|
 John
Edwards
 excerpts
from
the Iowa Daily Report
October 16-31,
2003
… By golly, here’s a big
surprise – some of the Dem candidates have
(gasp) OVERSPENT their campaign funds. Which
three? According to Thomas Edsalls’ article in
today’s
Washington Post, it’s (1) John Kerry (2)
John Edwards (3) Dick Gephardt. And Senator Joe
Lieberman just barely escaped going into deficit
spending. Spending more than they raised, while
preaching fiscal responsibility seems a poor way
to campaign. Here is an excerpt from the
Washington Post article: “Three prominent
contenders for the Democratic presidential
nomination - Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John
Edwards (N.C.) and Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.)
- spent more than they raised during the last
quarter, depleting crucial resources as the Jan.
19 Iowa caucus and the Jan. 27 New Hampshire
primary fast approach. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman
(D-Conn.) barely stayed out of the red for the
quarter, raising $3.63 million and spending $3.59
million. The third-quarter struggles of the four
candidates, all members of Congress, sharply
contrasted with the performance of former Vermont
governor Howard Dean and retired Gen. Wesley K.
Clark, who are campaigning for their party's
nomination as outsiders. Both raised substantially
more than they spent in the three-month period
ending Sept. 30.” (10/16/2003)
… Taxes and Medicare
dominated the AARP forum yesterday in Des Moines,
as six of the nine Democratic party candidates
sought to differentiate one from the other on the
issues. Candidates attending were: John
Kerry, Dick Gephardt, Howard Dean, John Edwards,
Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun.
Today’s Thomas Beaumont article,
Des Moines Register, gives the details.
Headlined, “Candidates at D.M. forum disagree
on Bush tax cuts – Three Democratic presidential
candidates renew Medicare dispute.” Excerpts:
“… Democratic presidential candidates disagreed
sharply during an issue forum in Des Moines
Wednesday over whether repealing all of President
Bush's tax cuts would hurt middle-class Americans
or help them by providing money for expanded
health care. The forum, hosted by AARP and
attended by more than 700 people, was the first
event in the nominating campaign to focus
specifically on senior-citizen issues” Here are
some quotes from the article:
·
Dean: "The truth is, there is
a distinct difference between me and everybody
else on this stage. I believe what we need in this
country is someone who is going to put aside
what's gone on in Washington the past 15 or 20
years and get something done."
·
Gephardt: "Some of the
candidates are saying that they are the outsider,
that nothing good has ever happened in Washington
on health care or the other issues that are in
front of us. I'm proud of the fight for Medicare
and Social Security. I will never back up on those
programs."
·
Edwards: "To get this economy
moving again, I can't tell you how strongly I
disagree with Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt, who
want to raise taxes on the middle class. I think
that's an enormous mistake."
·
Gephardt: "Why would we want
to keep a tax cut that's failed? Why would we not
want to go back to the Clinton tax code? And why
would we not want to help every family more with a
health-care plan like mine? Let's help average
people in this country. Let's be Democrats."
·
Dean: "I'm tired of waiting
for Congress. That's why I'm running for
president. I got tired of waiting."
·
Kerry: "He's [Dean] not the
only person who's delivered health care. The fact
is, in 1995, when we were trying to hold on to
Medicare, Gov. Dean was supporting Newt Gingrich."
·
Gephardt: "It was, in my
view, wrong to agree with a Republican suggestion
in 1995 for a $270 billion cut in Medicare to make
the budget come out. We cannot cut Social Security
and Medicare to get the budget straightened out."
