Dean's Scene

Candidates explain their plans

2003-12-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

As the primaries draw nearer, the candidates are becoming more detailed in their individual plans for the nation.

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.

Can't get enough of Dean

2003-11-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

It seems as though every week, Howard Dean can add more names to the list of people and groups that support him.

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.

Dean wants to "re-regulate" business

2003-11-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, Howard Dean offered a plan to reverse decades of government deregulation and "re-regulate" U.S. business.

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.

Feuds galore

2003-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

Dick Gephardt tried to distance himself from Howard Dean in Iowa campaign stops on Sunday.

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.

Updates on Clark, Iowa rally

2003-11-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

We haven't heard much about Wesley Clark in the last few weeks, as compared to when he first entered the race. Back then, the media was buzzing with the news of the general's entry into the presidential race.

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.

Dean prevails, Kerry derails and the others bail

2003-11-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

It's been a weird week for our favorite Democratic candidates.

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.

Kerry's tough week

2003-11-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

John Kerry is not having a good week.

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.

Who needs public financing? Not Dean!

2003-11-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

Howard Dean's comments last week about the Confederate flag cost him in a new poll from MSNBC.com.

Initially, he refused to apologize for the remarks. This opened him up to criticism from his fellow competitors. He later backtracked and apologized, but he had already portrayed himself as someone who freezes when under attack. He wasted valuable time and energy trying to rebound from this issue.

In the big picture, the flag comments did not affect him seriously. Dean is confident enough in himself and his money-raising capabilities that he announced he will forgo public financing. This allows him to break free of the spending limits that are tied up with public financing, and he can now spend unlimited amounts of money on his campaign.

Candidates who accept public financing can accept up to $18.7 million in taxpayer money but are limited to $45 million in spending.

While this would be a risky move for other candidates, Dean has proven his fundraising abilities and this should be no problem for him. It could even be beneficial, as he'll be spending more money on his campaign than the other candidates will spend.

What's ironic about Dean's decision is that he polled his supporters on whether he should accept the spending limit.

Clearly, Dean knows he can raise more than enough money. However, he asked his supporters because he wants to remain like the little engine that could. He's the underdog who is obviously in the top spot.

In addition, engaging his supporters shows that Dean is truly interested in what they have to say. He knows that his Internet fan-base has played a major role in his campaign so far, so he needs to keep in touch with this same group of people.

Dean still leading but with a minor glitch

2003-11-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

It's not too surprising that Howard Dean still leads the pack of Democratic candidates. After all, his Internet-based grassroots campaign is really taking off and is what put him here in the first place.

But the former governor made a silly comment to a reporter last week and opened the door to more name-calling.

In an interview with a reporter for the Des Moines Register, Dean said he wanted to be the candidate "for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." He later said he meant he wants to appeal to the Southern voters who have abandoned the Democrats and aren't happy with the Republicans.

However, Gephardt and Kerry thought that he was trying to appeal to voters who disagree with key Democratic values such as civil rights.

I'm sure Dean wasn't trying to appeal to the Klan or white supremacists, but he sure backed himself into a corner with that statement. Next time, he should think before he speaks.

While that comment didn't put Dean in any favor among his fellow candidates, it didn't stop the Service Employees International Union from saying it will endorse him or no one.

The nation's largest labor union will vote this Thursday on whether it will endorse Dean. If he does win this backing, it would likely help him clinch the nomination.

It would also help him diversify his campaign, which so far has been aimed at young, white middle- and upper-class voters. The SEIU is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse unions.

This announcement by the SEIU prompted strategists for Edwards, Kerry and Gephardt to collaborate and attempt to block a Dean endorsement.

The strategists agreed that each campaign should call anyone who might stop the endorsement.

While it seems strange that some of the candidates are working together to stop another candidate, it has happened in the past.

I doubt it will do much good though, because the SEIU blatantly said that if it didn't endorse Dean, it wouldn't endorse anyone, and it still appears that Dean will win the backing of other groups.

A different view on the race

2003-11-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

On October 29, I interviewed Joe Jones, a University of Florida student and former head blogger for the Bob Graham presidential campaign.

In our e-mail interview, he discussed why Graham left the race, and he also shared his thoughts on the current status of the race.

As head blogger and as head of Gators for Graham, Jones provided valuable insight to the Democratic race.

Following is the transcript of the interview.

Q: Sen. Graham was the first candidate to leave the race. Why?

A: The Democratic field was too crowded, his competitors were making too much money, the media was being adversarial, and the campaign was cutting into his Senate duties.

