Gephardt, the quiet candidate for No. 2

WASHINGTON -- In the competition to become Sen. John Kerry's vice presidential running mate, Rep. Dick Gephardt is the tortoise to Sen. John Edwards' hare, the insider player to Edwards' outside game.

Edwards, of North Carolina, has kept a busy public schedule since he quit the Democratic presidential race in March, appearing at state Democratic Party conventions around the country, raising money in buckets for Kerry and the Democratic National Committee, lighting up audiences and building support among the party's rank and file.

Gephardt, the former House Democratic leader and two-time presidential candidate from Missouri, has maintained a lower profile, making far fewer public appearances and keeping his counsel close while supporters work those around Kerry on his behalf.

"It's clear that John Edwards is running for this job, and unless I'm missing something, it's clear that Gephardt has exactly the opposite strategy," said a labor official who agreed to handicap the competition on the condition that he not be identified. "I think Edwards is working this very hard, and Gephardt has a sense that [he and Kerry are] friends and it's a different deal."

A vice presidential contender in the past, Gephardt has learned from his advisers that presidential nominees are generally resistant to outside pressure. "He thinks there's only one person who should make this decision and it's John Kerry, and he has discouraged everybody from campaigning and lobbying in his behalf as best he can," said political adviser Bill Carrick.

Kerry's short-list

Many Democrats believe Kerry's decision will come down to a choice between Gephardt and Edwards, but there are others still believed to be under consideration. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is one, and there are indications that Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Joe Biden of Delaware have also gotten a serious look from the presumptive nominee.

Kerry and Gephardt did not develop a close relationship until the presidential race.

"There was natural respect for one another and what they'd accomplished that grew on the campaign trail," said one Democrat involved in the campaign. "They seemed to be the two that got along best."

Gephardt and Kerry differ on some key issues. Kerry supported the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 and welfare reform in 1996, while Gephardt opposed both. Gephardt proposed eliminating all of President Bush's tax cuts, while Kerry says he would roll back only those cuts benefiting the wealthiest.

But Gephardt's advisers believe that those differences will not be decisive in determining whether he is chosen. Said one adviser: "If Kerry had reservations about that, they wouldn't be talking about Dick."

Gephardt, 63, a lawyer and 14-term House member, became the House Democratic leader after the 1994 elections and served until he stepped down to run for president after his party failed to regain control of the House in 2002. His supporters say that, among those seen as in contention, Gephardt's experience, decency and discipline offer Kerry the strongest combination of attributes. They argue that Gephardt could boost Kerry's chances of carrying Missouri, which Bush won narrowly four years ago, and also help the ticket in other Midwest battlegrounds.

"The case is simply that he's the best man, he's the best prepared to be president," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis. Obey added: "He's also, I think, the best prepared to help a new president govern because he understands not just government, but he understands the country." The argument against Gephardt is the same he faced during his unsuccessful presidential campaign this year, which ended a day after he finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses. Some Democrats, even admirers of Gephardt, fear that he represents the past, is too rooted in the old Democratic Party, is too tied to organized labor and would complicate Kerry's efforts to present himself to voters as a centrist Democrat.

Although Gephardt has kept a low profile, he has plenty of public advocates. The industrial unions that backed his candidacy during the primaries strongly support him, and he has solid support among his Democratic colleagues in the House. And longtime adviser Steve Elmendorf now sits inside Kerry's headquarters as deputy campaign manager.

Those advocates have not been shy about prodding Kerry. When Kerry campaigned at the Teamsters convention in Las Vegas in May, Teamsters President James Hoffa made a strong case for his longtime friend Gephardt, telling reporters that he had repeatedly urged Kerry to pick Gephardt. "He needs somebody that's high profile, somebody that can go out and carry a state, somebody that has a constituency, somebody that can deliver," Hoffa was quoted as saying that day.

Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America, said he has made similar pitches to Kerry and James Johnson, who heads Kerry's search process. Gerard said he had spoken to both men on the phone within the past month and had several other occasions to deliver the message to the candidate. "I was very comfortable in letting him know I thought Dick Gephardt would be a tremendous contribution to the ticket," Gerard said in a telephone interview. "At a time when integrity and stability are important, John Kerry brings that and Dick Gephardt brings that." Asked whether Gephardt had asked him to help, Gerard said no. "I think he'd just be uncomfortable asking us to do anything like that," he said.

Edwards also has some support in the House. Rep. Robert Menendez (N.J.), chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said that Gephardt and Edwards could count on strong support - "Dick because of his long relationship, and Edwards as well because I think he brings excitement to the ticket."