Bill Clinton's third term

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General Wesely Clark Announces Presidential run on Meet The Press



Russert: Thank you for coming on General Clark, and I have heard that you have some type of announcement to make

Clark: Yes I do and it is that I'm going to run for President , and as a Democrat

Russert: Why are you running

Clark: The fact is we are currently in a middle of a war , and the best person to lead are country through one is a general, I know the tactics needed to win a war , and also know when it's also important to not use military force . As you can remember the last General to be President  was Dwight Eisenhower whose leadership helped us in the cold war in those critical years back in the 1950s.

Russert: The Cold War wasnt hot

Clark: No but there were some wars during it which were hot , like Korea for example, some what required the use of covert actions , and some what required diplomacy . The fact is we need a President who knows when to commit force and what tatics to use to make sure they win, when to use covert actions , or when not to use force at all.

Russert: But cant one of the other candidates just make you their national security advisor

Clark: Yes but once again I wont be there only advisor , they would still have a Sec of State and Defense to change their minds, and with me I will tell my Sec of State and Defense these are the things I want to be accomplished , now you take the actions needed to accomplish them.

Russert: Ok nice having you on and I wish you best of luck

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Steve Forbes announces that he will run for President:





Forbes: I want to thank everyone for coming. 8 years ago when I last ran for President , I warned that if we dont make actual tax reform , and economic reforms in general our economy will stagnate. Today our economy has stagnated and the surpluses have been turned back into deficits because Washington solution to every problem is either to increase taxes or decrease taxes by just a little bit. We need someone who is not a politician to win the white house and that is why I am running(Cheers). If i get elected I pledge to you to impose a flat tax of 15% for any income above 40,000 dollars, and if you earn below 40,000 dollars you pay a tax rate of 0%. These policies will make America's economy boom again . Thank You and may god bless America.

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President Clinton announces Airstrikes on WMD sites in Syria:




Clinton : Good Evening,

Earlier Today , our intelligence groups were able to locate WMD sites in Syria. In learning of the news that the Syrian government has not abandoned it's WMD program , I have ordered our country's air force to destroy those sites. While we may not be able to make the Syrian Government abandon its WMD program, we will still stop it because the sanctions we placed on Syria  along with our air force destroying existing WMD sites will effectively stop their WMD program. Stopping the Syrian Government from obtaining WMD is essential ,  as their government still to this day committees more War Crimes in Lebanon and continues to help  groups like Hamas. I also want to let the families of the troops who have to go into battle, that I as their commander in chief will pray for their Safety and Success. May God Bless all the troops who protect this country , and may God Bless America.

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Election Polls, and Upcoming events

Republican Primary Polls:


Governor George W Bush: 36%
Senator John McCain : 31%
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich : 26%
Businessman Steve Forbes : 4%
Representative Ron Paul: 3%


Democratic Primary Polls:

Former Vice President Al Gore: 27%
Senator Russ Feingold: 26%
House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt : 16%
HHS Secretary Howard Dean : 15%
Senator Mary Landrieu : 8%
General Wesley Clark :   5%
Representative Dennis Kucinich %
 


Up Coming Events:

6/27/03 : First Republican Debate to take place at the University of Virginia and will be moderated by Fox News. Debate will also be shown on CSPAN

7/3/03: First Democratic Debate to take place at Columbia University and will be moderated by CNN. Debate will also be shown on CSPAN

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Highlights From first Republican Debate:








Brit Hume: Good evening , and Welcome to the University of Virginia which has agreed to be the site of the first Republican Presidential Debate. Now lets meet the candidates .


Highlights:


Hume: Governor Bush, you have said repeatedly on this campaign that you believed the economic policies of the Clinton Administration has failed, and we need to return to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan and your father. So the question is why do you think he failed and how will you take us back to the economic policies of the 1980s.

Bush: Well look at the state of the economy today and compare it to when he took office back in 1993. The fact is the economy is worse of today then it was back then , as back then while we were coming off a recession , the economy was clearly in an upswing while today its stagnating. The 3 things the Reagan Administration did to fix double digit unemployment , was to cut taxes, regulate the economy less and my tax and regulatory plan most matches Reagan.

