do," said Joe Trippi, Dean's campaign manager…. Dean also has had to contend with the altered political dynamic caused by the latest Democratic entrant, Wesley K. Clark. The threat Clark poses to Dean's chances was evident in Los Angeles this week at the home of Gilda Haas. Haas, director of the Economic Justice Organization, hosted an event for Dean on Monday, allowing a crush of people into her living room while the candidate made a conference call to thousands at house parties across the country. But Haas said she was not committed, and indeed was considering Clark. "I haven't heard enough yet" from the newest Democratic candidate, she said. "I'm all ears." (10/04/2003)

… The Democratic National Committee meeting in Washington D.C. proved to be easy ground for the 2004 presidential candidates. According to an article in the Des Moines Register, by Jane Norman, candidates Wesley Clark, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun took aim at President Bush – and also each other…Wesley Clark said he is pro-affirmative action, pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-education and pro-health care. "If that ain't a Democrat, I must be at the wrong meeting," he said. "There was only one place for me, and I want to tell you, it is great to be home." Sen. John Kerry said that his opposition to Bush "is not a commitment I made in the last few weeks or last year, or that I stumbled across in the course of this campaign" and that he "stood against" both presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Kerry also said he and the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" opposed the Contract With America and former GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1994, appropriating a phrase often used by Dean. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut said Republicans once were the party of Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower, but "today they are the party of Rush Limbaugh and Arnold Schwarzenegger." "That's the party of values?" said Lieberman. Howard Dean said he wants a president "who's going to appeal to the very best in us and not the very worst," and that "we have been silent too long." Democrats are out of power in the White House and Congress because "we didn't stand up for what we believed in," Dean said. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio said he led opposition to the war among House Democrats, in defiance of a leadership that includes Gephardt. "I believe we truly represented the feelings of millions of Americans," Kucinich said. "It is time to bring the troops home." Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun said the voters "are ready to embrace a clear alternative to George Bush."  (10/04/2003)

… Howard Dean’s 4-day Generation Dean Tour began at Howard University on Friday with a town hall meeting for students and faculty. The Generation Dean tour hopes to get more young people involved in his campaign. An article carried by the WashingtonPost online, written by Brian Faler, notes Dean’s selection of the black university over ‘a half-dozen other colleges in the area.’ An obvious choice for Dean to prove he can attract the black vote. Dean spoke about: the soft economy, the loss of jobs, the situation in Iraq and the Middle East, the need for more and better health care. Excerpts: “Only near the end of his talk did Dean focus on minority issues. He reminded the students, many of whom participated in a vigil earlier this year in support of affirmative action -- when the Supreme Court was considering the University of Michigan cases -- that President Bush has repeatedly used the word "quota" to describe such programs. "It is deliberately designed to appeal to people's fears that they're going to lose their place in a university or their job to a member of the minority community," Dean said of the term. "The president played the race card -- and for that reason alone, he is entitled to a one-way bus ticket back to Crawford, Texas."  (10/04/2003)

… 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…] (10/05/2003)

… Dean at the University of Iowa I: University of Iowa students got a steady feed of Bush-is-a-liar taunts as Howard Dean wooed the youth of America. Dean’s liar, liar, pants on fire approach got a roar of response from the 930-students crowd. An article by Lynn Okamoto in today’s Des Moines Register, reports on this latest Dean college tour stop, and takes note that “the Republican National Committee has said in the past that the Democratic presidential candidates are long on criticism of Bush, and short on substance.” (10/06/2003)

