Two unions signal support for Dean

By Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Associated Press

	J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP Democratic presidential hopeful former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, center, smiles as he joins the leadership of the Service Employees International Union yesterday at a Washington, D.C., hotel.
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The 1.6 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) effectively endorsed Dean yesterday but postponed its formal announcement until Wednesday, only because it was asked to by the 1.5 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — which is expected to join it in backing Dean.

The unions, the largest and most politically active of those under the umbrella of the AFL-CIO, represent public employees and health-care workers, and sometimes clash in efforts to organize new members. SEIU President Andy Stern and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee recently extended olive branches to one another after realizing they had to unite if they had any hope of defeating President Bush in 2004.

The double-barreled boost will give front-runner Dean crucial money and manpower in key early voting states, especially Iowa, where Democrats vote Jan. 19 and where Dean and Gephardt are running neck and neck. The embrace by labor unions also shows that Dean's appeal extends beyond the well-educated liberals who have dominated his following.

Gephardt may be hurt even more than Dean is helped by the 1-2 union punch. The veteran congressman has built his career and his presidential campaign on a foundation of loyalty to labor.

"This doesn't necessarily secure the nomination for Dean, but it shoots an arrow into a vital organ of the Gephardt campaign," said Dennis Goldford, a political scientist at Drake University in Iowa.

"The size of the coup for Dean cannot be underestimated," said Doug Hattaway, a Democratic consultant who worked on Al Gore's presidential bid in 2000. "These are two of the unions that really do deliver for their candidates in terms of shoe leather."

Three presidential debates set for 2004 race WASHINGTON — College campuses in Florida, Missouri and Arizona will host presidential debates among the major candidates in the 2004 general election, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates said yesterday. The first debate will take place Sept. 30 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., followed by a second meeting Oct. 8 at Washington University in St. Louis. The final debate is scheduled for Oct. 13 at Arizona State University in Tempe. A debate among major party vice-presidential candidates will be held Oct. 5 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

The AFSCME is one of the most politically active unions in Iowa, and the SEIU is the biggest union in New Hampshire, where Democrats will vote Jan. 27.

Their support could help Dean counter one of the biggest criticisms against him — that he's unelectable. That kind of support, one Democratic strategist said, will go a long way toward eliminating Dean's image as the candidate of "the Volvo-driving, Starbucks-sipping yuppie."

Gephardt wasn't knocked out, however. He still has the backing of 20 smaller unions which, taken together, have more members.

"We're always disappointed when someone goes to another candidate," Gephardt aide Erik Smith said. "We still have 20 unions, more on the way and more than anyone else. We're in a tough fight to win Iowa, and we'll prevail."

The pending endorsements also helped Dean shift attention from the Confederate flag and his apology Wednesday for urging Democrats to court Southern whites who display the banner in their pickup trucks.

In Concord, N.H., Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., tried to keep the heat on Dean, hoping to turn the flag flap into a sweeping indictment of Dean's policies and personality.

"I think Americans deserve straight talk. I think they ought to know who Howard Dean is," Kerry said.

Dean's spokeswoman responded by saying Americans deserve to know why Kerry has struggled to explain his support for Bush's Iraq war resolution.

"It's become increasingly clear that John Kerry is a heck of a lot better at formulating negative attacks than formulating a straightforward position on Iraq," Tricia Enright said.

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