·
Dean: "I'm not going to have
a debate with Dick Gephardt about who said what
eight years ago. The question is: Who is going to
do what now?" (10/16/2003)
… The U.S. Senate may be
ready to vote as early as today on the $87 billion
request by the Bush Administration for the
reconstruction of Iraq. Campaigning senators will
be abandoning ‘Wannabe Trail’ and heading back to
Washington, D.C. to cast their vote. Notable,
is yesterday’s report concerning the yea or nay
inclinations of the 2004 presidential contenders:
John Kerry is his usual ‘no, yes, …uh, I mean…
no,..well…’ And John Edwards seems closer to a
semi-firm no vote. Joe Lieberman will cast a yes
vote on the proposed amount. (10/16/2003)
| … More figures are available
on fundraising efforts – and spending – by the
2004 presidential candidates, according to today’s
Des Moines Register: (10/17/2003) |
| President Bush |
raised $49.5M |
------ |
$70 M in the bank |
| Howard Dean |
raised $14.8M |
spent $8.8 M |
$12.4M in the bank |
| John Kerry |
raised $ 4 M |
spent $7 M |
$ 7.7M in the bank |
| Wesley Clark |
raised $ 3.8M |
spent $107,000 |
------- |
| Joe Lieberman |
raised $ 3.6M |
spent $3.5 M |
$ 4 M in the bank |
| John Edwards |
raised $ 2.5M |
spent $5.8 M |
$ 4.8M in the bank |
| Dennis Kucinich |
raised $ 1.6M |
spent $2.5 M |
$785,000 in the bank |
| Carol M-Braun |
raised $125,000 |
spent $118,000 |
$ 29,000 in the bank |
| Al Sharpton |
raised $121,000 |
spent $109,000 |
$ 24,000 in the bank |
… Television ads for the
Democratic presidential contenders have cost $6
million so far. And it’s still three months before
the first votes are tallied in the battle for the
Democratic presidential nomination,
FoxNews.com reports today. The Associated
Press report on FoxNews.com detailed spending.
Excerpts: “Howard Dean leads the Democratic
field in fund raising and ad buys, about $2
million. He is trailed by John Edwards and
John Kerry, two senators struggling to show
much for their investment. Dick Gephardt has
spent less than $800,000, most of it in Iowa, and
yet Dean has erased his lead in the Jan. 19 caucus
state.” (10/17/2003)
… Targeting three of the Dem presidential
candidates, -- Senator John Kerry, Senator John
Edwards and former governor Howard Dean -- and
blunting a fourth (Wesley Clark), U.S. Senator
John McCain took the Democratic presidential
candidates to task yesterday for not supporting
the $87B Iraq reconstruction funding. The
Union Leader’s senior political reports, John
DeStaso, reports today that McCain had ‘harsh
words’ for Dean, Kerry and Edwards. Here are some
excerpts from today’s article: “…I’m not surprised
that Governor Dean would oppose this,” McCain told
The Union Leader. “I’ve lost confidence that he
has any understanding of the national security
responsibilities of a President.” Dean has
said he would support the expenditure only if it
was paid for with a repeal of $87 billion in Bush
tax cuts — an unlikely scenario. McCain, a
member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
accused Kerry and Edwards of “pandering” to Dean
and the liberal base of the Democratic Party by
opposing the package after voting a year ago to
authorize force in Iraq. “I’m very
disappointed in my friends John Kerry and John
Edwards,” he said, “because they know better than
that. McCain also targeted the newest Democratic
contender, Gen. Wesley Clark, who has taken no
position on the package. “It’s very
unfortunate, and I’m disappointed in General
Clark,” McCain said. He said that “anyone who
wants to be considered a serious candidate is
obliged to express an opinion.” McCain,
however, said he was “impressed with and grateful
to” Rep. Richard Gephardt and fellow armed
services committee member Sen. Joseph Lieberman,
who voted last year to authorize the use of force
in Iraq. McCain said they are now acting
consistently in supporting the $87 billion
package. “I’m sure this will cost them with the
far left,” McCain said, “but I also believe they
are acting correctly in placing America’s national
security interests first.” (10/17/2003)
…
Well, it’s official – the votes have been cast and
the $87 billion for Iraq reconstruction is a ‘go.’
And as threatened earlier this week, both senators
John Kerry and John Edwards voted “no,” senator
Joe Lieberman voted “yes,” Dick Gephardt voted
“yes,” and Dennis Kucinich voted “no.”
According to the article in today’s
BostonGlobe.com, Republican political
consultant Greg Mueller commented, “It's bad
enough to be a dove. It's worse to be a
hypocritical dove going into the election.”
(10/18/2003)
Sen. John Edwards bragged in New
Hampshire that he has the only plan that will
cover every child in America according to a
USA Today story. Speaking at a New Hampshire
forum on children's issues, Edwards sought to
distinguish himself from his primary foes in a
state where recent polls show him in single digits
compared to front-runner Howard Dean and
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Edwards' $53
billion-a-year plan would require infants to be
enrolled at birth in either government health care
programs or private insurance. Children up to age
21 would be required to sign up when they visit
doctor’s offices or start school. "When I say
every child, I mean every single child," the North
Carolina senator said. (10/21/2003)
We are talking Iowa here.
