Dick Gephardt on the Campaign Trail
— -- ABCNEWS' Sally Hawkins is on the road with the former House Democratic leader in his quest for the White House. For the latest report, scroll down.
Out of public eye, aiming to be in the money
Nov. 11 — Continuing his nine-day fundraising blitz covering six states and multiple cities per day, Congressman Gephardt visited New York City on Monday, the fifth day of his tireless-tally-it-up-tour. Since last Wednesday, Gephardt has had only one public event. With such a grueling fundraising schedule, you can bet he'll be happy to get back on the campaign trail in Iowa this Saturday.
The money will come in handy later this week when he opens a campaign office in Arizona, and when the campaign settles on real estate down the road in New Mexico.
Gephardt pounced on an opportunity to slam President Bush today, jabbing at the president's statements on the economy as he toured a BMW plant in South Carolina, a state where Gephardt recently visited counties with unemployment rates upwards of 20 percent.
"During the last year, under President Bush's failed economic policies, South Carolina has been hit by the largest per capita job loss in the country. The state's economy has been devastated by bad trade agreements like NAFTA and the China trade deal that President Bush and many of my opponents in this race have supported. Instead of traveling to a thriving BMW plant, the president should visit the shuttered textile mills and factories that have been forced to close their doors and lay off thousands of workers because of these bad trade agreements. While the president is in South Carolina today, he should explain what he is going to do to bring these 74,000 jobs back."
Gephardt rides high on Iowa lead
Nov. 10 — Still smarting from last week's news of union endorsements for Howard Dean, the Gephardt campaign was on a rollercoaster ride this weekend: first with Dean's public financing decision, then with a Des Moines Register poll showing Gephardt gaining ground and Dean dropping in Iowa.
In response to Dean's decision to forgo public financing, Gephardt told ABC News, "I think it's unfortunate. George Bush has done this; now Howard is doing it. Howard said he wouldn't break the caps and now he's breaking the caps. He can disguise it with a poll but I really think it's bad for the system. We have this system in place and the caps — and all that we've done to try to contain finance spending is being blown apart."
The Sunday poll, however, brought relief, showing Gephardt with a 7-point lead over Dean in Iowa among likely caucus-goers. Taken last week, the survey could reflect some backlash among Iowans upset by the Confederate flag flap, but it was also taken prior to the news that Dean will soon be adding thousands more AFSCME and SEIU foot soldiers to rally support for him on caucus night. While Gephardt frequently jokes to his over-65 supporters at Iowa campaign stops that "January 19th will be a warm and balmy evening," the poll also shows how important it will be for the Gephardt camp to get those folks out, come balmy evening or blizzard.
More potential good news: the United Auto Workers announced they are releasing their locals to endorse the candidate of their choice. The UAW has a huge membership base in Iowa and Michigan, and some Gephardt staffers feel confident that key UAWs will be theirs.
Bill Carrick, a senior strategist for Gephardt, told ABC News that none of the recent Dean news will change their strategy. "There is no magic campaign rabbit that we're going to pull out of a hat." Another campaign source said they feel they are right on track and predicted wins in Iowa and February 3 states Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma and "that's four of the seven states up until then." February 3, he said, is an "advantageous lineup" for Gephardt.
Sounds good, but beyond Iowa money will be a key factor and Dean will have lots more of it. Adding insult to injury, it was reported that some top Gephardt campaign staffers have been asked to take pay cuts.
All of the endorsement woes and financial stresses seemed far from Congressman Gephardt's mind Saturday night in St. Louis when he attended a black tie fundraiser with his wife, Jane, and daughter, Chrissy. The gala was a benefit for the Human Rights Campaign, an organization in which Chrissy, a lesbian activist, is very involved. The Gephardts beamed when Chrissy took the podium to introduce her father.
As I squatted on the floor in front with my video camera among the tuxedos and strapless dresses, I noticed the intense emotion on the faces of both Chrissy and her father as each of them spoke. Chrissy, who is the spitting image of her dad, teared up when he talked about her courage to come forward to tell him and Jane she is gay. Chrissy described the difficult decision to come out — made more difficult because of her father's career in politics. She feared her parents would tell their friends that she had moved to a desert island. She feared backlash from her father's supporters, and they have received some.
But, Chrissy said, to her relief, her parents reacted with love and acceptance. So much so that months later, she and her new girlfriend moved in with the Gephardts into their modest Washington, D.C. condo. Gephardt later said Chrissy's and Amy's two cats were the hardest part; he's a dog guy.
Two-horse race
Nov. 7 — With news of Dean's SEIU endorsement and the possible collaboration between the SEIU and fellow labor giant AFSCME to back Dean, phones were ringing off the hook at the Gephardt campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C., with reporters looking for statements and digging to gauge just how major a blow this is for Gephardt. The campaign had been enjoying a recent boost in positive media attention but with the SEIU news that all came to a screeching halt. As newspapers hit the stands today with big Dean headlines, you'll find Gephardt's name down in the fourth or fifth graph, where reporters assess how bad the news is for the other candidates.
Gephardt campaign manager Steve Murphy spun it for the positive. "This is a bigger blow to Wes Clark than it is for Dick Gephardt," he said. Clark has hoped for an SEIU endorsement since he announced his candidacy, Murphy said, and Kerry, who was reported to be the AFSCME favorite early on in the race, also hoped for their backing. Murphy said Gephardt wasn't expecting either and the campaign knew nothing of the unions working together on a joint announcement. He said they've long known that the SEIU was courting Dean and "AFSCME endorsed Dukakis in 1988, not Gephardt, and Gerald McEntee has been sending signals all year that he's not going with Dick Gephardt."
Related Stories
ABC News Live