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

To: calgal who wrote (5791)	10/25/2003 12:28:40 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 10965

They Won't Miss Much _______________________________ By GILBERT CRANBERG OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Published: October 24, 2003 nytimes.com DES MOINES - Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, can fairly be accused of giving aid to the enemy by advising contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination to skip Iowa and focus on New Hampshire. Gen. Wesley Clark and Senator Joseph Lieberman embraced that sound advice this week and announced they would sit out the caucuses. Senator McCain knows whereof he speaks, having bypassed Iowa in 2000 to whip George W. Bush in New Hampshire. Mr. McCain's campaign subsequently ran out of steam, but his showing in New Hampshire, which marked him as a serious contender, would not have been as successful had he diverted time, toil and treasure to Iowa's arcane caucus system. Never answer a question from a farmer, Hubert Humphrey once half-joked. Iowa's caucuses not only showcase questions from farmers about the nearly impenetrable intricacies of agricultural economics, they also require a search for needles in haystacks. These are the little more than one in 10 registered Democrats who may actually attend the meetings. Republicans aren't any more fond of the caucuses than Democrats; the caucuses Mr. McCain prudently ducked in 2000 were also passed up by more than 8 of every 10 registered Republicans. Identifying likely caucus-goers, motivating them to show up and be counted in support of a particular candidate, as Democratic Party rules direct, requires a monumental organizing effort. Which is why John Kerry, Richard Gephardt, John Edwards and Howard Dean commute to Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Sioux City (and points in between) almost every week. Mr. Dean, for example, was recently seen beating the bushes for caucus-goers in Howard County (population: 9,806), near the Minnesota border. With that visit he can now boast of having set foot in every one of Iowa's 99 counties, a feat few lifelong Iowans have achieved, much less wanted to attempt. At last count, according to his campaign, Mr. Dean had spent at least 78 days in the state. And for what? Surely not for delegates. Iowa is vote-poor, with only 55 voting delegates at the national convention, where there will be more than 4,000 voting delegates. The state is publicity-rich, however, by virtue of its first-in-the-nation caucuses. Never mind that the caucuses do not even demonstrate how many votes each candidate actually attracts on caucus night. Iowa Democrats shun head counts, because that would infringe on New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, which features an actual tally of voters. Instead, Iowa Democrats have concocted an abstruse system for calculating delegate equivalents. On Jan. 19, each of the state's 1,997 precincts holds a meeting to determine what percentage of that precinct's delegates will support a particular candidate five months later at the Democratic Party's state convention, when Iowa's national convention delegates are actually selected. One of these days, perhaps, it will become commonplace for candidates to decide not to pose with pigs in Iowa. If so, the absence of General Clark and Mr. Lieberman could be seen as the beginning of the end of Iowa as a required stop on the way to the White House. ____________________________________ Gilbert Cranberg is former editor of the editorial page of The Des Moines Register.

To: calgal who wrote (5791)	10/25/2003 12:29:15 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 10965

Oct 24, 11:43 AM EDT Bush Raises Funds in Hawaii on Way Home By TOM RAUM Associated Press Writer HONOLULU (AP) -- President Bush ended a whirlwind tour of Asia and Australia just as he began it: raising money for his own 2004 re-election campaign. Bush stopped for 12 hours in Hawaii on his way back to Washington, taking a tour of Pearl Harbor, visiting an elementary school, catching up on the World Series in his hotel room, meeting with Pacific island leaders and attending a fund-raising dinner that added $600,000 to his campaign coffers. "After eight days and 18,000 miles in the air, it's great to be back in America," Bush told contributors Thursday. "I visited with some of our strongest allies in the war on terror, some of the nation's most important trading partners. We made progress on a broad agenda." His tour of six Eastern Hemisphere nations wrapped up, the president and first lady Laura Bush stepped off Marine One onto the sunny White House lawn Friday morning for a layover of a few hours before heading to Camp David for a weekend rest. Bush has a light schedule for Monday and Tuesday, then plans to hit the road for a burst of heavy fund-raising travel through Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama, White House officials said. His Texas ranch will serve as home base for that travel. AP VIDEO Bush praises Japan's prime minister Windows \| Real News From the Bush Administration Bush: New Aid to Give Momentum for Iraq Bush to Host Republic of Congo President Bush Raises Funds in Hawaii on Way Home Australian Senators Protest Bush Speech Bush Heaps Praise on Australian Leader Hawaii was the last stop on a fast-paced trip to Asia and Australia to thank Iraq war allies and to attend a 21-nation Asia-Pacific economic summit. On Thursday, at the memorial for the sunken battleship USS Arizona, where 1,177 sailors and Marines died in the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack, and where oil still bubbles up from the remains, Bush and his wife, Laura, dropped flowers into the water. They also toured the decommissioned 45,000-ton battleship USS Missouri, where the World War II surrender documents were signed in Tokyo Bay, and took a boat tour of the harbor, passing ships and nuclear-powered submarines just back from the Iraq war. "You set a great example for future soldiers and sailors," Bush told a group of about 60 World War II and Korean War veterans on the Missouri. Bush ended his journey like he began it in California a week ago - with a fund-raising event for his re-election campaign. Republicans in Hawaii are energized by the election of the first GOP governor in 40 years, Linda Lingle, who told reporters she found Bush "fully engaged and fully engaging" after his fast-paced Asian-Pacific tour. She introduced the president at the fund-raiser. Campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said 600 people attended the evening event, which raised more than $600,000. About 200 protesters lined sidewalks in front of the Waikiki hotel complex where the Bush-Cheney 2004 rally was held. "Hey, hey, ho, ho, George Bush has got to go," demonstrators chanted, waving signs with messages that included "Out of Iraq" and "Pre-emptive strikes fuel perpetual war." Ever mindful of political battles in Washington, Bush issued a written rebuke to Senate Democrats who derailed Republican-backed legislation to limit class action lawsuits and large damage awards against corporations, apparently killing the bill for this year. "I am eager to sign it, our economy needs it and I urge those senators who stand in the way to let the will of the people be heard," Bush wrote. And, in his speech to the fund-raiser, Bush prodded Congress to complete work on a Medicare prescription drug bill. "The sooner they get the job done, the sooner American seniors will get the health care they need," he said, to applause. The Bushes also found time to visit Pearl Harbor Elementary School to read to second graders. As the Bushes entered, the students were asked if they knew who their visitors were. "George Washington," one shouted. Bush laughed. "You got the first name right," he said. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.