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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gladirus who wrote (458147)	9/13/2003 4:27:27 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 769670

Candidates Seek Clinton Support in Iowa By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 4:04 p.m. ET INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) -- In sharp contrast to the last presidential election, Bill Clinton's name is resonating on the campaign trail, and the candidates for the 2004 Democratic nomination are working hard to win his support. Seven rivals lined up to speak at Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry Saturday at Indianola, 20 miles south of Des Moines. Former President Clinton planned an evening address to an expected 5,000 party activists. Despite controversies that surrounded Clinton's presidency because of his private life, many Democrats view him as a senior statesman who demonstrated the path to gaining the White House. The campaign's early -- and surprise -- front-runner, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, said he would welcome Clinton's help in campaigning should he win the nomination. In 2000, nominee Al Gore and his running mate, current candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, rarely mentioned the retiring president. Clinton is ``a larger-than-life figure,'' Dean said. When you look at what's happened to the country economically since then, Clinton looks pretty good.'' Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina said Clinton campaigned for him in 1998 when he entered the Senate. ``I stood with Clinton, and it worked,'' Edwards said. ``He led the greatest period of economic expansion in history and we ought to be proud of him.'' Another candidate, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, praised Clinton's political intuition and skills, which he said he would welcome as part of his campaign. In Saturday's opening speech, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry compared the 1990s Clinton economy with today's and said he is looking to restore Clintonian ideas, which he said still resonate with the voters. Kerry said middle class taxpayers benefited by Clinton's focus on working Americans. ``With George Bush in the White House, the middle class has been forgotten all over again,'' Kerry said. He said he speaks often with Clinton. ``He's available to everybody,'' Kerry said. ``I like the advice I get.'' Some tensions ran beneath the surface in the tribute to Clinton, but the Democrats were largely keeping their criticism of one another under wraps. Kerry noted that some of his rivals want to eliminate all tax breaks pushed by Bush, a plan that would hurt the middle class. ``Repealing the tax cuts for the middle class would hurt those who have borne the brunt of the Bush bust, making it even harder for them to make ends meet,'' Kerry said. Clinton's appearance at Harkin's annual fund-raiser spurred enthusiasm for the thousands attending, a significant slice of the roughly 100,000 likely to attend Iowa's precinct caucuses in January that open the voting season. While Clinton's appearance generated enthusiasm, his presence also threatened to diffuse the attention from the rivals seeking the nomination. nytimes.com