Gephardt will stress years in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- Rep. Richard Gephardt will launch a second bid for the White House in the gymnasium of his boyhood school in St. Louis, joined by family and a handful of key supporters and childhood friends.

The scenery for Wednesday's kickoff is designed by Gephardt's campaign to stress his working-class roots in a Midwestern city and to play down his career as a Washington insider, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Web site, stltoday.com, reported Saturday.

When the Missouri Democrat launched a presidential race 16 years ago, the backdrop was Union Station in St. Louis.

"He's going to talk about growing up in that neighborhood in his speech," said Steve Murphy, his campaign manager. "Dick's roots will be a very important part of the story we tell."

Gephardt's presidential announcement this week will be followed by a swing through the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

On Friday, he will be back in Washington to give a speech at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting.

At the end of the month, Gephardt will make a pitch to labor leaders at an AFL-CIO meeting in Florida.

Gephardt is one of a half-dozen Democratic hopefuls vying for their party's 2004 presidential nomination. They include Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and John Edwards, D-N.C., ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and civil rights activist Al Sharpton.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., are also considering bids.

Gephardt set up an exploratory presidential committee in January. But with Wednesday's announcement in St. Louis, Gephardt will make his intentions official.

In St. Louis and other stops this week, aides said, Gephardt will flesh out his proposals for expanded health care coverage, universal preschool and an international minimum wage, among other issues.