Bob was running a "traditional" campaign of the style that's been employed for much of this century, but Dean and Clark one-upped the traditional style with their grassroots-based campaigns, and it became apparent that Graham was not going to pull ahead of the new populist juggernauts.

I personally believe that after his surgery this year, he wasn't in the right mood to run: he also had a new campaign manager, as his old manager passed away a couple of years ago, and the new manager was running a different campaign than what Bob was used to. So there were a lot of problems.

Q: Does Graham have any intention of running for president again? When?

A: I don't know; you'd have to ask him. I suspect that at this stage in his life, it's probably unlikely: another Democrat, either the new president or Hillary Clinton, is likely to be the top contender in 2008. But it's anyone's guess.

Q: Many experts believe there are too many Democratic candidates competing and that the party is too split up to beat Bush. How do you feel?

A: No way. Just about every Democrat is willing to vote for anyone in the field over Bush. As soon as there's a nomination, the factions within the party will begin to die down.

The far left of the party, mostly the Kucinich supporters, may vote Green if someone like Joe Lieberman is elected, but I suspect that the 2000 debacle will discourage many of them from doing so. Very few Dems want to see four more years of GW.

Q: What are your thoughts on Wesley Clark running for the Democratic nomination?

A: He presents himself in a nice package, but I personally don't think he's a good candidate.

I'm especially troubled by the fact that he's suddenly changed most of his political views just to run for president. A couple of years ago, he was a conservative Republican: now, he officially follows the Democratic party line, and he often doesn't seem to know it. I worry that he might turn out to be as bad as Bush if he's elected.

Q: Who do you feel has the best chance at winning the party's nomination? Why?

A: Howard Dean has the best organization, and his campaign has been the most willing to go out on a limb and be different. Like Bill Clinton, he's been able to toe the line while contrasting himself with the Republican opposition and keeping up a populist image. I would put my money on him.

Clark may beat Dean by a razor-thin margin, but I don't think he's going to. The other candidates, especially Gephardt and Lieberman, really lack the charisma to win votes from the center.

Q: How do you feel the candidates have been performing in the debates?

A: Poorly, but still much better than their Republican competition would be doing. I don't think that debates will decide this election at all, simply because there are many issues dividing the electorate. In 2000, the parties were presenting fairly similar platforms in the eyes of the average voter, but now the battle is going to be ideological.

Q: What are your thoughts on Lieberman and Clark skipping the Iowa primary?

A: It's not a bad idea, but it's not a good idea, either. The early primaries are vital for momentum, and momentum is the name of the game in campaigning. Many voters, for whatever reason, are going to want to jump on the bandwagon of the candidate who's leading the polls in the beginning.

Q: Who do you feel are the overlooked or "underdog" candidates? Why?

A: All of the overlooked candidates nowadays are overlooked for a reason. Kucinich, Sharpton, and Braun are only in the race to make their respective points.

Kerry, Lieberman, and Gephardt are suffering from the same organizational problems that plagued Graham: their campaigns can't catch up with the new standard being set by Dean and Clark.

John Edwards might pull ahead if his campaign can get organized, but I doubt that his campaign will get organized.

The party needs to have a candidate who can compete with Bush's phenomenal money-making ability, and so far, Clark and Dean seem to be the only ones who fill the bill.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2003-10-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

As the primaries draw closer, the candidates are buzzing with ideas on how they can change the economy and/or the Democratic party.

The candidates, eager to distinguish themselves, propose different ways to change the tax cuts enacted by Bush.

Dean wants to end all of Bush's $2 trillion tax cuts, while Lieberman wants to keep the middle-class cuts.

Gephardt wants to use the money generated by Bush's cuts to finance his own tax cut, one that would give employers a break for providing health insurance. Similar to Lieberman, Kerry wants to keep the middle-class cuts.

Clark would repeal tax cuts for the wealthy. Although he didn't reveal much about his plan, people making more than $200,000 would have to pay more taxes than they would under Bush.

Unfortunately, voters won't really know which plan is best unless one of these candidates actually make it to the Oval Office. Of all the plans, I prefer the more moderate proposals by Lieberman and Kerry, which I think would be most probable to enact. Gephardt's plan seems well-intentioned, but is it really possible?

In other news, campaign experts acknowledge that Dean may possibly re-mold the Democratic party if he wins.

One view says that based on his fundraising success, he could be the only candidate to compete with Republicans in terms of raising money.

The other view says that his nomination could lead to a repeat of Democratic defeats suffered by George McGovern, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis.

