Slate Article: The Phoenix Debate

[michaele@ando.pair.com]

ballot box=20
The Phoenix Debate=20
Klutzy Clark, Dizzy Dean, and other highlights from the Democratic =
face-off.=20
By William Saletan=20
Posted  Friday, October 10, 2003, at 1:50 AM PT=20
=20
Like a drummer in Spinal Tap, Bob Graham has departed the 2004 =
presidential race, leaving in his wake a sense of absence of a sense of =
absence. The remaining nine Democrats met last night for a debate in =
Phoenix. Here are a few highlights.=20
=20
1. Clark's credibility problem. Wes Clark always looks sincere. As =
critics of President Bush know, that look can immunize a politician =
against piles of evidence that his statements aren't true. But Clark =
keeps pushing his luck. In this debate, he said, "I would never have =
voted for war. The Congress made a mistake in giving George Bush an =
open-ended resolution that enabled him to go to war without coming back =
to the Congress." Huh? It's on the record that exactly one year ago, =
when that resolution was being debated in Congress, Clark "said ... he =
support[ed] a congressional resolution that would give President Bush =
authority to use military force against Iraq." In short, 1) Clark =
supported the resolution. 2) Clark says the resolution let Bush go to =
war. 3) Clark says he never would have voted for war. Am I missing =
something?=20
=20
Not content with that hole, Clark dug himself a few more. He denied =
moderator Judy Woodruff's demonstrably true assertion that "there were =
some changes in your statements about Iraq" in the days after Clark =
announced his candidacy. Then Clark brushed off his praise for Bush in =
May 2001 by saying, "I did not vote for George W. Bush. I voted for Al =
Gore. But when I did go into a Republican fund-raiser, because I was =
nonpartisan at that point, then I did acknowledge that I knew his =
national security team. ... Yes, I had seen disturbing signs, and I gave =
a speech that called on greater international involvement at the time. =
And the things I spoke about in that fund-raiser were things that the =
administration didn't exactly support."=20
=20
Let me get this straight: 1) Clark was nonpartisan. 2) Clark voted =
against Bush and saw disturbing signs after Bush won. 3) Clark then =
spoke at an event to raise money for Bush's party. 4) At this event, =
Clark said things he knew Bush didn't support.=20
=20
2. Stop-Dean Gridlock. If you're going to gang up on a candidate, get =
your story straight. The more Howard Dean gets attacked from the left =
(by Dick Gephardt on Medicare and Social Security, and by Dennis =
Kucinich on the Iraq occupation) and from the right (by John Kerry and =
Joe Lieberman on trade and middle-class tax cuts), the more the attacks =
blur into a din of contradictory complaints, suggesting that Dean must =
be somewhere in the comfortable center. Every jab from Kucinich lets =
Dean show he's no Kucinich. Every jab from Lieberman lets Dean show he's =
no Lieberman. Dean summed up the effect when, after taking a shot from =
Gephardt, he said with a smile, "The folks that are running against me =
have had the greatest time. First they said I was George McGovern and =
couldn't win, and now they're saying I'm Newt Gingrich and I couldn't =
win."=20
=20
Listen to what Dean said in this debate, and you'll get the real story:=20
=20
Here are the differences between me and the [candidates] from =
Washington. First, our campaign is changing the political system in this =
country. Last time, last quarter, we raised more money than any other =
candidate by three times=E2=80=94200,000 donors, average gift $72. =
Secondly, I have a record. Everybody is going to talk about health =
insurance. Every kid under 18 in my state has health insurance. A third =
of all the seniors have prescription benefits. Working poor people have =
health insurance. And the third area is the war. ... If you want real =
change in this country, then I'd like your support.=20
=20
That's one issue (the war), plus executive experience (legislators can't =
get their way as a governor can), plus raising money from medium-sized =
donors. The legitimate rap on Dean isn't that he's too far to the left =
or right, but that he's parlayed largely procedural differences into an =
image as the lone candidate who will bring "real change."=20
=20
Gephardt's economic message. I'm no fan of Gephardt's demagoguery on =
retirement programs. I almost laughed out loud when he claimed that =
Democrats are doing fine because they won the presidential election =
prior to the last one, increased their chronic minority in the House, =
and "won the Senate back not long ago" by getting a Republican to defect =
before losing it in the next election. But give Gephardt credit: He's =
the only guy who relentlessly exploits the Clinton economic record. "We =
got a great story for the American people," said Gephardt. "I led the =
fight for the Clinton economic program in 1993. It created 22 million =
new jobs. ... We know how to do this. They [Republicans] do not. If you =
want to live like a Republican, you've got to vote for the Democrats." =
Again and again, Gephardt came back to this argument. The reason his =
party is in such lousy shape is that it hasn't sold this argument, and =
the evidence behind it, consistently enough. =20
=20
Lieberman's integrity shtick. I like Joe Lieberman's relatively =
conservative positions on a lot of issues, but I don't think he can win =
the Democratic nomination by emphasizing those positions. Evidently, he =
doesn't think so, either. In this debate, he focused less on the content =
of his positions than on the character he demonstrates by sticking to =
them. Lieberman framed every bad Bush policy as a failure of =
"integrity," and he spun every unpopular position of his own as evidence =
of his courage, conviction, and trustworthiness. I doubt this shift in =
emphasis will help Lieberman kill off any of his competitors. But it =
might stop him from killing himself.=20
=20
Now for the awards.=20
=20
Best line: Kerry. "There are two ways for you to have lower prescription =
drug costs. One is you could hire Rush Limbaugh's housekeeper ... or you =
can elect me president."=20
=20
First slam at Halliburton: Kucinich.=20
=20
First slam at the PATRIOT Act: Al Sharpton.=20
=20
First to leave his post and walk toward the audience: Kerry.=20
=20
Most unrelenting hype: Gephardt. Bush's Iraq policy is =
"incomprehensible!" His foreign policy is "an abysmal failure!" His tax =
cuts are "a miserable failure!"=20
=20
Most shocking disclosure: Kucinich. "I have a proposal that's supported =
by 50 members of Congress to create a Cabinet-level Department of =
Peace."=20
=20
Most alarming assertion: Clark. "The question that Candy raised about =
Iran is a very serious question. ... We're marching into another =
military campaign in the Middle East."=20
=20
Least credible alibi: Kerry, after Woodruff read aloud a criticism of =
Dean that "Senator Kerry's staff has been distributing" in the debate =
press room. "I didn't raise this, and I didn't know they were saying =
that."=20
=20
Best Hispanic impersonation: Dean, for perfectly pronouncing the soft T =
in "Latino."=20
=20
Best use of the audience: John Edwards, for engaging a questioner in a =
conversation about her prescription drug coverage, complete with =
Clintonesque "you are the only person in the whole world" gaze.=20
=20
Heaviest name drop: Kerry. "I spoke with the secretary-general in the =
last 24 hours ..."=20
=20
Shirtsleeve roll call: The eight male candidates took off their jackets =
for the part of the debate in which they sat on stools close to the =
audience and took questions. Clark, Edwards, Dean, and Kucinich rolled =
up their shirt sleeves. Sharpton, Gephardt, Kerry, and Lieberman didn't. =
Which leaves us with the question: WWBGD?=0A=
=0DWilliam Saletan is Slate's chief political correspondent.=20
=20
Photograph of Wesley Clark by Tim Sloan/Agence France-Presse.=0A=
Informative piece about the Dem contenders.