… Dean at the Univeristy of Iowa II: College “Deanies” and “wanna-see-Deanies” turned out by the hundreds at the University of Iowa on Sunday to listen to presidential candidate Howard Dean speak on the evils of the Bush administration, the verbal egg-throwing of his Dem rivals, and his superior approach to all things racial. Current Dean rant is the work “quota.” An article by Jeffrey Patch in today’s DailyIowan quotes Dean as saying, “Every pollster and every politician in America knows that the word quota is a race-loaded word. It’s deliberately designed to appeal to people’s fears that they’re going to lose their place in a university or their job to a member of a minority community.” Dean’s been on a 4-day college town tour – or “outreach,” as Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi spins it – targeting younger voters. Dean seems to fit the bill to appeal to the younger Americans. Recalling his college years, the DailyIowan article offers up: Dean’s favorite movie is “Animal House”, he joined and later quit a fraternity (claiming culture disenchantment), he drank and smoked pot occasionally. Somewhat sheepishly came this quote next in the article: “What went on in my irresponsible youth went on in my irresponsible youth – Ba-boom. I never did anything as bad as Arnold Schwarzenegger, I can tell you that.” (10/06/2003)

… Well, it wasn’t ALL about the youth in the Generation Dean Tour. While in Claremont, NH yesterday, Howard Dean stepped away from the college campus-thing and met with some seniors at a senior center – the same senior center where then-president Clinton and then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich shook hands, many years prior, to form a bipartisan commission for campaign finance reform. Coincidence? Hardly -- more like damage-control. Over in Iowa, John Kerry was digging in fertile soil, speaking to Iowa’s seniors about, gee, Medicare and planting some more Dean-is-a-Newt-Gingrich seeds in the minds of Iowas. An AP article, carried in today’s UnionLeader, revealed that the folks at the Earl Bourdon Senior Center were more interested in foreign policy than the Newt Gingrich comparisons regarding Medicare. It also attributes Dean as saying that President Bush ‘lacks the backbone to confront Saudi Arabia and is allowing North Korea to become a nuclear power.’ To which Julie Teer, spokesman for the NH Republican Party, said “Howard Dean has proven once again he lacks the knowledge and understanding of the critical national security matters facing America. Not only does he fail to understand these matters, but he blatantly ignores the facts.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: is it time to resurrect the Dean Gaffe Gauge?] (10/06/2003)

… And regarding People-Powered Howard Dean’s endeavors, the very busy Mr. Beaumont, of the Des Moines Register, gave quick synopsis on Dean’s new plan to help families with young children, called “Welcome Baby.” The voluntary program stems from a Vermont effort – during Dean’s tenure as guv – and shows his focus on early childcare. (10/08/2003)

… Just what is hiding in those papers? Howard Dean has enjoyed a 10-year lock on his official Guv-of-Vermont papers. And he wants it extended, which brings to mind a logical question – what’s to hide? The conservative group ‘Judicial Watch’ sure wants to know, according to an article in today’s Boston Globe. Excerpts: “The conservative Washington-based watchdog group Judicial Watch last week called on Dean to release the documents and said it is exploring possible legal action… Discussions between the [Dean] counsel and the state archivist about a potentially longer sealing period centered around the possibility that a future political opponent of Dean’s might seize on a document and use it as ammunition… State archivist Gregory Sanford noted that in the talks a primary concern was “the ‘Willie Horton’ example,” referring to the furloughed Massachusetts prisoner whose crimes surfaced as an issue in the 1988 contest between Vice President George H.W. Bush and Michael S. Dukakis.” (10/09/2003)

… Howard (The Mouth) Dean did lunch yesterday with ‘reporters and editors’ of the New York Times. Dean verbal gem of the day, “I think what the president is doing is setting the stage for the failure of America.” [IPW NOTE: Gaffe Gauge time… again]. In the article, published in today’s New York Times, the Times characterized Dean’s latest BushBash as ‘perhaps his most overarching critique yet of the Republican incumbent.’  (10/09/2003)

