Today, from Garry Trudeau:

(Ed: Of course, this is further evidence that we've all jumped the shark.)

The interesting finding here: while the President's "favorables" are down 9 points, his "unfavorables" have held steady. The movement is to those who say "depends." This traditionally reflects increasing uncertainty among former supporters ... draw your own conclusions if the war or economy has greater weight in the "depends" equation. Graphic courtesy PollingReport.com.

Really. Turnabout, as they say, is fair play ... and it seems this election may be getting serious. From Yahoo / Reuters:

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham said on Thursday there were grounds to impeach President Bush if he was found to have led America to war under false pretenses.

While Graham did not call for Bush's impeachment, he said if the president lied about the reasons for going to war with Iraq it would be "more serious" than former President Bill Clinton's lie under oath about his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

"If in fact we went to war under false pretenses that is a very serious charge," Graham, the senior U.S. senator from Florida, told reporters in New Hampshire.

"If the standard of impeachment is the one the House Republicans used against Bill Clinton, this clearly comes within that standard," he said.

More local stumping coverage, this time from the Nashua Telegraph (NH), which is covering a series of 12 town hall meetings Edwards is holding in New Hampshire:

The crowd for the most part was enthusiastic and applauded frequently ... Applause was noticeably absent when Edwards defended his support for the war in Iraq.

He scarcely missed a chance during the evening to note that his father was a lifelong mill worker, and that despite his success as a lawyer, he knew what ordinary peoples' lives were like ...

... "I hope we still live in a country where we can believe the son of a mill worker can beat the son of a president," he said.

They came, they saw, they sucked up. From Yahoo / AP:

Three Democrats apologized to the NAACP convention Thursday for bypassing a presidential forum in a political act of contrition.

Joe Lieberman, Dick Gephardt and Dennis Kucinich rearranged their campaign schedules to appear before the NAACP gathering and say they were sorry. The three White House hopefuls had drawn the wrath of the nation's oldest civil rights group when then skipped Monday's forum, earning the description "persona non grata" from the NAACP leader.

Kucinich talked about his opposition to the war in Iraq and the nation's economic woes. Then the moderator goaded him into offering an official apology, saying: "We have heard the explanation, does the congressman need to say something else?"

Replied Kucinich: "I'm very sorry I wasn't able to be here, amazing grace, how sweet it is, once was lost, now I'm found."

Metzenbaum has endorsed Dean; read more in this Yahoo / AP article.

Joey L is turning up the volume. From Yahoo / AP:

The mild-mannered Connecticut senator, his presidential campaign stalled in the Democratic Party's middling mass, is directing harsher salvos at President Bush and — most notably — his rivals.

He says Howard Dean probably can't get elected, accuses John Kerry of waffling on Iraq and calls Dick Gephardt's health care plan "big-government spending."

The most conservative of the field's nine candidates, Lieberman may finally be following the advice of frustrated advisers and even former President Clinton. Their counsel: Toughen your spine in a primary race dominated by liberal voters and angry partisans.

Oh, come now ... the Africa trip may have had political objectives? From Yahoo / USAToday:

President Bush's five-nation trip to Africa last week was part of his subtle courtship of black Americans, a political constituency seldom wooed by Republican presidents ...

... The president's political strategists believe the trip will ease some of the mistrust black Americans have toward Bush. A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken June 27-29 found 31% of blacks approve of the job Bush is doing.

All nine endorsed legal recognition and partnership benefits for same-sex couples, but the top six refused to endorse the concept of ''gay marriage.'' Read the details here, courtesy Yahoo / USAToday.

Trying to get some posts up as we deal with our database migration ... let's start with this Yahoo / USAToday article which reports less-than-delightful news for the Gephardt campaign:

Rep. Richard Gephardt, who raised millions of dollars for congressional candidates when he was the House Democratic leader, fell short in his presidential race Tuesday with fundraising totals that put him well below his $5 million goal and the top tier of the field.

Gephardt, of Missouri, raised $3.9 million in April, May and June. That put him fifth among the six major Democratic contenders. He was fourth in cash on hand, another key indicator, according to reports due today at the Federal Election Commission. He had $6.3 million as of June 30.

I have to admit, I am intrigued by the decision of Governor Howard Dean to use a weblog to further his campaign for the Presidency, and I applaud him for doing so. I can think of no better way to bring blogging fully into the mainstream, and I hope that we will see more candidates blogging about their campaigns.

I am also quite intrigued by the decision Governor Dean made to guest-blog over at Larry Lessig's weblog. I have no idea what the relationship was/is between Dean and Lessig (the latter was one of my professors for a class I took as a graduate student at the University of Chicago), or how Dean decided to blog at Lessig's site, but I think that this will also further the blogging phenomenon.

I wish, however, that Dean would spend his time writing serious posts, and not posts like this one, which looks for all the world like the kind of thing that a staffer would write for a standard stump speech. I understand the need for candidates to have a stump speech and stick with it, but the attractive nature of blogs are that they get us past the kind of standard pablum that we read and hear from Big Media outlets. Unfortunately, Dean appears determined to treat blogging as yet another forum where we are treated to more of the same in terms of serious thought. There is no originality to his writing, nothing that makes a person take note and say "Aha! There is a candidate with a mind of his own!" What was the purpose for this exercise again?

My thoughts are summarized by the comments of "Factotum," who said the following in the comment section to the post I linked to above:

Increasingly, Dr. Dean, you are sounding like the nicely packaged candidate - “listening” - and repeating your “message” over and over again here and elsewhere. Is this what we are to come to expect from your campaign?

What made your campaign exciting and interesting was that you took a stand on many issues, not just the war - did intellectual property JUST appear on your desk? Haven’t you had at least several months to do more than “listen?” What is your position on labor, not just disjointed remarks - but a policy position people can point to? Give us something as concrete on THESE issues as you do on health insurance policy.

Blogging may seem cool in the press - but blog without substance and I begin to yawn. I feel like you are falling right back into that famililar old political models - even far before you might normally feel the pull (after the primaries.) Ugghh.

Indeed. I'm not going to vote for a candidate based on the blog that candidate might keep. But if a candidate is going to blog, would it be too much to ask that the message be as original and vibrant as the medium? Originality, originality. My kingdom for originality.

(This post can also be found on my blog.)

Howard Dean is guest blogging at Lessig's Blog; you may read the first post here. Link via Glenn Reynolds.

Jack Beatty of the Atlantic Monthly believes Wesley Clark is The Ideal Candidate.

Of the two candidates who did not support the war, Howard Dean would lose to Bush —his supporters must face political reality. As for Bob Graham, vehement as he has been about the Administration's subversion of democracy, he is a U.S. senator, and in the last hundred years Americans have elected only two senators. To be sure, they have elected only one General during that time. But if you ask which candidate Bush would least like to run against, the answer has to be General Wesley Clark.

More on the Latino vote: News 8 Austin offers this report of the annual convention for the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic organization in the nation. Summary: the Republican's were MIA (with the exception of Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX), and Dean lit em' up.

In a fiery speech, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean hit right to the heart of the crowd.

