Gephardt "can't afford to lose" Iowa
Intensity of Democratic battle reflects the stakes
MIKE GLOVER, AP - Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier - Dec. 01, 2003

DES MOINES - The intensity of the race for Iowa's leadoff precinct caucuses has gone up yet another notch, and that only makes sense because there really is a lot at stake on the evening of Jan. 19.Campaigns will be made and broken that night, and the rivals will hurl themselves into a white-hot six-week stretch during which, in all likelihood, a nominee will be selected.

There's no time to stumble and then recover from a mistake and there will be incredible pressure from both the media and from elder statesmen within the party to settle the issue as soon as possible. Initially, it's a battle between former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt, bunched together atop the polls for Iowa's caucuses. With a 20-year campaign history in the state, Gephardt can't afford to lose this one. If Dean slips past Gephardt in Iowa, it's hard to see where he wins. [Complete Article]

 

Dean Poised for the Nomination
Can Dean run out the clock? ANALYSIS By Tom Curry
MSNBC, Dec. 1, 2003 (key excerpts)

THE MOST RECENT polling data indicate that Dean has a shot at winning the Iowa caucuses [on Jan. 19] and looks almost certain to win the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 27. If Dean does win both contests, even officials with rival campaigns say he would gather so much momentum that he'd be difficult to stop from getting the party's nomination. Even if Dean loses Iowa, a convincing victory in New Hampshire on Jan. 27 would position him well for the following week's contests in Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan and other states.

The dilemma facing Dean's rivals is clear from their TV ads, as well as from their debate performances: If they focus most of their fire on Dean and less on Bush, party loyalists might conclude that Dean is the genuine anti-Bush candidate.

Rebutting the allegation from Kerry and others that he lacks foreign policy experience, Dean said on MSNBC's "Hardball" Monday night that "given the amount of trouble we are in now in Iraq, ... their kind of foreign policy experience is not the kind we want in the White House, and mine is."

Kerry, Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt voted for last year's congressional resolution authorizing Bush to go to war against Iraq. Dean opposed the resolution. [Complete Article]

 

Dean "has the right instincts" on fiscal and foreign policy
Dean Plugs Gaps in Experience
Ex-Governor Consults Experts on National, International Issues
Paul Farhi, Washington Post, December 2, 2003 (excerpts)

In foreign policy and defense, Dean has "talked with" ... former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, former defense secretary William Perry and former national security adviser Anthony Lake.... Dean's most committed foreign policy wonk is a volunteer, Danny Sebright, a former Pentagon official ... who headed a Pentagon panel on global terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks....

In economics, the campaign has sought advice from such luminaries as Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz, Princeton University's Alan S. Blinder and Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University's Earth Institute. Sachs said "[Dean] has the right instincts" on fiscal and foreign policy. "I've been very impressed with him as a listener," Sachs said. "He wants the background. He asks the right questions. I like the process with him." [Complete Article]

 

How Dean Decides
Tiny but Trusted Inner Circle Surrounds Dean
Paul Farhi Washington Post: December 2, 2003

Friends and colleagues, as well as Dean, say his decision-making process reflects his training as a physician. "My style is to get everyone in a room and keep asking them questions until I'm satisfied," Dean said. "I pick apart everyone's ideas until it all fits together or falls apart. I make the decision, but I want all the information. It's like being a doctor. You never get all the information you want, but you try to get as much information as you can." [Complete Article]