Bob Graham

excerpts from the Iowa Daily Report

August 16-31, 2003

… Blame Bush – Dem hopefuls suggest that the president pulled the plug on the northeastern United States. With wannabes wandering IA, Associated Press’ caucus watcher Mike Glover decided to highlight their reaction to the blackout. Want to guess who they criticized? Excerpt – datelined Cedar Rapids – from Glover coverage: “The Democratic presidential contenders blamed President Bush Friday for the massive blackout in the northeastern United States, saying the White House's refusal to invest in the nation's infrastructure caused the problem. ‘It underscores a blackout in this administration on energy policies,’ Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said. ‘They have ignored the investment needs of our infrastructure in favor of a tax cut for the wealthy.’ Northeastern cities from New York City across to Toledo, Ohio, were gripped by a massive blackout Thursday afternoon that left officials scrambling to restore power and searching for causes of the failure. While no one has yet pinpointed a cause, Democrats were quick to bash Bush. Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt argued that the blackouts can be linked to flaws in Bush and the Republican party's energy policy. ‘These events illustrate how shortsighted the Bush administration and Republican-controlled Congress were in 2001 when they rejected modernization of our nation's power grid,’ Gephardt said. Much of the criticism came during a labor forum featuring six of the Democratic presidential candidates. One of the candidates, the Rev. Al Sharpton, was forced to cancel because of jumbled air schedules after the blackout. Florida Sen. Bob Graham said Bush called for new investment in electrical transmission systems but Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to do just that. ‘Just two years ago, he and his allies in Congress blocked a Democratic proposal to invest $350 million in upgrading America's electrical grid system,’ Graham said. ‘The blackout is further evidence that America needs to invest in its infrastructure.’ North Carolina Sen. John Edwards chose not to immediately attack Bush. ‘I think we need to find out what happened,’ Edwards said. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said the Bush administration, through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, tried to merge the New England's electrical grid with New York's when he still governor. ‘I raised hell and told them they better get a lot of lawyers,’ he said in a telephone interview. ‘The president always sees bigger as being better and that's not true. What we really need to do is let local people take care of things. What we need is good, strong regional grids. We do not need huge mega-grids.’ Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich said he has fought the big utilities since he was the mayor of Cleveland and resisted efforts to sell of the city's utilities. ‘I stood to the Enrons of that day, and I'll stand up to the Enrons of this day,’ Kucinich said. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, speaking earlier at the state fair, said the blackouts, along with the latest virus attacks on the Internet, have Americans feeling less secure even though neither event has been linked to terrorism. ‘Electricity is too important to the quality of life to all of the American people to allow it to become a gap in homeland security,’ Lieberman said.” (8/17/2003)

… Graham, lone wannabe at New Hampshire pig roast, says Bush as “fractured national unity.” Excerpt from report by Joe Cox – headlined, “Graham turns up heat on Bush at pig roast” – in the New Hampshire Sunday News: “The country is on the wrong track. That’s what Sen. Bob Graham said he believes strongly enough to use as the basis for his Presidential campaign. ‘If we reelect George W. Bush to another four-year term, America will be a different place than the America in which we have been privileged to grow up and live,’ the U.S. senator from Florida told about 100 people attending the Merrimack County Democrats’ Pig Roast yesterday. He said President Bush has ‘fractured national unity’ with his proposals. Graham said Bush administration economic policies have lost millions of jobs and created a large federal budget deficit. He said it is ‘immoral to be offloading’ economic responsibilities to young Americans that should be handled now. The Florida Democrat also accused the administration of being less than truthful. He said when President Bush announced his tax cut plan he did it in front of a banner that read ‘Jobs and Growth.’ Graham said, ‘That was a falsehood.’ Graham also criticized Bush’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ public education policy. ‘We are leaving behind not only millions of children, but almost every state and local school district in America with a program that is prescriptive and unpaid for.’ Graham touted his support for restoration of the Florida Everglades and questioned the Bush administration’s commitment to caring for the environment. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Graham said he has seen how the administration has wrongly kept information from the public in the name of national security.  ‘This is a Pinocchio President,’ Graham claimed, criticizing Bush about last week’s major power failure. He said the President opposed federal legislation two years ago that would have provided $350 million to assist states and utilities in increasing the reliability of the electrical grid. Graham was the only Democratic Presidential candidate to attend yesterday’s event.” (8/19/2003)