"Immigrants built this country. We ought to respect them and stop racial profiling them and keeping them out of our universities and making it harder for them to get by," Dean said.

The Christian Science Monitor offers an interesting analysis of the role of the Latino vote here. A sample:

Democrats have historically commanded a majority of the Latino vote, but not as resoundingly as they win the black vote, which is more than 90 percent Democratic. In 2000, Bush won more of the Hispanic vote (35 percent) than previous Republican presidential nominees. In that election, Hispanics represented 7 percent of voters and blacks 10 percent of voters. If noncitizen Hispanics in the US were to gain citizenship and register, the number of Hispanic voters would double, according to the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. Hispanics - people of Latin American or Spanish descent - are America's fastest-growing demographic group. During the 1990s, their population grew 58 percent.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Dismissing criticism that his Green Party candidacy helped elect President Bush in 2000, Ralph Nader said yesterday that he is weighing a bid for the White House next year.

The veteran consumer activist, whose third-party presidential campaign drew 2.8 million votes in the last election, criticized Democrats for not aggressively challenging the Bush administration's economic policies and its handling of corporate fraud. The party's candidates, he said, have not shown that they are a sound alternative to Bush ...

... Speaking to reporters at a breakfast meeting, Nader said he would decide by year's end whether to launch another presidential campaign. If he does, Nader said he would run as an independent or as a Green Party candidate.

The town, not the former President. If you've been reading this page with any frequency, you know I try to post local stump coverage, and here the Clinton, Iowa Clinton Herald offers a first-hand account of a recent visit by Gephardt.

"By 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999... things were going in the right direction," he said, adding that 23 million new jobs were created in seven years' time.

"In 24 months, he's turned everything on its head," Gephardt said of Bush.
Gephardt's major push is to extend health coverage to 97 percent of the uninsured. The plan maintains employer-based health insurance coverage that promotes efficiency through group health insurance coverage and directs the benefits of the stimulus package to America's working families, he said.

And it's primarily Internet-driven, which suggests that the Dean model is different, if only in effectiveness. From Yahoo / AP:

Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich said Monday that his campaign had raised $1.54 million during a three-month period, mostly from small Internet donations.

After spending about $527,000 from April to June, Kucinich has about $1.06 million on hand for his White House bid. Considered a long-shot candidate, Kucinich is slated to file financial reports with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.

So says the Chicago Sun Times, which outline's CMB's campaign, and long list of supporters, here.

Her campaign is about more than winning or losing. As the first woman in 16 years to explore a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun is promoting a just cause.

''I can win the Democratic nomination,'' Moseley Braun said recently, or, "I can make a showing and help advance the cause of women in higher office, pave the way for a woman president."

Or so says MSNBC, which also notes that DK offers a "purer anti-Pentagon alternative to Howard Dean."

Dukakis makes this argument in BusinessWeek Online, and you may read it here. Oh, and he likes Kerry. For the impatient, here's a taste:

Q: But surely this will be an uphill struggle, won't it?

A: I don't mean Bush is easy pickings. He's going to be tough, and they're going to work like hell to stay in [office]. For one thing, he has 300 gazillion dollars. But all I can tell you is that a guy who was at 44% on reelect the week before he invaded Iraq -- assuming this Middle Eastern situation continues to be bogged down -- has problems and is beatable. But not by everybody. That's why I think John [Kerry] is so compelling.

The Boulder Colorado Daily Camera hopes Nader will keep his hat out of the ring.

The Bush campaign has named lobbyist and Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs fellow Vin Weber a regional leader for the election push. He will coordinate campaign efforts in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, "monitoring public opinion, coordinating campaign efforts and organizing presidential election visits." From The Minnesota Daily, dontcha' know.

Now the Boston Globe has dean in the NH finals:

With the nation's leadoff primary a litttle more than six months away, Kerry and Dean have emerged as the leading choices among likely Democratic voters in New Hampshire, with the two New Englanders consistently outpolling the seven other candidates for the party's 2004 presidential nomination.

Kerry has led by as many as 12 percentage points, but Dean's recent success in outraising the field, with $7.5 million in the quarter that ended June 30, the Internet and grass-roots effort that propelled it, and the media attention it has attracted, have raised the stakes for Kerry. A near-favorite son candidate in New Hampshire, Kerry could be severely wounded by a loss -- or merely a close victory -- in the Jan. 27 primary, especially if Dean surpasses him eight days earlier in the kickoff Iowa caucuses.

[Miami Herald]

The NAACP's top leadership lashed out Saturday at several of the major Democratic candidates for president, calling their intention to skip Monday's candidate forum an ''affront'' to the nation's oldest civil rights organization.

As many as four of the nine candidates have refused to participate in the forum, expressing reluctance to appear on stage with their rivals in a debate format, NAACP officials said.

Full story...

Polling Report has the stats for the Newsweek poll noted below. Here are the latest numbers:

A July 8-9 CBS News Poll (go here for the details) asked this question:

"From what you have heard or read, can you name any of the candidates running for the 2004 Democratic nomination for president?" If "Yes": "Who is the first one who comes to mind?"

Oh ... and Dean and Kerry won the top-of-mind-recall question, with each getting 7%.

The Stamford Advocate (CT) has picked up this AP story about the complications that arise from Dean's challenge ... some of the same we've been reading, but also some new insights.

Raising $7.5 million for his Internet-fueled campaign was the easy part. Now Democrat Howard Dean says he must urgently expand his presidential bid, broaden his message and soften the rough edges of his personality.

Newsweek has an analysis here of how the other Dems may - or may not - be accounting for the Dean campaign.

You'd think that Howard Dean's rivals would start attacking him-”big time”-now that his Internet-based fund-raising prowess has elevated him to what amounts to front-runner status in the Democratic presidential race. But each leading contender has his own strategic reason for laying off, at least until the fall, if not beyond - a scenario that could backfire by allowing Dean a free ride until it's too late to stop him.

The most recent poll, noted here by KFMB-TV:

Dick Gephardt had the backing of 14 percent of Democrats and those who lean Democratic in the Newsweek poll released Saturday. Joe Lieberman was at 13 percent, Howard Dean 12 percent and John Kerry 10 percent.

Our apologies for the lack of posting the last two days ... we're having some database issues here at TCP, and have had to be careful of when we were posting as Sekimori works on the fix. Thanks for your patience.

This graph comes courtesy The Center For Public Integrity's "Buying Of The Presidency" site. Note that John Kerry's net worth is primarily inherited estate.

The hemp positions, courtesy NewsMax, are here. How did Kucinich respond given his Willie Nelson endorsement? Don't know, but Kerry we do:

On July 2, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., told New Hampshire medical marijuana advocate Linda Macia that he was "in favor of" medical marijuana. Ms. Macia said that Sen. Kerry "came right out and said, 'I'm in favor of it.'" Kerry added that he is "in favor of its prescription." This is a positive statement from Sen. Kerry, who is a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

It's not exactly the AFL-CIO, but I suppose Ed Asner and Studs Terkel count for something. From Yahoo / AP.

Kucinich, a four-term congressman from Cleveland, is considered a long-shot candidate among nine Democrats vying for the party's presidential nomination. He trails the pack in money raised as well as name recognition.

