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

To: stockman_scott who wrote (4201)	8/23/2003 12:42:28 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Momentum Forces Dean To Shift to Higher Gear Howard Dean, who had planned to run as an insurgent on a shoestring, is adjusting his campaign to befit his new lot in life: the well-funded, emerging front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Recent polls show the former Vermont governor leading here and in Iowa, the first two stops on the road to the 2004 nomination, running strong in vote-rich California and surging nationally. To build on the momentum, Dean is expanding operations in key states such as Washington and Michigan, and increasingly reaching out to centrists by talking up balanced budgets and gun rights, an issue with broad appeal in key southern states. Today he will embark on his first presidential-style, multistate trip with the national media in tow. The race remains far too close and volatile to consider any of the nine candidates a true front-runner in a contest much of the public is ignoring, but several rival campaigns now privately talk of the Vermont Democrat as the man to beat. Several challengers are adjusting their campaigns to prepare for a one-on-one showdown with Dean. "I see ourselves as someone with a big surge, but I don't think we have cemented our position as the front-runner at this point," Dean said in an interview. Still, "we're prepared for all of the attacks we're going to get. Clearly, now, that shoe is on the other foot, and they are going to come after me." Growing popularity is forcing Dean to shift gears. He's expanding his fundraising and political operations to profit from the surge. Campaign manager Joe Trippi said Dean will raise at least $7.6 million this quarter and perhaps much more as he expands his donor base beyond the mostly Internet-generated liberals who fueled early fundraising. At the same time, Dean is trying to expand the appeal of his message. His stump speech to party activists contains some of the most poignant, partisan and crowd-pleasing attacks on President Bush, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). Indeed, most of Dean's ideas are clearly to the left of the other Democratic contenders. He's the most outspoken defender of gay rights, a popular position with some activists but one that could hurt him in the South. He's a strong critic of Bush's tax cuts, has offered a costly health care plan and would increase education spending. The challenge for Dean now is to transition from champion of the antiwar, anti-Bush left to electable Democrat without losing his steam and solid liberal base, according to Democratic strategists. After Iowa and New Hampshire, the race moves south and out West, where centrist Democrats tend to do better and where many think Dean could stumble. This transition is no easy task for the most outspoken critic of the Iraqi war and one of only two major candidates to call for the complete repeal of Bush's tax cuts, the strategists said. Many think Dean will crumble under the intense scrutiny that comes from being perceived as the front-runner. "He's yelled the loudest [and] pounded the podium the hardest, and there's a certain market for that style," said Jim Jordan, manager of Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign. "He's going to have to convince [voters] that he has the strength, the experience, the preparation, the temperament and the judgment that's required. . . . Ultimately, that's where he's going to come up short." washingtonpost.com