Gingrich: Governor Bush while right , has left of the mid 1990s where we republicans came in and extended the Reagan Revolution for another decade, and due to that lowered the defict and made our economy grow even more than the 2000s.


Bush: Most of that economic boom was due to the tech bubble and once that popped the economy went back down

- Gingrich and Bush than have an exchange

Hume: Senator McCain , what would be your fix to the economy

McCain: My fix would be putting our country over ideology and party, which means both sides working together to pass policy. Reagan did it in the 1980s , and look at what results we got. Second is that I would cut taxes for anyone making under 300k a year , and for any small business owner which means I will guarantee my tax plan will benefit the economy as a whole .


Ron Paul: What needs to be done is to abolish the income tax, and cut spending by at least 30% by year one. Once you do this not only will disposable income go up, but so would the incentives to create jobs here in the US an not overseas. Lastly is most of our spending is unconstitutional anyway so it should be cut no matter the political consequences


Forbes: I agree there partially but we still do need a taxes to collect money, and at same time greatly cut them. My plan does that which is why I have proposed a flat tax for anyone with an income of more than 35,000 , and people who make below that will be exempt from paying taxes in the first place. It will create economic growth



Hume: Going on to foreign policy what do you all think about the President strategy in the War on Terror First to you Congress Paul

Paul: The fact is I strongly disapprove with the President's strategy because that could possibly lead to war with Syria. The founders told us to stay away from world affairs , but we still keep ignoring that advice and all it does it start new wars.


Forbes: Well it is good , but our first startegy needs to be to build our economy, as a strong economy = a strong military.

McCain: I agree with the President's handling of the war, especially on Syria.The fact is we need to deal with Assad before its to late.

Dubya: I disapproved because it was the same old Clinton, giving a speech about one thing but doing the other. If it were me , we would have given Assad a strict deadline of he either complies with the sanctions or they will no longer be in power.

Gingrich: The fact is this is another instance of Clinton taking the coward way off. What needed to be done was immediatly tell Assad to comply or we will invade. The fact is we need change and I will bring that change

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This will be back on Wednesday Night

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NBC Nightly News - 7/01/03




Tom Brokaw: We have gotten word that First Lady Hillary Clinton is seriously considering running for the Illinois Senate seat. More on this story , here is Kelly O'Donnell

O'Donnell : Some of the early signs of a potential Senate run by Mrs.Clinton is that beginning next week she will visit all 102 counties in Illinois over the next 7 months  . She also we are told is looking for a home in Illinois and one reason for that is so she can be eligible to run for the Illinois senate seat November next year.

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Highlights from the first Democratic Debate

Judy Woodruff: Good evening ,and welcome to the first democratic primary debate . We would like to thank Columbia University for agreeing to host this debate, and now its time to introduce the candidates .



Highlights:

Woodruff: Senator Feingold , you have been very critical of your party's president lately.

Feingold: The fact is President Clinton has basically governed like a Republican President during his time in office. The fact is President Clinton's signature "so called accomplishments"  were passing NAFTA and other right wing trade deals which ship our job overseas just so the top 1% can make more of a profit, signing welfare reform which even Ronald Reagan believed would be impossible to become law, deregulated wall street and big business more than any post war presidents , and  exploded the prison population at a far greater rate than Presidents Reagan and Bush did. The fact is we may not have even gotten all those things passed if a Republican was in the white house, cause the democrats would have stopped them but with a democratic president many unfortunately decided not to stop it. If I was president I would have fought tooth and nail against those policies and just not surrendered to the Republicans over and over again.


Gore: The idea that President Clinton governed as a Republican is ludicrous. The fact is he raised taxes on the rich, signed the family and medical leave act, made NAFTA more environmentally more friendly. and made education significantly more accessible.

Feingold: All of that was already passed by a dem congress, Clinton unlike Bush just decided not to veto it. Also the fact is after 1994 he moved to the right because of fear of the polls. If I was President I would take my case to the American people and tell them why Republican policies are wrong , as thats what leaders do.

