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

To: American Spirit who wrote (6200)	11/7/2003 7:25:50 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Embattled Dean Retains Front-Runner Spot story.news.yahoo.com By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer MANCHESTER, N.H. - In the most tumultuous week of the presidential campaign, Democrat Howard Dean (news - web sites) hardened his hold on the front-runner's spot, even as a firestorm over the Confederate flag raised questions about his temperament and judgment. Crisscrossing this early primary state, Dean's rivals tested new strategies for driving a wedge between the former Vermont governor and key party constituencies — including gun control advocates, blacks and the elderly. But their work was overshadowed by stunning news: Dean won backing from the largest AFL-CIO affiliate, the 1.6 million-member Service Employees International Union, and secretly lined up support from another. The 1.5-million member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is set to endorse Dean jointly with the SEIU next week, said several senior Democrats involved in the unions' dealings. The development was a severe blow to Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites), whose candidacy relies on union support, and left senior officials in other campaigns wondering how Dean can be stopped. In addition, Dean decided this week that he can afford to reject taxpayer financing for his campaign and the spending limits that go with it. Dean, who is collecting contributions at a record pace, has asked 600,000 supporters to decide by Saturday whether he should opt out of the public finance system. There is a silver lining for Dean's rivals, at least one of them. Campaign aides say the week's events are likely to hasten efforts by the party elite to rally behind an alternative to Dean. And it's a wide-open race for the anybody-but-Dean slot: Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark (news - web sites), Sen. John Edwards, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) and Gephardt are all staking a claim. Dean gave them reason for hope when he said last week that he wanted to be the favored candidate of Southern whites who drive pickup trucks with Confederate flags. Under pressure from friends and foes alike, Dean belatedly apologized Wednesday for the remark, saying it brought pain to blacks who view the flag as a symbol of slavery and to whites insulted by a Northerner seemingly lecturing the South. He called rival Al Sharpton, a black activist from New York, to apologize. And he publicly agreed that Edwards, a North Carolina senator, was right to protest the remark in a debate Tuesday night. Dean's rivals said the flap underscored personality traits that could haunt the front-runner, starting with his stubborn refusal to apologize. Dean himself acknowledged the flaw. "You know how I am," he told reporters, "If somebody comes at me, my tendency is to go right back at them and worry about (the consequences) later." Some Democratic voters said the confrontation might help Edwards break from the back of the pack. "He stood up to the big guy in the race," said Tim Harris of Concord, N.H. "That showed guts from a guy I hadn't seen much of." Kerry gave Dean a pass in the debate, but held a news conference Thursday to point out that Dean mentioned the Confederate flag in defense of his policies on guns. Dean regularly argues that his record as Vermont's governor — endorsed by the National Rifle Association — will help him court Southern white males who oppose gun control. Kerry accused him of flip-flopping on gun issues and "falling in line with the most extreme elements of the NRA." He said Dean's shift on gun policy since the 1990s fits a pattern in which the former governor has changed his views on a number of issues, including Social Security (news - web sites), Medicare, trade and public financing of elections. Dean held relatively moderate views as governor, and now is more in line with liberal Democrats who vote in primaries. Lieberman hopes to use the controversy to peel independents from Dean. In his new TV ads, the Connecticut senator casts himself as a straight-talking politician who takes tough stands, an image that helped Sen. John McCain of Arizona defeat George W. Bush here in the 2000 GOP primaries. Clark is relying on his four-star military record to sway voters who want a tough-on-terrorism alternative to Bush. He also has exhibited handshake-to-handshake campaign skills mastered by a fellow Arkansan, former President Clinton (news - web sites). When Lillye Ramos-Spooner approached Clark in a hotel hallway to ask about the safety of her son, a sniper stationed in Iraq (news - web sites), Clark cradled her right hand between both of his. Rubbing her hands, he said softly, "You don't have anything to worry about. But I'd say my prayers if I were you, and I'll pray, too." She walked away shaking her head "Just like Clinton, he made me think I was the only person in the room," Ramos-Spooner said. ___ EDITORS NOTE: Ron Fournier has covered national politics for The Associated Press since 1993.