HOWARD DEAN:

Howard Dean, on PBS, said: “I believe that Iraq does have chemical and biological weapons, and they are a threat to many nations in the Middle Eastern region, but not to the United States. Therefore, in my view, the United States ought not to attack uni- laterally.” Dean added: “I have no problem with supporting a United Nations attack on Iraq.” He further stated: “Saddam must be disarmed. He is as evil as everybody says he is.”

Finally, when it came to whether Iraq was better off without Saddam Hussein, Mr. Dean told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We don't know that yet. We don't know that yet, Wolf. We still have a country whose city is mostly without electricity. We have tumul- tuous occasions in the south where there is no clear governance. We have a major city without clear governance. We don't know yet, and until we do...”

AL SHARPTON:

Al Sharpton was described by USA Today as follows:

“Sharpton probably is best known for his association with Tawana Brawley, the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., black teen-ager who falsely claimed to have been kid- napped and raped by several white assailants. Sharpton, who became a high- profile adviser to Brawley's family, accused a local prosecutor, Steven Pagones, of taking part in the rape.

"Pagones sued Sharpton for defamation and three years ago won a judgment. With the help of some black businessmen, Sharpton paid the $65,000 award, but he has never retracted the charges or apologized.”

On CBS News, Sharpton said: "I'm qualified, probably more qualified than any other person who is expected to be on the Democratic ticket for 2004, because I actually have a following and I speak for the people." Sharpton, who has never held public of- fice,” is reported to have called white businessmen in Harlem “interlopers.”

BOB GRAHAM:

Senator Bob Graham, on announcing his candidacy on May 5, 2003, stated: “The Bush administration has reneged on America's promise and jeopardized our future.” Graham added: “Instead of pursuing the most imminent and real threats to our future --terrorism--this Bush administration chose to settle old scores with a war in Iraq against Saddam Hussein.” Mr. Graham, on his own website on April 10, 2003, said: “I share the jubilation of the Iraqi people as we see statues of Saddam Hussein falling to the ground in Baghdad, and I share all Americans' pride in the skill and courage of our victorious men and women in uniform.”

JOHN F. KERRY:

John F. Kerry asked: “Why can't America have a strong military that advances our values around the world?” Apparently Mr. Kerry believes that America’s military, at least to the date of the Democrat’s first debate on May 3, 2003, has not advanced America’s values. Speaking about the possibility of war with Iraq in a New York Times article on September 6, 2002, John Kerry declared: “Those who think that the inspection process is merely a waste of time should be reminded that legitimacy in the conduct of war, among our people and our allies, is not a waste, but an essential foun- dation of success.” Mr. Kerry seems to believe that only the UN can give legitimacy to America’s pursuit of its own security.

Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, threw his medals away, and over the White House fence, in protest. However, he later admitted they weren’t actually his real medals. Mr. Kerry later explained that he didn’t have time to go home and get the real ones.

CAROL MOSELEY-BRAUN:

On PBS,Carol Moseley-Braun said: “I believe that this administration is on the abso- lute wrong track, particularly as regard to using the war on terror as a subterfuge, as a cloak, if you will, for what is really an extreme political agenda.”

On February 19, 2003, Slate reported the following: “Though she was never indicted or punished, Moseley-Braun had some close calls with the law. The first occurred during her 1992 Senate campaign, when it came to light that, three years earlier, she had deposited a check for $28,750 into a personal money-market account. The check in question actually belonged to Moseley-Braun's mother, who owned a property in Alabama on which she'd sold the timber-harvesting rights; the $28,750 was a royalty payment. Edna Moseley was staying in a Chicago nursing home at the time and rely- ing on Medicaid to cover her expenses, something ostensibly reserved only for the near-indigent--not people with $28,750 checks to their name. The royalty should have been used to reimburse Medicaid; instead, Moseley-Braun divvied up the money with her two siblings. When the situation came to light, she apologized and paid Medicaid $15,240. The Illinois Department of Public Aid declined to launch a criminal probe.”

