Rivals Assail Dean on Hussein Remark
Front-Runner Says Ex-Iraqi Leader's Capture Will Not Make U.S. Safer
By Dan Balz and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 17, 2003; Page A07
Former Vermont governor Howard Dean planned to use his foreign policy address Monday to reassure Democrats that he has the judgment and experience to serve as president in a time of terrorism. His rivals for the Democratic nomination, in increasingly tough language yesterday, said it proved just the opposite.
Dean held his ground while campaigning in Arizona, saying again that the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein did not make "America safer." But in rapid succession, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) assailed Dean as wrongheaded, inconsistent and exhibiting dubious judgment on one of the campaign's paramount issues.
Their criticisms reflected not only the effort to disrupt Dean's march toward the Democratic nomination but also the increasingly competitive jockeying among the other candidates to emerge as the clear alternative once the field begins to winnow after the first round of votes next month.
The competition to become the "non-Dean" Democrat in the field took on greater urgency after Dean won former vice president Al Gore's endorsement and as he has solidified his strong lead in New Hampshire and threatened to open a clear lead in Iowa as well. Iowa's Jan. 19 precinct caucuses mark the nomination calendar's first major event, with New Hampshire's Jan. 27 primary being the second. Seven states vote Feb. 3, but Democratic strategists expect the Iowa and New Hampshire results to shape the races in the states that follow.
Kerry accused Dean of a "Simon Says" foreign policy that would tie the United States' hands by giving the United Nations veto power over the use of U.S. military force. "Perhaps it reflects inexperience, but for Howard Dean to permit a veto over when America can or cannot act not only becomes little more than a pretext for doing nothing, it cedes our security and presidential responsibility to defend America to someone else -- a profound danger for both our national security and global stability," Kerry said in the prepared text of remarks delivered in Iowa.
In New Hampshire, Lieberman labeled Dean "Dr. No" for his opposition to the war that led to Hussein's capture on Saturday and for many of his domestic positions, as well. "Governor Dean has made a series of dubious judgments and irresponsible statements in this campaign that together signal he would in fact take us back to the days when we Democrats were not trusted to defend America's security," Lieberman said.
Gephardt held a conference call to add his voice to the chorus of Dean critics. He said Dean's comment that Hussein's capture did not make the country safer was wrong and "disingenuous," adding, "To say that he [Hussein] doesn't present an ongoing threat by being able to pass help to terrorists is just wrongheaded, just further evidence of the difficulty Howard would face in any contest with George Bush."
Dean's rivals cited past statements to argue that Dean has been, as Kerry put it, "all over the lot" on Iraq. Gephardt told reporters, "Governor Dean can do all the repositioning he wants, but the fundamental truth is that he made many contradictory statements about the war in Iraq and the aftermath. He has consistently exploited foreign policy for his political agenda, and his positions don't demonstrate a person grounded in serious foreign policy experience and expertise."
Campaigning in Arizona and New Mexico yesterday, Dean made his declaration that the capture did not make "America safer" part of his stump speech. In Sun City, Ariz., he told a group of seniors: "I hope very much this will begin to diminish attacks on our troops, but I do not think it will make America's homeland safer." In Sun City and later in Yuma, Dean questioned President Bush's understanding of what it will take to secure the nation and reduce the threat of terrorism.
Joe Trippi, Dean's campaign manager, said that with the exception of Lieberman, the other candidates had been inconsistent in their attacks on Dean's war position. "I think people have figured that out, and that is why I don't think it has affected us," he said. "I don't think it's lost on anybody that if Saddam hadn't been caught over the weekend, many of [the candidates] would be in their antiwar stance and trying to score votes that way. We've been consistent."
Lieberman said yesterday he presents the clearest alternative to Dean, both on national security and domestic issues. Kerry and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark have brandished their own national security credentials to try to attract voters who worry that Dean's résumé will prove to be a liability in a general election.
Gephardt and Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) have jumped into the foreign policy debate with Dean this week, but both are campaigning more on domestic issues. Gephardt's campaign manager, Steve Murphy, said his candidate is not pursuing "an attack Dean strategy" and said the former House Democratic leader's strategy to emerge as Dean's main challenger is to win in Iowa next month.
As his rivals stepped up their attacks, Dean continued to attract more support among elected Democrats. He picked up endorsements yesterday from former interior secretary Bruce Babbitt and his wife, Hattie Babbitt, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. A Democratic source confirmed that New Jersey Gov. James C. McGreevey plans to endorse Dean on Friday.
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