... Just posted on the Dean campaign blog website: [IPW NOTE: a "blog" is Internet-speak for a "web log" of posted comments. It is a running log of comments from people and is monitored by a blog (web log) staff. They are responsible for removing any inappropriate comments, etc. These web logs, or blogs, are used with stunning efficiency by the Dean Campaign. They are lightning rods for the loyalists who enjoy the Internet, and thus a new and potent tool for spreading information instantaneously. The down side: how do you confirm who is really posting comments on them? Hence, the ease with which rivals can sabbotage an inexperienced campaign's web log or blog.] "A new New Hampshire poll has been released by the American Research Group, showing Dean with a 10-point lead over his rivals. Here are the poll findings: Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean continues to hold his lead in ballot preference among likely Democratic primary voters in the New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Preference Primary according to the latest New Hampshire Poll. In ballot preference, Dean leads with 29% to 19% for Senator John Kerry. Dean and Kerry continue to be the only two candidates to receive double-digit support. When it comes to candidate favorability, 63% of likely Democratic primary voters have a favorable opinion of Dean and 63% have a favorable opinion of Kerry. Awareness of Wesley Clark has increased to 90% from 47% in August, but over half of likely Democratic primary voters aware of Clark say they do not know enough about him to form an opinion. These results are based on 600 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of registered Democrats and undeclared voters in New Hampshire saying they always vote or vote in most Democratic primary elections. This sample includes 413 Democrats (69%) and 187 undeclared voters (31%). The interviews were conducted October 5 through 8, 2003. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample of 600 is plus or minus 4 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split. The greatest change in ballot preference since the September survey is preference for Wesley Clark increasing from 2% to 5% (which is within the margin of error)." (10/09/2003)

… Who gets the bounty of staff left over from the Bob Graham withdrawal from the Presidential Race? According to an article in today’s Des Moines Register, by Thomas Beaumont, here is the situation so far…

• Wesley Clark’s campaign:
  Steve Bouchard, Graham’s New Hampshire campaign director – HIRED in same capacity
  Julie Stauch, Graham’s Iowa political director – contacted
  Sarah Benzing, Graham’s Iowa field director – contacted
• John Kerry’s campaign:
  Julie Stauch, -- contacted
• Howard Dean’s campaign:
  Sarah Benzing – contacted
• John Edwards’ campaign:
  Sarah Benzing -- contacted

… Following directly on the heals of last night’s DNC-sponsored presidential debate in Arizona comes the NAACP debate today in South Carolina. As reported Wednesday in the IPW Daily Report, South Carolina NAACP president James Gallman objected to the lack of presidential candidates responding to the cattle call to all, prompting a hasty inclusion of more of the pack of nine. It appears that there are still three holdout, however: John Kerry, Wesley Clark and Howard Dean (whose loyal web log ‘bloggers’ say should get legitimate pass on this one – he promised his daughter he would  Clark  (10/10/2003)

… Camp Clark is making successful gains at the expense of the Dean campaign, denting Dr. Dean’s top-dog status on the Internet and in Hollywood. According to an article in today’s WashingtonPost , written by Thomas Edsall, Clark’s campaign has signed up around 100,000 supporters and half of these were gleaned through the Internet. Excerpts: “… the campaign is trying to overtake Dean, who as of yesterday had enlisted 461,206 people through the Internet…. Most major fundraisers and donors in California are remaining uncommitted, waiting to see how well the candidates do in the early jockeying, debates, polls and fundraising. But Clark's initial success has eaten away at some of Dean's potential support, especially in the Los Angeles area. According to many political activists there, Clark has supplanted Dean as the star attraction and the main focus of political attention…the candidate has lined up a solid commitment from Peter Morton, founder and chairman of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Inc. Morton said he plans to host a dinner for Clark in Las Vegas later this month and a November fundraiser in Los Angeles. … "Clark has started off faster than any of the candidates," an uncommitted Democratic donor commented. "Now, we'll see if he can sustain his momentum as he gets tested with his handling of these controversies," including the resignation of his campaign manager, Donnie Fowler, and challenges to the propriety of some of his paid speech-making. (10/10/2003)

… Kid glove treatment was clearly over regarding newcomer candidate Wesley Clark.  Knocked off the newcomer pedestal when Joe Lieberman said he was “very disappointed” by Clark’s changing positions on Iraq (the flip-flops of which began the very day Clark entered the race), Clark responded by saying, “I think it’s really embarrassing that a group of candidates up here are working on changing the leadership in this country and can’t get their own story straight.” Wasn’t that what Lieberman’s point? -- that Clark was not getting his story straight? Political veteran Lieberman flashed Clark a ‘Lieberman grin’ and replied, “Wesley Clark… welcome to the Democratic presidential race. None of us are above questioning. That’s what this is all about.” Clark’s inability to discern the negative from the valid was evident, as he put in yet another amateur performance. Clark has no prior experience running for any political office. News articles abound today, covering the debate from various angles. Here is a hefty helping of them. Click away!