The amount of money Dean has raised does not directly translate into party success. He might have less support than other candidates but he could raise more money, which makes voters think he's doing really well. But his platform has to be meaningful to enough voters to win him the presidency.

Forget Iowa!

2003-10-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

Joe Lieberman and Wesley Clark have decided not to campaign in Iowa and instead will gamble on winning the nomination through the later primaries.

They decided not to spend their resources and money in a state they probably can't win, which will allow them to focus more on later contests.

It had already been speculated that Clark wouldn't focus on the Iowa contest, partly because he joined the race so late. He hasn't been able to spread his message as clearly as Dean or Gephardt, both of whom are the frontrunners in Iowa.

Lieberman will spread his more conservative message to western and southern states, and that strategy could win him more votes than if he had stayed in liberal Iowa.

However, both men are taking a significant risk in missing the Iowa caucus, typically one of the biggest contests.

By skipping Iowa, they'll miss out on the December-January publicity that precedes the primaries.

Additionally, Dean has a better shot at winning the nomination with less contestants to challenge him in Iowa.

Spokespersons for Lieberman and Clark believe that whoever wins the Iowa or New Hampshire caucuses won't have enough momentum to carry through to Super Tuesday and the remaining contests.

By taking emphasis away from Iowa and because many polls show there's no real leader among the candidates, winning the nomination could rest on the Florida primary, which isn't even held until March 9.

The Florida primary will be important, because there will either be only two candidates left among this vast field, or there will be a straw poll at the state's party convention in December.

In addition, Clark and Lieberman will have to win some low-profile elections since they're bypassing Iowa, and Dean is already campaigning heavily in Florida.

If Dean wins the straw poll, he'll have huge momentum going into Iowa and New Hampshire, and that will pretty much undercut anyone else's ability to win a southern advantage.

Dean's finances and lessons from California

2003-10-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

Howard Dean keeps his lead among the candidates this week, and he owes part of this to his amazing fundraising success.

He broke the Democratic fundraising record this week, bringing in more than $14.8 million in three months and more than tripling the best fundraising efforts by his rivals.

While this is a significant sum of money, it apparently doesn't beat what Bush has raised, as he brought in $49.5 million in July, August and September.

Dean's amazing financial successes partly stem from his Internet campaign, which is boosting his grassroots support. Donors have given him an average of $73.69 in the last three months.

In other news, Democrats are analyzing the recall results in California and what it could mean for the 2004 race.

Dean, for one, believes that the voters' message was that they are tired with what is happening and they directed their anger at their incumbent governor. He thinks this will translate into the country directing their collective anger at the incumbent president next year.

Clark, on the other hand, believes that voters are "tired of politics as usual" and want a real leader.

In a sense, he must think that voters wanted Arnold because he's a "real leader," and that's scary.

Differing Strategies

2003-10-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

With the Democratic race still wide open, the candidates are (finally) beginning to focus and fine-tune their platforms and issues.

Joe Lieberman, who at one time was considered the best bet for the Democrats, hopes to revitalize his campaign by calling for a restructuring of the income tax code. This plan would raise rates for the rich and cut them for the middle class.

He's taking this message on the road this week and promoting himself as a candidate with integrity.

While this plan may appeal to many middle-class Democrats, he does not have the support of the liberal sect due to his moderate views and support of the Iraq war.

While Lieberman will focus his campaign on the south, Clark, who entered the race too late to win supporters in Iowa and New Hampshire, will take a more national approach to his campaign.

He is portraying himself as the one candidate who can beat Bush--and he may be right. In the past, he supported Republican presidents, including Bush, and headlined a GOP fundraiser, all of which appeal to Republicans.

However, he is also not winning fans among liberal Democrats, who still are suspicious about his sudden conversion to the Democratic race.

Meantime, John Kerry is simply trying to focus his campaign, period.

He has been criticized for having a huge campaign staff, which is based in Boston and Washington. According to critics, the size of this staff has caused his campaign to lack focus, speed and discipline.

The Boston staff and Washington staff have clashed several times because of their differing beliefs. These beliefs may be the reason why Kerry has difficulty explaining why he thinks he can beat Bush.

Round Four

2003-10-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Democrats held their fourth debate on Thursday night, and in one of the cattiest debates so far, they took turns bashing Bush's policy in Iraq and Clark's turn as a "converted Republican."

The candidates mainly picked on Clark for supporting the Iraq war, which Clark now criticizes. Additionally, they claimed that Clark has supported Bush in the past and even praised him at a Republican fund-raiser last year.

