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Anybody but Bush
October 17, 2003
Democrats' Rallying Cry: Anybody but Bush By RON FOURNIER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats want a winner, above all else. Policies, endorsements, leadership posts, Washington experience - even a candidate's history with the party itself - mean less than usual in this year's primary fight. Democratic voters say a single quality outranks them all: the ability to beat President Bush. "If he can't take out Bush, I don't care if he's the Lord himself, I'm looking for another candidate," said Matt McGrail, 35, of Laconia, N.H. Interviews with dozens of Democratic voters and strategists in the past three months reveal lingering resentment over the contested 2000 election, mounting disgust with Bush's agenda and little patience for any candidate who looks vulnerable to the White House re-election machine. "Why do you think you can beat Bush?" said Carl Vogelhuber, 78, challenging candidate John Edwards during an Iowa town hall in August. "Because of where I come from," Edwards replied. "The values that I had growing up. In many ways, I'm the opposite of George Bush. I'm a walking, living example of the American dream." "Not sure that's enough," Vogelhuber muttered. This is not the time for candidates fueled by ideology, such as Eugene McCarthy in 1968; promoting chief executive experience, such as Michael Dukakis in 1988; pushing a raft of policies or an up-from-the-bootstraps biography, such as Bill Clinton in 1992; or blessed by the party establishment, such as Al Gore in 2000. Kathleen Sullivan bares the secret to this year's race. It is found on a campaign button she wears around New Hamsphire, where she heads the state Democratic Party. "Anybody But Bush," says the button with likenesses of nine Democratic candidates. "We always want to win the White House, of course. But there's something more going on this time," she said. "You've got to remember the sense that George Bush didn't win the election to begin with - that the election was stolen in Florida - and that he's taking this country down the wrong path with both foreign and domestic policy, that he's giving away our natural resources to his friends." The animus has given rise to the candidacies of Howard Dean and Wesley Clark. Dean is leading in key state polls and fund raising on the strength of his anti-war, anti-establishment message, and the belief that he is standing up to Bush while his Washington-based rivals waver. "He's the most electable. He's made the party bigger," said Jon Myers, 30, a Santa Fe, N.M., businessman. "Some of his issue I don't agree with, but who cares? I think he can beat Bush." But many Democrats, particularly among the party's leadership, fear that Dean's opposition to the war in Iraq and support of gay unions may allow Bush to portray him as a liberal. They also worry that his feisty style will not wear well with voters, that he is not as likable as Bush. "Dean's message appeals to me the most," said Lenore Young, an 84-year-old retiree who attended a Dean rally in New Mexico. "But if I get wind that he can't win, I'll think twice." Some of these Dean-wary Democrats have turned to Clark - or are at least giving the retired Army general a chance to impress. They are willing to overlook his long Republican ties. "These outsiders are doing good because they've tapped into not only our anger but our craving for a winner," said Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist in Washington who managed Gore's campaign. Steve Elmendorf, adviser to candidate Dick Gephardt, said Democrats were not this exercised over Bush's father or even former President Reagan. "Whoever the nominee is will have more than enough resources to put up against this guy because of the energy level of the party - big donors, low donors, interest groups," Elmendorf said. In the short term, each of the six top candidates is calling himself the best Bush beater. Gephardt points to his roots in the Midwest; Dean to his legions of new voters; Clark to his four-star military record; Edwards to his working-class message and Southern base; John Kerry to his multitude of endorsements and heroism in Vietnam; and Joe Lieberman to his vice presidential candidacy in 2000, when he and Gore collected more votes than Bush but lost the state electoral race. "I'm going to defeat George Bush in 2004," he tells audiences. "You know why I'm so confident? Because Al Gore and I already did it." |
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Re: Anybody but Bush
On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:03:17 +0200 (CEST), George Orwell
>October 17, 2003 > >Democrats' Rallying Cry: Anybody but Bush >By RON FOURNIER >ASSOCIATED PRESS > >WASHINGTON (AP) - > >Democrats want a winner, above all else. Of course they do! Doesn't everybody? Too bad all they've got is a bunch of losers. Hero@Horvath.net This signature is now the ultimate power in the universe |
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Re: Anybody but Bush
On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:03:17 +0200 (CEST), George Orwell
>October 17, 2003 > >Democrats' Rallying Cry: Anybody but Bush Bwahhh-haaa-haaaa..... More like "I ain't voting for no socialist liberal." Too bad they are unable to accept that fact. |
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