Edwards announced he will be in Council Bluffs,
IA: On Monday, October 27, and he will begin a
two-day campaign swing through seven counties in
southwestern and south-central Iowa. Edwards will
visit Pottawattamie, Montgomery, Union, Clarke,
Lucas, Appanoose, and Monroe counties to hear from
Iowans and share the vision he has laid out in
“Real Solutions for America,” a 60-page policy
booklet that is available online at
http://www.johnedwards2004.com
(10/22/2003)
In this crazy world of the
Chattering Class, Michael Crowley of the The
New Republic has written a piece about baby
faced John Edwards. For its humorous content alone
it is worth checking out on
CBSNews.com. (10/22/2003)
The
Washington Post has a story Mark Leibovich
that shows Edward’s gut level dislike for Bush. It
also portrays Edward’s lawyer skills as being able
to get 5 yr. old girls to ‘boo’ pharmaceutical
lobbyists. One of the striking things about seeing
Edwards up close is the degree of raw anger he
evinces in his speeches—and the level of anger he
elicits from his audiences toward the President.
It’s not uncommon for presidential candidates such
as Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt or John Kerry to
attack Bush’s performance with contempt and
ridicule. But Edwards’s anger seems more
stomach-level. He is prone to attack Bush not just
for what he has done in office, but for whom he is
and where he comes from. Several times a day,
Edwards will dismiss the president as “a man who
only values wealth and money.” (10/22/2003)
Presidential candidates are
flying around the country in planes provided by
businesses, labor unions and other special
interests, keeping entourages on schedule without
the hassles of commercial air travel. An
Associated Press story reports, Edwards’
campaign is among the most frequent users of
corporate flights, logging at least $138,000 worth
with the Dallas-based Baron and Budd trial lawyer
firm. Clark paid $11,133 for flights on the Acxiom
Corp. jet on Sept. 18, the day after he announced
his candidacy, traveling to Florida and Iowa,
spokeswoman Kym Spell said. Clark lobbied for and
served on the board of Acxiom, an Arkansas-based
data analysis firm that has been trying to win
Homeland Security Department business. This is the
total amount of reimbursement reported by Clark.
Candidates have to reimburse the company or
individuals for the use of their plane at what it
would cost to fly commercial. If there is no
commercial rate available to the airport then they
have to reimburse at what it would cost if they
chartered a plane. The story is based on the
candidates’ filings of reimbursement and AP has a
chart with the total for every candidate.
One
of the earliest events for Democrats wanting to be
President was a meeting with the National
Organization of Women where candidates vowed that
no abortion bill would pass except over their dead
bodies. Now, the Partial Birth Abortion Bill has
passed and they are all still breathing. Where was
the filibuster, where were the speeches and
television ads, and why aren’t there dead bodies?
The
Associated Press has a story today detailing
the history and current position of candidates
regarding the issue of partial birth abortion.
The story indicates that the political pendulum is
likely to swing back towards the choice side
because women will are now likely to feel that Roe
v Wade is in danger. This has been the historical
pattern in the past. It is also due to the fact
that after a success, either by pro-choice or
anti-abortion, the successful side relaxes their
attack. Of all
the candidates, Dick Gephardt has the most
checkered past on the issue. He voted with the
Republican majority last year for legislation that
would ban what critics call partial birth
abortion. In 1996, the Missouri congressman voted
to overturn then-President Clinton’s veto of a
similar bill. One of Gephardt’s many missed votes
earlier this year was the Partial Birth Abortion
Bill. He did issue a release saying he did not
favor the bill without a provision concerning the
health of the mother.
Speaking of missing the vote, Senator John Edwards
did. That left Lieberman and Kerry as the only
candidates on the floor voting ‘no’ on the bill.
After the vote, Kerry’s campaign issued a
statement accusing the President of managing a
silent campaign against abortion rights. “This
vote is a step backward for women, as George
Bush’s stealth agenda to roll back the right to
choose is pushed forward,” Kerry said. Lieberman
did not have a press statement on his website
despite the fact he is hiring new press people in
Arizona, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Doctor Dean
was outraged to learn that Congress was practicing
medicine and said so. “This bill will chill the
practice of medicine and endanger the lives of
countless women,” said Dean. However, all the
candidates received a pass from the Pro Choice
group. “In general, we’re confident we’ve got nine
pro-choice candidates, any one of whom would do a
far better job than the incumbent,” said David
Seldin, communications director for NARAL-Pro-Choice
America. It seems that rather than question the
strength of their candidates’ opposition to the
bill that the invectives were spewed against the
other side who was victorious. “It certainly
solidifies the position of George Bush and the
majority in Congress as being anti-choice,” said
Kathy Sullivan, the Democratic Party chairwoman in
New Hampshire. “In terms of the Democrats, the
important thing is that they be pro-choice, not
when they became pro-choice.” (10/22/2003)
In an effort to gain vote,s the
Democrat candidates continue to emphasize their
differences on key issues. How much to raise
Americans taxes joins the Iraq War and health care
as one of the central battle grounds between the
top contenders. John Edwards campaigning in
Elkader, Iowa, emphasized his difference in not
wanting to raise taxes on middle income Americans
according to a
Des Moines Register article. All agree that
they want to soak the rich. North Carolina Sen.
