Democrats keep cool amid loss of key campaign issue
By ADAM C. SMITH
Published December 15, 2003
It's the awkward affliction of presidential challengers that good news for the country often is bad news for their political ambitions.
One can only imagine the gut reactions of Howard Dean and most of his fellow Democrats to the Sunday morning images of grubby Saddam Hussein finally in custody. They were probably not unlike their reactions to the Dow surging past 10,000 last week.
But wisely, most of the Democratic contenders spoke Sunday as Americans first and partisans second.
"I could not be prouder of the men and women of the U.S. armed forces for capturing this horrible despot. This is a testament to their courage and determination," retired Gen. Wesley Clark said.
Even former Vermont Gov. Dean, who rode antiwar sentiment to the front of the Democratic field, put aside his anti-Bush fire for the day.
"This is a day to celebrate the fact that Saddam has been captured, and we'll have to worry about the campaign later on," Dean said during a brief news conference in West Palm Beach.
That was a marked contrast to Dean's reaction to the fall of Hussein's regime in April: "I suppose that's a good thing."
The challenge for Democrats now that they've lost a key symbol of failure in Iraq is how to confront the president over the war without sounding shrill and petty.
Even before the news of Hussein's capture, a Dec. 5-7 Gallup poll found U.S. support for the war rising, with 59 percent saying it was worth going to war. That's up nine percentage points since September.
"This is not the time for nitpicking or playing politics with foreign policy," Democratic consultant Peter Fenn said. "If it looks like you are looking at this through political-colored glasses, you're in trouble."
How much the capture eases voters' concerns about Iraq clearly depends on the degree of stability that follows. The president cautioned that violence was likely to continue in Iraq, and soon after he spoke, explosions erupted in Baghdad.
"If, God forbid, Chinooks keep falling out of the sky, this arrest today may be little-noted or remembered on Election Day," Democratic pollster Rob Schroth said.
Still, a major Democratic attack line against Bush has been diminished significantly.
"It's like the house of cards is collapsing for Howard Dean and some of the others who are using the war as a fulcrum point for opposing the president," said U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach.
The Democrats surely will temper their criticism over Bush's efforts in Iraq during the next few weeks. But several made clear Sunday that they still see an opening with the lack of international cooperation in Iraq.
"Our military leaders have accomplished a great success. I hope President Bush will use this opportunity to chart a course in Iraq that will bring in our allies in a meaningful way to achieve a democratic and peaceful Iraq," said U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.
Iraq has defined the Democratic nomination contest more than any other issue. Candidates who voted to authorize the war have been on the defensive from Dean and many Democratic activists throughout the year. Hussein's capture offered them at least a brief shield against antiwar second-guessing.
"I supported this effort in Iraq without regard for the political consequences because it was the right thing to do. I still feel that way now, and today is a major step toward stabilizing Iraq and building a new democracy," said U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri.
Some Democrats skeptical about Dean's ability to beat Bush in November hope Hussein's capture might give Democrats pause about basing their primary votes mainly on anger over the war.
In fact, Dean took more shots from Democrats than Bush on Sunday.
"If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today, not in prison, and the world would be a more dangerous place," said U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
Added U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts: "I guess he supposes it's a good thing to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Well, I knew it was a good thing on that day, day one."
The Democratic argument against Dean might have picked up a bit of steam Sunday. But between the major coup in Iraq and increasing signs of economic rebound, the party's case for turning Bush out of the White House is getting harder to make.