But the lawmaker argues that this growing list of high-profile support, which also includes actors Peter Coyote, James Cromwell, Hector Elizondo and Elliott Gould, could turn that around.

Kucinich has been beating the stump in Columbus, OH ... here's the account from the Marion Star (OH):

He's way behind in fund-raising, name recognition and political buzz, but U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Cleveland, has been buoyed by some recent enthusiastic crowds that have turned out to hear him speak across the country.

To fire up the Democratic base, he's talking about protecting America's steel and auto industries, eliminating the North American Free Trade Agreement, establishing universal health care and doing away with President Bush's tax cuts, which he argues favor the rich.

Gephardt, who is the only candidate invited to address the AFL-CIO executive council's gathering back in February, is banking on the unions. Here's the story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Gephardt's commitment to pro-union issues and hard-edged trade policies goes a long way toward defining the politician that Gephardt has become and the kind of president he would be. Labor's response to Gephardt's entreaties will go a long way in determining how far Gephardt will go in his drive for the Democratic Party nomination.

"Fighting for working families is in my bones; it's where I come from," he said at Mason Elementary School in St. Louis when he declared his candidacy earlier this year.

Eight of them, in fact, and he's also planning a visit to Quad-Cities later this month. Here's the account from the Quad-City times.

Peter Savodnik has an analysis in The Hill ("the Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress") of the role Social Security will play in the 2004 election, especially as it relates to Bush. Bottom line: it will be a major campaign theme.

A source close to the president’s reelection campaign said Bush will run “big time” on revamping the Social Security system, a longstanding conservative goal.

Another local press account of how a candidate - here Lieberman - is rubbing elbows with the common man, this time from the Nashua Telegraph (NH). Among other items, Lieberman talks of plans to help US firms compete agains foreign competition, and to increase government purchasing of US products. A taste:

Lieberman said in two weeks, he will detail plans to help manufacturers compete with foreign competition. Specifically, he mentioned China, which makes up more than 20 percent of the U.S. trade deficit.

“There certainly is a strong feeling among a lot of American manufacturers that the Chinese and others around the world are breaking international trade terms and dumping products here at prices below what manufacturers can produce here,” he said.

Lieberman is also exploring incentives for the federal government to “buy American” with its $2.3 trillion in annual spending.

“We ought to offer a premium for buying American products with that money,” he said. “I’ll be back with details.”

From Yahoo / AP:

The American people are increasingly disenchanted with President Bush (news - web sites)'s effort in turning around the economy and solving the nation's health care woes, but that discontent isn't translating into a boost for any of his Democratic rivals, says a poll released Tuesday.

Bush's approval ratings stood at 60 percent in the survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, a significant drop from his 74 percent rating on April 9, the day the 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) fell in Baghdad and U.S. commanders said the Iraqi ruler's reign had ended ...

... On another critical domestic issue for the Democrats — the economy — unhappiness with Bush's effort to revive the economy has increased from 53 percent in May to 62 percent.

From Yahoo / AP:

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is looking to expand his campaign operations into several early primary states, an opportunity created by his successful fund raising.

Joe Trippi, campaign manager for Dean, said Tuesday that the campaign may establish a more formal presence in Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and possibly Oklahoma as early as Aug. 1 or Sept. 1. Initial plans had called for the Dean campaign to open offices in those states no earlier than October.

The Charlotte Observer (NC) has published some of the Q&A from a town hall meeting Edwards held at Conant Elementary School in Concord, N.H., Monday night. Here's a taste:

Q. If you could talk about the values you would look for in a Supreme Court nomination.

A. Many times federal judges -- not just Supreme Court nominees, federal judges at any level ... are the only thing that stands between what may be the popular will at the moment and a constitutional right or a civil right. ... Those rights can be abridged and taken away. ... It is not the role of the judge to legislate. ... The worry is they sit in front of you and give you the answers they think you want to hear and you end up with a (Justice Antonin) Scalia or a (Justice Clarence) Thomas.

WCPO (OH) is reporting that Dennis Kucinich will likely run for Congress again even as he seeks the Democratic nomination.

From the Washington Times:

In theory, the senior senator from Connecticut has a lot going for him as the only Jew among the nine Democrats in the intensifying hunt for the 2004 nomination.

But some of his co-religionists also say Jewish donors feel drawn to President Bush, who is turning out to be the best friend Israel has ever had in the Oval Office.

"The smart political money in the Jewish community right now is sitting on the sidelines or supporting the president," says Lee Cowen, a Washington-based Jewish fund-raiser.

Pundits have made much of Dean's "firey" presentation style. To put some meat on the rhetorical bones, Park University Professor and former journalist Andrew Cline offers detailed rehtorical analyses of candidate speeches at his Presidential Campaign Rehtoric site. Find an analysis of Dean's June 23 Presidential Announcement Speech here. An example:

Our President and too many in Washington are giving away our future so that we pass to our children not a flickering flame of freedom but the chain of insurmountable debt. [Alliteration of the letter "f" should be avoided for positive references. It is much more effective for negative references in which the "f-word" is implied.]

No parent would do this and America must not do this. [Americans understand government in terms of the conceptual metaphors "a nation is a family" and "a government is head of the family." Liberals and conservatives have very different moral visions of family and, thus, very different moral visions of government. Re: Moral Politics by George Lakoff, U. of Chicago Press, ISBN# 0-226-46771-6.] ...

... American audiences usually react well to big-picture speeches that invoke cherished myths and cultural values. Dean skillfully uses both. This speech does not have the grandeur of the Kennedy inaugural address (from which Dean quotes), but it tugs just as surely at the emotions. This prose is remarkably free of obvious (and grand) tropes and schemes found in abundance in the Kennedy inaugural. Instead, Dean chooses to deliver the power of myth and cultural values in plain-talk to create the ethos and pathos of this speech.

CNN finally caught on to the "Howard Dean Uses The Web" story. They must have been reading Doonesbury ... every day last week. Read their take; there is this:

Then there is blogforamerica.com (blog is short for weblog), a candid daily journal updated by staffers from wherever Dean happens to be. Communications director Kate O'Connor was reluctant to file to the blog at first, but her entry writing — sprinkled with exclamation points ("we are driving in a hybrid vehicle!!")--has become a huge hit in the Dean community. "It's amazing," gushes O'Connor. "I have a following."

The Daily Nonpareil reports that Gephardt will be stumping in Iowa this week, visiting, among other places, Council Bluffs:

Gephardt will talk with Cindy and Ron Lakatos, owners of the Lake Manawa Dairy Queen, at their store at 540 32nd Avenue at 10 a.m. The event is open to the public.

Honestly: what else would he say? That he's not? Nonetheless, you can see the stump speech developing. Here's the account from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

Graham, a former Florida governor, said he's from "the electable wing of the Democratic Party" and described himself as a "moderate, commonsense Democrat." ...

... "I can beat George Bush in Florida and I will not have to have the U.S. Supreme Court to cast the last vote to do it," he told about 150 people at the state Democratic Party headquarters in Oklahoma City ...

... Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Bush had not done enough in the war on terrorism, referring to terrorist leader Osama bin Laden as "Osama bin Forgotten."