John Edwards, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman are
proposing to repeal only those tax cuts for the
top income brackets, saying repealing the cuts for
all incomes would raise taxes on the middle class.
Candidates proposing to repeal all of them,
including former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and
Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt, say the tax cuts have
failed to spark the economy. They argue the cuts
have cost middle-income earners more by shifting
the burden to state and local taxes and forcing
higher fees for service. Edwards claims that
taxing the middle class would add a $2,000 tax
burden on a family earning $40,000. He challenges
Dean’s statement that the Bush middle class tax
cut was wiped out by increased costs at the state
and local level. He called Dean wrong on the
issue. Edwards is in Iowa this week on what he is
calling his "National Check-up Tour." He is
supposed to be discussing health care. Obviously,
he got off point in Elkader. (10/23/2003)
Edwards did stay on point about
his National Check-up Tour" in the Radio Iowa
coverage. In the
story Edwards calls for: speeding up generic
drugs; getting prescription medications from
Canada and Mexico; get the Justice Department and
the Federal Trade Commission go after the major
drug companies for alleged price gouging; and
crack down on Internet sites which sell
prescription drugs for exorbitant prices. Edwards
says the price of prescription drugs is crippling
many families, and it's time for a President
who'll stand up to the powerful drug companies.
(10/23/2003)
Terry M. Neal’s
Talking Points in the Washington Post today
provides great insight into why Florida’s “Straw
Poll” will be the first real test of the Democrat
presidential nominating process. Iowa Presidential
Watch predicts that three or four of the
candidates will go flat out to gain votes among
Florida’s 3,000 delegates to Florida’s Democrat
State Convention, held Dec. 5-7. Dean has already
begun defying the National Democrat Party’s pledge
to not participate, Edwards is campaigning in the
state on Friday and Lieberman cannot afford to sit
it out in Florida. The other candidate that IPW
is not sure about is the bungling campaign of
Wesley Clark. Given that campaign’s performance,
it is not sure that they have the good sense to do
a survey of the delegates and find out where he is
at in the number of delegates (probably 4th)
and announce that they are not participating and
will abide by the DNC’s wishes. This is what
Gephardt has wisely done already. The Florida
Democrats are pressing for the straw poll for a
couple of reasons. First and foremost they are
still painfully hurting from what they feel is the
Florida “rip-off’ of the election. Second, they
want the attention, and they are willing to use
their big givers to blackmail candidates into
coming. Dean spokeswoman Tricia Enright said:
"What we said [on the conference call] was that
we'll abide by the rules, but we want to go to the
[Florida] convention. We just want to go and take
our message there, and we'd like to for this issue
to just not be an issue." (10/23/2003)
Sen. John Edwards made an appeal
to Iowa’s elderly offering more money to cover
nursing homes care and said he favored encouraging
state’s experimentation in elder care. Campaigning
in Iowa Thursday, Edwards proposed stricter
enforcement of care standards at nursing homes,
doubling of funds for programs offering home
respite care from $500 million to $1 billion, and
better wages and working conditions for nursing
home employees. The Quad City Times article offers
the following exchange of charges between the two
campaigns: The Gephardt campaign dismissed the
criticism. “There’s a way to do trade right. The
difference between Dick Gephardt and John Kerry is
Dick Gephardt knows a good trade deal from a bad
one,” said Bill Burton, Gephardt’s Iowa press
secretary. He said the NAFTA pact has cost Iowa
10,000 jobs. . Kerry said that jobs, in fact,
increased and incomes rose during the 1990s. Since
then, he said, the trade agreements have “slipped
into an unfairness.” Kerry said he would review
every trade agreement if elected president. “We
made life better for those union folks,” he added.
