Inside Politics

Attention span

To whom is America paying attention?

Ann Coulter, author of the best-selling book “Treason,” appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” on Monday night, in direct competition with the man touted as the hottest media figure of the week, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who was a guest on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”

Miss Coulter drew almost twice the audience that Mr. Dean did, according to Nielsen ratings — about 1.5 million viewers. Mr. Dean had 804,000 viewers.

Some in the print and broadcast media, meanwhile, are intent on reinventing Mr. Dean’s image “to disguise his liberalness,” noted the Media Research Center (MRC) yesterday.

“Before former Vermont Governor Howard Dean can be painted as a far-left ideologue, the national media are coming to his aid, penning stories about how he’s not only not liberal, he’s really a conservative,” noted MRC’s Brent Baker.

This week alone, the MRC tracked such tactics on CNBC and NBC, and in the New York Times, The Washington Post and Time magazine.

Daschle manor

The Club for Growth, a tax-cuts advocacy group, began running a TV ad yesterday against Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, blasting the South Dakota Democrat for buying a $2 million home on Foxhall Road while opposing President Bush’s tax-cut package.

The Club, which made its name backing conservatives in primaries against liberal Republicans, has put Mr. Daschle at the top of its 2004 target list. This new spot is timed to coincide with Mr. Daschle’s annual “drive” across South Dakota.

But the Club hopes Mr. Daschle’s constituents wonder how he is able to afford a new home in Washington while trying to block a tax cut for them.

“Maybe they don’t want tax relief on Foxhall Road,” an announcer says before the screen flashes to Aberdeen, S.D., resident Wayne Greenfield, who says, “But we sure can use it here in Aberdeen.”

The ad shows a road sign for Aberdeen, which says “Home of U.S. Senator Tom Daschle,” then flashes to a shot of Mr. Daschle’s new manor on Foxhall Road, billed as a “great place to entertain Hollywood liberals, politicians and lobbyists.”

The ads are being run in Sioux Falls, S.D., and on South Dakota cable networks. Dan Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Mr. Daschle, predicted the ads will have little effect.

“To the extent that South Dakotans are familiar with the Club for Growth, they know them as an out-of-state group that does nothing more than run very harsh negative attack ads,” said Mr. Pfeiffer.

Jerry meandering

It’s official. Television host Jerry Springer will not run for the Senate, claiming he can’t star on his salacious TV show and run for office at the same time.

“I blame myself,” he confessed at a press conference yesterday. “I’m a grown-up. I’ve done this show for 13 years. The reality is that you can’t be doing the show while all of this is going on. It can’t be about me. It can’t be about any politician. It must be about the people we’re trying to help.”

Still, the former mayor of Cincinnati had a suggestion for those Democrats pining for him to enter the race.

“If we can find the right message,” he said, “the Democratic Party can be rebuilt.”

Party favors

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California had sweet orders for fellow Democrats, the Hill reported yesterday.

“Order a sheet cake with ’Happy Birthday Medicare’ written on it … Buy additional party supplies. Be creative. Buy a ’Happy Birthday’ tablecloth for the center table. Purchase disposable plates and utensils if the facility will not provide them. You may also wish to purchase additional party favors — horns and whistles can be very useful to ’boo’ the Republican agenda,” Mrs. Pelosi suggested.

The instructions on how to throw a 38th-birthday party for Medicare were included in an information packet meant to brief party members during the August recess.

“The minute instructions have raised concerns among Democratic aides and lobbyists that Pelosi is developing a didactic style that can be too patronizing to be helpful,” the Hill noted.

“It’s counterproductive, because it keeps people from reading the good stuff,” said one senior Democratic aide, while a Democratic lobbyist said, “I thought this was a joke. The Medicare stuff is so detailed, it’s laughable.”

Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider dismissed criticism: “This is just one page out of a 78-page packet, and it’s a suggestion of an event that has worked successfully in other districts.”

Graham crack-up

Democratic Sen. Bob Graham’s presidential bid and his strident criticism of President Bush’s justification for the U.S.-led war against Iraq have cost him in his home state of Florida.

The former two-term governor and three-term senator had approval ratings over 60 percent for much of his career, but a poll released yesterday found his ratings at a record-low 47 percent.

The Mason-Dixon survey shows Mr. Bush would defeat Mr. Graham in his home state by 51 percent to 39 percent were the election today. Mr. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq got 58 percent approval.

The poll of 625 registered voters was conducted July 29-31.

Babble rabble

Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo is adamant that Al Gore seek the Democratic presidential nomination.

No dice, though. Gore spokesman Michael Feldman assured the Associated Press yesterday that “The vice president is not going to be a candidate in 2004,” even though he is giving a much-ballyhooed speech at New York University this afternoon on the war in Iraq.

Mr. Cuomo won’t give up.

“I would like to see him get in,” he told WROW-AM radio in Albany, N.Y.

“Right now, the Democratic voice is not a single voice. It is not a chorus. It is a babble,” he said.

In a subsequent interview, Mr. Cuomo said the Democrats lack a “positive agenda, one that the whole party can come around, and a guy like Gore, who has done it, who has it and who can point to it; I think he would be an advantage to the campaign.”

He also suggested that Sen. Bob Graham, Florida Democrat, would make a good running mate for Mr. Gore.

Messin’ with Jesse

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and his longtime political opponent Leslie Davis are still feuding, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported yesterday.

Mr. Davis was arrested on suspicion of obstructing the legal process Monday night during a confrontation with police outside Twin Cities Public Television, which plans to host Mr. Ventura’s upcoming MSNBC talk show.

Mr. Davis and fellow Ventura opponent Bill Dahn have been regularly staking out skyway entrances to the studios. Mr. Dahn was also arrested.

“We’re protesting Channel 2 for promoting Ventura and the MSNBC people when he’s done so much harm to the state of Minnesota,” Mr. Davis said. He was released from jail Tuesday night.

“We don’t want him to get to a national level without people knowing about him,” Mr. Davis said.

“They have the right to protest, but at some point it crosses the line,” said Mr. Ventura’s attorney, David Olson. “This is just systematic harassment.”

• Contact Jennifer Harper at jharper@washingtontimes.com or 202/636-3085.