The series of Buzzword articles at Slate continues tonight, with those of Al Sharpton. Read it here.

Constitutional Right
Example: "If Charlton Heston can have a constitutional right to carry a rifle, why can't grandma have a constitutional right to health care—and therefore the pharmaceutical industry, and for that matter the medical services industry, have to be governed by a constitutional commitment to give Americans those rights?" (NPR's Morning Edition, June 13, 2003).
What it means: To guarantee entitlements, we must write them into the Constitution.
What it hides: The government doesn't pay for Heston's rifle.
Subtext: If the furnace is busted, we lefties might as well go crazy with the thermostat.

Why not ... everyone else is in the race. Actcually, my father and I discussed this possibility just last night. From US News:

With many Democrats unenthusiastic about the nine presidential candidates, two more are sizing up the race and could join the bid to take on President Bush by September. A top Democratic official says that Delaware Sen. Joe Biden is at least 50-50 on joining "and some days is 70-30." A family member says it's closer to "80 percent" a go.

JL was stumping in New Hampshire today. This account from the Stamford Advocate (CT):

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman drew inspiration from former Presidents Bill Clinton and Harry Truman on Monday, telling customers at a diner that "It's still the economy, stupid," and "The best social welfare program is a job."

At his next campaign stop, a sheet metal factory, he also quoted former third-party candidate and free trade opponent Ross Perot as he talked about the "sucking sound" of American manufacturing jobs heading overseas to China and East Asia.

Is Howard Dean the new John McCain? From the Christian Science Monitor:

Early on it was presumed that Dean was a second-tier candidate, possible vice presidential timber. Now the political scribes are taking a second look. Suddenly, it seems, Howard Dean is the hot topic of much of the presidential coverage for the three or four of you who are actually reading about an election still 17 months out. But much of that coverage is missing the point about Dean, labeling him an Internet phenomenon, an experiment in "e-politics." ...

... In fact, when you look closely, Dean's campaign may not represent a new approach to "e-politics" as much as it represents a flashback to the 2000 campaign of Arizona Sen. John McCain. Mr. McCain and his rebellious straight-talk express went further than most imagined, pushing then-Gov. George W. Bush hard, and beating him in key states.

If that's Dean's map, it may be a smart choice. Insurgent candidacies are tolerated more readily in the Democratic Party than the GOP. And judging from last Wednesday, he's already got a small machine of invested volunteers in the wings.

That's the question posed in this commentary from Douglas Harbrecht at MSNBC. A taste:

A year truly is a lifetime in politics. As this year plays out, especially if the Democrats can cull a credible challenger, by the campaign’s official opening on Labor Day 2004 the issue of Bush being reelected could be a lot closer than people realize today. The key question is whether he’ll still have Joe and Jane Voter thinking, “He’s trying to do a good job. Leave him alone.”

From the Concord Monitor (NH):

How did it come to be that Edwards, 50, whose entire political career consists of one election and four-plus years in office, convinced himself that it was his duty - or right - to run for the White House?

It is his right, he told voters during a recent New Hampshire swing, because, "I hope you agree with me this is still a country where the son of a millworker can go toe-to-toe against the son of a president of the United States."

And it is his duty because - well, because Edwards has believed from his youth that he has a calling to advocate for those like his parents, who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.

From the New Haven Register (CT):

Lieberman’s campaign message had focused on "electability," that as the most conservative of the nine-member Democratic pack he has the best shot of beating President Bush come November 2004.

Some observers, however, say that Lieberman has to lean more to the left if he’s to win over Democratic voters in key primary states.

"He has the image of being ‘Bush Lite,’" said Scott McLean, a political science professor at Quinnipiac University. "He needs to prove he’s not Bush Lite to core (Democratic) voters ...

... But according to a top campaign staffer, Lieberman’s going to hold fast to the traditionally Republican positions on national defense, fiscal conservatism and moral values.

And Dean is of little concern, the staffer said.

From Yahoo / AP:

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Monday unveiled a broad plan aimed at restoring integrity to a corporate America buffeted by scandal with the eventual goal of boosting the economy.

Making his appeal on populist terms, the North Carolina senator proposed a series of business reforms, arguing that "what's holding our economy down is the callous view of a few at the top in Washington and in the corporate world that the values that got us here can now be left behind."

From Yahoo / AP:

Despite a recent fund-raising surge, Howard Dean lags behind his top Democratic presidential rivals in a key category: Money in the bank.

The former Vermont governor cemented his standing as a top-tier candidate by raising $7.5 million between April and June, first among the nine Democratic candidates for the quarter. That gave him a total of $10.1 million raised since the beginning of the year.

Dean is the only candidate airing TV ads — $300,000 worth in Iowa — and he invested thousands of dollars to build an Internet-driven grass-roots operation. Those expenses and others, including a growing campaign staff in Burlington, Vt., leave Dean with more than $6 million cash on hand and fourth overall, aides said Monday.

From the Concord Monitor (NH):

Carol Knieriem sipped on a glass of lemonade as former Vermont governor Howard Dean told a crowd packed inside a Deerfield house that President Bush is "foolish" on foreign policy and that America is quickly becoming the next Argentina ...

... "I say Argentina and people laugh," Dean said. "When you have a Republican president who promises tax cuts and has middle class people pay for them, sooner or later we do get to be like Argentina. It isn't really that funny."

Bush, Dean said, is not a conservative, but a radical.

Borrow and spend, Dean said, is "exactly what happened in Argentina and the same kind of politics: Promise them everything."

Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post has an excellent article today about the role Tim Russert and Meet The Press play in presidential elections. Read it here, and here's a taste:

Insiders call it the Russert Primary, and no television show looms larger in presidential politics these days. As Howard Dean learned two weeks ago, faltering on "Meet the Press" brings an avalanche of negative headlines. But a strong appearance can kick-start a campaign.

"It's important that we try to find out who these men and women are and what they believe," says Russert, who keeps "voluminous" files on every White House contender. "The easy thing is to provide free time for infomercials." ...

... "A lot of shows on television, particularly on cable, are 'Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know what I think.' That's not what 'Meet the Press' is all about."

Sharpton was on CBS' Face The Nation yesterday. For those who missed it, or those who simply want to relive it, here's the full transcript. A key segment:

BALZ: Reverend Sharpton, you have repeatedly refused to apologize for your involvement in the Tawana Brawley case in the late 1980s. I'd like to ask you a question today. What did you learn from that experience, and how are you different today from the Al Sharpton who was involved in that episode?

SHARPTON: What I learned is that if you stand for something that you believe in -- and I've stood in the last 17 years, 16 years since then (unintelligible) -- you're going to get criticized. You're going to get hit. But if you believe in it, and you stand your ground, but you make sure that you're careful to expose the people and raise the people -- the bigger issues and not just get caught up in the rhetoric of the moment. I stand by what I believe. I just learned how to put what I believe forward more than the rhetoric around what I believe.

SCHIEFFER: But, Reverend...

SHARPTON: And I think that's what I've learned.

SCHIEFFER: Well, Reverend Sharpton, you were wrong, though. I mean, a jury found that the charges...