·        Des Moines Register (written by AP writer Nedra Pickler)

·        NationalReview (written by Byron York)

·        BostonGlobe (written by Patrick Healy and Glen Johnson)

·        WashingtonPost (a long article, written by Dan Balz),

·        WashingtonTimes (by Stephen Dinan)

·        New York Times (this is a rather dry, excerpts only article – missing a lot of comments)

·        New York Times, again (written by Katharine Seelye and Jodi Wilgoren)

·        New Hampshire’s The UnionLeader (using the AP story by Ron Fournier)

·        CNN (who broadcasted the debate)

·        FoxNews (an early in the evening AP story)

·        and for those who really want to know… the complete transcript of the debate

(10/10/2003)

… People-Powered Howard Dean is Top Dog in the battle for Internet voters. Associated Press’ Will Lester article, headlined, “Dean Leads Among Possible Internet Voters.” Excerpts: “A poll of Michigan Democrats found Dean, who has attracted thousands of supporters and millions of dollars through the Internet, led his presidential rivals by 11 percentage points among voters who would prefer to vote on the Internet in the Feb. 7 caucuses. But among those who would rather vote in person or by mail, the former Vermont governor is tied for the lead, according to the Epic-MRA poll released Friday. Michigan plans to allow Internet voting in its caucuses, a policy that has drawn criticism from all the presidential candidates except Dean and Wesley Clark. Several Michigan Democrats have filed a protest, arguing that the policy will put minority voters and low-income voters at a disadvantage. The challenge is pending. Overall, the poll showed Dean with 21 percent support; Clark at 15 percent; Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, both at 13 percent; and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut at 12 percent. The remaining candidates were in the low single digits; 12 percent were undecided. The poll of 400 Democrats who say they are likely to participate in the Michigan caucuses was conducted Oct. 6-9 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.  (10/11/2003)

… John Kerry continued to hammer on Dr. Dean, saying the doctor-Governor tried to kick Vermont seniors off their Rx drug plan. Today’s WashingtonPost.com (OnPolitics) carries the story, written by Ceci Connolly, headlined, “Kerry Criticizes Dean’s ’02 Gambit.” Excerpts: “In poker, it's called a bluff -- or at least that is the way Howard Dean and some neutral observers characterized his threats in early 2002 to kill a prescription drug program for 3,000 senior citizens. Presenting his final budget as governor of Vermont, Dean proposed eliminating the discount program to help close a budget gap. He says it was a strategic maneuver aimed at forcing the state legislature to adopt his proposed cigarette tax increase. But Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry's opposition research team has a different interpretation. During a televised Democratic presidential candidates debate in Phoenix late Thursday, CNN moderator Judy Woodruff told Dean that Kerry's campaign aides were distributing a flier that accused him of trying to "kick Vermont seniors off their prescription drug plan." "That's silly, of course," Dean replied. "What I did try to do was get a cigarette tax past the Republican House. They wouldn't pass them. I told them if they didn't pass a cigarette tax to pay for our health care program, then they wouldn't be able to fund seniors' prescriptions. "They passed the cigarette tax, as I knew they would." Kerry brushed off Dean's silliness claim, declaring: "It's what he did. I mean, it's sad. But he in fact, in order to balance his budget, terminated -- called for the full termination of what was called the VScript program." So who is right? Both, of course. … Several Vermont newspapers said at the time that Dean's intentions were obvious. "Dean's proposal puts pressure on lawmakers to increase the cigarette tax," wrote the Burlington Free Press, describing the move as the "opening gambit in what will be a fierce chess match between the governor and the Legislature."  But others pointed out that if the legislature adopted his 2002 budget as submitted, the program would have died. (10/12/2003)

