Inside Politics

Angry Democrats

Even James Carville, the Democratic partisan known for his take-no-prisoners rhetoric, is feeling the heat from frustrated party members, the Associated Press reports.

Mr. Carville said that during a recent trip to Seattle, at a liberal bastion where he is usually well-received, he was berated for not working hard enough to oust President Bush.

“There is an intense anger out there among Democrats. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, and they’re upset with their own leaders,” Mr. Carville said.

Bush’s fund-raising

President Bush’s campaign said yesterday it has raised at least $34.2 million since he announced his 2004 re-election effort in May, with some checks still to be counted.

The Republican’s total dwarfs fund-raising by his nine Democratic rivals, including Howard Dean, who racked up more than $800,000 in a daylong Web-a-thon on Monday that put him firmly among his party’s money leaders as the second fund-raising quarter ended at midnight.

Mr. Bush raised $3 million at fund-raisers in Miami and Tampa, Fla., Monday while Vice President Dick Cheney helped the campaign collect at least $500,000 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and $600,000 in Akron, Ohio, the Associated Press reports.

The Bush-Cheney campaign had expected to raise around $30 million for the quarter after six weeks of fund raising. Mr. Bush entered the race in mid-May.

Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney and first lady Laura Bush raised close to $22 million through roughly a dozen fund-raisers across the country over the past two weeks.

In addition, Mr. Bush raised $4.5 million after sending a direct-mail piece to 1 million donors and raised $700,000 over the Internet, National Finance Chairman Mercer Reynolds said.

Last-minute appeals

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