Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - Democrats close on a sour note

Democrats close on a sour note

Reane Hendrickson, left, Kim Mahood, top, and Trevor Hendrickson gather with other family members in their Bismarck home Sunday to remember Kenneth Hendrickson, one of two North Dakota National Guard soldiers killed Saturday in Iraq. (AMY TABORSKY/Tribune)

Jan 26, 2004 - 23:34:46 CST

By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer

NASHUA, N.H. -- Playing to huge crowds of wavering voters, Democrats swapped charges of dirty tricks and elitism Monday, closing out the New Hampshire primary on a sour note before the presidential race goes national.

From coffee shops, truck stops, school gyms and country stores, the candidates took their last dose of small-state retail politicking with a collective grimace, testy and tired after a seesaw week of campaigning.

"It's close and it's closing fast," Howard Dean said, accusing his rivals of smearing him in a shadowy phone-and-mail campaign. "I need your help because we have every intention of winning the New Hampshire primary."

Most public polls gave fellow New Englander John Kerry a double-digit lead over Dean, a former Vermont governor, though at least one survey had the pair in a dead heat. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut were trailing.

Campaign strategists said internal polls and anecdotal evidence indicated that Dean and Edwards had the most momentum in the race's final hours. New Hampshire has a storied history of upsets and surprises, largely because of a choosy electorate loaded with independents who can vote in party primaries.

"This race could still go any number of ways," said Wayne Lesperance, political science professor at New England College in Henniker, N.H. "The questions is, how far do Dean and Edwards surge?"

The answer will come from voters such as Connie Mackey of Nashua, N.H., who had a front-row seat at Dean's first event. "I wish I could have Howard Dean's heart, John Kerry's political savvy, Wes Clark's military experience and Edwards' idealism," she said.

So who will it be Tuesday? "Haven't a clue," she said with a laugh. "Don't know whose soap to buy."

The candidates were in the mood to sell, knowing the importance of a solid finish as they look toward the next stage of contests starting Feb. 3 in seven states.

After the handshake-to-handshake search for votes in the living rooms of Iowa and New Hampshire, the candidates are headed to a series of impersonal, multistate campaigns that focus on airport rallies and million-dollar TV ad buys.

Perhaps they'll get more sleep. The hotly contested early stages took a toll on the candidates, their voices raspy and no sentence safe. Dean's support of the people's right to vote became "the people's vote to right" in a tongue-twister at his first event.

Kerry buzzed the state in helicopters to remind voters of his valorous duty in Vietnam. Given his standing in polls, the Massachusetts senator was counseled by aides to ignore his rivals, but he couldn't help but question their commitment to abortion rights.

"I'm the only candidate running for president who hasn't played games, fudged around" on the issue, Kerry said as he sought to solidify his advantage among women.

Dean called himself fiscally conservative, socially liberal and the one candidate willing to take tough stands. The message, geared toward New Hampshire independents, is part of a political makeover designed in the desperate hours after Iowa's caucuses, where he finished third and delivered a shrill election-night speech.

Dean blamed the Iowa loss in part on his rivals' negative tactics, and said Monday the smears had spread to the Granite State.

"Unfortunately we are seeing a few of those tricks in the Democratic primary," Dean told a supporter who asked about such tactics.

A spokesman said later that Dean supporters are getting phone calls criticizing Dean for, among other things, claiming to be a Christian when his wife and children are Jewish.

"Show me some evidence," said Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter, denying any involvement.

Edwards, addressing an overflow crowd of 400 in Portsmouth, N.H., took a familiar jab at his rivals as he called for change in Washington. "Do you believe somebody that's been in politics all of their life, or in Washington for decades, will bring that change?" the first-term senator said.

Lieberman's campaign sent mailings to 70,000 New Hampshire independent voters, comparing his credentials to those of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who won the 2000 GOP primary with 61 percent of the independent vote.

McCain did not mention Lieberman as he returned to the site of his political triumph, this time to campaign for his former rival, President Bush. Several Republican surrogates -- McCain included -- have defended Bush in New Hampshire, a potential swing state in November.

Questioned about Kerry, who frequently compares his military record with his rivals' foreign policy background, McCain said, "I don't think it's appropriate for people to compare their credentials." McCain, who called Kerry a friend, later said he had no problem with the senator's tactics, but only thought that it wouldn't work.

Clark skipped Iowa's caucuses to focus on New Hampshire, but his poll numbers flattened once Kerry brought his high-riding campaign eastward, forcing the easygoing Clark to sharpen his rhetoric.

"I didn't go to Yale" or enjoy a privileged upbringing, Clark said in Keene, N.H. Kerry, Dean and Lieberman graduated from the Ivy League school, as did Bush. "Unlike all the rest of the people in this race, I did grow up poor."