… Ah, the secret alliances that form behind the scenes of the Democratic presidential race! Often said, and often true: Politics makes strange bed fellows… Witness this report, published yesterday in the New York Times, headlined, “2 Dean Rivals Unite Against Mutual Threat.” Excerpts: “Perhaps it was not so surprising to see Representative Richard A. Gephardt and Senator John Kerry arm in arm, all smiles, whispering in each other's ears on stage at the Democratic debate Thursday night in Phoenix. These two presidential contenders, who for months have been eclipsed by the surging campaign of Howard Dean, have been fairly chummy of late — at Dr. Dean's expense. At a debate two weeks ago in New York, for example, when Mr. Gephardt questioned Dr. Dean's support for Medicare, it was Mr. Kerry who came to Mr. Gephardt's side, saying his tactic was fair. Aides to both men say there is no overt conspiracy, but they acknowledge that at least at a staff level, the Gephardt and Kerry campaigns are more than friendly: they are sharing information about Dr. Dean that helps fuel each another's attacks. On Sept. 30, for instance, both campaigns fired off press releases within 18 minutes of each other touting a column in The Boston Globe critical of Dr. Dean. Shortly before, according to Steve Elmendorf, Mr. Gephardt's chief of staff, he and Jim Jordan, Mr. Kerry's campaign manager, told each other of the column by e-mail. … Part of what is going on, campaign workers say, is the normal result of an information age in which staff members are in constant communication by personal e-mail devices and cell phones about everything from agreeing to joint appearances by their candidates to reacting to news coverage. … For the two candidates, attacking Dr. Dean may be a matter of survival, said Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "There is a great danger that Dean could neutralize Gephardt in Iowa, and then neutralize Kerry in New Hampshire, and then even if Dean stumbles later on, they can't recover from that," he said. "So it is manifestly in their interest to make sure that the stumble occurs before Iowa and New Hampshire." … "It's the Beltway boys hanging out together," said Joe Trippi, Dr. Dean's campaign manager. "This is the kind of inside Washington politics that people are sick of." But Steve Murphy, the Gephardt campaign manager, said Mr. Trippi was being "totally hypocritical," adding: "Two weeks ago he ran into me and some of my staffers at Dulles airport and suggested that instead of attacking Howard Dean on Medicare, we should help him and Howard Dean attack Wesley Clark. This was a lengthy conversation."  (10/12/2003)

… IPW COMMENTARY: Official Dean Web Log (blog) responds to Kerry-Gephardt ‘alliance’ against their boy, Dr. Dean. Name of Dean ‘thread’ is “It Takes Two, Baby”:

·          “The real problem will come when Kerry and Gep start talking to Hillary”
Posted by abe at October 11, 2003 03:13 PM

·          “If you don’t like what Kerry and Gephardt are doing, then quit doing the same thing to Clark…
Posted by IHL at October 11, 2003 02:58 PM

·          “In the interest of fairness Joe should also have posted this excerpt from the [New York Times] article: ‘but Steve Murphy, the Gephardt campaign manager, said Mr. Trippi was being “totally hypocritical,” adding: “Two weeks ago he ran into me and some of my staffers at Dulles airport and suggested that instead of attacking Howard Dean on Medicare, we should help him and Howard Dean attack Wesley Clark. This was a lengthy conversation.”
Posted by . at October 11, 2003 03:26 PM

After reading through the entire web log (blog) string (all comments posted on that particular subject), not one Deanie responded to the Joe Trippi solicit of the Gephardt campaign. Trouble by this, IPW ventured a posted commented, which can be seen on the Dean Web Log:

·        “I am the webmaster for conservative website www.IowaPresidentialWatch.com. I often check in on the various blogs to read comments posted. Regarding the Kerry-Gephardt alliance against Dean: not one of you has responded to Joe Trippi's attempt to join forces with Gephardt's crew against Wesley Clark. This puzzles me, as the majority of you seem highly truth-oriented. I am preparing a piece for today's website and unfortunately cannot find any comment here acknowledging Joe Trippi's equally damning actions. Whassup?”

