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

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (1930)	5/5/2003 11:45:44 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

I do recall the stories implying that Gore was having difficulties lining up money. I can understand why you would find Dean appealing. I personally do not think that he is electable. I think it was Bob Graham who made the comment Saturday night that he was from the "Electable Wing of the Democratic Party." Of course, would we want a candidate consumed with noting the most minute of details into his journals? 216.239.35.100 Posted on Tue, Jan. 21, 2003 Graham says journals not a hindrance to campaign BY PETER WALLSTEN pwallsten@herald.com ORLANDO - U.S. Sen. Bob Graham said Monday that his quirky personal notebooks -- minute-by-minute accounts of his daily routine that drew the attention of late-night comics in 2000 -- will not be a hindrance to his 2004 presidential campaign. The notebooks were featured in national news accounts three years ago when Graham was considered a potential running mate for Vice President Al Gore, creating an impression among some Democratic strategists that the Florida senator was a bit too offbeat for the job. Speaking publicly about the notebooks Monday for the first time since he began exploring his own White House bid, Graham insisted that the personal journals are no different than a modern-day hand-held computer. ''The notebooks have for most of my adult life been a means by which I try to organize and have some discipline,'' said Graham, addressing a news conference following a Martin Luther King Day prayer breakfast. ``When I started with the notebooks back in the 1960s, had the Palm Pilot been available, I would have probably used that and nobody would have thought anything about it.'' Graham, a former state legislator and two-term Florida governor who has served 16 years in the U.S. Senate, has for years spoken openly of his pocket notebooks. But when Time Magazine obtained copies in 2000 and printed excerpts, Graham's image in some national political circles was that of a compulsive oddball rather than a serious contender for the nation's highest office. The Time article listed his entries for the day his daughter gave birth to a son, including this from 8:45-9:35 a.m.: ''Kitchen, family room. Eat breakfast, branola cereal with peach 9:35-9:40: Complete dressing. Watch Meet the Press.'' And later, from 12:05-12:20 p.m. at his Miami Lakes town house: ``bedroom, bathroom, change to red shorts.'' He even noted watching Ace Ventura for an hour, then rewinding the tape for 15 minutes. Now, as Graham plans an announcement in two to three weeks that most believe will present himself as a presidential candidate, the diaries continue to haunt him. While nearly every account of Graham lists his qualifications -- his chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee, his vote against President Bush's resolution for war in Iraq, his experience on education and economic issues as governor and senator, his popularity in the nation's most populous swing state -- the notebooks are always mentioned as perhaps his biggest obstacle. ''I don't think it hurt in 2000, and I don't think it's going to be a relevant factor,'' Graham said Monday, asked if the notebooks hampered his image in the 2000 election. ``The American people have more serious questions about the selection of the president than how he goes about bringing some discipline to his daily activities.'' Graham used his appearance in Orlando to drop more strong hints that he has decided -- after about a month of private deliberations -- to seek the presidency. Graham also criticized Bush for his decision last week to challenge the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies. And the senator said he supports full legal benefits for gay and lesbian couples, but that he opposes allowing them to marry each other -- hedging when asked if he would have signed the same civil unions bill that Howard Dean signed in Vermont. If he runs, Graham would be the latest in an already crowded field of Democrats hoping to win the nomination and challenge Bush. U.S. Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut have already announced their campaigns, as have U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, Vermont former Gov. Dean and civil rights activist Al Sharpton. Former Sen. Gary Hart, scheduled to deliver a series of speeches this week on national and international affairs, is also a potential candidate.