nytimes.com
A senior aide to Dr. Dean, Kate O'Connor, said that he called Mr. McAuliffe in the morning to discuss his comments and that they spoke for about five minutes. Ms. O'Connor would not say whether Dr. Dean had apologized to the chairman.
"I can't talk about what they talked about," she said, "but I can say it was very friendly. Believe it or not, they touch base fairly often."
The call to Mr. McAuliffe came less than two weeks after Dr. Dean, a former Vermont governor, called former President Bill Clinton to clear the air a day after seeming to repudiate Mr. Clinton's statement that the "era of big government is over."
Dr. Dean's critics were undeterred on Monday.
In a conference call with reporters, Mr. Lieberman said that he was stunned that Dr. Dean wanted Mr. McAuliffe to "protect him from criticisms from other Democratic candidates" and that he had threatened "to take his supporters and go home if he doesn't get the nomination."
"What does Howard do now that he is being substantively challenged about his policies and his judgments and various misstatements and retractions?" Mr. Lieberman asked. "He goes to the Democratic Party leadership and complains we're being mean to him."
Mr. Gephardt pointed out that Dr. Dean himself had frequently criticized the eight other candidates.
"He said that we weren't real Democrats, that none of us accomplished anything while we were in the Congress. I didn't scream and yell and say Terry McAuliffe has to save me from these discussions. That's what you do in elections," he said.
Mr. Sharpton focused on Dr. Dean's comments about his supporters. "To threaten to withdraw support unless you are the one nominated six months prior to the convention is arrogant and divisive and frankly is one of the reasons so many are questioning Dean's ability to unite the party should he win the nomination," he said.
Mr. Kerry echoed those remarks.
"Listening to Howard Dean's comments yesterday makes me wonder if he's worried about our party's chances for victory or his own personal political future," the senator said. "No one who really cares about the future of the Democratic Party would make such a divisive and threatening statement."
An official of the Democratic National Committee who spoke on condition of anonymity, sought to place the issue in perspective, noting that the party chairman did not act to halt such attacks 12 years ago. "The '92 election was bloody — Ron Brown didn't step in," the official said. "Clinton got beaten up, but everyone recognized it was a primary."
The debate about party unity came on a day when many of the candidates tried to focus on other issues. Mr. Gephardt outlined a plan to expand services for the disabled; Dr. Dean called for an increase in the minimum wage.
Dr. Dean declined to answer reporters' questions about the latest attacks as he campaigned in Green Bay, Wis., and Detroit. In an interview with a local television reporter in Wisconsin, he said, "I'm not going to respond to Senator Lieberman," adding, "I think these guys are running a desperation campaign." |