… Black churches become popular destinations for the Dem wannabes in South Carolina with as many as 1.2 million votes at stake in the first-in-the-South primary.   Headline from the New Hampshire Sunday News: “Democrats court south’s critical black voters” Excerpt – datelined Denmark, SC – by AP’s Amy Geier Edgar: “U.S. Sen. John Edwards visited the site of the nation's first school for freed slaves on St. Helena Island. U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt has campaigned at the predominantly black Longshoreman's union near the Charleston docks. And almost all nine of the Democrats looking to win their party's nomination for president have visited a black church in South Carolina. South Carolina's 1.2 million blacks are an irresistible Democratic block that could make up half the voters in the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary Feb. 3…For now, the Democratic candidates are taking the tried-and-true path to black voters - the church. The Rev. Joe Darby, pastor of Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, said he's had contact with all the candidates. ‘We've got candidates coming out our ears,’ he said. U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida all have spoken to congregations at predominantly black churches. Gephardt has spoken with health workers at a predominantly black church. The Rev. Al Sharpton has been a regular visitor to black churches, most recently at the Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Santee… Other candidates have taken different tacks to reach black voters. Edwards went to the Penn Center, which runs a number of community outreach programs for island residents and began in 1862 as a school for freed slaves after Union forces captured the area early in the Civil War. Graham and Lieberman both have visited Allen University, South Carolina's oldest historically black college. Former ambassador and Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, the other black candidate, has met with the state branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other black community leaders. Most of the campaigns have hired black staffers. U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has the backing of black New York Congressman Gregory Meeks, who visited supporters throughout South Carolina on Kerry's behalf. He plans to begin a grass-roots campaign in South Carolina next month, Meeks said. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is one of the few candidates who has not had a real presence in South Carolina. The Ohio Democrat has been focusing more of his efforts in Iowa, said campaign spokesman Jeff Cohen.”(8/19/2003)

… Graham gets his biggest New Hampshire audience of the campaign, makes Sunday appearance at A Prairie Home Companion performance. Headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader: “Graham tries his hand at being comedian” Excerpt from report from Gilford by AP’s David Tirrell-Wysocki: “The first line of his script wasn't a tough one for presidential hopeful Bob Graham, who worked Sunday as a stagehand and a radio comedian. ‘Hi. I'm Bob Graham and I'm running for president,’ said the Democratic senator from Florida. But the setting was not your typical New Hampshire street corner or Rotary Club meeting. Graham helped out backstage and was the featured guest in a stage performance of A Prairie Home Companion, the popular public radio program that brought him a ready made audience that was used to hearing jokes about Republicans. Host Garrison Keillor opened the program noting he was in New Hampshire, home of the earliest presidential primary, where voters ‘pay attention before other people in the country are ready to.’ For Keillor and the weekly radio cast, it was a chance to bring their folksy Minnesota-based show on the road. For Graham, it was another chance to continue his ‘workdays’ program, in which he works everyday jobs to stay in touch with voters. Not that standing next to author, singer and humorist Keillor is an everyday job. ‘There are a lot of similarities between show business and politics,’ Graham said afterward. ‘You have to appreciate the fact that your job is very precarious.’ In his skit, Graham played, well, Bob Graham, the candidate. Keillor played Guy Noir, private eye, who persuades Graham to go fishing, even though he is busy on the New Hampshire campaign trail. ‘For some reason, I do well with fishermen,’ Graham, the actor, says, reading from his script while standing at a microphone like the rest of the cast. Fishermen, reads Keillor – ‘people who live on hope.’ As Keillor tries to concentrate on fishing, Graham makes conversation by rattling off his positions on various issues, until Keillor cuts him off – ‘not that I'm not interested.’…’You fish?’ he asks…’Some,’ replies Graham…That was good, Keillor said. ‘A one-word answer.’…Graham's timing was off a couple of times in the script he had rehearsed for just a few minutes before the program. But overall, his timing was pretty good. And he was able to share Keillor's audience of 4,500 people, Graham's largest crowd so far in New Hampshire, his campaign said.”(8/19/2003)

