Braun Quits Presidential Race,
Backs Dean
story.news.yahoo.com
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
CARROLL, Iowa - Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (news -
web sites) quit the Democratic presidential race Thursday and endorsed
Howard Dean as the best choice to "renew our
country and restore our privacy, our liberty and our economic security."
"Gov. Dean has the energy to inspire the
American people, to break the cocoon of fear
that envelopes us and empowers President
Bush and his entourage
from the extreme right-wing," she said at a
joint appearance with the former Vermont
governor.
Braun's own campaign failed to generate
significant campaign funds or support in
national or state polls, and she conceded as
much. "The funding and organizational
disadvantages of a non-traditional campaign
could not be overcome," she said.
Dean, thanking Braun for her endorsement,
said he hoped it would hasten the day when a
woman or minority candidate could win the
White House. "I'm going to miss you at those
debates, stepping in and defending me from
those outrageous things people say," he
added. That was a reference to her remarks
last Sunday night, after Al Sharpton
had challenged Dean's
gubernatorial record on hiring minorities.
Whatever the long-term advantage to Dean, the immediate impact of
Braun's endorsement was likely to be minor. She polled less than one
percent support in one recent survey of likely Iowa caucus-goers, and
blacks account for roughly two percent of the state's population.
Braun, the only woman and one of two African-Americans in the race,
left the field four days ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
Her departure left eight men vying for the Democratic nomination to
challenge President Bush this fall. Another contender, Florida Sen. Bob
Graham, folded his campaign last year.
Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi, said before the announcement
that Braun approached the former Vermont governor after a recent
debate and told him she was considering leaving the race and backing
him. Braun is giving Dean her endorsement even as he has faced
questions about his record on race issues, including his lack of minority
Cabinet members during his five terms as Vermont governor.
Braun never broke out of single digits in national and state polls and
failed to qualify for several state ballots.
And though she had been endorsed by two influential women's groups -
the National Organization for Women (news - web sites) and the National
Women's Political Caucus - that support failed to translate into
financial support. Braun struggled to raise money while running up
thousands of dollars in debt. She also missed the deadline to file
paperwork for the initial round of federal campaign money, delaying for
several weeks the receipt of any federal matching funds, expected to
amount to several hundred thousand dollars.
Even her own campaign manager, Patricia Ireland, had said publicly that
there was no way Braun could win the nomination.
She leaves the race after having little impact on it, except for some bright
moments in debates. Braun often stressed during the campaign that she
was running for president because it was time to "take the 'Men Only'
sign off the White House door."
Rival Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) offered words of praise for Braun,
but little comment about her endorsement of Dean, calling her "an able
and eloquent person, an honorable person. When I'm president of the
United States, I'm going to convince Carol Moseley Braun to work in my
administration."
Dennis Kucinich (news - web sites) said, "I'll miss her," and expressed
the hope that she persuades Dean on a single-payer, universal health
care policy.
The run for president also may have helped Braun rehabilitate her image.
Elected to the Senate in 1992 during the "Year of the Woman," Braun
lost the seat after one term due to allegations about her ethics and
improper campaign spending.
Braun also was criticized for meeting in 1996 with Gen. Sani Abacha,
the late dictator of Nigeria who had been accused of myriad human
rights violations, during a trip to the country for a friend's memorial. She
did not tell the State Department in advance, which she later said she
regretted not doing.
After losing the Senate seat, President Clinton (news - web sites) named
her ambassador to New Zealand.
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