Dean: Lack of found weapons will haunt rivals
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
Register Staff Writer
04/27/2003
Fairfield, Ia. - Presidential candidate Howard Dean said Saturday that his Democratic rivals who backed a resolution giving President Bush war-making power will lose credibility if the postwar cleanup in Iraq fails to uncover weapons of mass destruction.
"If they don't find them, I think this administration's credibility will be - not to mention the people running against me - will be pretty severely undermined," the former Vermont governor said on the second day of a three-day swing through the state. Iowa will kick off the 2004 race for the White House.
Dean, who opposed the war, also said he will retain the support of anti-war Democrats who rallied to his campaign, despite the swift U.S. victory. Bush said Thursday that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's government might have destroyed banned chemical and biological weapons during the war. The primary justification for the invasion of Iraq was the possibility that the Iraqi regime had those weapons.
"I'm going to give them some more time to find the weapons," Dean said. "They (the administration) sure did claim they had them before."
Of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls, U.S. Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, and U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, all voted for the war resolution last fall. Dean has said he would have opposed it.
Dean has attracted attention among anti-war Democrats in Iowa, but supporters who came to hear him Saturday said their support extends beyond any single issue. Whether Dean can broaden his support will be key to his Iowa caucus bid.
Terry Ann Haubenhofer, 60, of Fairfield said Dean's background as a physician and his work on health care in Vermont drew her to his campaign prior to the war. His stance against the war helped solidify her support, she said.
"So many of the other candidates just folded on the war. I think Dean stood up and will stand up on other issues, too," said Haubenhofer, an administrator of her family's railroad supply company.
None of the 50 people who attended a Fairfield gathering brought up the war. Neither did any of the roughly 40 people who met Dean for breakfast in Tipton.
Stefani Karakas of Iowa City decided Saturday after meeting Dean that she will support him, despite their differences on gun control.
She quizzed him on that issue over coffee at the Bliss Bed and Breakfast in Tipton.
Karakas favors gun control, but Dean says the issue, with certain exceptions, is better addressed at the state level and shouldn't be heavily regulated by the federal government.
"He said he supports basic restrictions, and I prefer much stricter rules. But he didn't give me a lot of double-talk either," said Karakas, a 48-year-old medical photographer at University Hospitals in Iowa City.
Dean said that as hostilities subside in Iraq, he is confident he will retain support from anti-war Democrats, although most party leaders agree the war went smoothly with a relatively low number of U.S. casualties.
"People still want to hear about foreign policy very much. A lot of Democrats still resent the war," Dean said. "One of the things I discovered on this trip is the support I got because of my position on the war is not going to go away."
Michelle Kenyon of Cedar Bluff, a 27-year-old advocate for the Iowa Citizens Action Network, said her first impression of Dean was favorable, but she's not ready to commit.
"I liked what I heard. But I like a lot of what I hear from politicians, because they know what they need to say," she said.
Who's next
While one Democratic presidential candidate's Iowa campaign schedule ends today, another's will begin Monday.
DEAN: Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean concludes a three-day trip through eastern Iowa today with stops in Decorah, New Hampton and Charles City.
GRAHAM: U.S. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida is scheduled to make his first campaign visit to Iowa this week. He is expected to arrive Monday in Des Moines, where he will meet privately with state Democratic Party officials. He is expected to meet with Gov. Tom Vilsack and Democrats in the Legislature at the Capitol on Tuesday before leaving Iowa on Wednesday.
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