Westi, both Bill and Hillary have said that they will be going to California to support Davis. The Democratic Presidential race is going to be on the back burner for the next two months. I think that works to Howard Dean's advantage. His supporters appear to be more highly motivated and will remained focused.
Gore, Clintons Steal Democrats' Thunder
Fri Aug 8, 8:38 AM ET
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
story.news.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON - What does a Democrat have to do these days to get a little attention?
They can declare their candidacy for president, pound their fists in defiance of President Bush (news - web sites) and travel across the country shaking hands. Still, they lack the prominence and headlines that those non-candidates named Clinton and Gore always grab.
Former President Clinton (news - web sites), New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites) and former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) have managed to dominate Democratic politics in a way the nine White House hopefuls can only imagine. And even when Hillary and Al say they are not running in 2004, no one seems to believe them.
"When it comes to commanding page one, either Clinton or Al Gore can do it with much less air miles than this group of nine," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. "These people cast shadows far larger than any of these candidates could even hope to have even if they were standing on each other's shoulders."
Consider this. Gore delivered a speech in New York Thursday criticizing Bush on everything from Iraq (news - web sites) to the economy, echoing the same complaints that the nine candidates have been delivering to varying degrees during the last few months. And yet the cable news stations cut away to a live broadcast of Gore's speech, something they've rarely done with the nine candidates.
Even the first Democratic presidential debate sponsored by ABC News was tape delayed at the discretion of the local affiliates, or next day C-Span coverage.
In the meantime, the pundits breathlessly speculate about what would happen if Gore entered the race, even though his aides insist that he will not. The publication of Hillary Clinton (news - web sites)'s book, "Living History," provided even longer and more intense coverage, and fierce speculation that she's going to run for president one day.
And one could imagine the frustration among the Democratic candidates, particularly those who have been sharply critical of Bush's justification for the U.S.-led war against Iraq, when former President Clinton punched holes in their complaints.
Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live," Clinton said Bush should be given a pass for saying that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium for nuclear weapons production. The White House had acknowledged that those reports were based in part on forged documents, prompting an outcry from the Democratic candidates that Clinton deflated.
"You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president," Clinton told King. "I mean, you can't make as many calls as you have to without messing up once in a while. The thing we ought to be focused on is what is the right thing to do now."
End of that argument for the Democratic candidates.
Still, they insist they don't feel overshadowed by Gore and the Clintons. Sen. John Kerry (news, bio, voting record) of Massachusetts said it's typical of every presidential campaign.
"I've never not seen a presidential race during which people are not speculating about people who are not in the field," he said during a visit to Littleton, N.H. "There are always people who think the grass is greener on the other side. Let them get in the race, let them come and campaign."
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said he was delighted to hear Gore making the case against Bush. His praise also was a concession about the former vice president's clout.
"Gore still has a stature that none of us has," Dean said in a telephone interview while campaigning through Iowa. "He's run for the president. At the time when we don't have a head of the Democratic Party, Al is the closest thing to that."
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EDITOR'S NOTE — Nedra Pickler covers presidential politics for The Associated Press.
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Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Littleton, N.H., contributed to this report. |
