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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (1093)	2/7/2003 6:41:04 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Respond to of 10965

Top Dem backers sitting on fence, and checkbooks By JOEL SIEGEL DAILY NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Friday, February 7th, 2003 Some of New York's richest Democratic donors are closing their moneybags to the party's growing ranks of 2004 presidential hopefuls. In an unprecedented move, 50 of the party's top donors in the region have banded together to sit on the fence - for now - as they wait for the crowded field to thin out. That has set up a Catch-22 for the candidates, who are under pressure to show momentum when new fund-raising tallies are released March 31. The Democratic hopefuls have been swooping into town with increasing frequency, romancing donors in a competition for cash that one campaign calls "the first primary." "Everybody is attacking New York for money, but very few people want to make a complete and total commitment to a particular candidate," political fund-raiser Jennifer Bayer said. "I don't recall seeing this level of indecisiveness. There's a sense of frustration on the part of the candidates," she said. The donors gave several explanations for their neutrality. Some want to see who emerges from the crowded field so they can focus the party's cash on those with the best chance of prevailing. Some simply want to make sure they are with the winner. And others blame fund-raising burnout after several emotionally and financially draining campaigns. More ominously for the Democrats, some donors haven't taken sides because the candidates haven't dazzled them yet or they believe President Bush will be too hard to beat, party insiders said. Little excitement "There is a lot of apathy," said supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, who's leaning toward Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). "George Bush is perceived as a very strong candidate right now." Publicly, the campaigns are downplaying the neutrality. "We know that people are waiting. But I think they will start breaking out," said Rick Ridder, campaign manager for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. "Most of these people like to play in politics. They have been star players. Sitting on the sidelines is not something they want to do." Mel Weiss, a Manhattan lawyer who has given at least $200,000 to Democrats since 1997, is a leader of 25 fence-sitters who banded together through E-mails and meetings. Weiss said he knows of another group of about 25 donors who also haven't opened their wallets or held fund-raisers. "We are talking about maybe merging," he said. With Bush enjoying a big fund-raising edge - he's an incumbent and will be hurt less than Democrats by new curbs on unregulated soft-money contributions - the Democrats must use their money wisely, Weiss said. "A lot of us have come to the conclusion that we have to shepherd our dollars in a more intelligent way and not just throw our dollars at everything that comes our way," he said. "We have to think about who is electable as well." nydailynews.com