The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

(Page 3 of 4)

The best indicator -- not necessarily a confirmation, of course -- that Edwards appeared to be the favorite to pick up Gephardt's organized labor support came on Tuesday morning during a final Gephardt staff meeting on the ground in Iowa. There, state campaign manager John Lapp told staff and volunteers, many of them on loan to the campaign from labor, that Edwards was his candidate of choice for them to support down the road.

Gephardt's national campaign was quick to distance itself from that suggestion, though a number of senior campaign staffers, particularly in South Carolina and in the rust belt, are now looking to Edwards for possible jobs.

p> IT'S TOO LATE, PERIOD br> Clearly Former Vermont Gov. Howie Dean isn't spending his campaign fund on anger management courses or dress for success instruction. He has raised more than $40 million, probably has about $25 million banked after Iowa, so why all the cheap-looking TV ads? /p>

That's what many of his supporters in New Hampshire are wondering, after seeing the quality of the material the candidate aired in Iowa and so far in New Hampshire. Dean's top advisers are now said to be looking to bring on board at least one more national firm to develop TV spots for the candidate, though it may be too late in New Hampshire, and that might be too late for his campaign.

"There was a broad-based opinion inside the campaign that we didn't need the splashy ads that other candidates were airing," says a Dean adviser in Iowa. "It went against the core values of the campaign we were trying to convey to the voters. But at this point, we may have to just surrender and spend the money. That's why we raised it."

p> RANK PULLER br> Is Wesley Clark one tantrum away from a Dean meltdown?

topics:
Trade, Television, Military, NATO, Unions