‘Different Kind’ of Campaign Wins Hart Scant Support

Red and pink hearts, sometime symbols of Gary Hart’s 1984 campaign, dangled from the ceiling of the senior citizens center here as Hart, a presidential candidate once again, strode into a sea of fluorescent lights and folding chairs to tell Iowans why he should be President.

But the hearts weren’t for Hart; they were for St. Valentine. The only Hart banner at the hastily arranged event was in black and white, printed out from a computer at the local public library and taped crookedly to the wall.

And though the crowd was large for a frigid night, few of those attending were for Hart either. Most said they were drawn by Hart’s celebrity as much as his candidacy.

Hart cuts a familiar figure before a campaign crowd, but in Independence as well as on other stops last week, he seemed less candidate than intruder. When he re-entered the race in December with little money and scant organization, he said his would be “a different kind of candidacy.” Last week made clear how frustrating such a candidacy can be.

References to Rice

Direct questions about Donna Rice come rarely now, but in New England debates and in Iowa appearances, Hart’s attempts to focus on the issues were sometimes sidetracked by questions about his alleged character flaws, an oblique reference to his relationship with the Miami model, reports of which caused him temporarily to withdraw from the race last May.

And most daunting for the campaign that pledged to “let the people decide,” the people of Independence and other towns in Iowa and New Hampshire seem to be deciding against him.

After soaring to the top of the polls in those early battleground states with his stunning re-entry, Hart’s standing has plunged to fourth place or worse in recent polls in both states. In Iowa, where few are willing to predict who the winner will be, plenty of Democratic leaders confidently predict that Hart will be among the losers.

“Hart is not an entity anymore,” said Pat Mitchell, state coordinator for Illinois Sen. Paul Simon.

“Hart was strong in December because he appeared to be a giant among the dwarfs,” said a top aide to the campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis. “But he had to be better, and he hasn’t been.”

Complains of Format

The symptoms of frustration have been evident on the Hart campaign trail this last week. On Monday, Hart attributed his mediocre debate performance of the night before to the format, complaining that “with bells ringing and red lights going off,” it was impossible to discuss substantial issues. He turned testy when asked by voters about his personal life or campaign finances, and sometimes banned such questions altogether.

Finally, in an angry new campaign speech, Hart blamed hostility among the media and political insiders for his failure to get his message across.

“Why are my personal life and campaign finances front-page, eight-column, banner-headline news and lead stories on nightly network news,” he demanded, “when real issues--hunger and homelessness and illiteracy--are routinely buried?”

The speech represented a harder-hitting Hart message. That new message will be central to a five-minute television commercial--his first paid advertising--that the campaign plans to broadcast in Iowa this week, according to Sue Casey, Hart’s campaign manager.

Limited by Resources

But no matter what the message, Hart’s ability to project it remains limited by his own resources. Time is short, money scarce, and though Hart’s commitment to the issues is clear, his commitment to his candidacy seems sometimes to be lacking.

Most of Hart’s campaign appearances are on college campuses and in shopping malls, where crowds are easily drawn on short notice but committed voters are few. His single campaign brochure is an “unconventional, untraditional” 94-page manifesto that he waves vigorously but few in the audience take home with them.

The speeches are more professorial than political, with spare rhetoric and few applause lines. Oral essays on the need for reform, they usually run long: “I don’t give no short speeches,” Hart said with an apologetic grin in Rapid City, S.D.

Even Hart’s self-promotion is equivocal. “I hope you vote for me,” he said at each campaign stop last week. “But if you don’t, vote for someone else--a Democrat.”

Unlikely to Quit

What is clear, those close to Hart say, is that the candidate is not likely to leave the race anytime soon, no matter how steep the setbacks in Iowa and New Hampshire. Unlike those of rivals, they say, Hart’s is a guerrilla campaign, resistant to conventional attack.

But what is essential to any guerrilla, as the campaign well knows, is the support of the people. For the Hart campaign, that is what seems still to be missing.

Staff writer James Risen in Des Moines contributed to this story.