DATE=May 16, 2002

TYPE=Dateline

NUMBER=7-36307

TITLE=THE DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGERS TO PRESIDENT BUSH

BYLINE=Neal Lavon

TELEPHONE=619-0112

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Neal Lavon

CONTENT=

DISK: DATELINE THEME [PLAYED IN STUDIO, FADED UNDER DATELINE HOST VOICE OR PROGRAMMING MATERIAL]

ANNCR: Even though most Americans don't know it, a national political campaign is underway. It's a campaign in the Democratic Party to select a challenger to President Bush and the Republican Party in 2004. The stakes are high, and as the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes said, "the game's afoot." With more in this Dateline report, here's Neal Lavon.

NL: Political experts often call the two years before voters cast ballots the "real" election. It's the time when potential candidates test the political waters, raise money, recruit activists, and make themselves better known to the party faithful. Analysts agree that there are currently eight candidates seeking the presidential nomination in the Democratic Party--the opposition party to President Bush's Republicans.

First of course, is the candidate who didn't win the presidency in 2000, although he got a plurality of the votes in the election--former Vice President Al Gore. Mr. Gore stayed out of the political spotlight following his bitter loss that was decided, in the end, by a decision of the United States Supreme Court. Last month in the southern state of Florida, he returned to politics with a rock 'em, sock 'em speech, criticizing the Bush Administration.

TAPE: CUT 1, GORE, :15

"They are wrong to vilify honorable men and women who oppose their right-wing domestic agenda and who oppose their blatantly dishonest budget! (CHEERS)"

NL: Vice President Gore's running mate, Senator Joseph Lieberman, is also interested in the nomination. But he has said that he would not seek the presidential nod if Al Gore ran again. There is political gossip emerging that the two candidates might campaign for the nominations as a team. Senator Lieberman, who in 2000, became the first Jewish-American nominated to a party's national ticket, said the experience was overwhelming, humbling, and very American.

TAPE: CUT 2, LIEBERMAN, :24

"I was raised in a family where they said if you work hard, there is no limit to what you can achieve in America. But honestly, this went even beyond my mom and dad's dreams, certainly beyond mine. I think there was a moment, or times earlier in my life, when I dreamed of becoming a United States senator. And so when I achieved that dream, I felt very fortunate but this goes beyond it."

NL: But new and former challengers have sprung up and been actively working to further their goal of winning the nomination. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, a combat veteran of Vietnam, and a U.S. senator since 1984, wants to be on the national ticket, and is stressing foreign affairs and energy policy.

TAPE: CUT 3, KERRY, :29

"America take note: if we enact the entire Bush energy plan we will find ourselves twenty years from now more dependent on foreign oil-than we are today. The Administration has not offered an agenda for energy independence. That is false advertising. It has offered an agenda that evades the tough questions -- provided blinders where we need magnifying glasses -- and slogans in the place of genuine leadership."

NL: In the House of Representatives, Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, a former presidential candidate in 1988, is also said to be running. He will carry the banner of organized labor, a key component of the Democratic Party.

TAPE: CUT 4, GEPHARDT, :12

"We want to reclaim the country! We want to involve the people in their own governance, we want them to claim the power that they have to make this country fulfill its final and wonderful potential!"

NL: Perhaps the most visible Democrat to date on the national stage is Senator Tom Daschle [DASH-ell] of South Dakota, the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate. He, too, is mentioned as a candidate who would stress economic issues.

TAPE: CUT 5, DASCHLE, :18.

"We can go back to paying off our debt rather than risk running up the deficit. The first step, the first step, is to get our economy on track by passing a real economic stimulus plan."

NL: A governor is also in the running. Governors have been eminently successful at earning presidential nominations and winning elections. In fact, four of the last five presidents have been former governors. Governor Howard Dean of Vermont, a physician who became that state's governor in 1991, will run as a liberal.

TAPE: CUT 6, DEAN, :18

"If we do not stand up for the principles of this party, we are making a terrible mistake. And I do not care if the president's favorability rating is 110-percent, the truth is that working people in this country are still struggling through the decade of prosperity and now through the recession."

NL: The lone African-American considered to be in the race is the Rev. Al Sharpton, the controversial leader of the National Action Network. He recently spoke in Washington and was coy about his intentions. But if he does run, he would be expected to address economic and social issues.