It will be interesting, and telling, to see if the Dean web loggers are willing to address Joe Trippi’s actions. (10/12/2003)

… Here is IPW’s follow up to yesterday’s IPW report regarding the Dean Campaign’s Official Web Log (blog) holier-than-thou response to the Kerry-Gephardt double-teaming of Dean AND the report that Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi appears equally guilty due to his attempt to hook up with Gephardt staff to double team on rival candidate Wesley Clark. IPW posted the following comment on the Dean Blog yesterday: “

“I am the webmaster for conservative website www.IowaPresidentialWatch.com. I often check in on the various blogs to read comments posted. Regarding the Kerry-Gephardt alliance against Dean: not one of you has responded to Joe Trippi's attempt to join forces with Gephardt's crew against Wesley Clark. This puzzles me, as the majority of you seem highly truth-oriented. I am preparing a piece for today's website and unfortunately cannot find any comment here acknowledging Joe Trippi's equally damning actions. Whassup?
Posted by Linda2 in Iowa at October 12, 2003 06:02 AM”

 To which the Official Dean Campaign Web Log managed only ONE response:

“Would love to see a reliable source for your remark about Trippi & Gephardt sweety.
Posted by JIm Whitaker at October 12, 2003 10:45 AM”

IPW extends thanks to JIm Whitaker, but takes note at the lack of even-handedness that is event in all campaigns – even Dr. Dean’s. Playing the ‘show me the reliable sources’ card is pretty lame. But at least ONE Deanie responded… (10/13/2003)

… It’s a Dr. Dean Blitz this week on Iowa’s seniors – with more seniors coming. “More seniors in Iowa,”  you say? Yessir, more seniors in Iowa. But these Vermont-import seniors come to speak to Iowa’s seniors about then-Gov Dean’s Vermont prescription drug plan (Dean’s Vermont initiative, VScript, gave prescription drug coverage to low- and moderate-income senior citizens in his home state when he signed the measure into law in 1989. In 2000, Vermont expanded the state program to include middle-income seniors, who now pay just $5 or $10 for each prescription. A third of Medicare recipients in Vermont get help paying for their prescriptions under the state program.). Today’s Des Moines Register article, headlined “Dean open to buying drugs from Canada,” says the leading Dem candidate told seniors in Council Bluffs that there is no proof that the cheaper medicines are inferior or unsafe. According to the article, eight of the nine Democrats vying for their party’s nomination support legalizing prescription drugs from Canada (and Europe). {IPW NOTE: The ninth candidate, Wesley Clark, has yet to take any position on the prescription drug issue.] But there is extra clout that Howard Dean brings to the issue – Howard Dean is also a doctor. More excerpts from the article: “…The issue has entered the political arena at a time when Americans are spending an estimated $750 million on buying prescription drugs from Canada, where prices are 30 percent to 80 percent cheaper. FDA officials have expressed concerns about the practice, saying Canadian drugs aren't as well regulated as those in the United States, and sometimes include counterfeit and outdated medications. Dean dismissed those concerns on Monday. "I would direct the Food and Drug Administration to facilitate this proven strategy for achieving significant savings on prescription drugs," he said. "These drugs are made by the same companies and contain the same ingredients as drugs sold in the U.S." Dean also proposed closing loopholes to make generic drugs more readily available; using "preferred drug lists" to steer physicians to less-expensive medicines; banning direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers; and allowing states latitude in experimenting with ways to control drug costs. He released a list of more than 450 Iowa seniors who have endorsed him. In addition, his campaign announced that leaders of Vermont's senior community will visit Iowa this week to campaign for Dean and talk about what he has done for prescription drug benefits in his home state.” Candidate Dean also spoke to seniors in Waterloo, Iowa, yesterday (QuadCityTimes.com) and will be attending the AARP forum Wednesday in Des Moines. (10/14/2003)