They saved some criticism for Bush, especially for his inability to garner support from other countries for the Iraq war.

Despite the nitpicking, there really was no star of the debate. Not one candidate stood out from among the others.

It seemed the only tactic was to pick on Clark and Dean, both of whom are the frontrunners. The other candidates smartly realize that the only way they stand a chance is to expose both Clark's and Dean's weaknesses and focus on winning certain states in the primaries.

A stroke of misfortune

2003-10-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

Wesley Clark is having a bad week.

Campaign finance experts stated that he may have violated federal election laws when he spoke about his campaign at paid appearances.

After he entered the race mid-September, he spoke about his campaign at several college campuses. Federal election laws prohibit candidates from receiving money from corporations, labor unions, individuals or universities for campaign-related events. Paid political appearances are like giving money to a candidate.

My theory on this slip-up is that Clark, with his lack of political experience, either forgot or didn't know about this very important election law.

However, someone from his campaign team surely could have reminded him.

That being said, Clark's campaign team is also in trouble, as his manager quit on Tuesday. Donnie Fowler told associates he was bothered that Clark's Internet supporters were not taken seriously by top campaign advisers.

Fowler also said that he didn't like the direction the campaign was taking, in that it's focusing more on Washington and less on key states and the Internet.

It surely cannot be a good sign when one's campaign manager quits less than one month into the race.

There's more affecting Clark than just illegally paid appearances and a campaign manager who quit.

When he entered the race in September, he was the frontrunner for the first week or so. But since then, his numbers have declined rapidly, and Dean is once again the main candidate.

In addition, he's been harshly criticized for not being a true-blue Democrat. This is a man who has voted for two Republican presidents, praised both Bush administrations and wasn't even a registered Democrat in Arkansas.

Many Democrats thought there was something strange about a military man running as a Democrat. Maybe this was Clark's way of having the last laugh with Bush, who had relieved him from his post as commander of NATO.

Graham's out, Dean's criticized and Gephardt sneaks in

2003-10-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Bob Graham officially dropped out of the Democratic race for the presidential nomination on Monday.

He appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" to make the announcement.

Not surprisingly, he said he was not ready to endorse another candidate at this time. It's too bad he can't stand behind another candidate, but seeing as how the Democratic party is in such chaos right now and there's so many candidates fighting one another, it isn't completely shocking.

Meanwhile, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) criticized Dean for keeping "friendly relations" with the NRA. Kennedy, who's trying to garner support to renew the ban on assault weapons, basically said that Dean, who is a physician, is a hypocrite for opposing stronger gun controls.

Dean has said that gun controls should be set at state levels.

On a final note, in a new MSNBC poll, Gephardt is second in the race behind Dean.

He gave a lively speech to the Democratic National Committee over the weekend and again assailed Dean for supporting a cut to Medicare in 1995.

The Medicare insult is Gephardt's newest tactic in attacking Dean, and many insiders believe he will use this assault in an ad campaign in Iowa.

Let the dropouts begin!

2003-10-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

From the very beginning of Election 2004, the Democratic race has been packed with far too many candidates for one seat. Ten people vying for the nomination is almost absurd, especially considering that more than half of these candidates barely make a blip on the radar and aren't considered "real" threats by the frontrunners.

Political analysts have been calling for the lackluster performers to drop out and support the top candidates, which would lessen the number of unnecessary contenders in this race and lessen the amount of dissent within the party. This is the only way, it is believed, that the Democrats stand a chance at beating Bush in the election.

Well, it's about time that some of these candidates realize their days are numbered, and Bob Graham looks like he'll be the first to exit. After raising a disappointing $5 million in this past fundraising quarter, he is rethinking his strategy in the race.

While this may mean changing tactics or dropping out altogether, his campaign is certainly in trouble, especially with much of his senior staff members leaving his campaign.

Graham certainly won't be the only candidate to quit the race, as each of them has his or her own unique reasons for possibly exiting.

Nasty little boys

2003-09-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Another week has passed in the Democratic race, which means that the candidates have had more opportunities to say nasty things about each other. Honestly, I think all the name-calling and accusations are so silly, especially when one candidate complains how the others are "fickle" or flip-flop too much on issues.

Don't they all flip-flop and change their minds on a daily basis?

This week has been no different from the past weeks. In the New York debate, the candidates shied from slinging mud at Clark, but they didn't hesitate in attacking Dean. Gephardt and Kerry both likened Dean to Newt Gingrich, who is an enemy of the Democrats.

