February 28, 2003

Dem Watch Bob Graham throws

Dem Watch

Bob Graham throws his hat into the 2004 race.

"His strength in Florida undercuts the popularity of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) in the Sunshine State, where Lieberman campaigned heavily as the party's 2000 vice presidential nominee.

Graham's roots on a dairy farm in the Old Confederacy erase the claim of North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) to be the Southern candidate. His years as governor, and his vote against the Senate resolution authorizing war in Iraq, erode former Vermont governor Howard Dean's claim to be the one candidate with executive experience and a clear antiwar position.

No Democrat from north of the Mason-Dixon Line has won the White House since 1960. That's also the last time anyone from either party was elected without having been a governor or vice president."