… The wannabe War of Words winds on. According to the WashingtonTimes.com today, the Dean campaign has released numerous conflicting quotes by rival candidate John Kerry regarding various Kerry statements on Iraq. Excerpt from the article: “Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, had accused the president Sunday of failing to protect U.S. troops in Iraq. Mr. Bush said GIs and other Americans "remember the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. And so do I. It's something we should never forget." His remarks came 24 hours after Mr. Kerry, a presidential candidate, accused the White House of treating the Iraq war like a political "product," not a matter of life and death. "It's not a product," Mr. Kerry said on ABC's "This Week." "It's the lives of young Americans in uniform." He said Mr. Bush had created a "mess" in which "young Americans are dying by the day in Iraq." … "He ought to be apologizing to the people of this country, because what they've done now is launch a PR campaign instead of a real policy," Mr. Kerry said. "They rushed the war without a plan for the peace, and we are paying an enormous price for that now," he added. "This is haphazard, shotgun, shoot-from-the-hip diplomacy, and I think it's causing us great risk." But it was Mr. Kerry who was accused of shooting from the hip yesterday by rival Democrat Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor, whose presidential campaign released numerous conflicting quotes by Mr. Kerry on the subject of Iraq. For example, last month Mr. Kerry said: "It was wrong to rush to war without building a true international coalition — and with no plan to win the peace." The campaign for Mr. Dean said in a statement: "Perhaps the Senator should re-read the resolution that he voted for." It then cited the congressional authorization for Mr. Bush to wage war: "The president is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq."  (10/14/2003)

… People-Powered-Moneybags-Howard Dean may be the first Dem candidate to say ‘no, thanks’ to the use of public financing. Associated Press reporter Sharon Theimer gives account of the Dean campaign’s maneuverings (DRUDGE.com today). Excerpts: “… In the latest sign Dean may forego public campaign money and the accompanying spending limits, the former Vermont governor has begun gathering signatures to get on the North Carolina primary ballot. Candidates who accept public financing automatically qualify for a spot on the state's ballot; those who do not must collect at least 10,000 signatures from party members in the state, said Don Wright, a state Board of Elections spokesman. Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright said Dean hasn't decided whether he will skip public financing. … Those who take the public money for next year's primaries will be limited to about $45 million in spending. They will receive taxpayer-financed "matching funds" for the first $250 of each contribution, up to a maximum of about $18.7 million. In addition to Dean, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Clark, a retired general from Arkansas, are considering opting out of matching funds in the nine-way Democratic race.  (10/14/2003)

… Howard Dean is rat-a-tat-attacking rival John Kerry on his vacillating views on the important of his service in Vietnam. Here are some excerpts from the article in today’s The Hill: “Howard Dean’s presidential campaign sharply criticized Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) yesterday for seemingly flip-flopping on the importance of serving in Vietnam in presidential politics. Kerry seeks to distinguish himself from his White House rivals — both Democratic and Republican — by drawing attention to his war record. But this emphasis stands in marked contrast to his past utterances about service in Vietnam as a qualification for the highest office. … On numerous occasions this year, Kerry cited his distinguished war record as a decisive factor in who should be the nominee.” More excerpts: 

Kerry now:

·        “There are some people in high office today who pulled strings to get into the National Guard.” President Bush served as a pilot in the Air National Guard.”

·        “I think I stand here with a broader base of experience, both in domestic affairs and in foreign affairs, than any other person.”

·        “I am the only person running for this job who has actually fought in a war.” 

Kerry then

·        “I am saddened by the fact that Vietnam has yet again been inserted into the campaign, and that it has been inserted in what I feel to be the worst possible way… What saddens me most is that Democrats, above all those who shared the agonies of that generation, should now be re-fighting the many conflicts of Vietnam in order to win the current political conflict of a presidential primary.” Feb. 27, 1992 (during the Bill Clinton-Bob Dole presidential battle)

·        “Is your desire to hold office really so great that you would betray your own sense of decency and fairness? Is your desperation now really so great that you would adopt a conscious strategy of reopening and pouring salt on some of the most painful wounds that our nation has ever expected? “You and I know that if service or non-service in the war is to become a test of qualification for high office, you would not have a vice president, nor would you have a secretary of defense, and our nation would never recover from the divisions created by that war.” Kerry again defending Clinton from remarks by then-President George H.W. Bush. (10/15/2003)