SHARPTON: I do not believe I was -- a jury -- a jury...

SCHIEFFER: ...were not true and that you, in fact, had to pay money in a libel settlement because of that.

SHARPTON: Well, first of all, Bob, a jury said in the Central Park jogger case a year later that I was wrong, and it was just overturned 13 years later. Juries can be wrong. I stood by what I believed. Juries are proven wrong every day. That's why we have appeals courts and higher courts and then the Supreme Court. So just because a jury made a ruling at one point does not mean that I was wrong.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Civil rights activist and Democratic presidential hopeful Rev. Al Sharpton denounced President Bush for invading Iraq without international support and mocked him for failing to find Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden.

"They said they're going to war because of weapons of mass destruction. They can't find the weapons," Sharpton said during a campaign stop at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. "Bush said after Sept. 11 we've got to go and get bin Laden. Yet he can't find bin Laden. He can't find bin Laden, he can't find the weapons. Now we've got to take pride that Saddam Hussein is still alive; we can't find him.

"I promise you if I'm elected, President Bush will not be in charge of the missing persons bureau," Sharpton shouted to cheers, laughter and applause.

From Forbes:

George W. Bush won the 2000 U.S. presidential election by a razor thin margin and some economists reckon that a weakened dollar could put him back in the White House in 2004 with a comfortable victory.

On the surface, a weak dollar may not seem very relevant to Bush's re-election, but in the five Midwest states where Bush lost by slim margins to Al Gore it could make a huge difference when Americans go to the polls in 15 months.

The falling value of the dollar, which has dropped 35 percent against the euro in the last 18 months, makes goods stamped "Made in U.S.A." less expensive on the global market, boosting exports for U.S. firms that might then need to add
jobs.

Go here to read an interesting election scenario from Michael Barone at USNews. An excerpt:

The two parties have responded in different ways. Republicans in Washington are confident but aware that their majorities are small and conceivably vulnerable. They have passed a big tax cut, and both houses have passed Medicare/ prescription drug bills. Republicans around the country are united as they have not been since 1984 and are pouring record amounts of money into the Bush campaign. State-by-state and district-by-district analysis suggests that Republicans will probably win more seats in the Senate and House next year.

From the Concord Monitor (NH):

According to one recent poll, Graham's name recognition among New Hampshire Democrats has doubled from 42 percent to 80 percent during the past four months. Nonetheless, the percentage of those who plan to vote for him stood at 2 percent.

Most polls put Kerry ahead, followed by Dean.

"You've got Dean on one side the state, and you've got Kerry on the other side," said Bill Cashin, a former Manchester alderman who is supporting Graham. "We understand the numbers. We know we're in an uphill fight, but I think we're going to see some surprises."

This contradicts an earlier story ... but again, deception is at the heart of the art of strategy. From NewsMax:

New York Sen. Clinton continued to gin up speculation during her book tour in Great Britain this weekend that she's preparing to run for president in 2004, hinting during a television interview that such a move "might happen."

Appearing Friday on BBC Channel 4's "Richard and Judy Show," Mrs. Clinton was pressed on whether she might challenge President Bush as early as next year.

"You never know what might happen," she told the TV duo, after first dismissing as "rumors" reports that she was considering a run in 2004.

[Drudge]

Presidential contender Howard Dean has confided to associates how he desires a fresh course for the Democratic National Committee, including a dramatic change in its leadership, specifically chairman Terry McAuliffe, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

Sources close to the early-Democratic frontrunner reveal how Dean has bitterly complained about McAuliffe and the lackluster job he has done as chairmain and architect of the disastrous off-year elections.

Full story...

The latest polling data, courtesy PollingReport.com.

The General Election

The Democtratic Nomination

George Washington University has posted a calendar of the candidate's visits to Iowa between Jan 1 and June 30 here, and of visits to New Hampshire here. Noteable:

During first six months of 2003, nine candidates and one prospective candidate (Hart) made a total of 68 visits totaling 117 days [to Iowa] ... this is significantly higher than the New Hampshire total of 57 visits and 76 days ... Howard Dean led all candidates with 14 visits totaling 27 days [in Iowa]; Dennis Kucinich followed closely with 11 visits totaling 23 days.

The Brits are betting on the 2004 General Election, and here are the latest odds from ukbetting.com:

Republicans - 8/15
Democrats - 11/8

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich focused his campaign on California Saturday, promoting a peace agenda in the Bay Area and donning boxing gloves while wooing a politically powerful dockworkers union in San Pedro.

Union members who work at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex chanted "knock out Bush" as the Ohio congressman slipped on the gloves during a barbecue at a harbor-area park.

Garry Trudeau devoted much of last week's Doonesbury to Dean and the 2004 campaign. Catch up and read 'em all here.

The Baltimore Sun has a piece covering how Kerry is fighting off the "dark horses" (read the web-enabled Dean). A snippet:

The latest obstacle in Kerry's path was a flood of online donations to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, which suddenly made Dean look less like a long shot and more like a serious threat. Last spring, it was another dark-horse rival, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, who popped a surprise and beat Kerry in the initial fund-raising competition.

Kerry's public response to Dean's surge has been to shrug it off and soldier on. Privately, his campaign advisers acknowledge that they cannot predict how big a wave Dean might end up riding into New Hampshire, which is regarded as a must-win primary for Kerry.

The article also offers additional perspective on whether or not JE is going to run for Senate.From the News Observer (NC) / AP:

U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., continued his traditional annual beach walk here even though he's setting his sights on a higher prize nationwide.

The Democratic presidential candidate walked along Wrightsville Beach for an hour Friday, shaking hands with sunbathers as the holiday weekend began ...

... Edwards has made the beach walk an annual tradition since he won his Senate seat in 1998.

From the continuing series at Slate:

Weapon of mass destruction
Example: "Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Lack of adequate education is a weapon of mass destruction. Our children not having good neighborhoods is a weapon of mass destruction" (Children's Defense Fund forum, April 9, 2003).
What it means: Big problem.
What it hides: If you had to choose between getting nuked and getting a bad education, would it be a tough call?
Subtext: Please applaud while I change the subject.

But is a vote for Dennis a vote for hemp? From Talon News:

Country music singer Willie Nelson threw his political support behind Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich on Tuesday.

"I normally do not get too heavily involved in politics, but this is more about getting involved with America than with politics," Nelson said in the statement released by the Kucinich campaign.

"I encourage people to learn more about Dennis Kucinich at his website, and I will be doing all I can to raise his profile with voters." said Nelson, who endorsed Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in 2000 and also plans to hold concerts to raise much-needed funds for the Kucinich race.

From the Portsmouth Herald (NH):

U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate Joe Lieberman spent his Fourth of July in New Hampshire, mingling, chatting and laughing with what he called the "independent-minded people" of New Hampshire ...

... "Let our conceptions be enlarged to the circle of our duties," Lieberman repeated because he said he really likes that line. "Let us extend our ideas over the whole of the vast field in which we are called to act."

Lieberman said he felt right at home in New Hampshire because his own independent way of thinking and his optimism - just like those of the residents he was speaking to - differentiates him from the other candidates.