Gore: The President also got assault weapons banned, got prescription drugs covered under medicare, made going to college more accessible to more Americans. Did President Clinton make mistakes , sure but so has every president including FDR and Lincoln .

More of the debate highlights to come soon.


Woodruff: Secretary Dean, you support creating a public option , but the question is how would you 1. get it passed congress, 2. if it does get passed how would you implement it in a way that we wouldnt require a tax increase on the middle class to pay for it.

Dean: The reason it will get passed is if I am the Democratic nominee , I will ask a mandate from the American people on that very issue. That would mean that if I get elected President , congress cant say the American people didnt elect you because of that issue, because I will have it made it loud and clear during the campaign that that would be my number one priority in office. On the issue of implementing a public option, I believe we can do it without a tax increase . The reason for that unlike private insurance companies, we dont need to run a profit which means we can provide the public option for a cheaper price.

Kucinich : Secretary Dean why didnt you propose that plan during the past two years, and two why dont you support mine and Senator Feingold's Single payer plan.

Dean: The reason I didnt propose it the past two years is cause one we didnt have the votes in the house to pass it, and two President Clinton didnt ask for a mandate from the American people on that issue which makes it even harder to get such legislation passed. The reason I dont support Single Payer is because one it would be very expensive meaning we would need to tax middle class families significantly more to pay for such a plan, two many people who already like their  private healthcare plan it wouldnt be a good thing to tell them they no longer can have their plan.


Kucinich: Every other modern nation has exactly what I am proposing

Dean: Actually no , the UK also allows people to purchase private plans what your proposal doenst have


Gephardt: My healthcare plan in my opinion would be the most feasible , as my plan does these things: One makes it illegal for people with pre existing conditions to be denied insurance  , increases taxes specifically on health insurance companies who increase prices just so they can make a profit, and three expands medicaid so everyone can afford healthcare


More highlights to come soon


Woodruff: Senator Landrieu , there is criticism from people in your party that you dont take a stand on any of the issues, how do you respond do that

Landrieu: That critic is wrong because I do take a stand on the issues. I believe that we should expand medicaid so more people can afford healthcare, I do support increasing spending on infrastructure to not only temporarily boost our economy but also make sure that states that feel that they are being left behind no longer feel so, I support increasing funding for education to decrease our class sizes . All the things I have just outlined are not only things that I believe in but what all Americans regardless of which political party believe in. All I have said is that I dont believe we should focus on divisive issues such as gun control , or banning oil drilling . We win when we discuss issues such as healthcare , infrastructure , and education lose when divisive issues get brought up.


Feingold: Senator Landrieu the problem is you also supported Welfare Reform, Free Trade Agreements which outsource jobs and now you are saying you oppose Gun Control, and making it harder for the government to pass environmental regulations. So not only does it seems like you support being Reagan lite but you support being Reagan 2.0 . The fact is we need a leader who will stand up for Democratic values of being the party for the working class which go back all the way to Jefferson, Jackson , and Roosevelt. Today that means we need someone who will stand up and fight against free trade deals what send good paying American jobs overseas, making unions strong again so the American worker doesnt get exploited by corporations , and expanding medicare so it covers all Americans.


Landrieu : If you look back at the presidents of our party they werent perfect; Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were slave owners, and FDR had the internment camps , and now we consider them to be the greatest Democratic Presidents.

Feingold: Yes that is true , but Jefferson, Jackson, FDR clearly pushed for policies what benefited the average person than hurt it. Jefferson , and Jackson did expand voting rights ,make the economic standing of the average joe better, and reduced our national debt, . FDR passed the New Deal which improved the life of the Average joe more than any program in the history of our country, and made us an economic and international superpower , because he stood with his principles  .

Gore: Senator Feingold its the voters of our party who decide what our party stands for , not you. If the voters select Senator Landrieu to be their nominee , she will be the person who most stands for Democratic values , if they choose me it will be me , and if they choose you it will be you . Bill Clinton approval rating among  Democratic voters is still astronomically high , just like Jefferson, Jackson, and Roosevelt were back in their day so Clinton does represent the Democratic party just like they did back in the day.

