Dean's Scene

John Kerry described his steps to fight terror. He said he will strengthen the war on terrorism but also protect civil liberties. He claims John Ashcroft, the attorney general, is not doing this.

Kerry cited a report by the Justice Department's inspector general, who said 762 Muslim and Arab non-citizens have been detained for many months without evidence.

Kerry, I believe, realizes that Americans are concerned with the protection of their rights. Sometimes it seems as though the current administration becomes overzealous in how they deal with terrorism. Additionally, many Americans are weary of the Patriot Act, which would allow for Big Brother surveillance.

Meanwhile, Dick Gephardt explained the need for increased security funds.

He proposed the creation of a Homeland Security Trust Fund, which would assist state and local communities. It would be financed by eliminating special interest tax breaks.

Gephardt said he would spend $20 billion per year for the next five years. This would help alleviate the extra money that state and local governments spend on homeland protection.

Unfortunately for Gephardt, I think many Americans don't realize the importance of the money spent on homeland protection.

Dean had a similar attack on Bush, saying he had no idea how to properly defend our country.

Dean's main problems with Bush were that Bush planned on cutting combat pay and cutting 164,000 veterans off of health care benefits.

He also said that Bush was about to let North Korea become a nuclear powerhouse pretty much because Bush doesn't want to deal with leader Kim Jong Il.

If it's true that Bush is cutting combat pay and cutting veterans off their benefits, these issues will resonate deeply with Americans. Americans want to support their troops and these slights against the military certainly aren't shows of support.

His newest supporters are his former critics in Vermont.

His critics-turned-supporters include Democrat Cheryl Rivers, who is a six-term state senator, Democratic Rep. Ann Seibert and Peter Freyne, a columnist for the Burlington alternative newspaper Seven Days.

They acknowledge that while they once disagreed with Dean, they like the "new" Dean and want to support him for the Democratic nomination.

Moreover, none of them want to see Bush reelected.

It's great that Dean is amassing a list of supporters that include his critics. Political experts have repeatedly said that the Democrats will be doomed if the party doesn't stop squabbling and focuses its efforts on a single candidate. This proves that in-party fighting can be stopped for the common good.

His growing list of supporters makes it difficult for the competition to catch his lead.

The union and politician endorsements, grassroots Internet campaign, anti-war stance and money-making ability all make Dean a tougher candidate to beat.

Moreover, his competitors' "strengths" are turning out to be their weaknesses.

For example, John Kerry wanted his campaign to be about courage, but his conflicted views on Iraq made that questionable. Joe Lieberman wanted to be the candidate with integrity, but he just looks like a know-it-all. Dick Gephardt, the candidate with the most experience, is finding that voters don't want a seasoned Washington veteran.

Dean's true test will be the initial Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. He is not expected to win the Iowa primary, but that probably won't matter. His stronghold on New Hampshire should give him enough momentum to win bigger primaries, like in New York.

As the frontrunner, it is expected that enemies will try and tarnish your reputation, and Dean's enemies are trying to dig dirt on him.

However, Dean's records as governor are locked away, part of a strategy to protect him from political attacks.

Last January, Dean put a 10-year seal on many of his official papers. He said he did this because of future political considerations.

One of his spokeswomen, Tricia Enright, said there is no "smoking gun" in those papers.

Although it is Dean's right to privacy, I think he should also remember that the public has a right to know about his past record. The media usually has a right to these records, and denying that right is selfish.

He feels his proposal would restore faith in scandal-ravaged U.S. corporations and would help protect workers.

His proposed targets include utilities, large media companies and businesses that offer stock options. Dean would also consider re-regulating the telecommunications industry.

This is just another aspect of the Dean plan to attack corporations and the rich. He wants to position himself as the Democratic candidate who will lessen the power and influence of U.S. corporations.

Dean's proposal may be just what voters want to hear, as they are tired of corporate scandals and money-hungry executives. Re-regulating various industries will place a check on power, something that a lot of corporations misuse.

The re-regulation plan drew sharp criticism from Dean's opponents, who feel that this would lead to another era of "big government."

Lieberman said that this policy would lead to a bigger tax burden on the middle class and a bigger bureaucracy. Clark said that Dean's policy would abandon the "proven economic strategy" of the Clinton administration.

Dean's opponents may have a point in their arguments, because limiting corporate power would increase government power. However, if he plans carefully, he could avoid such a problem. No one wants to see power transferred from one giant to another.

Dean needs this plan to catch wind if he wants to defeat Gephardt. This week, he and Gephardt are neck-and-neck in a new poll released by MSNBC.com.

His new ads, released this week, may help distance himself from Gephardt. But many Iowans think Dean is a condescending man from a high-class background.

Gephardt is the favorite in Iowa--barely--but his lack of charisma and personality may help Dean win.

As one of few Democrats who have supported the war in Iraq, Gephardt tried to make his case for continued involvement in Iraq, and he spoke passionately about the subject.

He told the crowds that we cannot withdraw our forces from Iraq, otherwise the terrorists will be able to invade and create chaos.

Currently, Gephardt is seven percentage points ahead of Dean in new polls released in Iowa. But this may not matter, as die-hard Democrats tend to disagree with Gephardt's position on Iraq. Also, the polls could fluctuate greatly between now and the Iowa caucus.

Dean could trump Gephardt with a new ad released in Iowa. The 30-second ad is the first of the presidential campaign to criticize an opponent by name on a hot topic.

