The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 2 of 2)

"We didn't need this Bryant situation," says the White House political staffer. "Bryant could be a serious challenger to Alexander, make Lamar work and spend money. That isn't what we needed in a state that should have been a cakewalk."

And money appears to be biggest complicating factor. President Bush was recently in Tennessee on what Rove and others had hoped would be the first of a several big fundraising swings for Alexander. But because of Bryant's presence in the primary race, and because of what happened in California, where its handpicked man Richard Riordan lost badly to neophyte Bill Simon, Jr., the White House is hesitant to raise money for one Republican candidate and not the other.

"What happens if Bryant does surprise us and wins the primary?" asks an RNC fundraiser. "It's kind of awkward for Bush to campaign for him in the fall after raising hundreds of thousands against him several months earlier. We have to stay out of this one for the time being and hope Alexander can raise the cash on his own without a lot of help from the White House."

p> FEELING THE CROSS-PRESSURE br> New York Rep. Nita Lowey , chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is telling her Democratic House colleagues they are going to win back the House. Her colleagues aren't necessarily buying it. After all, there isn't a Democratic political consultant in Washington telling them that. "It's been all doom and gloom," says a House Democratic leadership staffer. "Whatever she's drinking I want some." /p>

It might not be what she's drinking, but it's definitely what she's been taking in: a poll she commissioned as DCCC chairman says that so-called "cross-pressured voters" (those who support President Bush's war on terror but who are unhappy with his domestic policies) favor Democrats 2 to 1 over Republicans. "It's the first bit of good news we've seen in months," says a DCCC staffer. "It gives our candidates a roadmap."

According to several House and Senate Democratic sources, the poll's insights were utilized by major players who spoke at a Florida Democratic meeting over the weekend. Potential presidential candidates Al Gore, Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Chris Dodd hammered Bush on domestic issues, and pretty much let him off the hook internationally beyond a few potshots on the Israel/Palestine situation.

p>"That meeting got a lot of press play down in Florida, so we'll poll over the next week or so to see how independents picked up on what we were saying and what they think about it," says a pollster who does work for the Democratic National Committee. "We'll see if Lowey's poll is accurate or just a mirage." br> /p>

topics:
Israel