More highlights will come after this

Woodruff: General Clark and Speaker Gephardt both of you claim you have hands on experience in dealing with the issues in our county, and that is why we should elect you.


Clark: Well the reason is I believe as a general I know the tatics you need to win wars  and we need to win the war on terror today . I believe I would use my judgement to best decide when its smart to commit force and when its not, along with whats smart to make sure if we commit force it results in as less causalities as possible.

Woodruff: Cant you just be Secretary of Defense then to the rest of the candidates

Clark: My advice can be ignored there , and we cant afford that because of the advice being ignored we suffer more casualties

Woodruff: Speaker Gephardt , why do you have hands on experiance


Gephardt: I do because as Speaker I was the one who got medicare reform passed, education reform passed, laws what helped our economy grow passed. Just like LBJ due to his years of being Senate Majority leader in the late 1950s was able to pass his domestic agenda , I believe I can do the same.

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Breaking News : Proposed Constitutional Amendment  to overturn Clinton v City New York Fails

Brian Williams : We have gotten word that a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn Clinton v City of New York will have failed as only 55% of the house voted in the favor while you need 67% for it to pass. This proposed constitutional amendment would have given the President of the United States Line Item Veto power . Despite the fact that this issue looks to be settled, House Speaker Armey has stated that no it is not been settled and the House will vote on a modified version of the Line Item Veto which would be constitutional .

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Breaking News:House and Senate pass a bill giving the President a modified line item veto power


Differences with 1996 Line Item Veto Act in the House Bill

- Unlike the 1996 Line Item Veto act, if the President decides to use their line item veto power the modified bill goes back to congress for an up and down vote

- If Congress rejects the modified bill, the original bill goes back to the President where the President must either sign the bill or veto the entire bill.

- If Congress approves the modified bill, the modified bill becomes law

- Differences with the 1996 Line Item veto act in the Senate Bill:

- Unlike the 1996 Line Item Veto act, if the President decides to use their line item veto power the modified budget goes back to congress for approval

- If Congress doesnt approve the modified budget , the original budget goes back to the President where the President either must sign the budget or veto the entire budget

- If Congress approves the modified budget, the modified budget becomes law


Key Differences Conference Committee Will have to work out:


- The Senate Bill only applies to the budget , while the House bill applies to any expenditure bill.

- In the Senate version when the bill goes back to congress, the Senate may still filibuster the modified version while in the House Version the Senate can't filibuster it.

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Attorney General Joe Biden prefers congress passes Senate Version of the Bill:




Reporter : Attorney General Biden, as you may know both the house and senate passed a different bill which grants the president a modified line item veto power. Which bill does the president support out of the two.

Biden : President Clinton will sign either bill , so he supports both the house and senate plan

Reporter: Which one would you tell congress to pass though

Biden: Reporters Name most of the times , the conference committee does not agree to a bill that either house originally passed. So we are likely not going to see either bill pass, but instead a compromise bill.

Reporter: But what bill would you prefer

Biden: Well in my opinion if they pass either one I would pass the Senate version as the house bill would change the Senate filibuster rules without the Senate actually voting to change their filibuster rules . This in my opinion could lead to that bill being ruled unconstitutional as it can be viewed as something that limits the power of one of the branches. Instead if congress doesnt want a filibuster to be allowed to be used in this case , the Senate can just vote to change their filibuster rules.

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Breaking News : Conference Committee has agreed on a compromise bill to give the President of the United States a modified line item veto power:



Differences from the 1996 Line Item Veto Act:

- Unlike the 1996 Line Item Veto act, if the President decides to use their line item veto power the modified expenditure bill goes back to congress for approval

- If Congress rejects the modified bill, the original bill goes back to the President where the President must either sign the bill or veto the entire bill.