… “Claims that recall madness in California has sucked all the oxygen out of national politics are hooey. Thankfully, folks in Iowa are more high-minded.” – Sentence from the following account indicating that Wannabe Madness continues in IA despite distractions. Headline from Houston Chronicle: “It’s Iowa, it’s almost time, get over it” Excerpt from Sunday commentary by the Chronicle’s Cragg Hines: “While you've been fixating on the redistricting mess and checking out those naked pictures of ‘Governor’ Schwarzenegger on the Internet, I've been tramping through the tall corn in Iowa to bring you the latest on the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Claims that recall madness in California has sucked all the oxygen out of national politics are hooey. Thankfully, folks in Iowa are more high-minded. The Democratic race is for real, and no matter if you insist on finishing a few more trashy novels before Labor Day, conscientious fellow-Americans in Iowa are hard at work sorting out the candidates. Just five months from Monday night, Iowa Democrats will shiver and/or slog their way to caucuses all over the state and start the nominating process. Don't blink or you'll miss the rest of it. Within six or seven weeks (probably by the time that Texas as well as California, New York and a bunch of other states hold primaries on March 2) it is likely to be all over. You have been warned. Already six of the nine Democratic candidates seem headed for no-hope-ville. Iowa appears to be doing its traditional job of winnowing the field -- perhaps with a vengeance this time around. Judging by a sampling of candidate outings last week, only former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, former House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts have a real shot. This is not wild speculation. It's what Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and other Democrats are saying, much to the chagrin of the remainder of the field, especially Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and John Edwards of North Carolina, whose aides have complained to Vilsack's office. On a too infrequent trip to Iowa, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, only the party's 2000 vice presidential candidate, greeted Vilsack with: ‘Hi. I'm a second-tier candidate.’ The protests availeth not. ‘It's three. The perception is correct,’ said David Nagle, former state Democratic chairman. ‘The one thing that separates the three is that Dean has passion.’ Nagle recalled that Theodore White said he knew John F. Kennedy was going to win in 1960 when he saw girls along JFK's motorcades jumping. ‘Dean's the only one with girls jumping,’ Nagle said (speaking in metaphor, you understand). The question is, can Dean keep the girls (and boys), many of whom are new to politics, jumping for five months? The test is most critical for Gephardt, who won the Iowa caucuses in 1988 (only to crater when contributions ran out not far down the campaign trail). He cannot survive a defeat in Iowa in January. Gephardt basically acknowledges the daunting scenario. ‘I'm going to win in Iowa,’ he said shortly after loading about 100 inch-thick locally bred pork chops on a medieval-looking grill at the State Fair in Des Moines last week. Iowa Democrats, even some who wish Gephardt all the best, wonder, however, about his dedication to what could be a political swan song.”(8/19/2003)

… Another week, another infrastructure speech by Bob Graham. The FL wannabe is developing a familiar pattern – giving the same basic speech in Manchester, NH, that he gave in Davenport, IA, last week. Headline from yesterday’s The Union Leader: “Graham: Infrastructure investment needed” Excerpt from report by the AP’s Holly Ramer: “Democratic Presidential hopeful Bob Graham said yesterday the strengthening economy will not weaken his message about the urgent need for infrastructure investments. Though Democrats have tried to blame President Bush for job losses and other economic woes of the past few years, economists believe the economy will regain strength in the second half of this year. Consumer prices rose modestly last month, and production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities increased by the largest amount since January. Speaking at a Rotary Club luncheon, Graham said a rebound won’t hurt Democrats because larger challenges remain beyond the immediate need to reinvigorate the economy. ‘Democrats aren’t and should not get elected based on bad news that adversely affects the people of America,’ the senator from Florida said. ‘We all want to have this period of economic stagnation over as quickly as possible . . . (but) we still have a number of challenges to deal with in our economy if we, as we all hope, see a resurgence of growth.’ Graham said he has proposed a comprehensive, long-range plan to keep the economy humming by repealing much of the tax-cut package Congress enacted in May and putting the money into middle-class tax relief and infrastructure improvements. Thursday’s eight-state electrical blackout — the largest in U.S. history — showed that such investments are needed, not only in electricity but in transportation, water and sewer systems and schools, Graham said. ‘This plan lays out not a program to deal with the immediate economic circumstances but rather one that is aimed at building the foundation for America’s long-term economic growth,’ he said. ‘A major part of our economic program is to begin to prepare America for the next half century by making an investment today in things like our infrastructure, in things like research and innovation that will help us stay on the leading edge of the next economic revolution,’ he said. That would mean $300 million a year to upgrade and repair New Hampshire highways, bridges, schools and water systems, he said. But he said a key part of his plan is balancing the federal budget, something he believes can happen by 2010.” (8/20/2003)