(10/24/2003)
Some responsible journalists are
trying to set the record straight on Edward’s
spending. The trouble began when Thursday's
Boston Globe said the Edwards campaign has
outspent all rivals in ad spending, has nothing to
show for it. This implied that Edwards was coming
up against his limits of spending in Iowa and New
Hampshire having spent 73% of allocated spending
limit in New Hampshire and 55% in Iowa. The record
shows Edwards is at 40% for Iowa and 33% New
Hampshire. (10/26/2003)
Lawyer John Edwards played the
Ashcroft card in the debate last night. However,
he needed to defend the fact he voted for the
Patriot Act. "There are some provisions in the
Patriot Act -- most of which get no attention --
which did good things, which updated the law,
which allowed us to go after money laundering,
which allowed information-sharing. ... The problem
with the Patriot Act and the reason we need to
make changes is because it gave entirely too much
discretion to an attorney general who does not
deserve it. It's that simple," said John Edwards.
(10/27/2003)
The Democrat candidates debated
in Detroit under the auspices of the Black Caucus
and the setting and sponsors caused the Democrats
to focus on urban issues. The following comes from
an
Associated Press article that covered the
issues debated: Sen. John Edwards of North
Carolina talked about his "Cities Rising" plan,
which he said would bring jobs to urban America
through incentives for businesses to operate
there. His plan also calls for paying teachers
bonuses to work in poorer areas. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio said violence needs to be
better addressed and highlighted the number of
deaths that have taken place in Detroit. Sen.
Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, addressing the
numbers of people jailed for nonviolent drug
offenses, said, "We need to commit ourselves to
turn this around and invest in rehabilitation, ...
education, job training." (10/27/2003)
In
typical Edward’s angry style, he has launched his
tax ideas under the guise of - Exposing Bush's
New Front In The War On Work in his latest news
release on his
website. Edwards cites media sources that the
Bush administration plans to propose a new round
of tax cuts that would allow a family of four to
save up to $60,000 a year tax-free. He further
claims that over time, the wealthiest Americans
could shift massive amounts of money into these
accounts and avoid any taxes on their interest,
capital gains, and dividends income. He states
that eventually, 21 percent of this tax cut will
benefit the top 1 percent of taxpayers, and this
package would cost the government $50 billion a
year - more than a third of the long-term Social
Security shortfall. Edwards refers to the Bush
alleged tax-cut proposal of horrors of horrors
allowing Americans to save $60,000 tax free, as a
gift to his Millionaire fund-raisers. Edwards’
plan:
Establish the American Dream tax credit will
provide $5,000 toward a first home. His tax
credits for saving will help families with incomes
up to $50,000, who have the most trouble saving
and who get the least benefit from tax deductions
in current law. And he will cut capital gains and
dividends taxpayers for 95 percent of Americans.
Set the tax rate the unearned income of the
wealthiest 1 percent at 25 percent, equal to the
top income tax rate on earned income for
middle-class families consisting of teachers,
nurses, and secretaries.
He will also repeal the Bush tax cuts that benefit
only the top 2 percent of Americans, including the
new top two tax rates on income, and the new rates
on income from dividends and capital gains for the
wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Only those
earning about $240,000 or more are in the top two
income tax brackets. In addition, Edwards will
retain the tax on very large estates and crack
down on corporate tax loopholes. (10/28/2003)
In a poll done for the Boston
Globe and Boston CBS affiliate WBZ, Dean continues
to lead in New Hampshire with 37 percent of
Democrats and independents supporting him. Sen.
John Kerry, D-Mass., is 13 points back at 24
percent. Trailing Dean and Kerry are Sen. John
Edwards at 9 percent, retired Gen. Wesley Clark at
8 percent, Rep. Dick Gephardt at 7 percent, Sen.
Joe Lieberman at 5 percent, Rep. Dennis Kucinich
at 3 percent and Rev. Al Sharpton and former Sen.
Carol Moseley Braun, both at less than 1 percent.
The survey was taken by KRC/Communications
Research from Oct. 20 to Oct. 22 and has a margin
of error of plus or minus five points.
Lieberman in trouble: In the latest survey, 28
percent reported having a favorable opinion of
Lieberman and 42 percent said they regarded him
unfavorably. That's an almost complete reversal
from six weeks ago when 46 percent viewed him
favorably and 25 percent did not. (10/28/2003)
Clark’s numbers are fading, Dean
moves back to front, Gephardt moves up and
Lieberman is in free fall according to the poll.
The numbers are: Dean-16; Clark-15; Gephardt-12;
Lieberman-12; Kerry-10; Edwards-6; Sharpton-6;
Moseley-Braun-4; Kucinich-1. The other startling
find was that the Democrats are going more
liberal. Democrats are 39 percent in favor of a
liberal up from 27 percent in August. Those
wanting a moderate are now at 53 percent.
