John McCain to campaign in New Hampshire...
...for Bush. What happened to that close friendship with Kerry?
washingtonpost.com
Kucinich Retraces Misstep
By Brian Faler
Friday, January 9, 2004; Page A08
A quarter-century-old political decision still haunts presidential hopeful Dennis J. Kucinich, and he's having trouble exorcising the ghost.
In March 1978, when Kucinich was Cleveland's mayor, he fired Police Chief Richard Hongisto on the evening news. The move helped trigger a failed recall effort against the "Boy Mayor." This week, at a Democratic presidential debate in Iowa, Kucinich revisited the episode, calling it the biggest misstep of his political career.
"The biggest mistake I think I made was I fired the chief of police live on the 6 o'clock news -- on Good Friday," said Kucinich, now a congressman. "In the years since, I have learned a certain amount of diplomacy and actually have reconciled with that gentleman."
But Hongisto, 67, now a businessman living in San Francisco, remembers it differently. "We have talked once, but he didn't really apologize to me," he said, adding that they last spoke about five years ago. "I was civil and polite, but I don't consider that a reconciliation."
Kucinich issued this response: "It's possible he's forgotten, because his present account of the events of that time is at variance with statements he made in 1978. His statement is absolutely mystifying, because I've had several cordial discussions with him over the years, although not recently. I still wish him well."
Hongisto is unmoved. "I think he's a nut," he said. "I'd be a Howard Dean supporter."
Bush Campaign Goes Full-Bore
President Bush's campaign officials decided long ago to keep a low profile during the run-up to the Democratic primaries. The quiet period is ending.
Campaign officials said that on caucus day, Jan. 19, a team of well-known Bush backers will fly to Iowa to rally GOP activists and try to counterprogram Democrats in the regional and national news media. A similar group is to land in New Hampshire four days before the Jan. 27 primary -- including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who beat Bush there in the primary of 2000.
In the general election, New Hampshire was the only state Bush won in New England, and he lost Iowa by less than 1 percentage point, so his aides said he plans full-bore campaigns in both states from now through November.
Campaign manager Ken Mehlman and campaign chairman Marc Racicot will lead the Iowa team, which includes conservatives and moderates: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.), Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.), former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, former administration official Mary Matalin and Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie.
The New Hampshire roster includes Bush's sister, Dorothy Bush Koch, and New York Gov. George E. Pataki.
Dean's Right Flank?
Conservatives for Howard Dean?
Well, nobody's endorsing quite yet. But some high-profile commentators on the right say they would like to see the Vermont Democrat take on President Bush -- although for reasons that are sometimes suspect.
Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol says he wants Dean to win the primaries "so we will have a choice, not an echo." Kristol says, "In polls, a majority of the Democratic Party is anti-Iraq war, anti-Bush Doctrine and anti-Bush's overall conception of the war on terror."
Andrew Sullivan, a New Republic senior editor, writes on his Web site that Dean is "an unpleasant person -- prickly, angry, self-important, know-it-all" and continues: "So why do I find myself rooting for Dean to win the nomination? . . . I think his hatred of Bush will shine through and give a voice to millions of people who feel the same way."
National Review's Jonah Goldberg says in his syndicated column that "I've largely decided that I want Dean to get the nomination." Why? "I think he'd lose badly (unless the economy and Iraq tank)."
Not exactly press-release material for the Dean campaign.
Staff writers Mike Allen and Howard Kurtz contributed to this report. |