Strategists said Clark will draw a similar economic line in the Feb. 3 contests, assuming he survives New Hampshire. Kerry, looking ahead to Feb. 3, is poised to get endorsements from the Democratic governors of Arizona and Michigan if he wins Tuesday.

News > Topnews

Printer friendly version Democrats close on a sour note

Comments

Shannalii wrote on Jun 2, 2008 12:22 PM:

" is this a true story?? cause if it is thats scary i used to live in the palace arms hotel. well i only lived there for like a month and a half. but i was in grade 4, now im in grade 10. me and the other kids that lived there always wondered why no one was allowed on the 7th floor. my mom and my stepdad used to work there too. so did these other people and they got sent to jail because they started a meth-lab up there. but one day the power went out in the whole hotel. i lost my dads ring there in suite 419. i had a lot of fun in that hotel though...i just didnt know it was haunted. "

peewee herman wrote on Apr 10, 2008 2:02 PM:

" hi "

PC of Mandan wrote on Dec 11, 2006 10:41 AM:

" Thank you for such a intelligently written report on Senator Dorgan. It's too bad most candidates feel they have to mud sling their apponants to get their ideas across. I would, just once, like to listen to someone talk about the issues, and not bad mouth the other person. I think, this is why Senator Dorgan has been reelected through the years. He talks about the issues and asks questions to get more information on what the people are thinking. "

Online Editor wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:57 PM:

" To I Know Everything: Each comment is read by the Editor or the Online Editor before it is posted. Your first comment won't be posted because it is potentially libelous. "

i know everything wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:54 PM:

" umm.... where is my comment? "

GG wrote on Oct 7, 2006 10:00 PM:

" LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. The war on drugs is a waste of tax payers money. People should have the right to decide what goes into their bodies and what doesn't. The government shouldn't own you, correct? "

Quite confused wrote on Aug 10, 2006 10:22 PM:

" I thought this was a football story. "

just me wrote on Aug 5, 2006 2:29 PM:

" What do any of these comments have to do with placing the people who should not be in society in commitments to a state hospital? Why should they have a right to a chance at life when they took any kind of DECENT life of not looking over your shoulder from their victims? Why should they have 3 squares a day and a roof over their head either? I say put them all out on a little island and let them have at eachother for their own sick way or pleasure. Why put the rest of society in jeapordy of their sick ways? All these children who had their INNOCENTS STOLEN, they can never get that back. Why do the offenders have a chance to get theirs back? "

Brenda Coin wrote on Jul 12, 2006 9:51 PM:

" Hello, I am a North Dakota native who currently resides in Missouri. I came here to pursue music. I remember the days of the oil boom in and around Dickinson, ND back in the late 70's and early 80's. My dad is still residing in ND and they recently drilled on his land. I was wondering how I could find out specific info. on what was found after drilling this time. They drilled back in 1983 and it was a dry hole and they found oil this time but I haven't heard any details as to what the results are. How would I get that information? "

Dorothy Hendrickson Tenney wrote on Jul 6, 2006 1:58 PM:

" I had many picnics at the Cave Hills when I was a child and teenager, and don't remember seeing many pictographs or other Indian paintings, so when initials were carved out, we didn't think of it as "Grafitti", just saying we were there. I wish I had known the history of the Hills while I was there, it would have made it even more special. I will always remember the coolness of the valleys and the good spring water. It was our "backyard". "

D. Anderson wrote on Jul 3, 2006 8:00 PM:

" Today's graffiti is the rock art of the future. Look at Pompey's Pillar, where a traveling white man left his mark back in 1806. There is a big celebration planned for Aug. 25 this year to observe 200-year-old graffiti. As an aside, consider the Medicine Rocks State Park near Ekalaka: acres of sandstone covered with inscriptions, yet none call it graffiti. Once you consider a rock to be sacred, you become guilty of idolitry. "

Glenn Andersen wrote on May 2, 2006 12:41 PM:

" Is it just me, but it seems that a lot of foreign companies are crucial to so many of the renewable energy projects going forward in this country. I am not complaining, only wondering why companies based in this country are not leading the way in this industry. "

kim miner at kim77miner77@yahoo.com wrote on Apr 8, 2006 6:52 PM:

" can u help me . please!. I have anceint.rock art/petroghyphic. who or were do I go so I may show this to them. u can contact me. e-mail address is kim77miner77@yahoo.com. or (209)496-8233. (408) 295-7930. I thank you so very much. for any help!. if not thank anyways. Thank you for your time kim miner. "

Post Your Own Comment

All online comments are limited to 350 words total.
Comments are reviewed for taste, tone and language before posting.
Some comments may be used in the Tribune's print edition.
We value and respect your privacy, but The Bismarck Tribune might
disclose certain information to governmental entities if served with subpoena.