… New Hampshire’s undecided voters remain at the same levels – about 30 percent – as they were this summer. And their initial zeal for newcomer candidate Wesley Clark appears to have waned. Today’s UnionLeader.com takes a look at the situation. Excerpts: “Two prominent New Hampshire pollsters say former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the front-runner in the state’s leadoff primary race, is doing the best job among the Democratic candidates attracting independent voters. But, say Dick Bennett and Rich Killion, the majority of independents remain undecided. The pollsters say this group is largely undecided not only about which of the Democratic Presidential candidates they will vote for, but also whether they will vote in the Democratic primary at all. Both pollsters say retired Gen. Wesley Clark, the newcomer to the race, has a resume that may attract independent voters, especially moderates who supported Republicans in other elections. But they say he appears to have already lost momentum generated by his entry into the race on Sept. 17. …. In Bennett’s latest New Hampshire poll, issued last Thursday, Dean was favored by 29 percent of likely Democratic primary voters, while Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry was favored by 19 percent. No other candidate was favored by more than 6 percent of likely voters. The poll sample included 413 Democrats, or 69 percent, and 187 independents, or 31 percent. …Killion said Dean’s overall performance is especially strong “when you consider that he has not been on the air (advertising) for the past month. That hasn’t affected his polling. He’s still the front-runner and isn’t losing an inch on the ballot test.” (10/15/2003)

… Howard Dean is clearly campaigning hard in Iowa. He not only is currently sending in seniors from Vermont to Iowa, but is also working hard on the Iowa party activists. And, notably, Dean is the only presidential candidate who has visited all – yes, all – of Iowa’s 99 counties. Dean recently participated in the Lee County Democrats’ annual picnic in Montrose, Iowa. Montrose is a community of about 1,000 people. It is in the far southeast part of Iowa and is just across the Mississippi River from Nauvoo, Ill.--  for those who know their Mormon history. … A review of the local newspaper, The Burlington Hawkeye, is proof that Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is waging an aggressive grassroots effort against rival Dick Gephardt’s union strength.  The following is a quote from a letter from Lee County Dean Co-Chair Larry Jackson in the Hawkeye:

“Being a unionist, I have listened to all of the potential candidates and have concluded that Howard Dean is the best candidate of the Democratic candidates. Howard Dean has been listening to what Iowans need and he has a history of creating jobs and rejuvenating cities and towns. Vermont has a minimum wage nearly $2 above our own minimum in Iowa. Vermont guarantees health care for all children so that doesn't have to be a part of labor negotiations.” … “Iowa's union members have had plenty of candidates come by and make promises. They know how to separate the doers from the talkers. Howard Dean has a record of getting things done and his supporters recognize that.” (10/15/2003)

… Howard Dean was in Montrose, Iowa, yesterday declaring himself tantamount to the ‘Congressional Exterminator.’ According to an article in today’s New York Times, Dean is quoted as saying that if he won, members of Congress were “going to be scurrying for shelter, just like a giant flashlight on a bunch of cockroaches.” The article cites the question prompting Dean’s statement: how would Dean handle Congress and the entrenched Beltway bureaucracy. Excerpts from NY Times: “Howard Dean, who is increasingly giving his presidential candidacy an anti-Washington cast, cranked up his rhetoric on Tuesday, saying that if he won, members of Congress were "going to be scurrying for shelter, just like a giant flashlight on a bunch of cockroaches." …The remark was one of dozens of sharp comments about "Washington politicians" that Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, tossed out in a 15-hour, nine-city, 329-mile sprint across Iowa, as he intensified his effort to separate himself from the pack by claiming the "outsider" mantle. … Dr. Dean said: "We need to clean house in Washington. That's what this campaign is about." At lunchtime in Mount Ayr, he responded to a question about whether he had a bad temper by saying, "The problem is, everybody gets along and goes along in Washington, and nothing ever happens." (10/15/2003)