(10/28/2003)
The
Des Moines Register carries an interesting
story regarding Democrat candidates’ position on
medical marijuana: On medical marijuana.
The candidates' positions on medical marijuana,
according to their campaigns:
JOHN EDWARDS: Science is still unclear. There
needs to be a high-level Food and Drug
Administration commission to determine right away
whether medical marijuana is the best way to treat
pain.
JOHN KERRY: Supports the use of real science
to determine the effectiveness, safety and need
for the controlled medical use of marijuana. If
scientifically warranted, and studied by an
objective commission, the use must be closely
restricted to prevent abuse and illegal
trafficking.
HOWARD DEAN: As a doctor, he believes
marijuana should be treated no differently from
any other drug. It should be evaluated by the FDA
for its safety and then approved if it is safe and
effective, rejected if it is not.
DENNIS KUCINICH: Disagrees with President
Bush's methods of "harassing medical marijuana
patients" and instead favors medical marijuana
being used to relieve the suffering of seriously
ill patients.
JOE
LIEBERMAN: Is aware of reports that marijuana
may provide therapeutic relief for some
individuals, but isn't aware of any reputable
studies to support this. He opposes legalizing a
drug that many health professionals believe has
greater health risks than therapeutic benefits.
CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN: Is in favor of medicinal
marijuana use.
Campaigns for Dick Gephardt,
Wesley Clark and Al Sharpton did not respond
timely to requests for information about their
position on this issue. (10/29/2003)
Edwards rebuffed
Sen. John Edwards is finding it
hard going in the commitment category. He seems to
woo the voters but doesn’t get the yes according
to LA Times article: The question that now dogs
the Edwards campaign is whether he can recapture
the buzz that surrounded his candidacy when he
ended the first quarter of this year as the top
fund-raiser among the Democratic candidates. … as
Edwards comes to Los Angeles Wednesday for a tour
of African American churches and a fund-raiser
hosted by actor Ashton Kutcher at the home of
actor Dennis Hopper — he is struggling to gain
some momentum before a series of primaries in
early February that include a virtual must-win
contest for him in South Carolina. The LATimes
also points out: A key reason for skepticism about
Edwards' chances is that his campaign has fallen
off its early fund-raising pace. He collected only
$2.6 million in the third quarter of the year,
compared to the more than $7 million he raised in
the first quarter. (10/30/2003)
Book’s effect
USA Today is running excerpts from Walter
Shapiro’s forthcoming book, One-Car Caravan: On
the Road with the 2004 Democrats Before America
Tunes In, in Today’s edition. There is the
likelihood that the book could change some
opinions about who to support. Excerpts:
“Even though Kerry was the only man in the room
who removed his suit jacket in an effort to appear
informal and relaxed, he came across as tense and
a bit defensive. Kerry's presentation provided the
first intimations of a flaw in his candidacy -- he
tried so hard to be reassuring and was so
conscious of the ''Massachusetts liberal'' label
that he failed to make clear his rationale for
running.”
“For
Attie, who was Al Gore's chief speechwriter during
the 2000 campaign, was about to re-enter the
real-life world of presidential politics. The
60-page ''script'' under the TV writer's arm was
really a compilation of a Democrat's policy
positions and stump speeches, printed out on the
only paper used in the fax machines of The West
Wing. And the candidate who joined Attie for a
drink at the Four Seasons was far more Heartland
than Hollywood. [Regarding Atti’s meeting with
Dick Gephardt and helping with Gephardt’s
announcement.]”
“…in
the midst of taping commercials for her husband
John Edwards' 1998 Senate race, Elizabeth
Edwards was asked by media consultant Tad Devine,
''Why did you marry him?'' Instead of the usual
prattle about a good heart or love at first sight,
she responded with an answer that captured the
essence of Edwards' political appeal: ''I married
him because he was so optimistic.'' (10/30/2003)
A little help from my friends
Edwards was in Dennis Hopper’s
home yesterday bringing in a dollar or two from
those attending the fundraiser. Ashton Kutcher was
one of the hosts for the event but was a no-show
due to smoke from the raging California fires
preventing her flight in. However, she does back
Edwards, according to Dennis Hopper’s wife,
Victoria. Victoria Hopper said Kutcher is eager to
help and may campaign for Edwards in Kutcher's
home state of Iowa. (10/31/2003)
Edwards
main page
|