… “Bow out, Bob Graham” – headline on Orlando Sentinel editorial. Excerpt from yesterday’s Sentinel editorial: “For his sake and Florida's, he should drop out of the presidential race. Sen. Bob Graham and his senior political advisers face a choice when they meet this weekend to discuss strategy for his presidential bid: Try to fix a foundering campaign, or bow to political reality by bowing out. The second option is best for the Miami Lakes Democrat and his Florida constituents. It's time for him to quit the presidential race and declare his intention to run again for the Senate seat he has so ably filled for three terms. Mr. Graham has not closed the door on running for re-election. But the longer he continues his long-shot bid for president, the more he risks diminishing his effectiveness as a senator. Mr. Graham has built a reputation as one of the Senate's most authoritative and respected voices on a wide range of issues, from intelligence to foreign policy to health care to homeland security. His influence was peaking as he launched his presidential campaign earlier this year. But in refashioning himself as a Democratic candidate for president, Mr. Graham has moved away from the moderate, bipartisan approach he has successfully followed in Washington. His shifts to the political left and partisanship during the campaign already have alienated political moderates in Florida. As chairman of the Senate's intelligence panel, Mr. Graham was one of the most thoughtful and credible critics of President George W. Bush's policies in the war on terrorism. Now that he has been repeating that criticism on the campaign trail, it's too easy to dismiss it as mere politics. What Mr. Graham is giving up in stature isn't even helping him on the campaign trail. In Iowa, which kicks off the presidential nominating season with caucuses Jan. 19, Mr. Graham was the choice of just 1 percent of likely voters in a recent poll -- putting him even with the Rev. Al Sharpton. In New Hampshire, site of the nation's first presidential primary on Jan. 27, another recent survey showed Mr. Graham with the support of 2 percent of likely voters. While the New Hampshire balloting is still more than five months off, he has been stuck at 2 percent there since June. Mr. Graham's advisers insist he's in a position to win primaries in South Carolina and other states on Feb. 3. But it is unrealistic to think a candidate now polling in low single digits in New Hampshire could be a favorite a week later, even someplace closer to home. The possibility of Mr. Graham giving up his Senate seat after 18 years has drawn a crowd of would-be successors from both political parties. None matches Mr. Graham in stature. It could take whoever wins years to approach the level of effectiveness achieved by Florida's senior senator. Mr. Graham has been a great asset to Florida -- the reason we have strongly endorsed him in his campaigns for the Senate. That's where he belongs.”(8/22/2003)

… Graham campaign will probably tackle key agenda item this weekend – how to get to 3% support in New Hampshire polls. Headline from Wednesday’s Orlando Sentinel: “Graham, key advisers set up strategy session” Coverage – an excerpt – by the Sentinel’s Mark Silva: “Sen. Bob Graham will meet with senior advisers this weekend, hoping to fine-tune the strategy for a Democratic presidential campaign that polls show is making no headway in key early-voting states. Graham's aides downplay the significance of Saturday's parley in Miami Lakes, site of the campaign headquarters and home for Florida's senior senator and former governor. They call it a routine strategy-planner for critical months ahead. But results from a new poll in New Hampshire, scene of the first presidential primary election in January, underscore how critical the next few months will be for a Floridian trailing a pack of Democrats for the 2004 nomination. Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont riding a surge of summer momentum, has jumped ahead of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in New Hampshire, according to the survey by Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group. Graham's lingering, 2 percent standing among likely primary voters in New Hampshire couples with a poor showing in Iowa, scene of the first party caucuses. Aides have started to signal that Graham, continuing to hope for respectable support in New Hampshire and Iowa in January, is counting more heavily on a series of primary elections in South Carolina and other states that will vote Feb. 3. Graham will carry his campaign to South Carolina this week. ‘There are a host of states, starting February 3, where Bob Graham starts winning,’ spokesman Jamal Simmons said Tuesday, campaigning with the senator in New Hampshire and careful not to write off the campaign there. Graham ‘still has room to grow’ in New Hampshire, Simmons said. ‘I think we're making our case and people are starting to respond, and the polls will start to show it soon.’ If Graham is gaining in the Granite State, it hasn't registered yet. Graham, who has campaigned since April, remains the favorite among just 2 percent of voters likely to take part in New Hampshire's Jan. 27 primary in a survey released Tuesday. The poll portrays a three-month-long flat line, since June, when Graham also pulled 2 percent in New Hampshire. ‘He's not connecting here with voters,’ said Richard Bennett, president of American Research Group.” (8/22/2003)