In the ad, Dean questions Gephardt's position on the Iraq issue, and then he states that he is completely against the war and spending money in Iraq.

Overall, it appears that Dean and Clark would have the closest rivalry due to their general popularity. And while Dean definitely needs to watch out for Clark, he needs to keep an eye on Gephardt, too, since they're so close in several polls.

Besides the feud between Dean and Gephardt, there were some testy moments on Tuesday at a Democratic forum sponsored by the AARP, an organization that represents Americans older than 50.

The Democrats were unhappy that the group endorsed a Republican-backed Medicare prescription plan, which may negatively affect Medicare in the future.

Six of the nine candidates participated in the forum.

Each of the candidates voiced their opinion on the measure, which would create a new prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries beginning in 2006. It would also create a new role for insurers, encouraging them to offer a private health plan for the elderly.

The Democrats, however, want to provide prescription drug coverage to seniors but don't want Bush to have a legislative win so close to the election.

Unfortunately, they probably can't do much to stop the bill from being passed.

He's back in the headlines this week. He plans to launch a major media blitz in New Hampshire, where the country's second primary election will be held.

Since he's not campaigning in Iowa, where he isn't doing well in the polls, he wants to focus his attention and money on New Hampshire.

While his campaign may have taken a bit of a beating, he wants to prove to voters that he is capable of raising at least $12 million this quarter. Clark also wants to disquiet the notion that his campaign lost focus.

One of the major issues that Clark needs to address, I think, is his Republican tendencies. Many people are wary of him because he has admitted that he would've been a Republican if he hadn't been let go from his position with the Bush administration. People don't want to vote for a guy who isn't committed to his party.

Clark will interrupt his campaign, however, to testify in the December war crimes trial against former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.

As former commander of NATO, Clark led the 1999 campaign aimed at expelling Yugoslav forces who were involved in ethnic cleansing against ethnic Albanians.

While the war trial doesn't come at the best time for Clark, it probably won't affect his campaign significantly. It's simply a major engagement that he can't miss.

On a side note, the Iowa Democratic Party held its biggest fundraising dinner on Saturday, and the candidates showcased their differences.

Dean claimed he never imagined he'd be the frontrunner in the campaign. Apparently, he thought he'd be among the last in the polls. This just illustrates his desire to try to remain the underdog candidate.

John Edwards warned Democrats against becoming a party of anger. I think he's alluding to the fact that the party is coming undone and that none of the candidates can support each other.

Gephardt flaunted his support from the labor unions and had five of the labor union presidents with him.

Kerry fired his campaign manager and then lost two employees who left his campaign in protest. This is another sign that Kerry's campaign is deeply troubled.

From the first day, he's had two of everything. Two managers. Two cities that claim to be his headquarters. He's even had two positions on an issue. For instance, he gave a speech on gun control in Iowa and later went out to shoot pheasant.

Why would he do that? People don't want a hypocrite running for the presidency. We want someone we can look up to and admire, and with Kerry's campaign in shambles, it's hard to respect him.

In contrast to the crumbling of the Kerry campaign, Dean's campaign grew by leaps and bounds, as he won the endorsements of three labor unions. This did not come as a surprise to political watchers, who had predicted Dean would earn the major union endorsements all along.

He won the backing of the Service Employees International Union, with 1.6 million members, which represents nurses, janitors and security guards; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with 1.5 million members, which represent government workers; and the International Union of Painters and Allied Traders, with 140,000 members.

While Gephardt, who has always been an ally of organized labor, has the backing of 20 unions, this latest development was a sharp blow to his campaign. Gephardt needs all the support he can get and will take that support in any form he can.

On a final note, Clark and Lieberman announced they will both skip separate debates. Clark will miss a debate in New Hampshire next month and Lieberman will miss a debate in Iowa this month.

Clark announced he can't attend next month's New Hampshire debate due to a scheduling conflict, but Lieberman didn't say why he was skipping out on the Iowa debate. Presumably, it's because both he and Clark decided to bypass that state in their individual campaigns. Neither of them has a strong following in Iowa.

While I understand Lieberman's reasoning for missing the Iowa debate, I'm not sure if I can understand Clark. Yes, he has a scheduling conflict. But he also said that he plans to campaign heavily in New Hampshire beginning next week, but won't this announcement leave a bad taste in those voters' mouths? It's as though he doesn't even take that state seriously.

With a little more than two months to go until the Iowa caucus, Kerry announced that he has fired his campaign manager. This untimely decision was announced just as Dean announced that he was sidestepping public financing.

Kerry is third in the Iowa polls, behind Dean and Gephardt. His firing suggests that there is a lot of tension among his campaign staff, and the voters will notice this.

I doubt that firing his manager will help him move up at all in the polls. There is too little time left.

Barely a day after the campaign manager was fired, Kerry's press secretary and deputy finance director quit, adding to the turmoil.

They quit to protest the firing of the campaign manager.

With Kerry's campaign team virtually falling apart, he needs to boost the morale of the remaining team members. Otherwise, his campaign will be the lazy result of employees who just don't care if he wins or not.

On a brighter note, Kerry released a new ad campaign in which he reveals a personal side of himself.

The ad shows Kerry as a young Navy fighter in Vietnam and promoting his service on foreign policy committees. It only devotes one sentence to domestic issues.

This ad could prove to be beneficial to Kerry, who has been accused of being impersonal and having a muddled message.