CNN:

WASHINGTON, July 4 -- Howard Dean's prominence among the nine Democrats running for president is largely attributable to his campaign's early embrace of the Internet for organizing supporters and raising money.

Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, has generated more money and attention online than any other candidate, through direct appeals and a growing base of supporters who are hooking up on a Web site called Meetup.com, which enables people with like interests to connect and meet.

The efforts have vaulted Dr. Dean into the top tier of candidates trying to build momentum for the first primaries, more than six months away.

But with the other leading Democrats turning to the Internet to seek contributions and some, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, gaining favor on Meetup.com, it is not certain that Dr. Dean's Internet advantage will continue.

From Yahoo / AP:

The National Education Association, a powerful force as the largest union in the country, has settled on campaign targets: No Child Left Behind, the sweeping school law championed by President Bush, and ousting the Republican leader.

The NEA plans to focus its considerable organizing and fund-raising power on electing a Democrat, conceding that most congressional incumbents are safe in 2004.

The PAC for MoveOn conducted an on-line primary on June 24th and 25th "to help our members express their preferences among the current field of Democratic candidates." Over 300,000 voted, making the vote larger than the New Hampshire Democratic primary and Iowa caucuses combined. The top-line results:

DEAN 43.87%
KUCINICH 23.93%
KERRY 15.73%
EDWARDS 3.19%
GEPHARDT 2.44%
GRAHAM 2.24%
BRAUN 2.21%
UNDECIDED 2.01%
LIEBERMAN 1.92%
SHARPTON 0.53%
OTHER 1.93%

MoveOnPAC's campaign contributions provide financial support to congressional candidates who embrace moderate to progressive principles of national government. Our intention is to encourage and facilitate smaller donations to offset the influence of wealthy and corporate donors.

Set the TiVo. From Yahoo / AP:

The Democratic presidential candidates will face each other in six televised debates starting in September and running through the end of the year.

Democrats announced plans for the first four debates Friday — in Albuquerque, N.M., and New York City in September and Phoenix and Detroit in October.

Two debates will be held in November and December in Iowa and New Hampshire, with details to be announced in coming weeks. Democratic officials have been working with the campaigns and television outlets for weeks to set up a schedule — originally planned for six to eight debates.

From Yahoo / AP:

George W. Bush's recipe for record fund raising has been honed to precision since his first campaign for Texas governor in 1994, when he raised $16 million.

Now, he is on the way to taking in a predicted $200 million or more for next year's presidential primaries, even without a GOP opponent.

Well, there goes the odds-on favorite. From Yahoo / AP:

Sen. Hillary Clinton said Friday she has no plans to run for the American presidency in 2004, but wasn't so certain about 2008.

The former first lady told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that she hoped her country would elect a female leader during her lifetime and jokingly suggested the male partner could be called "First Mate."

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Now if we can just get Perot to toss his hat in the ring! From Yahoo / USA Today:

Ralph Nader, still blamed by many Democrats for draining critical votes from Al Gore in the 2000 race for the presidency, says he is seriously considering running in 2004.

His decision has the potential to vex Democrats who worry that he would divert some of their supporters and delight Republicans who think the same thing.

Nader says he has moved closer to a repeat run as the Green Party nominee after concluding that Democrats have no one who can defeat President Bush.

The Post today publishes a Dean profile titled Short-Fused Populist, Breathing Fire at Bush. A snippet:

Although he first gained notice for opposing the war in Iraq, these days Dean likes to hammer the "radical right-wing wacko" Bush administration on nearly every issue. President Bush is all wrong, he says: wrong on the economy, wrong on the environment, wrong on health care and affirmative action and peace and justice for all.

Dean talks about this every chance he gets, gets worked up about it nearly as often and sweeps along his audience -- largely the party faithful -- every time.

A non-national perspective on the Dean "Meetup" wave, courtesy the Oakland Tribune:

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign is using high technology and old-fashioned elbow grease to parlay his already-potent Bay Area support into strength in a key early primary state.

Hundreds of volunteers, mustered through Meetup.com, gathered Wednesday night in Berkeley, Walnut Creek, San Francisco and elsewhere to write personal letters to Iowa Democrats, whose names were furnished by the Dean campaign.

From Edwards' local Raliegh News Observer (NC):

Warren Gentry was among the dozens of beach- goers who greeted U.S. Sen. John Edwards warmly here Friday and wished him well on his White House bid.

But after the North Carolina Democrat and his entourage had moved down the strand on his annual beach walk, Gentry, a film producer from Raleigh, said he hoped Edwards would soon decide what to do about his Senate seat, which is also on the ballot in 2004.

"That's a very important thing for him to do," said Gentry, who voted for Edwards in 1998. "That could be the downside, if he doesn't get the nomination and the Democrats lose the Senate seat."

Six months into Edwards' presidential bid, such sentiments are becoming increasingly common.

From all appearances, Edwards is running full-bore for his party's presidential nomination and doing very little to prepare for a 2004 re-election bid. But he has yet to publicly foreclose that option.

Sorry for the cliche, but it aptly describes a site from opensecrects.org, which details the total contributions for the 100 biggest givers in American politics since 1989. You may see the full list here, and here's a preview of the top five:

American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees: $33,687,008

National Education Assn: $22,593,528
  
National Assn of Realtors: $22,230,771

Assn of Trial Lawyers of America: $21,673,217
 
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $19,907,859

The "Dean prospers via the web" theme is getting more press than the hunt for Saddam Hussein. An interesting chain: press discovers blogs, candidate discovers blogs, press discovers candidate who discovers blogs. This chunk of "Wow, it works!" comes from the New York Times.

Howard Dean's prominence among the nine Democrats running for president is largely attributable to his campaign's early embrace of the Internet for organizing supporters and raising money.

Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, has generated more money and attention online than any other candidate, through direct appeals and a growing base of supporters who are hooking up on a Web site called Meetup.com, which enables people with like interests to connect and meet.

Update: Here's a link to the post of this story at Dean's Blog For America.

The latest line from C&E:

Sen. John Kerry (MA), 6 to 1
U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO), 6 to 1
Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT), 8 to 1
Gov. Howard Dean (VT), 8 to 1
Sen. John Edwards (NC), 12 to 1
Sen. Bob Graham (FL), 20 to 1
Gen. Wesley Clark, 100 to 1
Sen. Joe Biden (DE), 100 to 1
Carol Moseley-Braun (IL), 500 to 1
Rev. Al Sharpton (NY), 500 to 1
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), 500 to 1
Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), 5 to 1
Someone else, 10 to 1

Sen. John Kerry (MA), 6 to 1 (14.3% chance). For a long time, Kerry had been doing the best among the contenders. But his path to the nomination remains fraught with serious obstacles. More recently, he seems stalled, without a compelling message. (chances downgraded June 9 from 16.7%)

U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO), 6 to 1 (14.3% chance). Gephardt opened his campaign on a very strong footing; his health care proposal is bold, dramatic and risky politically. So far as a candidate, he’s handled himself like a real pro. If labor gets behind him, he’ll be a big force. His chances shouldn't be underestimated. If he wins Iowa and Dean runs second, and if Dean beats Kerry in New Hampshire, it could become a Gephardt-Dean race. (chances upgraded June 9 from 12.5% and from 10% on April 17 )

Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT), 8 to 1 (11.1% chance; downgraded from 12.5% chance 7/1/03; upgraded from 10% 5/9/03). Though many activist Democrats view Lieberman as being too conservative – he’s running somewhat to the right of the field – and that hurts him with many constituency groups (i.e., labor, blacks, trial lawyers, environmentalists, etc.), he's handling himself very well. But his South Carolina debate performance was superb, and it gave his sagging candidacy new life and credibility. His inability to raise more money is troubling and indicates the limits of his ideological appeal within the party.

