Inside Politics

A tepid affair

Voters are not particularly enchanted with any of the 10 Democratic presidential hopefuls yet. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean leads a favorability poll of New Hampshire voters released by American Research Group yesterday, with 31 percent saying they would vote for him.

But 27 percent of the respondents said they were “undecided.”

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts ranked third with 21 percent, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri was fourth with 8 percent, followed by Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (5 percent), and retired Gen. Wesley Clark and Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Bob Graham of Florida (each with 2 percent.)

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois garnered 1 percent each and the Rev. Al Sharpton got zero percent.

The survey — which polled 422 Democrats and 178 undecided voters — was conducted Sept. 14 to 17.

Fun with Dick & Howard

The Democratic hopefuls, meanwhile, are squabbling among themselves.

Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, Missouri Democrat, has been circulating to the press a 1999 letter from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean to President Clinton. The communique offered hints to Mr. Clinton on how to usher the admission of China to the World Trade Organization through Congress.

The Gephardt campaign contends that the letter shows that Mr. Dean “flip-flopped on [the North American Free Trade Agreement] and free trade” before declaring his candidacy for president.

“It’s fair for Dick to pass around this letter. But it’s not honest for him to claim, to pretend, that I was against Medicare and Social Security,” Mr. Dean complained to the Manchester Union-Leader yesterday.

“I am disappointed that when confronted with a legitimate policy debate, Governor Dean has chosen to say that I’m not honest. This campaign should be about substance and not personal attacks,” Mr. Gephardt said yesterday.

Story Continues →