'Tis The Season To Be Nasty
Dotty Lynch is the Senior Political Editor for CBS News. E-mail your questions and comments to Political Points
'Tis the season to be jolly, but in Campaign '04-tide, the Democratic candidates are acting far more naughty than nice. Few Americans in early voting states, including Democrats, have become engaged in the race. A study by the Tyndall Report says the TV networks have devoted only 74 total minutes this year to the presidential campaign on their evening news broadcasts. But for the nine candidates running for the Democratic nomination, time is running out.
In 42 days, the process will begin in Iowa, but perhaps more importantly, for all but three or four of the Democrats, the journey will end on Feb. 3. Five of the candidates have been running hard for over two years; and for them, Christmas or not, it's crunch time. The nine Democrats spent over $53 million in the first nine months of this year and have clocked 298 days in Iowa during the campaign.
On Tuesday in Durham, N.H., the FINAL Democratic National Committee debate will take place and the other eight wannabes will have another opportunity to whack Howard Dean. But now, they aren't even waiting for the debates. Last week, three negative ads went on against Dean in Iowa. The conservative Republican Club for Growth hit him from the right, claiming he'd raise taxes of average Iowan families by $1,900 a year. A group on the left (a classic 527 front group with murky funding and at least one tie to Dick Gephardt) spent $230,000 on a TV buy attacking Dean for his high ratings from the NRA.
Blame McCain-Feingold for some of this Grinch-like behavior; the law mandates that "issue ads" from groups can't run within 30 days of a primary. So only 12 more shopping days, you little 527 devils, until Dec 19.
A few weeks ago, the Gephardt campaign blasted Dean for running the "first negative ad in the history of the Iowa caucuses." It wasn't, but in truth, most candidates run positive campaigns in Iowa and wait until New Hampshire to get scummy. But the following week, Gephardt retaliated with and an ad blasting Dean. In New Hampshire, Joe Lieberman is on the air attacking Dean for keeping his records as governor sealed, while the Kerry campaign has launched "Daily Straight Talk: Another Look at Howard Dean," which they send out daily at 11 a.m.
In the bad behavior department, Kerry himself has taken to using the "f---" word, though, in public at least, he has reserved it for President Bush's handling of Iraq. On Thursday, Wes Clark starting yelling at the usually mild-mannered Washington Post reporter Dan Balz.
We started the fall season asking the question, "Who will pop Howard Dean?" For the rest of the pack, that's still the focus. With Dean surging in the polls in the first two states, Feb. 3 is looking like the first – and for some, the last – place to get into the action.
Some are hoping that a stronger than expected showing in Iowa and N.H. will propel them into Feb 3 as the anti-Dean; hoping that the anti-war, Internet types who've been organizing so effectively for Dean in the early states won't be as motivated in places like Oklahoma and Arizona.
The Dean campaign has been trying to close down the process for months and has made a decision to shoot the moon on Feb. 3. They say they'll go on the air in South Carolina on Tuesday, and will follow soon in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. Dean's had a bit of trouble getting started in S.C., and, in fact, the pace of his grassroots fundraising nationally has slowed a bit, even as he's surged in the polls. Campaign manager Joe Trippi admitted on Friday that the goal of having 900,000 supporters by the end of this year is looking unlikely. But with the confidence/hubris of his candidate, Trippi told reporters it may just take "a win in Iowa and New Hampshire" to achieve the goal So, big deal, "We'll do it by the end of January instead of December," Trippi proclaimed.
Wesley Clark's many former Clinton advisers remind reporters that back in December of '91, Bill Clinton was still a blip in the polls and say this thing is just beginning. Clark has also started on the air in South Carolina, Arizona and Oklahoma. John Edwards has spent considerably in the Feb. 3 states, as well. The calendar has compressed since 1991 and candidates who lag in the early going won't have a lot of time to make a comeback.
So peace on earth, good will toward men is on hold this year for Democrats. Tidings of great joy will have to wait until spring.