demohacks on DEAN:Some Democrats Uneasy About Dean as Nominee
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and ROBIN TONER
ASHINGTON, Dec. 18 — Many leading Democrats say they are uneasy about Howard Dean's candidacy for president and are reluctant to cede him the nomination for fear that his combative style and antiwar stance will leave Democrats vulnerable in November.
They acknowledge that Dr. Dean has run a strategically savvy campaign that has made him the candidate to beat. But their worry has been heightened anew, they say, by Dr. Dean's statement this week that the capture of Saddam Hussein "did not make America safer" and by his suggestion that Saudi Arabia warned President Bush about Sept. 11 even though "I did not believe the theory I was putting out."
Senator John B. Breaux of Louisiana, who has long sought to push the Democratic Party to the center, said Dr. Dean's remark about Mr. Hussein's capture was "not the smartest thing to say." Mr. Breaux added, "Most people in my part of the country think the world is indeed safer without a ruthless dictator."
Joe Lockhart, who was President Bill Clinton's spokesman in the White House, suggested that Dr. Dean might lack the discipline for a general election campaign. "It's the unplanned, offhand comments that often seem to play a critical role," Mr. Lockhart said, adding, "You've got to be able to become a master of the game, not someone who just rails against the game."
Interviews with dozens of Democrats, from elected officials to party elders, state Democratic chairmen and former Clinton officials, found many impressed with Dr. Dean's ability to raise money and inspire a large and dedicated following. And certainly, they said, he appears to be on his way to the nomination, a feeling that was underscored by the endorsement last week by former Vice President Al Gore.
"He doesn't have the nomination cinched by any means right now," said Robert S. Strauss, a one-time Democratic Party chairman and party elder statesman. But, Mr. Strauss added, "He is so strong that it is difficult to see how he can be stopped by any other candidate."
Still, Dr. Dean's rivals are firing away at him with new vigor, and many Democrats are waiting to see how Dr. Dean adapts to the changed landscape after Mr. Hussein's capture. The latest New York Times poll showed that the capture improved Americans' view of President Bush and his handling of the war but also that 60 percent said the United States was as vulnerable to terrorist attack as before the capture.
"It's not just Dean, but all of the candidates who ran against the war in Iraq are going to be weakened by the events of the last few days," said Leon Panetta, former chief of staff in the Clinton White House. "For Dean in particular, it makes it even more imperative that he has to make an adjustment in terms of his positions so he's not viewed as weak on national security."
Beyond that, Senator Breaux and others said they wondered whether Dr. Dean could broaden his appeal for a general election. They said they were concerned about where he might be taking the party.
As Mr. Panetta said, Dr. Dean's foreign policy speech on Monday was "a beginning," but, he said, he cannot "go back to the politics of anger." He added: "What has happened over the weekend makes the Democratic race much more competitive."
Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, who described himself as a "fan" of Dr. Dean, said Dr. Dean was "like lightning in the bottle," something rare and bright — but unpredictable. He has captured the energy of new voters, Mr. Rendell said, but added: "He hasn't been on the national stage. I think he'll wear well because he's so honest and blunt, but who knows?"
Some of the unease reflects anxiety by officials seeking re-election who worry about having to run with an unknown quantity at the top of the ticket. They say the nominating process has been so accelerated that they have little sense of Dr. Dean's political prowess and whether he is suited temperamentally to the challenge of a presidential campaign.
Their unease also reflects a wrenching debate within the Democratic Party about what the party stands for and how it should define itself in the post-Clinton era. Even before Dr. Dean made his comments about domestic policy on Thursday some of the leading centrists of the Clinton years said they were dismayed by his rallying cry that "It's time to take our party back" — and wonder, From whom?
"I assume he means the people who led it to this disastrous middle where 22 million jobs were created," said Al From, a founder of the Democratic Leadership Council, formed to push the party to the center after its landslide defeats in the 1980's.
Despite the unease in the party, most Democrats said that early whispers of a stop-Dean movement were exaggerated. They said there was no real mechanism for stopping him, except for the delegate-selection process, which would be difficult to manipulate. More important, they said, no plausible alternative to Dr. Dean has emerged, and trying to stop him would only redouble the efforts of his followers.
"There is some anxiety," said Pat Griffin, who was President Clinton's liaison to Congress.
Such concern, Mr. Griffin said, was "a legitimate part of the process" but "it would be a mistake to say that people have drawn a conclusion that Dean's candidacy can't work."
Others said a stop-Dean movement would only backfire.
"To have a gang-up on Howard Dean by our party would be a huge mistake," said Harold Ickes, Mr. Clinton's deputy chief of staff. "He's to be applauded for how forthright he's been and for the people he's brought into the process."
On the other hand, Mr. Ickes said in a telephone interview while he was raising money in California, "I'm surprised by how many reservations we run into out here about Dean. They don't know if he can do it."
The Dean campaign had hoped that Mr. Gore's endorsement might have put these concerns to rest.
Instead, Mr. Gore's declaration that the Dean candidacy promised to "remake the Democratic Party" highlighted the fissures between President Clinton's carefully structured centrism aimed at the middle and Dr. Dean's aggressive appeals aimed at the Democratic base, especially on the war in Iraq.
Representative Cal Dooley, Democrat of California, said of Mr. Dean, "My concern is if he doesn't moderate some of those positions, if he is the Democratic nominee, he will be very successful at garnering 45 percent of the vote — which isn't enough to win."
Mr. Dooley, a longtime ally of the Democratic Leadership Council, is backing Senator Joseph I. Lieberman.
Some saw Dr. Dean's remark on Mr. Hussein's capture as a sign that he would remain defiant toward President Bush, a quality that his supporters greatly admire.
"We don't want a wimp in this part of the country," said Representative Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Ohio. "Everything I've read that Dean has said about Saddam seems to be right on point. Our people have struggled to make a living and they want a fighter. They don't want some kind of Hollywood production with hair spray."
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