Additionally, Kerry criticized Dean for wanting to repeal Bush's tax cuts to pay for healthcare expansion. Kerry believes it's not possible to repeal all tax cuts.

Gephardt reiterated his Gingrich comparison on the Sunday talk shows and said Dean had once sided with Gingrich to advocate billions of dollars of cuts from Medicare.

It amuses me how Gephardt constantly repeats insults. He's already showing signs of using this Gingrich comparison in the same manner as his "miserable failure" insult. At least it's one issue he doesn't flip-flop on.

Dean has also been criticzing the competition, especially Clark, who at one point was rumored to be Dean's potential running mate if he won the nomination. This week, Dean said that Clark was a converted Republican who has praised the likes of Donald Rumsfeld.

This may be true about Clark, but it's no different from the rest of the candidates, who have almost all flip-flopped at one point or another. However, Dean could also just be especially defensive, since he's the primary target of attacks from the other candidates.

Grassroots, accusations and donkeys

2003-09-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Over the past several months, political analysts have been surprised at how quickly Dean's campaign has been picking up momentum. When the race began, he was the least-known among the candidates. But he turned that around quickly, and he's currently the frontrunner.

He can attribute this sudden surge in popularity to his grassroots campaign, which is aimed at average people and works from the bottom up. This gives his supporters an empowered feeling, a sense that they're part of something and are working toward a common goal.

Dean's name as also been spread by word-of-mouth, which is how I first heard of him. People tend to talk about him in correspondence with friends and family, and they tell their friends and family, and the cycle continues.

In other Democrat news, both Dean and Kerry called on Donald Rumsfeld to quit, saying he wrongly and arrogantly invaded Iraq. Kerry made the statement first, and Dean later agreed. To me, it's ridiculous because it makes Dean seem like he said that only because Kerry did. It's just very immature and silly.

Finally, on a very unrelated note, the Democrats have started another campaign. The Donkeys Rock Tour will stop at various colleges and universities throughout Florida to sign up new, young Democrats.

They want to re-energize the party and bring fresh faces into the mix. According to the Web site, they want voters to remember that "donkeys rock for better jobs, better education and better healthcare." Although the name of the tour is slightly dorky, I think this is a good way to educate young voters and get them involved, because it seems like most young voters never know what's going on with politics, or they just don't care.

The real Clark

2003-09-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Since announcing his intent to run for the presidency on Wednesday, Gen. Wesley Clark has been causing a lot of noise in the media. Mostly, people want to know who this man of mystery is.

In the past few days, the media has portrayed Clark as a relentless man, one who never gives up until he's sure he's driven his point home.

This relentlessness, however, has made him quite unpopular amongst his military peers and may have caused him to be fired from his old post as NATO commander.

His vast experience as a military strategist is apparent in analyzing his entry into the race. A man with no political experience, he schmoozed with the Washington crowd for the last 18 months and learned the tactics necessary in assembling a campaign team. His eventual entry into the race came as a last-minute surprise, considering his peers have been campaigning for weeks, and at one time, Dean mentioned Clark could be his running mate.

Clark disagrees with the way Bush has handled his campaign against terrorism and the war on Iraq--which is unusual, considering he's a military man. He says that the U.S. flexed its mighty military muscle too much and instead should've taken a more diplomatic route, such as going through the U.N. and setting up a tribunal to prosecute international terrorism.

He must be pleased with his fast start, as he is the current Democratic frontrunner in a new Newsweek poll, winning support from 14% of registered Democrats.

Clark's in!

2003-09-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

It's official. On Wednesday, Gen. Wesley Clark announced he would seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Ending weeks of speculation, Clark announced his candidacy in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Clark sets himself apart from the other candidates as a Democrat with extensive military experience (he served as commander of NATO and headed the bombing campaign of Kosovo), which is extremely unusual in that party.

Shortly after making this announcement, Clark was already creating controversy when it was believed he would not participate in the latest presidential debate. However, his campaign quickly announced he will participate in the debate after all.

Clark's entry into this already crowded race could impact the other Democrats' campaigns, but to varying degrees.

Like the other Democrats, Clark is against the war. His campaign could hurt Dean and Kerry the most, as he has another grass-roots-based candidacy (like Dean) and has experience in combat (like Kerry, who has been saying he is the only candidate to serve in combat).

Clark is least likely to affect Gephardt's campaign, because he's aiming mostly toward the working-class and the unions.