… “Kerry, Graham fault Bush in deadly Baghdad bombing” – Headline from the Washington Times. Excerpt from report by the Times’ Stephen Dinan: “Yesterday's suicide bombing in Baghdad left some Democrats calling for re-evaluating the U.S. role in Iraq and blaming the Bush administration for lacking foresight and losing control of the situation in Iraq. ‘It is becoming increasingly clear each day that the administration misread the situation on the ground in Iraq and lacks an adequate plan to win the peace and protect our troops,’ said Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat and presidential candidate, calling on President Bush to invite more troops from other nations to help out…Sen. Bob Graham, Florida Democrat and another presidential candidate, said Mr. Bush bears some blame for the bombing, by mistakenly pursuing the war in Iraq. ‘Had the president pursued the war on terrorism prior to initiating military action against Saddam Hussein — as I advocated last year — it is likely that al Qaeda and other terrorist networks would not have been able to take advantage of the chaos that now exists in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq,’ Mr. Graham said. He also called on Mr. Bush to admit ‘he misled Americans’ by declaring three months ago that major combat operations had ended in Iraq. Hours before the bombing, Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said stabilizing postwar Iraq is proving a more difficult task than anybody thought, and said more American troops are probably needed.”(8/22/2003)

… Graham targeting rural – and Republican – areas with NASCAR connection. The main question now is how many Republicans will attend next January’s Dem caucuses in Iowa? Headline from Wednesday’s Washington Times: “Graham tries to win with NACSAR logo” Report – an excerpt, datelined Roanoke – by the Times’ Charles Hunt: “Dawn Youngblood is an unwavering Republican, but on a recent Wednesday she stood for two hours on the shimmering, hot pavement outside a shuttered Sears to take part in a campaign event for Sen. Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat running for president. Mrs. Youngblood hadn't thought much about Mr. Graham before she got there. ‘I saw the name before but it never interested my mind,’ she said. ‘Until he got into racing.’ Like 75 million Americans, Mrs. Youngblood, 41, is an auto-racing fan, and the real reason she came to Mr. Graham's event was to see NASCAR driver Ward Burton sign autographs with Mr. Graham. ‘I was raised a Republican and I share the conservative values,’ she said. ‘But I am such a NASCAR fan.’ Mrs. Youngblood is precisely the type of voter Mr. Graham aims to win over through a political strategy targeted to rural — and devoutly Republican — areas. Though this was a one-time appearance with Mr. Burton, Mr. Graham is also sponsoring a NASCAR racing truck and team as part of a larger effort to tap into cultural passions of rural America. In its debut last month, Mr. Graham's truck won a Kansas race, creating a stir in NASCAR as the first presidential campaign to sponsor a team. Making inroads into traditionally Republican NASCAR country is no small undertaking. At the campaign event in Roanoke, Mr. Graham found himself in a congressional district where George Bush beat Al Gore by 19 percentage points in the 2000 election. Mr. Graham said he can convince people like Mrs. Youngblood that the Republican Party has left her in the dust. ‘There are a lot of people in America who have been overlooked,’ he said. ‘There are millions of Americans who feel they have been left out by politicians.’ Certainly, NASCAR has its loyal fans. In the United States, its followers are eclipsed only by the 100 million fans of the National Football League, according to sports industry statistics. Among NASCAR fans, 40 million are ‘hard-core fans,’ digesting 9.8 hours per week of NASCAR from newspapers, television and radio. ‘They're very passionate folks,’ said John Miller, director of business development for Roush Racing, which owns and operates the team Mr. Graham sponsored.”(8/22/2003)

