GOP hopes to paint Dean as the new McGovern

Republicans already are considering various strategies for President Bush to use against Howard Dean, the man they expect to head the Democratic presidential ticket next year.

Republicans say one tactic for containing Mr. Dean’s surging campaign is to connect the former Vermont governor with George McGovern, the antiwar liberal Democratic presidential nominee who lost in a landslide to President Nixon in the 1972 election.

Frank J. Donatelli, former Reagan White House political director, said, “It will be necessary for Bush to make Dean unacceptable to independents and a segment of the Democratic Party — to ‘McGovernize’ him.

“Howard Dean will want to be the Democratic version of John McCain, and the Bush folks have to make sure he is McGovern,” Mr. Donatelli said.

Republicans say Mr. Dean, whose campaign received a huge boost from Tuesday’s endorsement by former Vice President Al Gore, is likely to emerge as the Democratic nominee for next year’s presidential election.

“Unless Hillary Clinton steps in, in which case I believe the nomination would be hers, Dean will probably emerge as the nominee in February,” Republican strategist Eddie Mahe said.

Opinion polls show that Mr. Dean is widening his lead over his nearest Democratic presidential rivals in the first two binding nomination contests — Iowa and New Hampshire.

Republican strategists say the fall election will rest mainly on the public’s attitude toward the war in Iraq. They predict that the rebounding economy will benefit Mr. Bush, prompting the Democrats to focus on other issues.

But in the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night, Mr. Dean, who first gained popularity based on his opposition to the Iraq war, attacked Mr. Bush’s economic record.

“The president has lost 3 million jobs,” Mr. Dean said. “What this election is about is taking this country back for ordinary people.”

Mr. Dean’s insurgent, anti-establishment campaign has drawn comparisons to the 2000 run for the Republican presidential nomination by Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, however, says Republican attempts to portray Mr. Dean as a fire-breathing McGovernite might be difficult.

“Dean clearly is a phenomenon, but not necessarily a Goldwater or a McGovern,” said Mr. Gingrich, Georgia Republican. “Dean is more clever and tougher.”

But Republican strategists say the Bush campaign will seek to portray Mr. Dean as a tax-and-spend liberal who cannot be trusted on national-security issues.

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