Democratic presidential candidates seen unimpressive
Democratic presidential candidates, who nearly spent more time criticizing each other than President Bush in Saturday night's debate, got poor-to-lackluster reviews from political analysts yesterday.
"I was singularly unimpressed," said independent pollster John Zogby. "From the vantage point of the public, I doubt that any undecided viewer came away with anything new out of this."
"[The candidates´] only hope right now is that perhaps very few people were watching," Mr. Zogby said.
Even some Democrats were less than enthused by the preprimary debate in Columbia, S.C., the first of the 2004 election cycle.
Ed Craig, a former director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said he was "fairly disappointed" by the candidates' performances, and that they had not learned from their party's losses in last year's elections.
"They were arguing over the same themes that we heard then, and they did not resound that well," Mr. Craig told Reuters news service. "Where is the guy with a vision?"
Other Democrats were more upbeat.
"They started up the car, they got around the track, nobody blew a tire. It's just the first lap," said Phil Noble, who heads the Democratic Leadership Council's South Carolina chapter.
As expected, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean resumed their fight over the Iraq war and national security. But Mr. Dean, who has fallen behind Mr. Kerry in the New Hampshire primary polls, attempted to soften his antiwar image and toughen his rhetoric on defense — an indication that Mr. Kerry's attacks may have damaged his rival's candidacy.
"I think the commander in chief has to be tough. We can't send a message that we won't be tough on national security," Mr. Dean said after being hit by Mr. Kerry's campaign for suggesting the United States might not always be the world's strongest military power.
For weeks, Mr. Dean has questioned whether the Iraqis are better off with Saddam Hussein gone, but during his sparring match with Mr. Kerry, he said unequivocally, "I'm delighted to see Saddam Hussein gone."
Democratic strategists have been complaining for weeks that their party's position on the need to overthrow the Iraqi regime was dangerously weak. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut used the Dean-Kerry squabble to lecture them and the party that their position "doesn't send the right message."
A staunch supporter of the war, Mr. Lieberman said Democrats have no chance of defeating President Bush — who leads all of his Democratic rivals in the latest polls — if they do not take a stronger position on national security and fighting terrorism. He attacked Mr. Dean for opposing the war and Mr. Kerry for taking an "ambivalent" position on it, a charge the senator denied.
The exchange was an attempt by Mr. Lieberman to undercut Mr. Kerry's national-security credentials. An adviser to the Connecticut senator, the most conservative in the nine-member pack, said yesterday that if Mr. Lieberman is to make any headway, he must raise doubts about Mr. Kerry's commitment to being tough on defense and terrorism.
Although Mr. Kerry is ahead in New Hampshire, Mr. Lieberman — Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 election — is leading his rivals in the national polls, largely due to his stronger name recognition.
"Lieberman scored some points against Kerry," said a Democratic strategist not associated with any campaign.
While all candidates bashed Mr. Bush on the economy and attacked his tax cuts, none appeared to propose any detailed economic plan to boost business growth and create jobs, even though polls show it remains the top concern among voters.
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri said his universal health plan would revive the economy and reduce unemployment. But all of his major rivals for the nomination rebutted that claim, saying that his plan has no cost constraints, would rob funds from Medicare and Social Security, and would give an unnecessary tax-credit subsidy to businesses that already provide health insurance for their workers.
"Basically, you saw candidates saying 'me too' on Bush's national security policies or 'I want to undo what he's done on the economy.' But with the exception of Gephardt, there was no one who said, 'Here's what I'm going to do' " on the economy, Mr. Zogby said.
"Clearly, nobody emerged as a winner or someone able to challenge President Bush, at least for now," he said.
Democratic presidential candidates, who nearly spent more time criticizing each other than President Bush in Saturday night's debate, got poor-to-lackluster reviews from political analysts yesterday.
"I was singularly unimpressed," said independent pollster John Zogby. "From the vantage point of the public, I doubt that any undecided viewer came away with anything new out of this."
"[The candidates´] only hope right now is that perhaps very few people were watching," Mr. Zogby said.
Even some Democrats were less than enthused by the preprimary debate in Columbia, S.C., the first of the 2004 election cycle.
Ed Craig, a former director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said he was "fairly disappointed" by the candidates' performances, and that they had not learned from their party's losses in last year's elections.
"They were arguing over the same themes that we heard then, and they did not resound that well," Mr. Craig told Reuters news service. "Where is the guy with a vision?"
Other Democrats were more upbeat.
"They started up the car, they got around the track, nobody blew a tire. It's just the first lap," said Phil Noble, who heads the Democratic Leadership Council's South Carolina chapter.
As expected, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean resumed their fight over the Iraq war and national security. But Mr. Dean, who has fallen behind Mr. Kerry in the New Hampshire primary polls, attempted to soften his antiwar image and toughen his rhetoric on defense — an indication that Mr. Kerry's attacks may have damaged his rival's candidacy.
"I think the commander in chief has to be tough. We can't send a message that we won't be tough on national security," Mr. Dean said after being hit by Mr. Kerry's campaign for suggesting the United States might not always be the world's strongest military power.
For weeks, Mr. Dean has questioned whether the Iraqis are better off with Saddam Hussein gone, but during his sparring match with Mr. Kerry, he said unequivocally, "I'm delighted to see Saddam Hussein gone."
Democratic strategists have been complaining for weeks that their party's position on the need to overthrow the Iraqi regime was dangerously weak. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut used the Dean-Kerry squabble to lecture them and the party that their position "doesn't send the right message."
A staunch supporter of the war, Mr. Lieberman said Democrats have no chance of defeating President Bush — who leads all of his Democratic rivals in the latest polls — if they do not take a stronger position on national security and fighting terrorism. He attacked Mr. Dean for opposing the war and Mr. Kerry for taking an "ambivalent" position on it, a charge the senator denied.
The exchange was an attempt by Mr. Lieberman to undercut Mr. Kerry's national-security credentials. An adviser to the Connecticut senator, the most conservative in the nine-member pack, said yesterday that if Mr. Lieberman is to make any headway, he must raise doubts about Mr. Kerry's commitment to being tough on defense and terrorism.
Although Mr. Kerry is ahead in New Hampshire, Mr. Lieberman — Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 election — is leading his rivals in the national polls, largely due to his stronger name recognition.
"Lieberman scored some points against Kerry," said a Democratic strategist not associated with any campaign.
While all candidates bashed Mr. Bush on the economy and attacked his tax cuts, none appeared to propose any detailed economic plan to boost business growth and create jobs, even though polls show it remains the top concern among voters.
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri said his universal health plan would revive the economy and reduce unemployment. But all of his major rivals for the nomination rebutted that claim, saying that his plan has no cost constraints, would rob funds from Medicare and Social Security, and would give an unnecessary tax-credit subsidy to businesses that already provide health insurance for their workers.
"Basically, you saw candidates saying 'me too' on Bush's national security policies or 'I want to undo what he's done on the economy.' But with the exception of Gephardt, there was no one who said, 'Here's what I'm going to do' " on the economy, Mr. Zogby said.
"Clearly, nobody emerged as a winner or someone able to challenge President Bush, at least for now," he said.