… Graham joins the petition parade. Using petition gimmick Dean and Kerry have employed, the FL Sen targets anti-competitive ag consolidation. Excerpt from statement on Graham’s IA website site – BobInIowa.com: “I told many of you that I would try my best to be your advocate in Washington. As the first follow-up, I am starting a petition drive to urge the U.S. Justice Department to stop the anti-competitive consolidation of corporate agribusiness and to enforce anti-trust laws. It is my strong belief after talking to many farmers in Iowa that if the Justice Department does not get involved, many independent producers will be driven out of business. Once we obtain enough signatures, I will present the petition to Attorney General John Ashcroft. Please sign the petition at the link provided below and forward this petition to everyone you know so that we can save Iowa's family farmers.” Specifically, Graham’s petition is focused on the announcement that Smithfield Foods, the nation’s top pork producer, is attempting to purchase the hog-producing operations of Farmland Industries. (8/24/2003)

… In South Carolina, Graham tells group at the Weed and Seed Center he has a plan to improve economy – repeal much of the Bush tax cuts. The main problem, however: Folks had to check Graham brochures to recognize the FL wannabe. Excerpt from Friday’s report by Valeria Bauerlein, staff writer for The State of Columbia: “Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham touted his economic plan Thursday in the job-hungry Pee Dee, where unemployment is 13.6 percent, twice the state and national average. Graham spent an hour at the Weed and Seed Center in the northern part of town, meeting with 40 community leaders. The center is the hub of a federally backed project in which activists try to take back public housing and rotting crack houses from drugs and decay. Graham chose to spend time in Florence and the Pee Dee region, which have lost textile jobs one after another, with manufacturing giants such as Sara Lee and La-Z-Boy going where labor is cheaper. Little has come to take their place, especially in places like neighboring Marlboro County, where unemployment for July was 21.3 percent. ‘It's hard to imagine how a community could survive, if one in five of its people is out of work,’ Graham said. Graham, a U.S. senator from Florida since 1986, stood in front of the center's red, white and blue boxing ring and took questions about his plan: What kind of jobs would it create? How soon? The plan would repeal much of President Bush's tax cut, he said. In its place, Graham would eliminate income taxes on the first $10,000 of wages, a boon to low- and middle-income people. It also would maintain the tax credit of $1,000 per child and provide more money for college and technical school scholarships…So far, Graham has hired six S.C. staffers, believed to be the largest state staff among the candidates. Still, he is battling low name recognition -- some guests at Thursday's event were scouring brochures for his picture so they would recognize him when he came in. He is also battling public perception, first, that he should not be running -- the Orlando Sentinel Thursday urged him to drop out -- and second, that he is actually seeking the vice presidential nomination.”(8/24/2003)

… Graham’s refusal to drop pres bid leaves FL Dems upset and in “limbo.” Media report notes his “stalled” prez campaign. Excerpt from report – datelined Orlando – by AP’s Mike Branom that appeared in yesterday’s editions: “Bob Graham's stalled presidential run is un-nerving state Democratic leaders, who are worried that a losing campaign for the White House could tip his Senate seat to the Republicans in 2004. Five Democrats have announced their desire to replace Graham, but intense campaigning for next August's primary remains on hold because Florida's senior senator has never publicly ruled out running for a fourth Senate term if his presidential bid fails. ‘Everybody's in limbo right now,’ said Florida Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox. In a sign that the Democratic race is stuck in neutral, a luncheon [Sunday] in Leesburg sponsored by the Lake County Democrats is expected to draw only two candidates -- Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas and U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch. Refusing invitations were U.S. Reps. Allen Boyd and Alcee Hastings, while former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor is sending her daughter, Hillsborough County Commissioner Kathy Castor. ‘Everybody's holding their breath seeing what Bob Graham's going to do,’ said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. ‘And nobody wants to make a move that might threaten his support of their candidacy.’ MacManus said the Senate race could be one of most competitive in state history, noting that the Republican field is just as crowded as the Democrats'…Meanwhile, Graham has yet to distinguish himself from the throng of Democratic presidential contenders -- he recently drew support from just 2 percent of those polled in the crucial primary state of New Hampshire. And he's fared even worse in Iowa. The future appears so dire for Graham's presidential aspirations, the Orlando Sentinel said in a Thursday editorial that Graham should ‘bow to political reality’ and drop out of the race. But Graham is ignoring the naysayers and plugging ahead with his campaign. And that's what the aspirants for Senate also should do, a Graham spokesman said. ‘Unlike others, Sen. Graham has been very encouraging of people to form campaigns, to raise money, to hire staff, to do the things they need to do to get organized to be competitive,’ press secretary Jamal Simmons said.”(8/25/2003)