-If Congress approves the modified bill, the modified bill becomes law

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Congress Passes the Modified Line Item Veto Act of 2003 , and President  Clinton Signs it





Private conversation between the President and Attorney General

Clinton: Joe , its time to get ready for a court battle because this time we are going to win

Biden: Yes I will make sure this version of the line item veto doesnt fail

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President Clinton's Approval Rating and other polls:


President Clinton's Approval Rating:

Approve: 59% (+2%)
Disapprove 40%(-2%_

Democratic Primary Polls:


Former Vice President Al Gore 28%
Senator Russ Feingold 27%
HHS Secretary Howard Dean 19%
Senator Mary Landrieu  12%
House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt 8%
General Wesley Clark :   3%
Representative Dennis Kucinich %


 
2004 Republican Primary Polls:

Governor George W Bush: 39%
Senator John McCain : 30%
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich : 24%
Representative Ron Paul: 4%
Businessman Steve Forbes : 3%

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Breaking News : Khalid Sheikh Mohammed sentenced to the death after being found guilty on all charges.



Tom Brokaw: Nearly two years have passed , since that tragic morning on September 11th where our country was the victim to one of the worst terrorist attacks in history.  Today we have just learned that one of the top masterminds for that attack , Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been found guilty on all charges and has received the death penalty for the horrific crimes he committed that day. While this verdict today will not be able to end to pain of the victims family of not being able to see their family member ever again, they will be able to finally know that justice has been brought to the people who committed those horrible attacks that day.

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Breaking News: Al Zarqawi and other Al-Qaeda leaders found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death





Brokaw: We have learned that Al Zarqawi and other Al-Qaeda leaders have been found guilty on all charges and have been sentenced to death for their crimes. We have also gotten word that President Clinton has decided to address the nation later this evening  about the conclusion of these trials . We will be back at 8:30 ET to cover his address .

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Bill Clinton's Oval Office Address:




Clinton : Good Evening,

Over the past few days, the trials of many Al-Qaeda leaders concluded with those leaders facing the ultimate justice for their unspeakable crimes they committed. Its been nearly two years since Al-Qaeda carried out one of the worst terrorist attacks in history, and caused so much pain and misery to so many people . They did so because they believed that doing so would cause us to give up the ideals that made our country great, but over the past two years our country has shown them that they failed , and  that they will never destroy us. Also after two long years, the families of the victims can finally know that justice has been brought people responsible for their son, daughter , father , mother, brother, sister , wife , and husband death.


While we have finally brought justice to the people responsible for those horrible attacks, that does not mean the War on Terror has been won. The reason for that is one of the goals for the war was to also make sure that there are no more places around the world where terrorists are given a save haven. Once that happens , the world will be a much safer place, and such terrible attacks like 9/11 will never happen again.

May God Bless and Protect the members of our troops who are carrying out this mission , and may God bless America.

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Great updates! I think that comes close to what actually would have happened.

Thanks

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Breaking News : District Court rules that the modified line item veto violates separation of powers so the modified line item veto power will be struck down. 


Biden: We will be appealing this decision , as we do believe the modified line item is constitutional and fixes the parts that Clinton v city of New York found to be unconstitutional in the last line item veto bill

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Meet The Press- 2003 California Gubernatorial Recall Election Special:




Tim Russert: We are now just 3 weeks away from the California Recall election where voters will vote on two separate questions . The first question being that whether their current Governor Gray Davis should be recalled, and the 2nd being , who would replace the governor if the governor indeed gets successfully recalled. The 3 leading candidates to replace the Governor are the current lieutenant governor  Cruz Bustamante, a republican state senator Tom McClintock, and Hollywood Star Arnold Schwarzenegger who is also running as a republican. Now with us is a California Election pollster . How is the race going so far.


Pollster: Currently it is looking likely that Governor Davis will be recalled and most polls show that the recall Davis Option is ahead by more then 7 points.

Russert: What about the race to replace him

Pollster: Right now State Senator McClintock is far behind in 3rd place, while Lt Governor Bustamante and Mr. Schwarzenegger keep trading leads in the polls. So far I would say this race is a tossup between Bustmante and Schwarznegger

Russet: While Mr.Schwarznegger had been a highly accomplished actor , famously starring in the Terminator Series ,  he hasnt run for political office before , so how has he managed to run a competent state wide campaign so far. He also hasnt been any type of politician before , so how can he do so well in the polls .

