GOP wistful about Dean woes, think Bush will still win
WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
Friday, January 23, 2004
©2004 Associated Press
URL: sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/01/23/politics1537EST0672.DTL
(01-23) 12:37 PST CRYSTAL CITY, Va. (AP) --
Conservative Republicans couldn't help but shed crocodile tears as they watched Howard Dean quickly sink in the polls after his bombastic speech in Iowa.
"I wish that Howard Dean had had his blowup several months from now rather than this week," Colin Hanna, a former Chester County Commissioner in Pennsylvania, said Friday at a meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee. "He showed a poor sense of timing."
Still upbeat about the party's prospects in the November presidential election, several GOP officials said that with a closely divided country they would prefer the most vulnerable opponent.
In their eyes, that was Dean. The front-runner leading up to the Iowa caucuses, Dean stumbled with a third-place finish among voters there. Then he compounded the loss with a raucous concession speech ridiculed on talk radio, the Internet and late-night TV.
"He would have been a dream candidate for Bush," said radio talk-show host Tom Morgan of Oneonta, N.Y.
Talking about the Democratic presidential field, some mentioned Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the candidate most likely to get the nomination -- and the most likely to strongly challenge President Bush.
Republican Chairman Ed Gillespie focused his criticism on Kerry when he spoke to the group, citing ratings from Americans for Democratic Action that suggest Kerry has a voting record the liberal organization strongly approves.
"Whether it's economic policy, national security policy, or social issues, John Kerry is out of synch with most voters," Gillespie said.
"Who would have guessed it?" he asked. "Ted Kennedy is the conservative senator from Massachusetts!"
Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman told the group the country is leaning more Republican, but that doesn't mean the election won't be close. And he outlined a Bush strategy of portraying the eventual Democratic nominee as a tax-raising, negative candidate who's weak on defense.
"We don't know the name or our opponent in November 2004, but we do know the author of his tax plan -- Walter Mondale," Mehlman said. Mondale, who lost to President Reagan in a landslide, said at the 1984 Democratic convention that he would raise taxes.
None of the Democratic candidates beyond Kerry seemed to cause much concern for the conservatives.
"Wesley Clark scares me a little, he seems like a real loose cannon," said Martha Beck of Karns City, Pa. "He's said he's never run for political office. I don't know why you'd want to start at the top and work your way down."
Few thought Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman had a chance for the nomination, though they found his positions more acceptable. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards got a few compliments for his speaking ability, but few thought he would be the nominee.
©2004 Associated Press |