… “Incompetent candidate” – subhead from Greg Pierce’s “Inside Politics” column in yesterday’s Washington Times. One of the central questions of the campaign – although it has been ignored because Graham hasn’t gotten any traction – is how he could have been so successful in FL and so nutty on the prez campaign trail. Pierce recaps David Tell’s commentary in the Weekly Standard: ‘First as governor and lately as U.S. senator, Bob Graham has won five statewide races in Florida, which is no mean feat, and must have required some considerable skill,’ David Tell writes in the Weekly Standard. ‘So how come Graham is such an unqualifiedly, amazingly, matchlessly incompetent presidential candidate?’ asks Mr. Tell, after watching Mr. Graham's performance before the Iowa Federation of Labor a couple of weeks ago in Waterloo. ’It is a mystery for the ages. Here in Waterloo he's several minutes into an incomprehensible — and practically inaudible — discussion of an economic-policy white paper he's released before the moderator, IFL President Mark Smith, finally and mercifully interrupts to remind the senator that he hasn't been speaking into the mike. Asked about health care, Graham wanders deep into the weeds, admits he hasn't fully refined his thinking on the subject, promises to make public the rest of his health care plan soon, and then unaccountably blurts out that Dick Gephardt's already-released rival plan has somewhat set the standard for this debate. By the time Graham starts reading his closing statement, hardly bothering to look up at his audience, there is coughing and chatter throughout the room.”(8/27/2003)

… “Presidential candidates hit Bush on economy” – headline from this morning’s The Union Leader. It’s beginning to look more like a political feeding frenzy than a presidential nominating competition. Coverage – an excerpt – by the AP’s Will Lester:    “President Bush's Democratic rivals seized on projections of record budget deficits Tuesday, arguing that the numbers add up to a failed economic policy that will hit future generations hard. ‘It's obvious this administration doesn't have the slightest clue about how to get this economy back on track, get Americans back to work and get our nation's finances under control,’ said Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who added, ‘it is time to admit what millions of unemployed Americans already know - that the economic policies of George W. Bush are the worst in our nation's history.’ Congressional budget analysts said Tuesday that the government faces at least eight more years of budget deficits, including a record $480 billion shortfall in 2004. The analysts also warned that extending Bush's tax cuts beyond their expiration combined with other spending could increase the $1.4 trillion deficit over the next decade to $1.6 trillion. Those figures prompted criticism from Democrats, such as Howard Dean, who has called for a repeal of Bush's tax cuts. ‘The president has not only destroyed three million jobs, he is destroying the financial future of our children with these crazy tax cuts for the top 1 percent,’ the former Vermont governor said in a telephone interview. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, in a variation of a line from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, said Bush ‘is telling the world that Americans shall defer any price, unload any burden on our children, postpone any hardship for ourselves to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.’ Said Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut: ‘The tide of red ink is rising higher than ever before. And the best George W. Bush can do is ask the American people to hold their breath. That's unfair to our kids and unacceptable for our economic health.’ John Edwards, a senator from North Carolina, said the record deficits indicate it's time to say ‘enough of the unaffordable tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy ... and enough of pretending that deficits just don't matter.’ Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, cited the deficits as well as job losses as proof that the president's "tax-cut economic policy is failing, it's not helping ordinary taxpayers.’ Al Sharpton also faulted the tax cuts for diverting money from education, health care, job creation and housing. Carol Moseley Braun called the deficits ‘part of the economic shell game that this administration has put over on the American people.’ She added it was neither ‘compassionate’ not ‘conservative,’ a reference to Bush's oft-repeated description of himself. Republican National Committee spokeswoman Christine Iverson countered that ‘winning the war on terrorism is expensive, but security is priceless. Balancing the budget is important but so is creating jobs, defeating our enemies and protecting our homeland.’”(8/27/2003)