The most interesting thing about Clark is the fact he has never served in a political office, which may or may not help him. Typically, people trust politicians more when they don't have strong ties to Washington. On the other hand, his complete unfamiliarity with the political process could prove to be his eventual downfall.

Where are the unions?

2003-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you've noticed that the major unions (such as the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union) have yet to back one of the candidates. Why can't they get their act together? Mainly, they haven't decided if they should support Dean, as everyone else seems to, or if they should wait to see if Gen. Clark enters the campaign. For Dean, winning one of those unions would be a major blessing, as he hasn't been endorsed by any of the big unions. Although labor's power has been weakened significantly by the conservative majority, it's still a powerhouse in Democratic world, which is why it's a huge deal that the big unions haven't agreed on a Democrat yet. I feel like if Dean could set his ideas straight and stop wish-washing on everything, the unions would've long ago thrown their support to him. He's had to back down from his support on free trade, which labor doesn't support.

On another note, a recent poll in Iowa shows that Dean and Gephardt are neck-and-neck for first place. This isn't so impressive, however, considering more than a third of those surveyed still don't know who they support. The poll accurately illustrates the momentum in this race, because although Dean has been the favorite for quite a while, Gephardt's campaign has been gaining slow and steady momentum. Maybe his continuous assault on Dean is helping to weaken his foe's campaign. He has criticized Dean on everything from where he stands on Medicare (Dean wants managed care) to where he stands on the situation in Iraq (Dean has wish-washed on this one, most recently saying he wants the troops to come home). The other candidates have taken swings at Dean, as well.

No wonder the Democratic party is in such chaos! No one can support each other and they're starting to take all these low blows. If only they could quit their fighting and agree to support a candidate or two who might actually beat Bush, the party could return to it's "days of glory" from the Clinton era.

The drama continues

2003-09-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Does it ever feel like politicians are really just a bunch of little kids that argue too much?

I think so.

They proved that point this week as the Democratic race continues to gain momentum. The candidates spoke candidly in last week's debate in Baltimore, where the hot topic was the current situation in Iraq. Joe Lieberman and Howard Dean provided the main entertainment, as Lieberman accused Dean of being unsupportive of the U.S. alliance with Israel. Dean rejected that claim, stating his position on Israel is the exact same as Bill Clinton's. He showed a moment of true brilliance when he stated, "It doesn’t help, Joe, to demagogue this issue. We’re all Democrats. We need to beat George Bush so we can have peace in the Middle East." What a thought! Have the Democrats unite in order to beat Bush! Amazing.

As if the race wasn't packed with enough candidates, retired Gen. Wesley Clark continues to be secretive about a possible run for the presidency. He has struck a chord with many Democrats who feel his military credentials, which are somewhat unusual for a Democrat, would be a major asset in a campaign that will likely revolve around Iraq and the country's security issues.

It has also been noted that Dean may have asked Clark to be his running mate if Clark doesn't join the race himself. While the one-two punch of a potential Dean/Clark ticket could let Dean win the nomination, it could also prove to be a mistake, as neither man has much experience in national campaigns. However, both men have a solid core of followers, especially on the internet, so anything is possible.

The wonderful world of politics

2003-09-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

The 2000 presidential election was the first election I was old enough to vote in. Prior to that, I didn't pay much attention to politics or elections. I just didn't care. But the 2000 election opened my eyes, as it did to many other Americans. This was the first time so many of us realized that one vote can make an impact.
As Americans, we have the right to vote--a right that too many people take for granted. After the 2000 election, I realized I never wanted to be a misinformed, ignorant voter--or worse yet, one who doesn't care.
This blog will help others keep abreast of the 2004 Democratic presidential candidates and their efforts to earn the party's nomination. Occasionally, I'll focus on Bush and what he's doing to be re-elected, but I feel the Democratic race is more important right now, as that nominee won't be known for several months.
The candidates' campaigns are heating up, but they also are starting to waver more on issues they've already made statements about. In last week's debate in New Mexico, Howard Dean (one of the party's more popular candidates) slipped a bit when he announced that if more troops are needed in Iraq, they should be foreign troops, and ours should be brought home. Ironically, Dean is already on the record as wanting more money and American troops. Hmm...
Richard Gephardt, on the other hand, is making more promises than he could ever possibly deliver to voters. His big--and costly--ideas include a reformed healthcare system, doubling the budget for homeland security and creating a new energy program. These are among many other expensive ideas. Perhaps he forgot that the nation's deficit is approaching $500 billion. He claims that all these new programs would be paid for by reversing Bush's tax cuts. But is that possible?
More to follow soon...