Gov. Howard Dean (VT), 8 to 1 (11.1% chance; upgraded from 9.1% chance 7/1/03; downgraded from 10% chance 5/9/03). Dean has the most grassroots enthusiasm of any candidate, and that counts in democratic primaries and caucuses. His anti-war position has given him substantial national credibility among liberals. However, since the Iraqi victory, some of his statements on foreign affairs and military issues are coming close to marginalizing his candidacy -- putting him into a danger zone. His recent money-raising has been very impressive and his appeal to the party's left base appears undiminished as a result of his poor appearance on Meet the Press.

Sen. John Edwards (NC), 12 to 1 (7.7% change; downgraded from 8.3% chance 5/09/03). Though Edwards is perceived by many pundits and politicians as the most effective candidate of the bunch, he’s yet to demonstrate significant voter support. His performance as a candidate has, for the most part, fallen short of expectation. Though his large base of financial donors among trial lawyers gives his campaign reach and depth, his lack of state-by-state polling strength is telling.

Sen. Bob Graham (FL), 20 to 1 (4.8% chance; downgraded from 6.3% chance 5/09/03). He has great experience as a governor and three-term U.S. senator, and his geographic base (vote-rich Florida) is an ideal launching pad. But he’s yet to find much of a voice, or an appealing message, in this race. His announcement fell flat. Constantly mentioned as a VP possibility.

Gen. Wesley Clark, 100 to 1 (1% chance). Still mentioned as a possible candidate, but time’s running short on this novice politico. He did well on CNN during the war, and there are some Democrats who’d like to have a candidate with military credentials. Recent interviews show his tone, cool and positions are mostly right. Could end up running for the Senate or governor.

Sen. Joe Biden (DE), 100 to 1 (less than 1% chance). Hasn’t gotten into the race and may not, but could be an interesting late entrant if none of the top tier candidates get traction. His interest seems to have increased in recent weeks, probably because no other candidate has become dominant.

Carol Moseley-Braun (IL), 500 to 1 (less than 1% chance). Though she has virtually no chance to win the nomination, her public appearances have been impressive. Her appeal to black women may garner for her a surprisingly sizable constituency.

Rev. Al Sharpton (NY), 500 to 1 (less than 1% chance). He’s the best public speaker of the field; funny, hard-hitting, clever. But his controversial past eliminates him as a contender. Nonetheless, he will likely get more votes than most of the party’s Pooh-Bahs now expect.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH), 500 to 1 (less than 1% chance). Known as Dennis the Menace during his disastrous term as mayor of Cleveland, he’s firmly on the outside looking in. He does have some strong anti-war, populist appeal among the party's left fringe.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY), 5 to 1 (16.7% chance; chances downgraded July 1 from 20%). She’s not a candidate, and is likely to stay out of this race. But her potential appeal remains considerable within Democratic ranks (particularly among blacks and women). If none of the other candidates take off, there could yet be a draft in her direction; that’s why we keep her in the mix -- although the chance that will happen diminishes with time. She will probably pass up on 2004 as long as she believes Bush will be tough to defeat.

Someone else, 10 to 1 (9% chance)

AP:

AMHERST, N.H. - While people across the country celebrated Fourth of July with barbecues, baseball games and parades, residents of the first-in-the-nation primary state sized up possible presidents.

Four presidential hopefuls made their pitch to voters while marching with kids on bikes, Revolutionary War re-enactors, scouts, unicyclists and bands. New Hampshire's primary is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2004.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean had the most supporters — and noisemakers — while marching in Amherst and then Merrimack, both within 15 miles of the Massachusetts state line. Kerry has ranked first in New Hampshire's latest polls and Dean has come in second.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Florida Sen. Bob Graham had fewer supporters present, but both shook as many hands and kissed as many babies as the regional candidates.

Howard Dean has a weblog: Blog For America, and it's powered by Moveable Type.

From the Palm Beach Post (FL):

President George W. Bush will cart away $2.5 million from the Sunshine State today as he begins his reelection campaign in Florida with stops in Miami and Tampa.

Haunted by his near-loss here in 2000 -- a defeat that would have cost him the presidency -- Bush and his political operatives have been keeping a close watch on the state ever since ...

... This will the president's 15th visit to Florida since taking office, and certainly not his last.

From the Shreveport Times (LA):

Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton was in Shreveport on Wednesday night to raise funds for his 2004 presidential campaign.

The Rev. Artis Cash, pastor of Shreveport Christian Church, said the fund-raiser was in response to a promise he made when Sharpton visited the city June 3. "This is not a IMAC presentation. I promised the Sharpton camp that I would get people together for a fund-raiser, and I am keeping my word."

Here is the transcript of the PBS Newshour medical care interview with Sharpton.

The basic premise of the Sharpton presidential campaign, when it deals with health care, starts with the support of this amendment because, firstly, if we can make every American have the constitutional right to high-quality health care, then the programs that fund it starts on the basis that we guarantee Americans that right. For example, a couple of years ago, when veterans discovered that the administration was backing up on the longstanding but unwritten commitment that people that served in the armed forces would have lifetime health care, they couldn't argue from a legal premise because there was no constitutional right. There was no legal premise to fight from. I think that it is very important that we establish the legal premise and the programs emanate from that foundation.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Democratic presidential hopeful Carol Moseley Braun is naming Patrick Botterman, a veteran of Illinois congressional and statewide campaigns, as her new campaign manager and will report raising about $150,000 for her bid when the second quarter books close Monday.

From Bay News (FL):

Florida Senator Bob Graham’s Democratic Presidential Campaign is shifting gears.

The former sunshine state Governor recently signed a deal to sponsor a team in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series.

According to published reports the truck will be covered with Graham’s campaign logos when it makes its debut at the Auto Parts 500 in Kansas City on Saturday.

From Mens News Daily / Talon News:

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, along with First Lady Laura Bush, closed out the second quarter of 2003 campaign fundraising this week by raising $34 million toward the Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection effort.

"We're laying the groundwork for what is going to be a victory in November of 2004," Bush told a jubilant Miami crowd on June 30. The Miami speech ended a six-week campaign blitz that took him to several cities across the country, including the traditionally liberal bastions of New York City and San Francisco.

From PCWorld:

No national political candidate would dare think of running a campaign today without using the Internet, but none of them is apparently using the Web as effectively right now as Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean of Vermont.

On Monday, Dean's campaign raised an amazing $802,083 online in one day, pushing his fund raising above $7 million for the quarter that began April 1 and putting him in the top tier of candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The amount of money his campaign brought in online, and its use of the Web to draw in supporters, keep them involved and organize them locally, is winning plaudits from analysts and others who say his is the first candidacy to put the Internet to full use.