TAPE: CUT 7, SHARPTON, :25

"I have not announced or decided on a presidential run, so I'm not announcing a platform to run. But I am announcing concerns that should be addressed by anyone that intends to run and intends to solicit the votes of people that are concerned about the progress of this nation."

NL: But the candidate to garner the most attention is Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. He entered politics just two years ago, when, as a trial lawyer, he won his senate seat. He is young, photogenic, quick on his feet, and already has signaled intentions to run. He says he will bring an "outsider's" view to Washington.

TAPE: CUT 8, EDWARDS, :11

"I didn't spend most of my life in politics. I spent most of my time representing people who were in very difficult places in their lives and trying to give them a shot. And I'm proud of what I did, but most of my life was not spent in politics. As a result, I have a perspective on what needs to happen in this country that's outside Washington, I think, seen through the eyes of regular people."

NL: One other candidate, who is mentioned but is an unlikely campaigner, is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Tim Russert, who covers politics for the National Broadcasting Corporation, says she will not be candidate.

TAPE: CUT 9, RUSSERT, :19

"Mrs. Clinton made a firm commitment to serve her six-year term as a senator, her aides insist she is going to keep that. Secondly, many Democrats said that while she is magical with the Democratic primary base, that she is radioactive with the general electorate still, and it would be very risky to put her on a national ticket."

NL: Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, who edits the Rothenberg Political Report, says the man whom the Democrats eventually nominate, will reflect the party's vision of its ideal candidate.

TAPE: CUT 10, ROTHENBERG, 1:19

"It really depends on what the Democrats are looking for. There are a number of ways they can go. The Democratic primary voters and caucus participants, the people who will pick the nominees at the convention, do they want someone who is younger and a fresh face or more mature and has been around with an established record? Do they want a Southerner because they believe a southern Democrat would have the best chance of beating George W. Bush, or is that not a consideration? Do they want someone who has an established credential on foreign policy and national security, or someone who is stronger on domestic issues, or maybe is just a great talker?

John Edwards has some assets. He is extremely good-looking. He is young and energetic. He is a fresh face. He is very articulate. You mentioned that he is a lawyer. He is a trial lawyer. He is great on his feet. And he comes from a state that is generally considered conservative and Republican, and therefore, if the Democrats could pick off that state and maybe another southern state, they would have obvious advantages in terms of winning the White House.

But it is awfully early. We don't know what the Democrats are looking for. And we don't know how these candidates are going to come off over the next couple of years. Some of this is simply, Neal, a process of survival."

NL: In addition to Senator Edwards, Stuart Rothenberg says other Democratic candidates are fighting to draw attention.

TAPE: CUT 11, ROTHENBERG, :31

"Senator John Kerry of the Northeastern State of Massachusetts is going around the country talking to state parties. Vermont Governor, this is up in New England, Howard Dean has made it very clear he is running for President. He is quite a long shot. House Democratic Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, from Missouri, in the Midwest, looks like he is going to run. And of course, Al Gore. They're all out really meeting Democrats in individual States, making contacts, raising money, and raising their profiles, as a way to launch a presidential bid."

NL: Stuart Rothenberg says that while Democratic rank and file voters hold Al Gore in high esteem, activists may be looking elsewhere.

TAPE: CUT 12, ROTHENBERG, :32

"If you look at the national polls of Democratic voters, Al Gore has a huge lead. If you talk to Democratic officeholders and activists, they are not looking forward to a Gore candidacy. For the average voter, the close call means that Al Gore has name recognition and maybe deserves another nomination. To the insiders, the close loss means that Al Gore lost a sure win, a race he should have won, and therefore does not deserve another chance."

NL: Both Republicans and Democrats, says Tom DeFrank, Washington Bureau Chief for the New York Daily News, think they have a winning formula.

TAPE: CUT 13, DEFRANK, :13

"Republicans think the president can ride the terror war to a good showing in November in the congressional elections. The Democrats think that they can take him, teach him a lesson, and spank him. Somebody is seriously wrong here."

MUSIC: HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN, UNDER FOR:

NL: With the congressional elections slated for November, the Democratic presidential hopefuls may get an idea of what the electorate at large is thinking. This will help some and hurt others. But the campaign to face President Bush is progressing, leading to the point in 2004, when Democrats will either be saddened by another loss, or as their traditional party song says, will be celebrating and singing Happy Days are Here Again. For Dateline, I'm Neal Lavon.

MUSIC: HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN, BRING UP TO TIME, TO 11:56.