What doesn't kill Dean makes him stronger. This AP reporter is their "go to" Political guy.
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Dean Campaign Strengthens Amid Firestorm
By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- In the most tumultuous week of the presidential campaign, Democrat Howard Dean hardened his hold on the front-runner's spot, even as a firestorm over the Confederate flag raised questions about his temperament and judgment.
Crisscrossing this early primary state, Dean's rivals tested new strategies for driving a wedge between the former Vermont governor and key party constituencies, including gun control advocates, blacks and the elderly.
But their work was overshadowed by stunning news: Dean won backing from the largest AFL-CIO affiliate, the 1.6 million-member Service Employees International Union, and secretly lined up support from another.
The 1.5-million member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is set to endorse Dean jointly with the SEIU next week, said several senior Democrats involved in the unions' dealings. The development was a severe blow to Rep. Dick Gephardt, whose candidacy relies on union support, and left senior officials in other campaigns wondering how Dean can be stopped.
In addition, Dean decided this week that he can afford to reject taxpayer financing for his campaign and the spending limits that go with it. Dean, who is collecting contributions at a record pace, has asked 600,000 supporters to decide by Saturday whether he should follow his heart and opt out of the public finance system.
There is a silver lining for Dean's rivals. Campaign aides say the week's events are likely to hasten efforts by the party elite to rally behind an alternative to Dean.
And it's a wide-open race for the anybody-but-Dean slot: Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, Sen. John Edwards, Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Joe Lieberman and Gephardt are all staking a claim.
Dean gave them reason for hope when he said last week that he wanted to be the favored candidate of Southern whites who drive pickup trucks with Confederate flags.
Under pressure from friends and foes alike, Dean belatedly apologized Wednesday for the remark. He called rival Al Sharpton, a black activist from New York, to express regret. And he publicly agreed that Edwards, a North Carolina senator, was right to protest the remark in a debate Tuesday night.
Dean's rivals said the flap underscored personality traits that could haunt the front-runner, starting with his penchant for popping off - then his stubborn refusal to apologize.
Dean himself acknowledged the flaw. "You know how I am," he told reporters, "If somebody comes at me, my tendency is to go right back at them and worry about it later."
Some Democratic voters said the confrontation might help Edwards break from the back of the pack. "There has been a lot of talk about Senator Edwards since the debate," New Hampshire Democratic Party chairwoman Kathleen Sullivan said Friday.
Kerry gave Dean a pass in the debate, but held a news conference Thursday to point out that Dean mentioned the Confederate flag in defense of his policies on guns. Dean regularly argues that his record as Vermont's governor - endorsed by the National Rifle Association - will help him court Southern white males who oppose gun control.
Kerry accused him of flip-flopping on gun issues and "falling in line with the most extreme elements of the NRA." He called Dean "a political personality and belief system still in the making."
Dean said front-runners are easy targets, and he won't respond to every attack. "I'm not going to get down in the mud with Senator Kerry," he said Friday.
Lieberman hopes to use the controversy to peel independents from Dean. In his new TV ads, the Connecticut senator casts himself as a straight-talking politician who takes tough stands, an image that helped Sen. John McCain of Arizona defeat George W. Bush here in the 2000 GOP primaries.
Clark is relying on his four-star military record to sway voters who want a tough-on-terrorism alternative to Bush. He also has exhibited handshake-to-handshake campaign skills mastered by a fellow Arkansan, former President Clinton.
When Lillye Ramos-Spooner approached Clark in a hotel hallway to ask about the safety of her son, a sniper stationed in Iraq, Clark cradled her right hand between both of his. Rubbing her hands, he said softly, "You don't have anything to worry about. But I'd say my prayers if I were you, and I'll pray, too."
She walked away shaking her head "Just like Clinton, he made me think I was the only person in the room," Ramos-Spooner said.
Sullivan said the week's tumult surely shook up the race. Trouble is, she doesn't know exactly how it will shake out.
"Here in the eye of the storm, it's hard to predict what next week will bring," she said.
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