… Venturing where few – if any – wannabes have gone before, Graham shows up in Puerto Rico to address “decolonization” issue. Headline from Miami.com (Miami Herald): “Graham would try to finalize Puerto Rico’s status if elected president” Excerpt: “In a whirlwind fundraising swing in Puerto Rico, Florida Democratic Sen. Bob Graham said Monday that if elected president he would try to resolve the issue of the island's relationship to the rest of the United States as quickly as possible. ‘The decision of the future of Puerto Rico should be made directly by Puerto Ricans,’ Graham said at the campaign headquarters of former Gov. Pedro Rosselló, who is running in the 2004 gubernatorial election as a member of the opposition New Progressive Party. Graham said he supports Rosselló's position, which is to hold a federally mandated referendum on Puerto Rico's future, meaning the federal government would be legally bound by the results. The U.S. Congress has denied the option in the past. In nonbinding referendums in 1967, 1993 and 1998, voters rejected statehood and indicated they preferred to retain commonwealth status. Three weeks ago, the U.S. House approved, by a one-vote margin, legislation giving federal endorsement to a ‘decolonization’ referendum every 10 years -- with a three-way choice of independence, statehood and commonwealth -- until Puerto Ricans choose either statehood or independence.”(8/29/2003)

…Comic Relief I: “Don’t listen to ’em, Bob: Hang in there” – headline on Mike Thomas column in Friday’s Orlando Sentinel. “Poor Bob Graham, the King of Spam. No matter how many Iowa state fairs he goes to, his presidential campaign keeps slipping like cowboy boots on a fresh cow pie. And now this newspaper wants him to quit his presidential quest and go back to running for the Senate. Don't you listen, Bob. Just keep those e-mails coming. I'm lucky to get one or two e-mails a week from Joe Lieberman or Dick Gephardt. But on some days, I get six from Bob. In this one, he is calling for spending millions of dollars to upgrade the infrastructure in Iowa. In these three, he is offering to fix the infrastructures in New Hampshire, New Mexico and South Carolina. Bob also let me know he is starting an online petition to stop the merger of Smithfield Foods' and Farmland Industries' pork-processing plants. Bob knows what this race is about. It's the bacon, stupid. Here's one in which Bob is pushing his economic plan at the Weed and Seed Center in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. As goes Pee Dee, so goes the nation. Don't laugh. The Republicans still fear Bob. Why else would the Republican Party of Florida put out a release agreeing with our editorial? Does it make sense that party officials want Bob out of a race he supposedly can't win so he can return to a crucial Senate race he definitely can win?”(8/31/2003)

… “Policies are outdated, Graham tells Iowa farmers…The presidential candidate is behind in the polls but says he’s ready for a 100-yard dash from now until January.” – headline from yesterday’s Des Moines Register. Excerpt from report – datelined Colo – by the Register’s Jonathan Roos: “U.S. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida courted Iowa farmers Friday in his quest for a come-from-behind victory in the Iowa caucuses. The Democratic presidential candidate kicked off a four-day campaign trip in central Iowa by meeting with a group of farmers over lunch at the Country House Restaurant here. ‘I heard a lot of distress. The family farm is under a lot of economic pressure. Young people aren't coming back to the farm. There's a great deal of (industry) consolidation, which has eliminated competitive options for farmers,’ said Graham, who took notes while dining on roast beef and coleslaw. ‘Much of that is a result of federal farm policies that are focused on an agriculture of the mid-20th century as opposed to one that is trying to shape the 21st,’ he told reporters afterward. Graham is one of nine Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination. With polls showing him well back in the pack in Iowa, Graham acknowledged he has some catching up to do. ‘We got a late start, but we're trying to run a 100-yard dash from now until January,’ he said. Graham said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's surge in the polls partly has to do with the resonance of a message that he and Dean share: opposition to the war in Iraq. ‘I actually voted against going to war when this was before the Senate in October of last year,’ Graham said. The Florida senator is spending the weekend in Iowa showing his solidarity with family farmers and union workers.”(8/31/2003)

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Graham Aug. 1-15, 2003

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