From Newsday:

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has tapped a lucrative vein of discontent in the American electorate in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, but now faces the challenge of converting grassroots energy into the kind of disciplined political force that can deliver victories in next year's primaries and caucuses.

Almost overnight, Dean has redrawn the contours of the Democratic race, vaulting from darkhorse candidate to top tier on the strength of an extraordinary, Internet-based fund-raising operation and the mobilization of party activists fed up with President George W. Bush's policies and, it appears, the lack of a vigorous Democratic opposition in Washington.

From the Greenville News (SC):

Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman trolled for primary votes in Greenville Thursday, touring Greenville Hospital System's Cancer Treatment Center, and meeting publicly with local backers and privately with black clergymen.

Lieberman said GHS's cancer research laboratories fit perfectly with his proposed $150 billion American Center for Cures, a program to step up research into chronic diseases by funding clinical trials, research grants to speed drug development and large-scale research across disciplines.

From the Washington Times:

A late surge in donations has preserved the viability of Sen. Joe Lieberman's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, but political observers warn that his weakness in two early primary states still imperil his chances for the White House.

Mr. Lieberman, of Connecticut, was perceived by many as an early front-runner for the nomination because of his position as vice presidential nominee on Al Gore's ticket in 2000.

Polls gauging the mood of Democratic voters nationwide have Mr. Lieberman at least five points ahead of his rivals. Yet despite his popularity, the Lieberman campaign took on an air of desperation as second-quarter fund raising ended on June 30.

From the Concord Monitor (NH):

Sen. Joseph Lieberman won a sweet endorsement of sorts yesterday from one of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Sen. Bob Graham of Florida was campaigning at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant at the same time Lieberman's wife was there handing out scoops of ice cream the restaurant's owner had named in the couple's honor.

Without giving away the names, Hadassah Lieberman asked Graham whether he'd prefer a cappucino-flavored concoction, or a chocolate scoop studded with almonds, chocolate chips and marshmallows.

He chose the coffee flavor, "Cup of Joe Lieberman," over the "Heavenly Hadassah."

From the Portsmouth Herald (NH):

A day before Independence Day, U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., visited the site of a conspiracy against the crown.

Like Declaration of Independence signer William Whipple, who lived in the Moffatt-Ladd House on Market Street during the late 18th century, Gephardt wants to free America from its current leadership. Gephardt smiled as his tour guide and strong supporter, Moffatt-Ladd House curator Barbara Ward, told of Whipple’s role in the colonial cause ...

... Across the street, during a speech in The Oar House tavern, Gephardt continued to criticize the Republican, trickle-down economics reflected in Bush’s tax-cut policies.

Bush argues that tax cuts for wealthy Americans will spur investment and create jobs for lower income citizens.

"There’s only one problem with trickle-down economics," Gephardt said. "It takes 100 years to trickle down."

From Yahoo / The New York Times:

The jump in the unemployment rate gave Democrats a new opening today to attack President Bush (news - web sites)'s management of the economy and question the effectiveness of his signature tax cuts.

In strikingly similar terms, many of the Democratic presidential candidates attacked Mr. Bush's policies as misdirected and unfair. The continuing loss of jobs from the economy allowed them to call into question Mr. Bush's vow that his latest tax cut, the third in three years, would create a million new jobs.

From the News Tribune (MO):

Matt Gephardt joined fellow cancer survivors for a "Relay for Life" fund-raiser [last] Saturday, walking a few laps around a junior high school running track and displaying a one-track mind focused on boosting his father's presidential campaign.

The 18-hour American Cancer Society walk-a-thon for cancer research and patient programs was in its final hours when Gephardt joined the crowd Saturday morning.

From KCCI (Iowa):

Democratic presidential candidates Dick Gephardt, Howard Dean and John Kerry lead a poll of the most likely voters in the Iowa caucuses.

The poll was conducted for Planned Parenthood and released Wednesday. The leader was Gephardt with 21 percent voter support for the caucuses coming up in January.

Dean had 20 percent voter support and Kerry had 18 percent.

From the Hampton Union (NH):

The John Kerry campaign returned to Hampton this week, three months and a week after last visiting town, on its hopeful road to the White House.

This time around the candidate spoke at Fisher Scientific on Liberty Lane, addressing jobs, health care, and the economy.

PBS has posted the transcript of Wednesday's interview with Kerry about healthcare.

My plan is the first plan ever offered that actually reduces health-care costs for all Americans. You have 163 million Americans who get their health care today through the workplace. And their premiums are going up, they're skyrocketing, double digits every year for both the business and the employee. So what I do is, I create this relief of the burden where the federal government will pay 75 percent of the cost of the most expensive cases. That automatically reduces premiums for every American. I think, Margaret, if the choice to Americans is we can make sense out of our health-care system, we can bring all of the uninsured in over time, and we can lower the cost for every American, or have a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. That's the choice. I think Americans will choose the health care.

From Slate:

When I came back from Vietnam
Example: "I have been a leader in the environment since I first came back from Vietnam and became a part of Earth Day 1970" (EMILY's List forum, May 20, 2003).
What it means: On the environment, I'm a war hero. On campaign reform, I'm a war hero. On affirmative action, I'm a war hero.
What it hides: What does Vietnam have to do with any of these issues?
Subtext: Did I mention I'm a war hero?

From WAVY:

For a state that hasn't supported a Democrat for president since 1964, Virginia is getting visits from a lot of Democrats trolling for cash and for votes they will need to win a potentially pivotal primary here on Feb. 10.

Many of them also have allied themselves with key Virginia Democrats in hopes that an Old Dominion primary victory can be as decisive for them next winter as the state's 2000 Republican primary was for President Bush.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is due in Richmond on July 15 for a reception at the home of Democratic contributors. In his camp are Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and state Commerce and Trade Secretary Michael J. Schewel.

One day later, Florida Sen. Bob Graham comes to Roanoke for a fundraiser replete with bluegrass music. Among Graham's advisers are the architects of the rural campaign strategy that propelled Democrat Mark R. Warner's 2001 election as governor.

Next month, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is due in Virginia for a fundraiser. His unofficial top operative in Virginia is state Democratic chairman Lawrence Framme III.

The pace will quicken in autumn as candidates such as former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards come courting party officials just as races for General Assembly seats heat up across the state.

From WNNE:

Four Democratic presidential hopefuls who are competing for New Hampshire voters marched together in Amherst Friday.

John Kerry, Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman and Bob Graham shook hands and greeted residents in Amherst and Merrimack.

Regional candidates Kerry and Dean got the most support at the event. Their signs and stickers were visible all along the parade route.

Lieberman and Graham are also attending Independence Day festivals in Portsmouth, while Dean opens a campaign office in Nashua.

From Yahoo! news:

Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor making his first bid for national office, raised substantially more money this quarter than all his more established opponents in the Democratic presidential contest, according to figures released today.

The result forced Dr. Dean's rivals to reconsider how to deal with an opponent they had until now viewed as little more than an irritant.