Democrats Look for That Winning Edge

An angry and frustrated Howard Dean struck back at his Democratic rivals Monday, lashing out as the Iowa race headed into its final week closer and more unpredictable than any presidential contest here in years.

“I’m going after everybody because I’m tired of being the pincushion,” said Dean, who had been leaving the attacks to his advisors but abandoned that frontrunner stance to join the increasingly bitter fray.

The former Vermont governor, fighting to translate a narrow lead in the polls into a momentum-building victory in next Monday’s caucuses, fell back on the issue that fueled his unexpected rise to prominence -- his outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq and his condemnation of fellow Democrats who backed the administration’s policy.

“I stood up when John Edwards and Dick Gephardt and John Kerry wouldn’t stand up to the president of the United States,” Dean told a crowd in Pella, in southeastern Iowa, referring to rivals scrapping to finish somewhere in the top three.

These other candidates joined Dean in fanning across the state in relatively balmy 40-degree weather, rallying supporters and hoping to win converts as the caucuses near.

Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, picked up the endorsement of Iowa’s first lady, Christie Vilsack, who cited his stands on health care and education in backing him.

The governor, Tom Vilsack, is staying neutral, as he did four years ago when his wife backed Vice President Al Gore over former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey. But Kerry aides sought to portray Christie Vilsack’s endorsement as effectively a wink from her husband.

Kerry, hoping to finish second or better in Iowa, captured the unsettled nature of the race when he told reporters, “If you stay tuned over the course of the next week, you’re going to see a great roller-coaster ride.”

Longtime caucus-watchers said there had not been such a competitive race in Iowa since 1988, when 13 candidates were running for president -- seven Democrats and six Republicans.

“It’s tight,” said Jean Hessburg, executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party. “Crazy tight.”

Part of the reason, the analysts said, is that none of the four candidates seriously vying in the caucuses enjoys a clear-cut advantage over any other.

Dean has spent a record sum on TV ads in Iowa and has frequently drawn large, enthusiastic crowds. But his blunt speaking can be off-putting to some Democrats, and his prickly nature -- displayed in an angry outburst at a voter who challenged him Sunday -- has raised questions about his temperament.

Kerry, by contrast, has a war-hero resume and started the race as a favorite, only to fall back into the pack because of his equivocal stance on the Iraq war and his sluggish campaign style.

Gephardt, the longtime congressman from Missouri, is regarded as Dean’s toughest Iowa opponent, thanks to his strong support from labor and his roots in the Midwest. But his vote supporting the Iraq war hurt him, and he is dogged by a perception that he is too much a part of the party’s past.

Edwards, of North Carolina, has won favor for his populist message and his largely positive campaign style. But some voters view the one-term senator as too inexperienced.

Gordon Fischer, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, praised each of the candidates Monday. But he said that apart from weighing personalities and issues, Iowa Democrats are judging the field by a more intangible measure -- electability -- which has contributed to the race’s fluid nature.

“It’s kind of a mercurial and difficult thing to figure out,” Fischer said. “I’ve talked to a lot of folks who are swinging like a rusty gate in a breeze, going back and forth between two candidates, three candidates.”

Longtime caucus observers also say they have never seen such intensity. “I think every Iowa Democrat should give thanks to [President] Bush for putting some spirit into the Democratic Party,” said Dave Nagle, a former state party chair and Iowa congressman.

A poor showing by Gephardt or Kerry could effectively end their campaigns. Edwards could use a strong finish to boost his chances in New Hampshire, which holds its primary on Jan. 27, and in South Carolina, which holds its on Feb. 3.

Dean believes an Iowa win would allow him to quickly wrap up the Democratic nomination. Second -- or worse -- could spell a long, nasty fight for the nod.

On Monday, after repeated pummeling by his rivals and a poor performance at a Sunday night debate, Dean was testy as he set out across southeastern Iowa. He kicked off a pancake breakfast at a local college in Pella with a fresh swipe at his foes, accusing them of representing the status quo they claim to be challenging.

“What we’re seeing in this campaign in the last week is a struggle for the direction of this country,” said Dean, the exhaustion etched in heavy bags under his eyes. “It’s a struggle between us and the Washington media and the established press. And they have attacked us for months, every time they have an opportunity. But we are stronger than they are.”

Dean, who usually draws boisterous, overflowing crowds, garnered moderate applause from the 150 people assembled in a brick auditorium.

By late afternoon, he appeared to have returned to his usual, more exuberant campaign form.

At a town hall meeting with about 150 voters in the student union at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, he promised to wage a fiery campaign in the next few days. “Over the past few weeks, our campaign has been attacked by just about everybody under the sun,” Dean said, his shirt sleeves rolled up in his trademark fashion. “Today is the day we start to fight back!

“We are not going to lose to a member of the Washington establishment,” he added, a reference to Gephardt, Kerry and Edwards.

Dean’s opponents were buoyed by signs -- including public and private opinion polls -- suggesting that the Iowa race was growing more competitive.

Gephardt motored westward from Des Moines, hammering familiar themes such as universal health care and tougher rules on international trade. He also spoke of electability.

“If you’re going to beat Bush, you’ve got to beat him in the Midwest,” he told a group of about 50 voters in the small town of Atlantic. “That’s where I’m from.”

Gephardt, who won the Iowa caucuses the first time he ran for president in 1988, typically attracts smaller, more sedate crowds than his rivals. Campaign strategists said that was due to his effort to seek out undecided voters, rather than stage big, splashy rallies among those already committed to their candidate.

“At the end of the day, these are organizing tools, not media events,” said press secretary Erik Smith.

Kerry took to the steps of the Capitol in Des Moines to tout the endorsement of Iowa’s first lady, along with 27 state lawmakers who signed on to his campaign.

“I was thinking this morning about that old song by the Lovin’ Spoonful,” Vilsack said, and then quoted from it, nearly accurately: “ ‘Did you ever have to make up your mind? Say yes to one and leave the other ones behind? It’s not often easy. It’s not often kind. Did you ever have to make up your mind?’ Well, I made up my mind to stand in the Iowa caucus for John Kerry, and I’m very proud of that.”

It was cold enough Monday morning -- about 25 degrees -- to make words waft out in frosty puffs, a point not lost on Kerry. “Just looking up at all these legislators, three-quarters of whom aren’t wearing coats, and I can see the headline,” he joked. “ ‘Kerry Gives Half of Iowa Legislature Pneumonia.’ ”

Edwards, who has sought to distinguish himself as a Democrat who won’t attack his challengers, spoke on his plan to fight poverty in small communities, to cut subsidies for agribusiness while using antitrust laws to combat industry consolidation, and to introduce financial incentives for teachers willing to work in remote and underfunded schools.

Speaking to more than 100 people who overflowed a meeting room in Sioux City, he reiterated his campaign theme that America is a nation divided by class, and that government leaders have turned their backs on rural communities.

The crowd was much smaller than those Edwards drew over the weekend, but no less enthusiastic. It was the third time that Kathy Boffaro, a part-time librarian and former Dean volunteer, had seen Edwards. She left, she said, nearly convinced that she would support him in the caucuses. Dean’s luster, Boffaro said, had worn away.

“He had the fire. Now he seems a little more angry,” Boffaro said. “Edwards has been positive, and he’s a good speaker. The candidates are pretty much saying the same thing, so lately I’ve been looking at how they present themselves.”

Times staff writers Nick Anderson, Maria L. La Ganga and Scott Martelle contributed to this report.