Pollster: The reason Mr.Schwarznegger is doing well so far is that Former Governor Pete Wilson has endorsed Schwarznegger . He also has secured the establishment of many known GOP figures in California before so that has given his campaign credibility with many voters. He also has experience running a state wide campaign before, as last year a ballot measure crafted by him got passed.  

Russert: Thank You, and we will be looking forward to know the results of the election 

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HHS Secretary Howard Dean resigns:

Dean: Due to the campaign season heating up , I will have to spend more time campaigning , which will result in me not able to put in the time I need to successfully do the job of the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. For that reason I have decided to step down from that role, as I feel its not fair to the American people and the President to continue being the head of the Department of Health and Human Services without putting the time needed to run the Department. I want to thank President Clinton for having the opportunity to head this department , do really great things there , and work with you in your cabinet. I want to thank all the people who I worked with to be successful in this role , and I really will miss you.

Dean walks away

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President Clinton replaces Howard Dean as HHS Secretary with a surprise pick:


HHS Secretary : Caroline Kennedy

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President Clinton signs 2 New Executive Orders relating to Infrastructure :



Executive Order 13331: Streamlines Infrastructure Construction Process after the project has been aproved

Executive Order 13332: Creates a commission to research and find ways to expand broadband coverage all across the county. 

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Breaking News: Arnold Schwarzenegger elected as Governor of California:





Brokaw: NBC News can now project that Gray Davis has been successfully recalled , and that means Arnold Schwarzenegger will be the next Governor of California . The star of the highly acclaimed Terminator Franchise , will have a new mission , and that is to lead the state of California.

Tim Russert: Mr.Schwarzenegger getting the most votes out of everyone trying to replace Mr.Davis is not a surprise as he has had a solid lead in the polls during the past couple weeks, and that is why the Democrats had shifted their attention away from trying to defeat Mr.Schwarzenegger to defeating the recall.  If the recall had failed it wouldnt have matter whether or not Mr.Schwarzenegger won his race or not , and the Democrats would have still controlled the California gubernatorial seat. The fact is democrats strategy of trying to defeat the recall did help , as 2 weeks ago the Recall Davis option was 20 points ahead , and now it looks like that option will only win by 5 or 6 points.

Brokaw: Do you think if they had decided to shift their attention to trying to defeat the recall earlier , they may have won

Russert: We dont know , but it certainly would have meant that the race would have been closer. 

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2004 Primary Polls:


Democratic Primary:


National:

Former Vice President Al Gore 24%
Senator Russ Feingold 23%
Former HHS Secretary Howard Dean 21%
Senator Mary Landrieu  16%
House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt 12%
Representative Dennis Kucinich : 2.4%
General Wesley Clark :  1.6%


Iowa Polls:

Senator Russ Feingold 32%
House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt 27%
Former Vice President Al Gore  22%
Senator Mary Landrieu 15%
Congressman Dennis Kucinich : 2.7%
Former HHS Secretary Howard Dean 1.1%
General Wesely Clark: 0.2%


New Hampshire

Former Vice President Al Gore 37%
Former HHS Secretary Howard Dean 33%
Senator Russ Feingold 15%
Senator Mary Landrieu 8%
House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt 5%
General Wesley Clark 1.2%
Congressman Dennis Kucinich 0.8%


Republicans

National :
Governor George W Bush: 37%
Senator John McCain : 32%
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich : 25%
Representative Ron Paul: 3.2%
Businessman Steve Forbes : 2.8%


Iowa :

Governor George W Bush 55%
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich 32%
Senator John McCain 7 %
Congressman Ron Paul 3.3%
Businessman Steve Forbes 2.7%

New Hampshire:

Senator John McCain 49%
Governor George W Bush 31%
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich 10%
Congressman Ron Paul 7%
Businessman Steve Forbes 3%