Party Chief (McAuliffe) Won't Break Up Scuffles

[DoveTurnedHawk]

Democratic Party National Chairman Terry McAuliffe has no plans to play referee to what has become a vitriolic presidential primary, saying through a spokeswoman Monday that voters would decide whether the negative campaigning was good politics.

His comments came a day after Howard Dean (news - web sites), the Democratic front-runner, criticized McAuliffe for not stepping in to stem the growing attacks on Dean by other candidates — in particular Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites), Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry and Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri.

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Opponents say Dean's appeal to McAuliffe demonstrated a naivete about the presidential campaign process.

Said Democratic pollster John Anzalone: "If you're the front-runner, you're the one with the target on your forehead. It's no different whether you're running for president or dogcatcher. Such sniping is the dynamics of politics, period."

Joe Lockhart, a White House spokesman in the Clinton administration, likened Dean to a fighter who flinched at return blows. "When he's attacked, he says it's time to take his marbles and go home," he said. "What does he think will happen if he gets the nomination? Does he think the Bush people will say, 'Let's have polite debate'? Who's he going to call then — his mother?"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=2026&e=2&u=/latimes_ts/20031230/ts_latimes/partychiefwontbreakupscuffles

DTH

[lancdem]

1. I agree with Anzalone

If Dean thinks it's bad now, wait till Karl Rove's machine starts in on him. Dean's no wimp, but he has to learn to deal with this kind of climate.

[maddezmom]

2. probably for the best

if Terry McAuliffe took any side at this point there would be even greater backlash for the DNC.

[GBD4]

3. no way

it is not the DNC's responsibility to act like a bouncer so that Dean can have an easier path to the nomination...truthfully, for the first time, I have really begun to dislike Dean - begging big bad DNC to come breakup the schoolyard bullying is a whiny comment to make...why not have the DNC push aside Dean for Kerry, Gephardt, Clark, or any of the others? why must they simply please Dean for Dean's sake? he criticizes the DNC one day, then cries for a rescue the next. I went to a Dean rally in Virginia, I have tried to be extremely open to the Democratic candidates as mine has since left the race, but comments being made by Dean are not going to swing me to his camp

and frankly, Lieberman was right when he noted that if Dean cannot handle Democrats trying to draw distinctions between one another, Karl Rove, the most vicious politico on the planet, is going to do that much more to Dean once the primary is over, just look at the voter purges in FL in 2000, except 04 will probably be nastier