DENNIS KUCINICH:

Dennis Kucinich, who, up until the time he decided to run for President of the United States in the 2004 election, had been consistently pro-life. His spokesperson was re- ported in National Review to have said last year: “He absolutely believes in the sanctity of life and that life begins at conception.” However, times have changed, along with Mr. Kucinich’s ambitions, and he now says: “I support a woman's right to freedom of choice,” adding: “I do not believe that Roe v. Wade should be over- turned.” He further adds: “as President, I would protect that right [to abortion], and I would also make sure that appointees to the Supreme Court protected that right.” Perhaps Mr. Kucinich had an epiphany and sees the error of his ways as a once devout Catholic.

To an audience in Iowa, Mr. Kucinich said he wants to create a new governmental department, the Department of Peace. Kucinich said: “The Department of Peace will create a structure of government that will look at where violence starts. Poverty and homelessness are weapons of mass destruction; it is not too late to seek a newer world.” There appears no truth to the rumor that Mr. Kucinich keeps unicorns in his magic kingdom behind his house.

JOE LIEBERMAN:

In the words of William F. Buckley for National Review, “when he [Joe Lieberman] signed on with Al Gore, his servility to his patron was judged, by some, to be excessive. He modified his stands in favor of vouchers for private schools, modified his advocacy of privatizing a part of Social Security. He had already temporized on the gravity of Bill Clinton's misconduct. And his call on Hollywood to mitigate the sex and violence or invoke 'legal restrictions' was entirely neutralized. In Hollywood, he promised that if elected, his ticket would go no further than to 'noodge you' on sex and violence." The Washington Post published an editorial entitled, "Where's the Old Joe Lieberman?" However, Mr. Buckley did say that the old Joe Lieberman is back.

JOHN EDWARDS:

“It is a test of presidential leadership to lead in a way that rallies others to our cause," John Edwards said. "This President has not done that.” Mr. Edwards was for using military force against Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein. However, he seems de- spondent over the fact that, while the White House claimed fifty nations were with us in our fight against Saddam Hussein, France, Germany, and Russia were not. Evi- dence from Iraq is beginning to show us all why those countries wanted Saddam to stay in power. Hopefully, Mr. Edwards will find a different issue to harp upon.

The Hill newspaper is reporting that Mr. Edwards has recently found himself in a bit of a quagmire over campaign contributions. It seems a number of otherwise not very politically minded law firm workers maxed out contributions to Mr. Edwards’s cam- paign, with at least one of them saying that they expected reimbursement for the con- tribution.

DICK GEPHARDT:

Congressman Gephardt has proposed an all encompassing healthcare plan which, in the words of fellow Democrat Howard Dean, in USA Today, would be “pie-in-the-sky radical revamping of our health care system.” The article explained:

“He would pay for the plan by rolling back the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cuts enacted at the behest of President Bush in 2001 and repealing any further tax cuts. He also would cancel the existing employer tax deduction for offering health benefits and use the savings.

"Nevertheless, his proposal would increase the federal budget deficit. The bulk of the cost to the Treasury, more than $100 billion a year, would be the tax credit for employers. In addition, states and localities would get $53 billion to $62 billion a year to offset 60% of their employee health costs. An additional $60 billion to $70 billion would subsidize coverage for the jobless and others.”

While it is true that no one is perfect, it boggles the mind that out of the tens of mil- lions of Democrats in this country, these folks are the top nine.

Paul Walfield is a freelance writer and member of the State Bar of California, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and post-graduate study in behavioral and analytical psychology. He resided for a number of years in the small town of Houl- ton, Maine, and is now a California attorney. His articles appear in numerous peri- odicals and on numerous websites. He has been the featured guest on KTSA News Talk Radio.  CONTACT INFORMATION:  Email:   paul.walfield@cox.net

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