Capitol Letter: Turning Up The Heat

After all-Arnold, all-the-time, making the transition to the dreary Democrats is a hard sell. Whatever you think of the California recall, the theatricality of Schwarzenegger's political debut made the Democrats seem even more charismatically challenged than usual as they lined up to debate Thursday in Phoenix.

They all had their set speeches and nobody managed to break out of the pack. With nine candidates--Florida Sen. Bob Graham left the race earlier this week--and 90 minutes, there is limited opportunity to do a star turn. Each of the major contenders came in with two goals: one, to not make a mistake, and two, to take down the front runner. Gen. Wesley Clark, who is leading in the national polls, took the brunt of the criticism and complained it was "really embarrassing" for Democrats to attack each other when the real target is President George W. Bush. "Welcome to the Democratic presidential campaign ... None of us are above questioning," Sen. Joe Lieberman amiably chided Clark.

The former NATO commander entered the race claiming to be an antiwar candidate, but there were times when he expressed support for the war. He said it was his fellow Democrats who "can't get their own story straight" when they accused him of inconsistency. Clark told reporters the day after he announced his candidacy that he "probably" would have voted for the congressional resolution that gave Bush the authority to invade Iraq. He reversed himself the next day, saying he would never have voted to go to war. While he recognized the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, Clark said, "The war was an unnecessary war. It was an elective war, and it's been a huge strategic mistake for this country."

Clark handled the attacks on his Iraq position well enough, but he was on the defensive for most of the evening and has clearly lost stature simply by being one of nine, instead of the fantasy candidate floating above the fray.

Clark should have demanded equal time to express his views on domestic issues, where he is a blank slate. The last half hour of the debate was reserved for questions from undecided Democrats in the audience. It turned into a pandering session as the candidates tried to outdo each other in proposing health care, prescription drugs and better benefits for veterans.

None of the jabs Clark suffered at the hands of his rivals have hurt him as much as the perception that he and his campaign are not ready for prime time. Clark's campaign manager, Donnie Fowler, quit in protest over too many Washington hands running the campaign, and after the Washington Post revealed Clark had accepted speaking fees from colleges after he had become a candidate, a possible violation of election law, Clark said he would return the money.

One moment of impromptu theater occurred when moderator Judy Woodruff was handed a piece of paper that John Kerry's campaign was circulating in the press room. It said that Howard Dean as governor wanted to "kick seniors off" health care in Vermont. Dean was given a chance to defend himself, and said that he had proposed a hike in the cigarette tax to cover the costs. When the Republicans in the state legislature balked at passing the tax increase, he told them that he would end the program. "And they passed the cigarette tax, as I knew they would," he said. Kerry seemed taken by surprise by his aides' note, but lost no time in rebutting Dean's response that the charge was "silly." Next to Clark, Dean is everybody's target of choice. Dean has more money and more traction in the early states than any of his rivals. Reporters inside the debate hall noted that Kerry and Dick Gephardt conferred with each other during breaks and seemed especially cozy. The buzz is that their campaigns have informally teamed up to slow the former Vermont governor since a Dean win in Iowa or New Hampshire could end the presidential hopes of Kerry and Gephardt.

Gephardt kept up the pressure on Dean, pointing out his support for cuts in Medicare first proposed by Newt Gingrich. Dean is a hawk when it comes to fiscal matters. He went to great lengths as governor to balance the budget, and some of the cuts he made in programs favored by Democrats are coming back to haunt him. Exposing Dean's green eyeshades is also a way to undercut his image as a liberal, which he earned for his antiwar stance. In reality, he is a centrist and even a conservative when it comes to managing government money.

Dean is struggling to maintain his early momentum, but because of the following he has generated over the Internet, he is almost certainly to be a finalist for the nomination. The question is who will be the other finalist. Gephardt is staking everything on coming out of Iowa a winner; Kerry is camping out in New Hampshire; John Edwards is banking on the wave of Southern primaries to show he's viable. Clark is counting on New Hampshire and, later, Wisconsin, where open primaries will draw in Independents and Republicans who like the fact that he hasn't been an ardent Democrat.

Because of the way he burst from the starting gate, Dean can't pick and choose. He has to compete everywhere. No one-night stands on the Jay Leno show for the Democrats.