| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
11 Dec 2003 04:02:36 PM |
| Object: |
Dean's rise sparks worry in the Bush White House |
From The Houston Chronicle, 12/11/03:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2286376
Dean's rise sparks worry in White House
Once seen as `gift from God,' candidate now has `wild-card potential'
Washington Post
WASHINGTON --
Advisers to President Bush once relished a race against Howard Dean,
but now they say they have become increasingly wary of him, worried
that his unconventional and intense appeal poses a threat they had
once underestimated.
Various Bush campaign officials said they view the former Vermont
governor's nomination as all but inevitable, even though no votes will
be cast until next month and some Democrats still hope to derail Dean
because they fear he is running too far to the left to be viable in
next fall's general election.
The endorsement of Dean by former Vice President Al Gore on Monday
cemented the growing concern among GOP officials that Dean's lightning
progress from also-ran to front-runner means that he could spawn
unpredictable hazards for Bush.
Although one administration official said Dean is widely viewed in the
White House as "a gift from God," a more cautious view is gaining
currency.
"He has the biggest potential to go down in flames, but he also has a
certain wild-card potential," said former Republican Rep. Vin Weber of
Minnesota.
Among the factors that most worry them, Bush officials said, is Dean's
ability to attract young voters and others who have not voted before.
Some of the officials said they also are given pause by Dean's
similarities to their boss: a polarizing figure who has a temper and
deep appeal to his core supporters.
"We believe this is going to be an election about our two bases, and
therefore Dean's ability to excite his base means that he's a
formidable candidate," a well-known Republican said after discussing
the issue with Bush's top strategists.
"This is an evolution in the thinking. So much for uniting and all
that stuff."
Five months ago, Karl Rove, Bush's senior adviser, startled onlookers
when he joined the final line of a chant at a Fourth of July parade in
Washington:
"We want Howard Dean!"
Rove later told friends he was joking, but his apparent enthusiasm was
taken in political circles as a clue that Dean, widely portrayed as
dovish and liberal, was Bush's opponent of choice.
That view was bolstered when some establishment Democrats began
voicing their fear that Dean might wind up running nearly as poorly as
Sen. George McGovern, who lost 49 states to President Nixon in 1972.
Dean remains a dream candidate for many Republicans.
"Can you imagine a convention to nominate Howard Dean?" asked a GOP
lobbyist.
"It would be a festival of labor and universal health care, a liberal
celebration beamed into living rooms all over the South and Midwest."
More Republicans, however, are urging fellow party members to quit
talking about a cakewalk or a blowout.
Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio GOP, was one of several veteran
party officials who said they are having flashbacks to 1992, when they
all assured themselves that little-known Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton
was no match for Bush's father.
"Everybody told me that Clinton came from a third-rate state with a
budget smaller than Wal-Mart's and that he didn't need to worry about
him," Bennett said.
"I think we still call him Mr. President."
________________________________________________________
I personally feel that right-wingers should continue to talk about the
2004 election as a cakewalk and a blowout. After all, didn't they say
that Iraq was gonna be a cakewalk and blowout?
Harry
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